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This is Elder LeGrand Richards' first General Conference Address. In it, he responds to a call to preside over the Southern States Mission. Note that this address is delivered years before his call as a General Authority.
My brethren and sisters, I have no words at my command to adequately express my appreciation for the honor that has come to me in being considered worthy to preside over the great Southern States Mission of this Church, to succeed President Charles A. Callis, who has been called to labor as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.
I have always enjoyed missionary work. This is the fourth time I have had the privilege of going into the mission field, and I have loved that work, and love it dearly.
During this conference, reference has been made to the great work which has been established in these latter days, and especially to the mission of the Prophet Elijah, who came to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; and the work of Moses, the prophet, who visited the Prophet Joseph Smith and brought the keys of the gathering of Israel in these the latter days. Reference has been made to the establishment of the Church here in the valleys of the mountains, demonstrating how the spirit of Moses has moved upon the membership of this Church when they have heeded the testimony of the Elders in foreign lands. Many of those who are here today have been gathered from the lands of the earth, through the call of the missionaries.
Testimony has been given showing how marvelously those in the world, not only members of the Church, but men and women everywhere, have contributed of their means for the gathering of genealogy, and genealogical societies have been organized and records kept, all through the spirit that came by the restoration of the keys brought by Elijah the prophet. This great revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith was given in the Kirtland temple ninety-eight years ago last Tuesday, at which time the Prophet Elias who conferred upon him and Oliver Cowdery the keys of the Gospel of Abraham, and told them that through them and their seed all generations after them should be blessed. As I understand it, the mission of Elias, the prophet, relates to the missionary work of the Church, to cry repentance to the world, and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
During the last three months that I have spent in the Southern States Mission it has been a great joy to me to meet the missionaries who are laboring there, to hear their experiences, to feel of their faith, and to listen to their testimonies. I have gone into the various districts of that mission and have brought together the missionaries, told them to unburden their hearts and let me know their feelings toward the Church, even from their very youth. I want to bear witness to you, my brethren and sisters, that if the fathers and mothers of those missionaries could have attended our meetings and listened to the testimonies of their boys and girls, they would have been grateful to the Lord for the manner in which this spirit of Elias, the prophet, of preaching the gospel of preparation, is in their hearts.
I have in mind, at the present time, the testimony given by one of the young men in South Carolina, who bore a beautiful testimony of the Gospel. After the meeting was over he drew from his pocket the picture of a man sitting in a wheel chair, a cripple. He said he was a boy of a large family at home, and that he could see no opportunity of going into the mission field. One day this brother approached him and asked him if he would be willing to go on a mission, if the bishop would call him, and he would pay the expenses. He said: "That man will never know the feeling of gratitude I have in my heart toward him, that he has made it possible for me to have this wonderful experience." This good brother is laboring at home here in Zion, working as a tailor, and has chosen this course of gathering up "treasures in heaven, where moth and rust doth not corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal."
This spirit of missionary work, I believe, has penetrated into every home of the Latter-day Saints, and almost into every heart. From the day we carry our little ones up to be blessed in the sacrament meetings, we rejoice when the Elders of the Church pray for our boys and girls, that they might grow up to become ambassadors of truth in the earth.
I met another young man presiding over one of the districts, who related this incident: He said there was a good Scandinavian sister in his town, who wanted to send a missionary into the mission field, so she came to him and asked him if he would be willing to go and represent her. He is a wonderful missionary, and after he arrived in the field this good sister passed away, but before doing so, she left enough money in the bank for him to complete his mission. When I heard him bear witness to the Saints that his missionary work had been the very happiest time of all his life, I could not help but wonder if this good sister might not be aware of the wonderful contribution she had made, in making this great experience possible for him.
This spirit of sacrifice for missionary work is not confined to the older members of the Church. One young man stated that when he was attending college, he and his young lady discussed the advisability of getting married, since he had a brother in the mission field in Europe, and felt that it would not be possible for him to go on a mission for years. This young lady said: "You go on your mission and I will earn the money to keep you in the mission field." I believe that young lady is laying away treasures in heaven.
I met a young lady here yesterday who has the spirit of this missionary work. She was preparing to go on a mission, and the bishop spoke to her married brother about going, but he didn't see how he could go without help. So this young woman not only agreed to help, him On his mission, but also to help his wife and little babies while he is away.
One lady missionary bore witness that when she was called to go into the mission field she was in the beauty parlor business with her sister, and that they owed $2000. The sister said: "You go," and she went. She said that her sister had not only been able to keep her, but had also paid off the $2000 while she had been in the mission field.
One young man said that his mother died when he was a very small boy. Before she passed away she called him to her bedside. She said: "My boy, I will never leave you;" and he bore witness that he was convinced that his mother had been with him during all his missionary labors. He said: "The greatest hope I have in my life"--and tears flowed from his eyes as he said it--"is that I might return home and have my father put his arms around me and say: 'Well done'."
Another boy said that all his life he had wanted to go on a mission. His father had wanted him to go, but his father died recently. He said when he received his call he had a dream in which he saw his father, and he said: "My son, I will share this mission with you."
This spirit of missionary work is not only felt in the mission field, but one of our young men testified that after he had gone into the mission field, two of his older brothers had become active in the Church because of the letters he had written home.
Another young man said his bishop called him to bear his testimony, before leaving. He told the bishop he had no testimony. When he finally wrote a letter home and said he had received a testimony of the Gospel, his brother, who had been inactive in the Church said: "The Gospel must be true or he would never say it is."
Now my time is up. I rejoice in the marvelous spirit of this missionary work. I know this work is true, and I thank God, from the bottom of my heart, for the privilege of laboring with these fine young men and women, your sons and daughters, in the Southern States Mission. God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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