Mr. Mack, Mr. Park, and other members of the Board,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am here again.
I was here two years ago, and now I am back. Didn't I make
things clear at that time?
You do me great honor in inviting me to come back, and I
thank you for the privilege of meeting with you again.
According to the invitation you sent, I am to present "a
discussion of the phenomenal international influence of the
Church and its increasing worldwide appeal."
That is a very large subject. In the time available I
cannot hope to do justice to it. But I can tell you of a few
things, and then we will have a question and answer period
and perhaps I can speak to some of your individual concerns
at that time. I hope you will not consider me boastful. I
wish only to state the facts concerning some of the things
we are trying to do.
It was not too many years ago that we were largely a Utah
Church. Now our people are found everywhere across this
nation and Canada, with some 800,000 residing in California.
We have more members outside the United States than we have
inside. We are now operating in more than 160 nations. Our
worldwide membership is approaching 11 million. Some four
million of these 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 out across
the world by telling you of an experience I had a few years
ago. 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. She
had been baptized into the Church and had partaken of its
programs, but she remained 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 of the third generation in
the Church. She was now graduating from our school. I asked
her, "Now what are you going to do?"
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.
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 over
27,000. Its graduates are now found across this nation, and
even across the world. BYU graduates serve on the faculties
of nearly every large university in America. They are in
business, in the professions, and in almost every honorable
vocation. We operate other schools. But as the Church grows
there is an ever diminishing percentage of our young people
who can attend BYU. We would build more universities, but as
many of you know, universities are terribly expensive and we
could never keep up with the demand.
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 as
long as it was needed.
We face a new challenge today. In the underdeveloped
countries we have young men and women 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 attend universities in their
own lands where we also operate what we call institutes,
where they can study and socialize together. 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 in which they live.
We are already engaged in micro-credit undertakings,
whereby small amounts are loaned to those in difficulty.
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--as
bishops, for instance--serving those around them. Of course,
we not only have converts who are poor and less educated but
also people of means and skills and influence. We take
people of all kinds as we find them and then we train them
and make of them effective and wonderful leaders.
I have just been down in South America, 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 nations of which they are citizens, as will be
the generations who follow them.
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
phenomenal task. It is a tremendous responsibility. But we
must step up to it and accomplish it. Some of these houses
of worship are relatively small, and some of them are large.
But they are all attractive. They are well kept. They have
attractive landscaping. They are a credit to every community
where they are found. And they become a wonderful example to
the people.
They are kept clean and beautiful, and those of our
people, many of them coming out of poverty, see their
cleanliness and their beauty and strive to emulate this in
their own homes. The whole community is blessed by reason of
that which we do.
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. Just two weeks 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. When the meeting concluded, some 57,000 white
handkerchiefs came out and were waved with love and respect.
How can you not love such people?
They were well dressed, clean, and attractive. They do
not smoke, not one of them. They do 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 in South America.
It is my philosophy that everyone who comes into this
Church should immediately have a friend who can help him
make the adjustment, a responsibility in the Church under
which he can grow, as well as nurturing with the good word
of God.
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. Every bishop of the Church has two counselors, devoted
and able men, to assist him. None is a professional, but all
are dedicated, and marvelous and wonderful things happen.
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. 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 leadership while
men and women are still young. We now have nearly 60,000
missionaries serving throughout the world, all 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 in Salt
Lake City. We send missionaries from Salt Lake and elsewhere
in the states to Mongolia, and some come here from Mongolia
and other foreign lands. They learn English. They partake of
our culture. 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. 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 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. All of them 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. Enmity 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
missionary program.
We now have 331 missions across the world. Each becomes a
bridge to better understanding among people, to greater
appreciation for other cultures.
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. We have dairies,
bakeries, canneries, meat packing plants, and other
facilities 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 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
also have worked with other non-governmental agencies in
extending humanitarian aid. These include Catholic relief
services, Mercy Corps International, the American Red Cross,
Red Crescent, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and
other groups across the world.
