I'd like to welcome you to tonight's Church history lecture. It's the first one of our 2012 series, Men and Women of Faith. Tonight's lecture is entitled "Men and Women of Faith in Church History" and Elder Marcus Nash of the First Quorum of Seventy is our guest speaker. And we're so excited about that. I'm April Williamson. I'm manager of public programming in the Church History Library. I'd like to introduce Elder Nash. He and his wife, Shelly Hatch Nash, grew up in the same neighborhood in the Seattle, Washington, area. He filled a mission to the Salvador San Salvador Mission, after which he and his wife were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Taking his father's advice, he looked at his talents and skill sets to choose a career, and he earned his bachelor's degree from BYU and then went on to the J. Rubin Clark Law School and received his law degree. After graduation, he and his wife returned to Seattle, where he was employed in a law firm in the area. Among his accomplishments, Elder Nash spent a summer between his schooling helping with the construction of the Seattle temple. He has served as a gospel doctrine teacher, elders quorum president, Young Men's president, bishop, stake president, and an Area Seventy before being called to the First Quorum of Seventy in April of 2006. He is currently serving as the Assistant Executive Director of the Church History Department. Elder Nash loves the out of doors, being with his family, and being around the youth. There were many occasions in the Nash home when it would be filled with teens having ice cream after a stake dance. He and his wife, Shelly, are the parents of five children. We are so pleased to have Elder Nash speak to us tonight. Elder Nash.

Brothers and sisters, it's really a blessing and a privilege to be with you tonight. This is a little bit different of an experience for me. I'm not one-- it's not my style, I guess we all have our own styles-- to write out a talk. But look at this. I actually wrote out a talk. I may stumble more having a written talk than just going with the flow, but for whatever reason, I did it and I felt to do it. So I am pleased to have you here and pleased to have this opportunity. I'm going to begin this talk about men and women of faith with kind of a synopsis, as it were, wrapping together the story of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies I have long studied the history of that. I don't pretend to be an expert historian on it, but I do have some smattering and knowledge of it. And it is one of the tales of faith in this Church, which is stirring. So I'll begin. You may recall that the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies left late in the season with handcarts that were hastily constructed of green, uncured wood. They left with inadequate clothing and supplies. And when they arrived at Fort Laramie, the much hoped for provisions were not there. So the Willie Handcart company was forced to reduce their rations. I've been down in South America for a long time, is it rations or rations? I keep drawing a blank. Rations, thank you. They had to reduce the rations of flour to three-- Everybody's saying rations or rations, what is it? I'm not sure. They had to reduce their rations of flour to 3/4 of a pound per day, which was a starvation diet. And still they would not have sufficient food to make it into Salt Lake City. The Martin Handcart Company reduced their rations to four ounces of flour a day, 450 calories, when it's estimated that takes about 4,000 calories to pull a handcart. Yes, that was a starvation diet. Now it would become complicated. They're going to be walking uphill now, climbing, and over very rough trails. This in turn was complicated by the fact that early storms hit, a vicious winter storm. They seem to go on and on, wind, snow, great difficulty. Small wonder that approximately 200 of the 1,200 perished. But what a miracle that all or nearly all did not perish. And why did not all or nearly all perish under such dire conditions? Because they should have, if you look at it rationally. Well, I suggest that is because of the faith of those handcart pioneers, because of the faith of Brigham Young, and because the faith of the rescuers, which each of them had in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, turning first to the faith of the handcart pioneers. Let me read to you what Patience Lowder wrote. She states, "I can testify that our Heavenly Father heard and answered our prayers. And we are blessed with health and strength day by day to endure the severe trials we had to pass through on that terrible journey."

