Elder Charles A. Callis.

(President of Southern States Mission.)

In the D&C, the Lord tells us that we offend Him when we do not acknowledge His hand in the events which shape our lives. We live in a day of miracles, but unfortunately the hearts of the people have waxed gross, and their ears dull, that they do not perceive the hand of the Almighty in the events which are transpiring. I believe that the deliverance of Washington's army by the fog, when misfortune faced him, was miraculous, as was the cloud and the pillar of fire that came between the fleeing Israelites and the pursuing Egyptians. Hundreds of years before the coming of the Redeemer in the flesh Nephi uttered this splendid prophecy: "In the day that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass." And so Jesus said to the people, "If any man will do the will of the Father he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." Isaiah predicted the coming of Jesus, he predicted His life's work; and Peter having obeyed the will of God could say so grandly to his Master, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." When Jesus passed away, what power was it that upheld Peter and his fellow-apostles in declaring and testifying, and sealing their testimony with their life's blood. What power was it that called them to adhere to this testimony? It was the power of God. It was the power of the Holy Ghost by which, the Prophet Joseph tells us, angels speak; therefore they speak the truth.

It must be borne in mind that Isaiah predicted the mission of Joseph Smith, the prophet of God, as well as the mission of Jesus the Redeemer: and so the prophesy of Nephi holds good in this case, too, that men should know of a surety when all the prophecies of Isaiah should be fulfilled. So we behold the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, faithful unto death to their testimony, speaking in the fear of God, because Nephi's promise had been richly fulfilled in them, and they knew by the power of God, they knew by the gift of the Holy Ghost that this book was translated by the gift and power of God. This testimony has come to the Saints of God, the testimony that they do know that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

Jesus said, speaking of His second coming: "And He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Those angels have come; that mighty angel Moroni brought the Book of Mormon; and the prophets of God predicted that when this book should come forth, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, the gathering of Israel from their long dispersion would commence. In the Kirtland Temple, Moses appeared unto the Prophet Joseph Smith and delivered unto him the keys of the gathering, and the people of God are engaged in this great, this noble, this mighty work, supported by the knowledge, by the surety that this work is of God and that it is the power of God unto salvation. Look at the ministry of the elders in the field, your sons and daughters, my brethren and sisters. Truly their ministry is a miracle, when we contemplate the fact that they are there in the world outside, you might say, of the sphere of influence which the priesthood wields at home. Men have said that the elders belong to the Church largely, because of their fathers and their mothers, because of the influence of the authorities of the Church. Then I ask, what power sustains them in the world when surrounded by strangers, by enemies in many cases? What power sustains them in delivering their testimony? What power magnifies them in the eyes of the people, and blesses them with power and influence in the preaching of the Gospel? It is the power of the Christ. Not long ago I stood on the streets of Ohio assisting a young elder to hold an open-air meeting. As that boy, 20 years old, stood before that vast congregation, preaching the Gospel, with the love of God and innocence stamped upon his features, the tears rolled from my eyes, and I said to myself would to God that his father and mother could look upon their son at this moment.

The spirit, the missionary spirit, is in this Church; it is the greatest spirit of all. Why? Because this Church has a mission: it is the great missionary in the world to prepare a people for the second coming of the Son of God. Last fall the Southern States Mission was honored by the visit of President Joseph F. Smith, President Charles W. Penrose, Elders George Albert Smith and Joseph F. Smith, Jr., of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishop, C. W. Nibley. In the great cities of Memphis, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Jacksonville, the people turned out in multitudes to listen to the word of the Lord. Up to that time no general public invitation of that kind had been issued to the people of those great cities; and when the President of the Church stood there and preached the Gospel to those congregations of Gentiles to men who were prominent in the business and professional life of those cities, to men who stood high in society and in governmental affairs, when I heard the President of the Church and his counselor, and the other brethren, preach the Gospel to them as missionaries, in the true missionary spirit, I felt to rejoice, because I knew that God was with His servants and that they were delivering His message to the people.

Talk about their being something in "Mormonism!" Why, the Gentiles know there is something in "Mormonism." If every man, not in the Church, who believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, I say, if every man who believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God would come into the Church, the membership of this Church would be added to by tens of thousands; for the knowledge that Joseph was a prophet is deepening in the world, it is taking hold of the minds of men. This Book of Mormon, with the Bible, is confounding false doctrine; it is opening the eyes of the people; it is causing those that erred to come to understanding; it is causing those that murmur to learn doctrine and be blessed of the Lord. One of our Southern statesmen told President Smith that he had been to Utah, he said: "President Smith, as I surveyed the achievements of your people, as I looked at what 'Mormonism' had done for the people, and what it had done for the country, I felt that there was power in 'Mormonism,' and power for good." My brethren and sisters, that statesman who declared that truth is only one of many who feel the same way.

I rejoice in the glory of God. I love to see this Church grow in influence and in power. When men honor my leaders, the leaders of this Church, they honor me; for as we help to build up the work of the Lord we build up ourselves. This people must rise as a people, some must not pull down while others lift up; we must all rise together, keep the commandments of God and discharge our duties. I thank God for this missionary spirit. I bear you my testimony, my brethren and sisters, that the authorities of this Church have the missionary spirit, and in that spirit this people will succeed. In that faith they will go forth to perfection.

I beg of you, fathers and mothers, to write good letters to your sons; write them Gospel letters, not gossip. Write them good Gospel letters, filled with the spirit, and filled with encouragement. Oh the beautiful letters that come from the mothers! What splendid faith they have. It happens once in awhile, that an elder lays down his life in the field; he dies at his post of duty. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, the faith of the mother rises to heights of sublimity. Her son, who is to his mother even as the apple of her eye, is brought home to her in death. That mother's sublime faith-it pierces the heavens, so to speak, and she beholds, in her sorrow, the power of God, and with an eye of faith, which all the mothers of Israel have, she looks upon her son, cold in death, yet she knows that God's rich promises in her son shall be fulfilled in God's own time and in His way. She knows that what God has begun in her darling son He will finish in glory, in honor, and in exaltation; for she knows the holy ordinances by which this may be brought about.

I desire to praise the Lord all the days of my life. I love God; I love my brethren; I love the people of the Lord; for they are the best people on the face of the earth.

"I'll praise my Maker, while I've breath, And when my voice is lost in death Praise shall employ my noblest powers, My days of praise shall ne'er be past, While life and thought and being last Or immortality endures."

Amen.

The congregation sang the hymn:

The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.

Benediction was pronounced by Elder Walter P. Monson.

Conference adjourned until Tuesday, April 6th, at 10 a. m.