My brethren and sisters, I presume as we come to the end of a three-day conference, and the seventh session, those who are present represent the survival of the fittest.

With all my heart I love, support, and sustain President Joseph Fielding Smith as prophet, seer, and revelator and President of the Church, and the two noble men who stand at his side in the First Presidency. I know they are great men of God who will lead the Church forward and upward under the inspiration of heaven.

I talk to the subject "A World Message."

Missionary work

Missionary work—the preaching of the gospel—has been the major activity of the true Church of Christ whenever the gospel has been upon the earth. Prophets of God and numerous other ambassadors of truth have preached the word "in season, out of season."  2 Tim. 4:2

The resurrected Lord in his final instructions to his apostles, before his ascension, emphasized the great importance of missionary work. Matthew, in the last two verses of his Gospel, summarizes these important instructions in these words:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen"  Matt. 28:19-20 italics added).

Mark, in his record, states:

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

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

And so it has been in every gospel dispensation. Preaching the saving principles of the gospel has ever been a great responsibility of first importance.

Responsibility of restored Church

It is true in this gospel dispensation. Following the glorious appearance of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, it appears that the first great responsibility placed upon the restored Church was to carry the gospel to the world—to all our Father's children.

It has truly been a great drama of transcendent importance—a drama of sacrifice, joy, hardship, courage, and above all, love of fellowmen. Nowhere upon the face of the earth will you find a human drama to equal it. Yes, it has cost blood, sweat, and tears to carry forth this labor of love. And why have we done it? Because the God of heaven has commanded it; because he loves his children, and it is his will that the teeming millions of the earth shall have opportunity to hear and, of their own free will, accept and live the glorious saving and exalting principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To the Prophet Joseph Smith he, even Jesus Christ whose name the Church bears, proclaimed:

"And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."  D&C 133:37

"Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear!"  D&C 1:11

"And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days."  D&C 1:4

"That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers."  D&C 1:23

Response of members

These are direct commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose second coming is near. In response to these commands and with a knowledge of the blessings of the gospel, we, as members of his church, will continue to respond.

This is why hundreds of thousands of missionaries have gone forth to the nations of the earth at the expenditure of millions of dollars from their modest means. This is why the First Presidency of the Church even during the last world war declared, "No act of ours or of the Church must ever interfere with this God-given mandate."

It is in very deed a mandate to his church. It will be carried out. No power on earth or in hell can stop this work or thwart the purposes of the Lord to have his soul-satisfying gospel message go to his children. It may take war, commotion, disasters in many forms to bring it about. But the purposes of God will be achieved. His children will hear the gospel of salvation in his own due time.

God at the helm

The time must surely come when the Iron Curtain will be melted down and the Bamboo Curtain shattered. What the Lord has decreed will he fulfilled. To members of the Church and honest-hearted people everywhere, we remind you that God is at the helm—he is not dead—and he has said, "Be still, and know that I am God."  Ps. 46:10 To us in this day he has declared:

"Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand."  D&C 27:15

To the thousands throughout the world who are accepting the gospel; to faithful missionaries everywhere and devoted families who support them: go forward with faith and courage. You are engaged in the greatest work in all the world—the saving of the souls of the children of men. In this great work we cannot fail.

Need for gospel

Our Father's children need the gospel. They long for, and want, the security and inner peace that only the gospel can bring. Our Father's children are essentially good. I have visited with them in some sixty nations on both sides of the Iron Curtain. True, some are in bondage under despotic, Godless leaders, but they want to live in peace, to be good neighbors. They love their homes and their families. They want to improve their standard of living. In their hearts they want to do what is right. I know the Lord loves them, and as his humble servant I have a love in my heart for the teeming millions of this world.

Prophecies being fulfilled

I have sensed this feeling anew and more strongly than ever, as I have mingled with the humble, sweet-spirited people of Asia during the past two years. I have seen, at close range, the manner in which the Lord has turned disasters—war, occupation, and revolution—into blessings. Prophecies of the Lord are being fulfilled. The gospel is reaching peoples who a few years ago seemed unreachable. In spite of powerful traditions, religious dogmas, and ancient national policies, great changes have come over entire nations. Miracles are happening before our very eyes. The Lord is working great wonders, and his children are rejoicing as the blessings of the gospel touch their lives. It is marvelous to behold. Let me illustrate.