I really love these people. So it stirs my emotions to think of them. "We know that if God had not been with us, that our strength would have failed us and our bodies would be left on the plains. I can say that we put our trust in God, and He heard and answered our prayers." Close quote. Millen Atwood was one of the captains of the Willie Handcart Company and he wrote, and now I quote. "I have walked day by day beside the handcarts as they were rolling. And when the people would get weary, I have seen them by dozens on their knees, by the roadside, crying to the Lord for strength. And there are scores now in this city. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and it seemed as though angels nerved them with strength." Now listen to Elizabeth Jackson's words, another member of these companies. She wrote, "It was so cold that some of the company came near freezing to death. The sufferings of the people were fearful, and nothing but the power of a merciful God kept them from perishing." Close quote. Now the faith of Brigham Young. Some two weeks before the early winter storms hit, Brigham Young learned that these people were out on the plains. He, acting upon an impression of the Spirit at a time when the weather seemed mild, immediately called upon the Saints to act. It was the next day in a general conference, and he called upon the Saints to move as soon as possible, immediately, to save the Saints and the plains and for the wagons to start rolling the next day. Since the weather was relatively mild at the time, as I've already stated, the other leaders at the time that were there, many of them high ranking, did not share his sense of urgency. Nevertheless, he felt it. He acted upon it and communicated the urgency to all who would listen. Now the faith of the rescuers. Often we don't think of them, having just to leave their homes in Salt Lake. The members of the Church in Salt Lake responded to the urgency with which Brother Brigham spoke. They left home, hearth, and family, sacrificing personal safety, comfort, and food-- and remember this is early time pioneers, they did not have a surplus of supplies or food --to answer the call. And within two days of the prophet's call to go and rescue those people on the plains, the first wagons and rescuers were on their way. If they had delayed even a few more days or a week, most, if not all, I am convinced, of the members of the two handcart companies would have perished. As evidence of this, the advanced rescuers that finally located the Willie Handcart company arrived, meeting them for the first time a few hours after they had issued the last ration of flour. Likewise, the Martin Handcart Company when encountered was more abundant, but all but out of food, and the miraculous preservation of the lives of so many of the members of these handcart companies, we see a weaving together of the strands of faith of many people. The faith of the members of the handcart companies brought them a strength beyond their own in the time of their extremity and enabled the vast majority of them to endure. The faith of Brigham Young brought inspiration to move, to foresee the potential calamity and to direct and organize immediate action. And the faith of the rescuers living in Salt Lake City moved them to act immediately at personal sacrifice in response to the direction of the prophet to go and rescue the handcart pioneers. The weaving together of these individual threads of faith, for me, produces a rich, warm, and stunning tapestry of faith. And this tapestry of faith, woven together by their actions in accordance with that faith, brought to all concerned the power of God under their salvation. Now, the storms we encounter in today's world, brothers and sisters, are both temporal and spiritual. And the winds of iniquity and adversity blast us with increasing ferocity, it seems. Those without the fire of faith will find themselves chilled, then freezing, and then perishing. Perhaps, as I ponder this story and the principle of faith, I have thought that this is what Mormon meant when he wrote, and now I quote Mormon, "For no man can be saved [without faith], according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased--" And he's speaking of miracles, the fruits of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, "--if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made." Close quote. With reason, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is identified as the first principle of the gospel. Simply stated, the Lord can bless and work with us only according to our faith in Him. Without faith, we will have no spiritual traction and will be unable to obtain redemption, let alone be blessed by the fruits of that strong faith in the Lord always produces. So what is faith? We all know this from Sunday school, do we not? We read in Alma 32:21 that "faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." The