I asked our records department to tell me
how many college-age youth we have in the
Church.
They responded 1,974,001.
Good, I thought, I will speak to the one.
You may be here in this congregation or somewhere
in any one of 170 countries.
You, the one of nearly two million, are in
the early morning of your life, while I am
in the late evening of mine.
My college life began at Weber College, then
a very small junior college.
World War II had just ended.
Most of the men in our class were recently
returned from military service.
We were, by and large, more mature than college
students of your day.
We had been through the war and carried with
us many memories.
Some of them we held on to; others we were
glad to have fade away.
We were more serious and did not enter into
fun and games as much as you do.
We wanted to get on with our lives and knew
that education was the key.
We took the insignias and labels and sometimes
even the buttons off our uniforms, mixed them
with odds and ends of civilian clothes, and
wore them to school.
That was all we had to wear.
At military training camps, we had been marched
from place to place in formation.
Often we would sing marching songs.
At college, I attended the Institute of Religion
classes.
We had our own marching songs.
I remember one of them:
A root-tee-toot, a root-tee-toot.
Oh, we are boys of the institute.
We don’t smoke, and we don’t chew.
And we don’t go with girls that do.
Some folks say we don’t have fun.
We don’t!
Some laughed with us; others laughed at us.
Whatever ridicule they intended with their
mocking was of no concern to us.
We had gained personal testimonies of the
gospel.
We had decided long since that we would live
the gospel and not be ashamed of the Church
or the history or any part of it.
The whole focus of our lives in the military
had been on destruction.
That is what war is about.
We were inspired by the noble virtue of patriotism.
To be devoted to destruction without being
destroyed yourself spiritually or morally
was the test of life.
I did not serve a mission during those years.
Staying close to the Book of Mormon has, I
think, made up for that.
That witness had come little by little.
Together, my wife and I made our way through
the ordinary challenges of life—getting
through school, finding employment, raising
a family.
You too live in a time of war, the spiritual
war that will never end.
War itself now dominates the affairs of mankind.
Your world at war has lost its innocence.
There is nothing, however crude or unworthy,
that is not deemed acceptable for movies or
plays or music or conversation.
The world seems to be turned upside down.
Formality, respect for authority, dignity,
and nobility are mocked.
Modesty and neatness yield to slouchiness
and shabbiness in dress and grooming.
The rules of honesty and integrity and basic
morality are now ignored.
Conversation is laced with profanity.
You see that in art and literature, in drama
and entertainment.
Instead of being refined, they become coarse.
You have decisions almost every day as to
whether you will follow those trends.
You have many tests ahead.
As a boy, President Joseph F. Smith, son of
Hyrum, came west in 1848 with his widowed
mother.
He was called as a missionary to Hawaii when
he was 15 years of age.
He spent much of the next four years alone.
He was released in 1857 at the age of 19 (just
the age we call missionaries now).
Penniless, he stopped in California to earn
money for warm clothes.
With another man, . . . [Joseph] took passage
in a mail wagon.
They traveled all night, and at daylight stopped
near a ranch for breakfast.
The passenger and the mail carrier began to
prepare breakfast, while Joseph went a short
distance from camp to [gather wood and] look
after the horses.
. . . A wagon load of drunken men from Monte
came in view, on their road to San Bernardino
to kill the “Mormons,” as they boasted.
The oaths and foul language which they uttered,
between their shooting, and the swinging of
their pistols, were almost indescribable.
. . . They were all cursing the “Mormons,”
and uttering boasts of what they would do
when they met them.
They . . . caught sight of the mail wagon.
. . . [His companion] and the mail carrier,
fearing for their safety, had retired behind
the chaparral, leaving all the baggage and
supplies . . . exposed and unprotected.
Just as [one] drunken man approached, [young
Joseph F.] came in view . . . , too late to
hide.
. . . The ruffian was swinging his weapon,
and uttering the most blood-curdling oaths
and threats ever heard against the “Mormons.”
“I dared not run,” says [Joseph F.] Smith,
“though I trembled for fear which I dared
not show.
I therefore walked right up to the camp fire,
and arrived there just a minute or two before
the drunken desperado, who came directly toward
me, and, swinging his revolver in my face,
with an oath cried out: ‘Are you a —— —— —— “Mormon?”’”
[Young Joseph] looked him straight in the
eyes, and answered with emphasis: “Yes,
sir’ee; dyed in the wool; true blue, through
and through.”
The desperado’s arms both dropped by his
sides, as if paralyzed, his pistol in one
hand, and he said in a subdued . . . voice,
offering his hand: “Well, you are the —— —— pleasantest
man I ever met!
Shake.
I am glad to see a fellow stand for his convictions.”
Then he turned and [left].
Joseph F. Smith became the sixth President
of the Church.
His son Joseph Fielding Smith, who wrote the
account I just gave, became the tenth President
of the Church.