Immediately upon learning of the recent Kosovo tragedy,
we determined to help where we could. On Monday, we
considered what we might do. On Tuesday, we gave approval to
proceed, and food boxes began to be assembled at Welfare
Square in Salt Lake City. On Wednesday, a huge freight plane
was loaded with a shipment and left for Europe. On Thursday,
it was en route there. On Friday, goods were unloaded and
taken to the warehouse, and on Sunday, food was delivered to
needy people. Shipments have continued. When need arises we
can act quickly without bureaucracy and red tape. The lives
of thousands of unfortunate people not of our faith have
been blessed in those countries where there is terrible
distress.
Our humanitarian service has reached out to people in 146
nations, with 3,474 projects. We have delivered tons of
clothing, tons of food, tons of medical equipment, tons of
educational material, and millions in cash. We have dug
wells in African villages, fed people, and supplied them
with clothing and shelter. 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 now we are very busy trying to help the Kosovars.
Last week a great women's conference was held at Brigham
Young University. Nearly 20,000 gathered from all over the
nation.
While they were there, an invitation was offered to them
to put together hygiene kits and other items for refugees in
Macedonia and Albania. Women sat at desks in the law school
and packed 38,000 of these kits, which are now on their way
to the Balkans and which will be of such tremendous help to
newborn babies, to invalids, and to many others as they help
to make life liveable under the terrible circumstances in
which these people find themselves.
Politics has not been a consideration in assisting those
who are the recipients of this help. In North Korea we have
supplied seed, fertilizer, and expertise to help the people
help themselves in combating the terrible hunger that is
found there.
When Hurricane Mitch hovered over Honduras and Nicaragua
for six days last fall, the destruction was unbelievable. We
immediately began shipping supplies, and I went down there
myself to do what I could. I was amazed at what I saw.
Others had sent in supplies, but initially there was
difficulty in distributing it. Our local bishops, these
volunteers of whom I have spoken, immediately went to work,
as did our missionaries in that land. Water had filled the
homes to the tops of the windows. Everywhere there was mud
and filth and suffering. There was a lack of food, a lack of
clothing, a lack of medicine, a lack of hope. We quickly
supplied that need for our own people and for many others.
As the waters receded and mud remained, we sent shovels and
wheelbarrows, simple things but so very, very important in
these circumstances. The mud was cleaned from the homes. The
people were slowly able to return.
I talked with a little girl who survived the floods and
with the young man who found her. Her mother had died a few
months before the storm. As the wind blew and the rains
fell, her father, who was sick, placed her on a stack of
furniture in the home. He wanted to do what he could to save
her. He died in the catastrophe. There she was, lying on top
of that furniture, unable to move, the water all about her
in the room. She had nothing to eat or drink. As the waters
receded, a young man, a member of her local Church
congregation, came along looking for survivors in the
flooded homes. He heard a noise and looked up and there she
was, alive. He brought her down and took her to the home of
the bishop, whose wife cleaned her up and fed and clothed
her.
When I returned home I spoke of this in a public meeting.
I told of my desire to send some money to give a little
holiday candy to this orphan child. When I told of this
experience, offers came in from Nestle, Hershey, Brachs, and
other candy companies who wished to know how they could
help. Checks came in and money from children who wanted to
assist. Thousands of pounds of candy and other items were
sent to aid this little girl and others like her. Now she
has been taken in by her aunt. But the response to her need,
and the needs of others, was immediate and tremendous.
Time will not permit me to speak of the 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, or 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 seven million hits per day.
I think we would have genealogical information on every man
and woman in this hall tonight. We invite you to visit our
Family History resources right here in Los Angeles. They are
found in the visitors' center at our temple on Santa Monica
Boulevard and in several other locations.
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 and an increased
responsibility to those who will follow.
I have had time to touch on only a few of the 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. We give love. We bring peace. We do not seek to
tear down any other church. We recognize the great good they
all do. We have worked with them on many undertakings. We
will continue to do so. We bear witness of the Lord, Jesus
Christ, whose name this Church carries and whose example and
teachings we try to follow. 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.
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