faith of which we speak tonight is rooted firmly, everlastingly in Christ. It is confidence and absolute, unqualified trust in Him which always produces hope and expectation of good and true things to come, including eternal life. This hope produced by faith becomes, and now I quote scripture, "an anchor to our souls, making us sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." In other words, true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will always move us to act righteously with the expectation of Heavenly power and blessing in mortality, and eternal life in the world to come, and to act patiently. With faith, we believe before we see, and we act accordingly. Faith develops and matures, I believe, in three basic steps. First, we must believe or desire to believe in the words of the Savior or his servants. Second, we must experiment upon the word by acting upon it, even if it requires change in our lives. There's a scriptural phrase, "faith unto repentance." And finally, we endure trial. And as we do so, we receive a witness. To quote the writings of Mormon and Moroni. Now there's a witness comes in three levels. One, to know that the word of the gospel is good. Two, to understand that it is true and of God and is eternal. And three, to enjoy the fruits of faith. And the list I've made, and it was a quick little list as I was making this, is all scriptural. But it's a lot longer list and I'm going to read here or at least share with you. The fruits of faith are knowledge, repentance, forgiveness, ordinances, covenants, which bind us to God and to receive of his power and help, the companionship of the Holy Ghost, power, miracles, healing, deliverance, protection, exultation, visions, and increased-- and this is significant in my book, increased capacity to bless others with divine power. Faith in Christ deepens and takes root as we steadily live the gospel, calling upon the Lord for his blessing power, and enduring faithfully the trials that will inevitably and-- yes, doctrinely-- necessarily come. In short, we trust the Lord and in His timing and choose to be a disciple of His, even when the going gets tough. As we do so, we see the hand of the Lord manifest in our lives and we can join with Alma, who told his son, "For the Lord will fulfill his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled the promises which he has made in the past and he does not change." When we learn this truth by our own experience, our faith grows and produces much fruit. One of my ancestors, now turning to another history, one of my ancestors is Christian Jay Larson. And he is an example of the impact of hearing and acting upon the word, even through times of trial. He first heard the gospel preached by Elder George P. Dykes on August 15, 1850 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was moved by what he heard and experienced those swelling emotions that Alma writes about in Alma 32. And four days later, he acted upon it and was baptized. He was the 31st Danish convert in this dispensation. On August 25, some 10 days after first hearing the gospel preached, he was confirmed a member of the Church by Erastus Snow, and his descendent will soon be the Church Historian, which is interesting. By Erastus Snow, on the first sacrament meeting held in Denmark. He was ordained an elder, again by Erastus Snow, and was sent as a missionary to his hometown, where he preached the gospel to his parents. And his mom and dad, the same day they heard the message from their son, were baptized, as was his older sister. He was then sent to Norway in the company of six other Elders to preside over the Brevik Conference Mission and to preach the gospel. Soon after their arrival, they were thrown in jail, where they remained for 6 and a half months. He was jailed for the quote "illegal practice of religion." Close quote. Christian wrote that while he counted it a privilege to suffer for the gospel's sake, he worried that his time in jail would prevent him from spreading the good news to others. But this was a concern he didn't need to be worried about, due to his faith. While he was there, he and his companions who were in jail with him often sang the songs of Zion to keep up their spirits. A pastor by the name of Carl Wittenborg heard their singing through the window of the jail. He was intrigued and visited them in prison. After visiting them for four months, he desired to be baptized. They arranged for his baptism to be performed by some local members. And then later he returned to them so he could be confirmed a member of the Church in the jail cell. He later worked for their release, which he accomplished some two months or so after his baptism. In the meantime, they're still in prison. They preach the gospel to a cellmate whose name was Johann Andreas Jensen. Now, Johann Andreas Jensen was a religious dissident.