I knew President Smith well.
In 1970, he called me to the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles.
You will not face the kind of test that Joseph
F. Smith faced.
In ways, your tests are going to be harder.
The Book of Mormon became the cornerstone
of my testimony.
In the eighth chapter of 1 Nephi, read about
Lehi’s dream.
He told his family, “Behold, I have dreamed
a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a
vision."
You may think that Lehi’s dream or vision
has no special meaning for you, but it does.
You are in it; all of us are in it.
Nephi said, “[All scripture is likened]
unto us, that it might be for our profit and
learning."
Lehi’s dream or vision of the iron rod has
in it everything a young Latter-day Saint
needs to understand the test of life.
Lehi saw:
A great and spacious building,
A path following a river,
A mist of darkness,
An iron rod which led through the mist of
darkness,
The tree of life, “whose fruit was desirable
to make one happy."
Read it carefully; then read it again.
If you hold to the rod, you can feel your
way forward with the gift of the Holy Ghost,
conferred upon you at the time you were confirmed
a member of the Church.
The Holy Ghost will comfort you.
You will be able to feel the influence of
the angels, as Nephi did, and feel your way
through life.
The Book of Mormon has been my iron rod.
Lehi saw great multitudes of people “pressing
forward” toward the tree.
The great and spacious building
was filled with people, both old and young,
both male and female; and their manner of
dress was exceedingly fine; and they were
in the attitude of mocking and pointing their
fingers towards those who had come at and
were partaking of the fruit.
One word in this dream or vision should have
special meaning to you young Latter-day Saints.
The word is after.
It was after the people had found the tree
that they became ashamed, and because of the
mockery of the world they fell away.
And after they had tasted of the fruit they
were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing
at them; and they fell away into forbidden
paths and were lost.
And great was the multitude that did enter
into that strange building.
And after they did enter into that building
they did point the finger of scorn at me and
those that were partaking of the fruit also;
[that was the test, and then Lehi said] but
we heeded them not.
[And that was the answer.]
Lehi’s son, Nephi, wrote:
I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see,
and hear, and know of these things, by the
power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift
of God unto all those who diligently seek
him.
For he that diligently seeketh shall find;
and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded
unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost,
as well in these times as in times of old,
and as well in times of old as in times to
come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is
one eternal round.
All of the symbolism in Lehi’s dream was
explained to his son Nephi, and Nephi wrote
about it.
At your baptism and confirmation, you took
hold of the iron rod.
But you are never safe.
It is after you have partaken of that fruit
that your test will come.
I think now and then of one of our classmates—very
bright, good looking, faithful in the Church,
and drenched with talent and ability.
He married well and rose quickly to prominence.
He began to compromise to please the world
and please those around him.
They flattered him into following after their
ways, which were the ways of the world.
Sometimes it is so simple a thing as how you
groom yourself or what you wear, such as a
young woman teasing her hair endlessly to
give the impression that it has not been combed
or a young man dressing in slouchy clothes,
wanting to be in style.
Somewhere in little things, my classmate’s
grasp on the iron rod loosened a bit.
His wife held on to the rod with one hand
and on to him with the other.
Finally, he slipped away from her and let
go of the rod.
Just as Lehi’s dream or vision predicted,
he fell away into forbidden paths and was
lost.
Largely because of television, instead of
looking over into that spacious building,
we are, in effect, living inside of it.
That is your fate in this generation.
You are living in that great and spacious
building.
Who wrote this incredible vision?
There is nothing like it in the Bible.
Did Joseph Smith compose it?
Did he write the Book of Mormon?
That is harder to believe than the account
of angels and golden plates.
Joseph Smith was only 24 years old when the
Book of Mormon was published.
You will be safe if you look like and groom
like and act like an ordinary Latter-day Saint:
dress modestly, attend your meetings, pay
tithes, take the sacrament, honor the priesthood,
honor your parents, follow your leaders, read
the scriptures, study the Book of Mormon,
and pray, always pray.
An unseen power will hold your hand as you
hold to the iron rod.
Will this solve all your problems?
Of course not!
That would be contrary to the purpose of your
coming into mortality.
It will, however, give you a solid foundation
on which to build your life.
The mist of darkness will cover you at times
so much that you will not be able to see your
way even a short distance ahead.
You will not be able to see clearly.
But you can feel your way.
With the gift of the Holy Ghost, you can feel
your way ahead through life.
Grasp the iron rod, and do not let go.
Through the power of the Holy Ghost, you can
feel your way through life.
We live in a time of war, that spiritual war
that will never end.
Moroni warned us that the secret combinations
begun by Gadianton
are had among all people.
Wherefore, O ye Gentiles [and the term gentile
in that place in the Book of Mormon refers
to us in our generation], it is wisdom in
God that these things should be shown unto
you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins,
and suffer not that these murderous combinations
shall get above you.
Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye
shall see these things come among you that
ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation,
because of this secret combination which shall
be among you.
Atheists and agnostics make nonbelief their
religion and today organize in unprecedented
ways to attack faith and belief.
They are now organized, and they pursue political
power.
You will be hearing much about them and from
them.
Much of their attack is indirect in mocking
the faithful, in mocking religion.
The types of Sherem, Nehor, and Korihor live
among us today.
Their arguments are not so different from
those in the Book of Mormon.
You who are young will see many things that
will try your courage and test your faith.
All of the mocking does not come from outside
of the Church.
Let me say that again: All of the mocking
does not come from outside of the Church.
Be careful that you do not fall into the category
of mocking.
The Lord promised, “If ye are prepared ye
shall not fear."
Even Moroni faced the same challenge.
He said, because of his weakness in writing,
I fear . . . the Gentiles shall mock at our
words.
[And the Lord said to him:] Fools mock, but
they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient
for the meek, that they shall take no advantage
of your weakness;
And if men come unto me I will show unto them
their weakness.
I give unto men weakness that they may be
humble; and my grace is sufficient for all
men that humble themselves before me; for
if they humble themselves before me, and have
faith in me, then will I make weak things
become strong unto them.
Embedded in that dream or vision is the “pearl
of great price."
Lehi and Nephi saw:
A virgin bearing a child in her arms,
One who should prepare the way—John the
Baptist,
The ministry of the Son of God,
Twelve others following the Messiah,
The heavens open and angels ministering to
them,
The multitudes blessed and healed,
And the Crucifixion of the Christ.
All of this they saw in dream or vision.
And they saw the wisdom and pride of the world
opposing His work.
And that is what we face now.
Now to you, the one of two million, I speak
individually.
Just as the prophets and apostles in times
past did, “we talk of Christ, we rejoice
in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy
of Christ, . . . that our children may know
to what source they may look for a remission
of their sins."
Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost;
wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.
Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the
words of Christ; for behold, the words of
Christ will tell you all things what ye should
do.
[And then Nephi added:] Wherefore, now after
I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand
them it will be because ye ask not, neither
do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought
into the light, but must perish in the dark.
For behold, again I say unto you that if ye
will enter in by the way, and receive the
Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things
what ye should do.
You live in an interesting generation where
trials will be constant in your life.
Learn to follow the promptings of the Holy
Ghost.
It is to be a shield and a protection and
a teacher for you.
Never be ashamed or embarrassed about the
doctrines of the gospel or about the standards
that we teach in the Church.
You always, if you are faithful in the Church,
will be that much different from the world
at large.
You have the advantage of being assured that
you can be inspired in all of your decisions.
You have many decisions ahead of you—small
decisions that have to do with getting through
school, finding a life’s companion, finding
an occupation, settling in, raising children
in a world that is turned upside down.
Your children will be exposed so much more
than we were in our generation.
We notice, as we travel about the Church,
that our young people are stronger than heretofore.
When I hear them speak in conferences and
in sacrament meeting, I hear them quote the
scriptures, and I hear them protecting the
standards.
I do not hear the cynical mocking that is
typical of those who are not faithful and
not truly converted.
We preside over a Church of twelve million-plus
and growing.
The Church is out in the world.
Much of it is international now.
Most of the members of the Church, by that
standard, live a different life than you do.
Many of them do not have the opportunity of
going to college, but they live the gospel.
And it is a wonderful, powerful thing to see
them and to be among them.
As we think of you young Latter-day Saints
and think of the Book of Mormon and think
of the dream or vision that Lehi had, we see
that there are prophecies in there that can
be specifically applied to your life.
Read it again, beginning with the eighth chapter
of 1 Nephi, and read on to the counsel that
is given.
The Book of Mormon talks about life after
death: what happens to the spirit and what
happens in the spirit world . All of the things
that you need to know are there.
Read it, and make it a part of your life.
Then the criticism or mocking of the world,
the mocking of those in the Church, will be
of no concern to you as it is of no concern
to us.
We just move forward doing the things which
we are called to do and know that the Lord
is guiding us.
I pray the blessings of the Lord upon you
in your work.
I pray the blessings of the Lord upon you
in your life as you move forward from the
morning of your life, where you are now, to
the late evening of your life, where I am
now, that you will know that the gospel of
Jesus Christ is true.
You will face many great and tumultuous and
difficult things in your life, and you will
also enjoy great inspiration and joy in your
life.
You are better than we were.
I have the conviction that against what was
surely coming and the prophecies that were
given, the Lord has reserved special spirits
to bring forth at this time to see that His
Church and kingdom are protected and moved
forward in the world.
As a servant of the Lord, I invoke His blessings
upon you and bear testimony to you that the
gospel is true, in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