In the prophetic revelation referred to by the Lord as "my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth"  D&C 1:6 the Lord called out in these words: "Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together"  D&C 1:1

People in Asian lands

These significant words fit the Asian countries remarkably. "Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together."

Many times reference has been made to these prophetic words in the past two years as I have made five visits to these Asian lands as a church leader and two earlier visits as a cabinet official. I thought of the words "ye people from afar" as we visited Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, India, and so on, and was told by our travel agent we could return to Salt Lake City by traveling either east or west—"the distance is about the same." I thought of this as I presented the King of Thailand with a copy of Joseph Smith's testimony—off the press the day before—the first Church publication in the Thai language.

"islands of the sea"

". . . and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together." How these words—and similar words from the Book of Mormon  2 Ne. 29:7,11have come to mind in the past two years, in the island nation of Japan at a youth conference before 800 youth, as we listened to 125 personal testimonies in a four-hour testimony meeting, which closed in order to permit a scheduled public meeting to start, leaving 85 young people wanting to add their testimonies.

We were reminded of the words "islands of the sea" as I dedicated the land of Singapore last April, where we already have two congregations and a new church building underway.

Again we thought of the words of the Lord, "islands of the sea," as we visited Taiwan and attended a district conference with over two thousand in attendance in Manila in the Philippines—some forty million people on seven thousand islands. Again the words "islands of the sea" crowded in upon us as we were welcomed by friendly leaders to dedicate the land of fourteen thousand islands in Indonesia—a land that has recently passed through a blood bath to try to rid this freedom-loving people of godless Communism.

A visit with the leader of Free China on the island of Taiwan and the increasing membership of the Church in Hong Kong, Korea, and elsewhere show these friendly, humble, courageous people are heeding the call of the Lord and are "listen[ing] together."

The door now open

There has never been a time until now when the Church has had the strength and means to reach out effectively to the Asian nations. In the timetable of the Lord, the door is now open, and this is apparently the day for work in Asia. Each visit has been more encouraging and inspirational than the last. The work is expanding, and further expansion is in the offing. In each of the countries the tremendous truth is an inspiration. This is where tie people are—by the hundreds of millions—one-third of the population of the world. Of course, from the total standpoint of population, we are just getting started.

My wife and I have just returned from three inspirational but busy weeks in the Asian missions. The five missions were increased to six four months ago and have just increased to eight, with the expectation of at least one more within a year. This indicates the growth that is taking place in these areas.

Expo '70

While in Japan I was joined by three General Authorities and three other leaders who made up the invited official Church representation appointed by the First Presidency to attend the grand opening March 14 of the world's fair known as Expo '70—the first world's fair in Asia and said to be the largest world's fair ever.

The day before, March 13, the seven of us, members of our families, distinguished fair officials, mayors of cities, representatives of the press, and as many members and friends of the Church as space permitted—some 600-attended the dedication of the Mormon-Pavilion. Because of its location, architecture—with a figure of the Angel Moroni atop a high spire—and our challenging theme, "Man's Search For Happiness," it will, no doubt, be a popular fair attraction. Some 20,000 visited our pavilion the first day, and over 43,000 the first Saturday. Our great concern is to be able to take care of the great numbers—estimated at five to eight million—who are expected to want to enter our building. Already the film Man's Search for Happiness—filmed with Japanese characters—is being shown in cultural halls and elsewhere in an effort to partially satisfy those who may not be able to gain admission. We confidently expect the referrals and requests for missionaries to reach into hundreds of thousands.