I think that's why he was jailed. Now he was not interested at first in what these Mormon elders had to say. But then on one particular occasion in a jail cell meeting, and I'll read from the Scandinavian mission history. It reads, quote, "Elder Christian Larsen testified to the truth of the gospel under the influence of the Holy Ghost and made a lasting impression on him. The brethren continue to converse with Mr. Jensen until they were all brought under a most pleasant and divine influence. Mr. Jensen burst into tears, declaring he knew that what they were saying was true." Close quote. He was baptized, immigrated to America, and one of his daughters married an Andrew C. Nelson, whose grandson, Elder Russell M. Nelson, is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Incidentally, they also baptized three of the jailer's daughters before they left. Upon his release from jail, Chris and Jay Larsen immigrated to America by handcart to join the Saints. As we all know, this was not an easy journey. Now I share this little slice of the faith of Christian J. Larson because they demonstrate to me that the word has a great tendency to foster faith in the hearts and minds of the hearers who allow it to enter his or her heart and then act upon it. It is for this reason that the Lord calls servants, and I'm going to quote scripture, "to bear testimony of Him and by so doing--" I'm still reading Scripture --the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts according to the power thereof." Close quote. Now, Christian spent six months in jail, six and a half, and he could have said something like, I'm in jail and what in the world am I doing here, and how is the Lord manifesting his hand in my life? Yet he succeeded in participating in some key conversions while in jail. In fact, I wondered as I read this story, if Johann Andreas Jensen would have ever accepted the Church if he hadn't been thrown into the jail cell with him. So the Lord works in his ways. We trust Him. We are steady in our faith and trust in Him, and then he works through us and in us. Now, all of us have and will endure trial. We should be highly motivated, therefore, to cultivate and grow our faith, because the Lord, and I'm quoting scripture, "worketh unto the children of according to their faith." One who consistently and steadfastly exercises faith in the Lord through trial, I believe, will join, sooner or later, with the Prophet Jacob in declaring quote "and having all these witnesses, we obtain a hope and our faith becometh unshaken, in so much that we truly can command, in the name of Jesus," now understand, when they say in the name of Jesus, that means if it's His will. We don't command Jesus. We follow him. But we have complete power to do His will according to our faith. We truly can command in the name of Jesus, and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the ways of the sea. Or, in the case of Sister Ann Rowley, two small sea biscuits. She was a widowed mother of eight and a member of the Martin Handcart Company. In addition to pulling a handcart without her husband, she carried the burden of feeding her eight literally starving children on the trail.

