My brethren and sisters:

A few years ago I boarded an ocean liner in Liverpool, England. On board was a group of missionaries, returning home after serving two years or more in the missions of Europe. I noticed one of these men standing on the upper deck, looking to the eastward. He seemed a bit crestfallen. As I approached him, I said, "Are you homesick for the mission field?" "Well, not exactly," he said, "but it has suddenly occurred to me that I may never see those people again."

He had spent two and one-half years in Norway. He had made many friends, and many of them had befriended and cared for him during his period of missionary service. To leave them was an ordeal that he had not contemplated. "I may never see them again, and today my heart is over there," he said.

It is a common experience with missionaries who invariably have strong attachments to the people among whom they have labored.

Benefits of missionary service

The Church has moved ahead since its organization in 1830. Its program has been constructive and far-reaching. The missionary spirit is still strong in its members. Most young men and many young women look forward to a missionary opportunity. They know the benefits derived from such service.

The greatest project ever launched by the Savior was when he sent his chosen apostles into the world with the injunction, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel of the kingdom to every creature.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."  Mark 16:15-16

It was a gigantic task, requiring faith, courage, and conviction.

I need not tell you that their labors were effective. What they said and did revolutionized the world. Before many centuries had passed, the name of Jesus Christ was known all over the civilized world. Churches, cathedrals, and monuments were erected to preserve and honor his memory. A confusion, however, had arisen in these Christian churches. There were many sects, each one claiming to have the right way to salvation. There was a lack of unity and purpose.

Obligation to teach restored gospel

In the blaze of the nineteenth century, Joseph Smith appeared. He claimed that the churches called Christian had broken the laws and changed the everlasting gospel.  Isa. 24:5 This was in fulfillment of prophecy. The obligation resting upon the Latter-day Saints is to teach the restored gospel. I feel I can conscientiously and truthfully say that the restored Church is discharging this great responsibility. Within a year after its organization missionaries were in the field, often without purse or scrip, announcing the restoration of divine truth. Their success was phenomenal. The Church grew and prospered through a missionary system that has no parallel in religious history.

Foreign countries were visited. Opposition mounted. In some cases mobs assembled. Newspapers carried on tirades of abuse. Persecution raged; even churches were hostile. But the young church, organized under God's direction, grew and prospered and finally moved to the Rocky Mountains, as prophesied by the Prophet Joseph Smith; and the work of regeneration was on its way.

Work moving forward

The Church is well organized and equipped to carry on its mission to the world. Generally speaking, it has been successful, and the gospel of the kingdom is going forth in preparation for Christ's coming in these the last days. Many barriers have been removed since those hard times when it was first introduced under the leadership of Joseph Smith, a young prophet.

When God has a message for his children on the earth, a prophet is chosen and authorized to deliver that message. In the eyes of God he is a great man, a true servant, but before men, he is often an outcast, persecuted, maligned, and misunderstood. He is often a victim of abuse and falsehood, but he is unconquerable as he faces the forces of opposition.

The modern prophet, Joseph Smith, was no exception. The powers of evil were arrayed against him. He withstood them and did the work assigned him.

He could not fail, for the hour had come when the God of heaven and earth would establish his work to redeem humanity. That work is moving forward, brethren and sisters, and will continue its onward march until it has filled the earth, and nothing can stay its progress.

I so testify in great humility, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.