Interest of officials

As we enjoyed the inspiring dedicatory services, I recalled the several contacts with fair officials in luncheons, dinners, etc., and their gracious cooperation—the Osaka, Japan, press conference the night before the ground-breaking service, when 29 representatives of the press and mass media kept us for an hour and a half, asking intelligent questions about the Church and our people and especially our pavilion theme. Later that evening many of the press met us as we dedicated the new Okainachi Mormon chapel. Again they were with us the next day at the official ground-breaking service. Here six high Expo '70, government, and civic officials made speeches and paid tribute to the Church. They told of man's eternal search for happiness and emphasized they were pleased "the Mormons are coming to Expo '70 to tell us all how to find happiness." And as the missionaries commented, "We will in very deed show them how to find happiness."

With one half million copies of the Book of Mormon pledged and ready, millions of pamphlets and tracts on hand, and scores of dedicated guides and hundreds of missionaries who will follow up on referrals, truly the "people from afar" on "the islands of the sea" will "listen together"  D&C 1:1 and be welcomed to membership in the Church.

Work in Japan

In Japan the Church has been well-established in two missions and several districts. A few days ago two more missions were organized. Four missions on the islands of Japan and Okinawa will permit more intensive work in response to the increasing interest. There are nearly fourteen million people in the immediate vicinity of Tokyo and Yokohama, where we have good leadership and a stable organization. A new stake was organized in Tokyo, Sunday, March 15. The leaders of that stake are here at this conference—as they said, literally walking on air, they are so happy. A second Asian stake has been authorized in Manila in the Philippines, where we baptized some fourteen hundred new converts in 1969. Other stakes to carry on the full, rich program of the Church will be created in other Asian countries. Anticipating the creation of a separate mission in Free China, construction of a new mission home has been approved for Taipei.

Japan now has over twelve thousand members of the Church. There are four thousand in Korea, nearly six thousand in the Philippines, some four thousand in Hong Kong, and more than that in Taiwan. A beginning has been made in Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. We have strong congregations on Okinawa, and a nucleus of Vietnamese have come into the Church. Our servicemen in Korea laid the foundation for the Church there; and when peace comes to Vietnam, we shall find the way prepared for the spreading of truth among that people.

Mormon servicemen

Mormon servicemen, God bless them, throughout these nations are laying the foundation for effective proselyting as they help to construct chapels and make friends and converts for the Church. On a recent tour, visits were made to six installations in Thailand. We have three well-operating districts of servicemen in Vietnam. Some one thousand are registered for the Asian Servicemen's Conference to be held at Mt. Fuji, Japan, April 9-12, next weekend.

The missions of Asia are getting high-type, devoted, and, in some cases, prominent converts. One little branch of 50 members in Korea has five college professors. The land of Indonesia, with 130 million people, was dedicated October 26, 1969, for the preaching of the gospel. The work has started with a few missionaries in Djakarta. More missionaries are needed. A new mission has been established with headquarters in Singapore.

Foundation for expansion

We are building up substantial congregations, and the foundation is being laid for a tremendous expansion of the work in the Asian area. Baptisms for 1969 were over 100 percent ahead of a year ago, and the trend continues upward.

One of our great needs, in addition to more missionaries, is buildings. In the entire Philippine Mission, we have only one building. But building sites are being purchased, and plans are going forward for the building of additional chapels in various parts of these areas. A large six-floor building is being planned by the First Presidency for central Tokyo. This could house stake and ward facilities, distribution center, mission offices, construction offices, and other facilities.

In our lifetime we shall see stakes and chapels, converts in great number, local leadership with power and ability, and perhaps even a temple erected among the good people of Asia. That is their hope and their prayer.

Encouraging outlook

The outlook is most encouraging. The Lord is blessing the new converts, the missionaries, the mission presidents. There is a spirit of optimism everywhere among these humble people, as men of prominence extend the hand of fellowship and cooperation.

May God bless richly these teeming millions in the Asian countries—these choice "people from afar and ye that are upon the islands of the sea" as they "listen together"  D&C 1:1 to the message of salvation from the humble servants of God—local members and missionaries, all. Our message is a world message. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a world organization.

For the Lord has declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith, "And the voice of warning shall he unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days.

"And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them."  D&C 1:4-5

To this I bear humble witness, in deep gratitude for the Lord's blessing on our work in Asia and throughout the world, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.