She wrote, "It hurt me to see my children go hungry. I watched as they cut the loose rawhide from the cartwheels, roasted off the hair, and chewed the hide. Night was coming." Now she's speaking out on one particular evening. "Night was coming and there was no food for the evening meal. I ask God's help as I always did. I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that had been left over from the sea voyage. They were not large, and were so hard that they couldn't be broken. Surely, that was not enough to feed eight people. But five loaves and two fishes were not enough to feed 5,000 people, either. But through a miracle, Jesus had done it. So with God's help, nothing is impossible. I found the biscuits and put them in a Dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God's blessing. Then I put the lid on the pan and set it on the coals. When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food. I kneeled with my family and thanked God for His goodness. And that night, my family had sufficient food." Now note this, and this is remarkable to me, she did not clench her fist and demand to know, and how will I feed them tomorrow? No. Dear Sister Ann Rowley lived by faith, trusting the Lord, living with the hope that He would do her right. This little slice of her faith-filled life reminds me of the hymn, "Lead Kindly Light." The first stanza reads as follows: "Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom. Lead thou me on. The night is dark and I'm far from home. Lead thou me on. Keep thou my feet. I do not ask to see the distance seen. One step enough for me." The fact that she was grateful for the evening's meal without demanding to see the end from the beginning demonstrates the sustaining power of her faith, even beyond the miraculous supplying of a meal for eight people from two small, hard sea biscuits. Now another important fruit of faith is the shield and protection that it provides us. In today's world, we need the shield of faith, perhaps more than ever, And for this reason the Lord commands us for our eternal good to, quote, "take the shield of faith, wherewith you should be able to--" now listen to this "--quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Yes, all the fiery darts. Yes, be they temporal, spiritual, physical, or intellectual. A Church history story recorded by United Press reporter, dateline, February 8, 1944. Reporter describes the savage slaughter of US Marines as they stormed the beach on the remote island of Kwajalein. The reporter came upon two wounded soldiers, one mortally wounded. And reported that as he watched, the less wounded of the two placed his one good arm on the head of his mortally wounded buddy. Now I quote from the article, "and uttered what to us, seemed to be incredible words, words which to this moment are emblazoned in unforgettable letters across the doorway of my memory. In the name of Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy priesthood which I hold, I command you to remain alive until the necessary help can be obtained to secure the preservation of your life. Today, the three of us," writes the reporter, are here in Honolulu. And he's still alive. He's the wonder of the medical unit force. They say he should be dead. Why he isn't, they don't know. But we do, for we were there, off the shores of Kwajalein." End of quote. The shield of faith, coupled with priesthood power, preserved his life. It can likewise preserve our spirituality, our testimony, and our happiness, and indeed our eternal welfare. And remember the story of Ann Rowley. Sometimes the longed for healing or results that we seek in the moment, don't come. And so we say to Him, I'm grateful for today and I will trust in my tomorrows to thee. And so we trust Him, undeviating trust. Now, in my study of the scriptures, I found three things that debilitate and can even destroy faith. And we are warned against them. And these are one, unbelief; two, fear or doubt; and three, sin. I'll give a brief doctrinal context and then share some stories that demonstrate this. First, Alma teaches that the word, planted in our hearts and acted upon will grow and take root and produce faith unto eternal life unless we cast it out by our unbelief and neglect. It was because of their unbelief that the children of faithful families in the days following King Benjamin's discourse did not accept, and refused to live, the gospel. They're described in the following words in Mosiah, quote, "Because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God." In short, the gospel was nonsense to them. What a tragedy. If they had simply believed. The Lord's antidote is to simply be believing. As King Benjamin taught, believe in God. Believe that he is, that he created all things both in Heaven and in earth. Believe that he has a wisdom and all power both in Heaven and in Earth. Believe that man does not comprehend, there's where trust enters in, all the things which the Lord can comprehend. So we trust Him. Second, we must not fear or doubt. Consider Peter, safely in a boat in a stormy sea, hearing the Lord calling out to them as he walks on the water. I like to imagine scenes as I read these in the scriptures. "Be of good cheer; it is I." And note this injunction from the Lord: "Be not afraid." Imagine now what follows. And I'm going to quote the scripture. "Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Now at least Peter knew, without doubt, that the Savior would rescue him and had the faith to be saved. But he could have avoided the midnight dunking if he just hadn't doubted. In light of the foregoing, the Lord invites us to not focus upon the seas and boisterous winds and waves in our lives, but instead these comforting words: Quote, "Look unto to me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not." Close quote. Third, we must avoid sin like the plague that it is. Moroni, who pointedly writes that he has seen our day and he knows our doing-- he knew the circumstances of life in these latter days-- instructs us to-- now I quote him-- "touch not the evil gift nor the unclean thing." Close quote. Don't even touch it. Why? Because it destroys faith, interrupts the flow of the Spirit and cuts us off from heaven. And we need the power of God. For example, we're taught-- and this is true doctrine-- that a man that looks upon a woman to lust after her or commits adultery in his heart shall not have the Spirit, shall deny the faith, and shall fear.

Thus the invitation comes to us. This is section 136 verse 42 that I'm about to read. Listen, it's a very short verse but it's significant. "Be diligent in keeping all my commandments, lest judgements come upon you, and your faith fail you, and your enemies triumph over you." Some of the handcart pioneers and other pioneers quit on account of unbelief or fear primarily, and perhaps some sin. Millen Atwood made this observation. And I read now his words. "The Saints found a wide difference between singing about going to Zion and actually going. You would almost have thought that they would take wings and fly like doves. But when they really got into the work, the tune was a little different. But the great majority stuck to it." Close quote. Likewise, some of the rescuers traveling in the horrific winter storm turned back before finding the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies. One of them was John Van Cott. Josea Stout records this about him. Quote, "Van Cott justified himself for returning and abandoning the handcart company as he could get no information of them and had concluded they had returned to the States or stopped at Laramie or been killed by Indians. And for him to have gone further was only to lose his team and starve to death himself and do no good after all." Close quote. So why did he turn back, and 77 other wagons? Doubt, fear, or simple unbelief. And frankly, each of those feelings could have been rationally justified in their circumstance and condition. Now on a side note, Brigham Young upon receiving word that 77 wagons had turned back, he sent an express messenger to them to immediately reverse the course and return and continue east to find the beleaguered saints. And he's quoted as saying, quote, "that he did not care if they turned some so quick that they would snap their necks." Closed quote. He continued to feel the urgency. And now, to Brother Van Cott's credit, he did turn around and later contributed to the rescue. Now any of these three-- unbelief, fear, or sinful behavior-- if left unrepentant will destroy the shield of faith. And once faith evaporates, we are at the mercy of the unmerciful, fiery darts of the wicked, be they intellectual, spiritual, temporal, you name it. Now, in contrast to those rescuers who quit is Riddick Allred, one of my heroes. I think he's a hero of all of us. Several years ago then Elder Eyring spoke to us about Riddick Allred. He was assigned to mount a rescue station to give sustenance and relief to the handcart companies as they made their way. He waited and he waited some three weeks in hazardous winter weather. John Van Cott, who had abandoned his rescue mission, passed through the station with Claudia Spencer on the return to Salt Lake. They tried to persuade Riddick Allred to join them in turning back and parenthetically I add, don't they always? Brother Riddick refused. According to his journal, I now read from his journal, "I declined the proposition and advised him--" he's speaking about Claudia Spencer, who was the mouthpiece of those two "--advised him to stay, for the lives of the company depended upon us. He then said that he moved, that I as president of the station that they should center their faith in me, that I should get the word of the Lord to know what we must do. To this I objected, as the Lord already said what he would have us do." Close quote. Such steadfast faith in times of trial, to hope for things not seen but true, in that case literally in a very real way, pierced gale force winds, blew away the snow. Overrode, contrary to evidence, in other words, how could they have survived in summer clothing without food or supplies? Impossible. And overcame, as well, the persuasions of those who had been swayed by unbelief, fear, or sin. Or unbelief and fear, more, I think there. And one of the fruits of such faith is that we will then be in a position, like Riddick Allred, to nurture, rescue, and bless other people. Now, how do you think-- and I've tried to imagine this-- how do you think Riddick Allred felt as handcart pioneers stepped into his station, knowing that he was there to give them life sustaining assistance? And how do you suppose the Lord felt and feels about Riddick Allred? Yes, the faith we exercise in the Lord not only inures to our own benefit, but almost always blesses other others, very often for many generations. I'll read a short little story out of the New Testament to you. "And again he," meaning the Savior, "entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him." I like to imagine, once again, I like to imagine this story in my mind. "And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay." Now, listen to these words. "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." It was the faith of the companions of the stricken man that brought the miracle of healing to him. Elizabeth Jackson, pioneer with the Martin Handcart Company, was widowed on the trail at the death of her husband, leaving her with three children. She became despondent. And at that time of great need, her husband appeared to her in a dream, and it brought her comfort. Encouraged, she endured and made it safely to Salt Lake with all three children. She later wrote, quote, "I will not attempt to describe my feelings at finding myself thus left a widow with three children under such excruciating circumstances. I cannot do it. I appealed to the Lord. He who had promised to be a husband to the widow and her father to the fatherless, I appealed to him. And He came to my aid. I have a desire to leave a record of those scenes and events through which I have passed." Now note this faith blessing others and reaching through generations. "That my children down to my latest posterity may read what their ancestors were willing to suffer and did suffer patiently for the gospel's sake. I hope, too, that it will inspire my posterity to, with fortitude, to stand firm and faithful to the truth and be willing to suffer and sacrifice all things they may be required to pass through for the kingdom of God's sake." End of quote. Elizabeth's faith, I trust, has blessed and fortified her posterity. It has mine. Now, one last story from the international church, if I may share it with you, as we draw to a conclusion here.

Now, I know this family and so it's a little tender there that helped go by. Sister Hooker of Lima Peru is a pioneer woman of the Church. Many, many years ago, probably before the Church began officially in Peru, she read a newspaper article when she was a young woman. The title of the article queried, quote, "Did Christ come to America?" Close quote. Incidentally, it was not an article authored by the Church. At least that's what the family tells me. When she read those words, it felt right. It felt correct. So Sister Hooker cut out the article and placed it in the family Bible. Many years later, when she was a young married mother with children, a knock came at the door. And two young men in white shirts and ties approached her with the Book of Mormon and told her that it contained a history of the visit of Christ to the Americas. She told them to hold on just a minute. And she went back into the house and retrieved the article she long ago placed in the family Bible. She showed the article to the missionaries and asked, "Are you telling me that this is true?" When they replied, yes, she invited them in, and soon thereafter the entire family was baptized, and they have been faithful ever since. Her youngest at the time, a baby, was Cesar Hooker. He's now an Area Seventy in Peru, a great and mighty leader. He is blessed and blesses many others by the power of his testimony and faith, which grows out of the faith of his good mother. Yes, the Lord grants to his followers great faith, both for their own benefit and for the eternal blessing of others, perhaps beginning with their own family.

What we need most in this Church is faith, increased faith. I will quote, "In the on-working of this great cause, increased faith is what we most need. Without it, the work would stagnate. With it, no one can stop its progress." Close quote. That was President Gordon B. Hinckley in October, 2006 Conference. That promise and charge applies to the Church as a whole and to each of us as individuals and families. So what must each of us do? It's not all that complicated. Notice, I didn't say it's not easy. I mean, it's not hard. But it's not complicated. Plant the word in our heart. Be believing. Live the gospel, even and especially as we pass through the inevitable and necessary trials of life and then rejoice in the witness and fruits of faith that surely will come. Now, my dear brothers and sisters, I'll conclude by expressing my witness. I have a great love for those who have gone on before and sacrificed and were fueled in all their sacrifices and effort by their faith in the Lord. That faith brought them power from on high. They're unequivocal in so stating. I want to bear you witness that I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is His Church. Joseph Smith, one of the great exercisers of faith in the Lord, was and is a Prophet of God. Through him the Lord restored light, knowledge, and power. Indeed, the Lord observed that he restored this gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith for an express purpose that comes to my mind and I want to make sure I get it right. So let me look this up, so I said exactly as Lord said it. He said, "Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the Earth," and I think is a calamity as much of faith as anything else, "called upon my servant Joseph Smith Jr. and spake to him from heaven and gave him commandments. And also gave commandments and others that they should proclaim these things unto the world, that faith also might increase in the earth." I want to bear you my witness that I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is as Parley P. Pratt stated, and I've adopted this phrase as my own, the Book of Books has a unique power to bring us. To the King of Kings, and to grow and nurture our faith as we abide by its precepts. I bear witness that we have a Father in Heaven. He is our Father. It is His plan that we are living and he will reward the exercise of faith. And I close by bearing witness that we have a living prophet and that Jesus is the Christ. I cannot fully articulate the depth of my feeling about Him. I love Him with all of my heart. He is the rock of our salvation and of life itself. He is the great ray of hope, even sure hope and expectation of good things to come. I bear witness of His power, of His majesty, and of His goodness. He heals. He makes whole. He blesses and lifts, and I invite each of us to seek Him and to trust Him and to follow Him. Can we do anything less, based on the stories of those who have gone on before? I so testify and invite humbly, and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, I think I ended it just about in the right time for you to ask some questions. Are there any questions you wish to ask?

Yes. This is Hyrum Smith's birthday, April [INAUDIBLE] So I thought this is the appropriate occasion for that. But where you talked about your Christian Larsen being baptized by George Parker Dykes. He apostatized, that is Elder Dr. Dykes apostatized, later on and joined the reorganized Church. I just thought I would make that observation. Thank you. Isn't that a shame? But thank you for telling us that. I'll remember that. That will be little footnote for me. Thank you.

Yes. Eric Denna. Eric and I served in an elders quorum presidency together at BYU. So it's great to see you, Eric.

So you spent some time in South America. Can you share with us what you learned about faith from the Saints in South America? Yeah, but if I do, I'll get all weepy. [LAUGHING]

It's a great question, Eric. And I'm not exactly sure how to answer it. Still pretty tender. I was down there in South America for four years and just returned this last July. And if you look carefully from satellite pictures, you may see fingernail marks all the way up the Continent. And we loved it. And it was a glorious experience. I don't know how to describe it. When you teach someone the principle of tithing, for example. And you invite them to live it and then they do, and they're making below subsistence wages. And yet they lived the law of the tithe. I think of people who journey days or hours or day and a half, three, two day, long, long distances in uncomfortable circumstances to attend the temple, all manifested by their faith. Strong social pressure to not be a member of the Church. And they are. So deep they are. Members who catch the vision and go out and begin ministering to others and bring them back. We've seen great upswing down there of movement by the people. So what have I learned about faith? Is that it is a principle that applies wherever we are in this globe. The Lord knows our name and he loves his people. And we are his people and we make covenants with Him. And He will always, always, always, always fulfill His promises. We can depend on Him. And I've observed that there in spades. I probably should include some stories from South America. I included one I guess. I should include more, I guess. But thanks for the good question, Eric. Yes. Now you served your mission in El Salvador, correct? Have you had a chance to go back and see the changes in the Church since your mission? I have not. To see the Saints there? We had a son serve in Costa Rica and have seen that change dramatically from that time and the growth of the Church service. So what you've done is set a stage for many people the future. Well, me and a lot of other missionaries and the faith of the people themselves. Great, great people. Hopefully someday I'll be able to go back. Any other questions? Yes, Dennis.

Just a bookkeeping question. But you quoted a scripture on, the promises the Lord always fulfilled. Can you tell us the reference on that scripture? Shelly, that's Alma 37 verse 15. It's one of my wife's favorite scriptures. Almo 37, is it 16 or 17? I'll get you the actual verse. In fact, I just noted it in my notes. I don't think I wrote it down. We just know it. 17, verse 17. Actually it's 16. It's 16 or 17. Great question. Any other questions?

All right, well, thank you all for being here tonight. [MUSIC PLAYING]