Brethren and sisters, I deeply sense my inadequacy in trying to express in words the message I have in my heart this morning. I earnestly pray therefore for your sympathetic mental attitude and particularly for your spiritual support.

TESTIMONY OF REDEEMER

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

"And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

"Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me"  Job 19:25-27

Thus was spoken the heartfelt assurance of Job, expressed in humiliation when everything else was taken from him and even his body utterly wasted in affliction.

If a few more million men in the world could feel that testimony—the testimony of the reality of our Redeemer—selfishness would be less manifest, war among nations would be eradicated, and peace would reign among mankind. Do you believe that, my fellow workers?

"What think ye of Christ?"  Matt. 22:42 was the question Jesus put to a group of Pharisees when they, with scribes and Sadducees, sought to entrap, to confound the Great Teacher by asking him entangling questions. He silenced the Sadducees in their attempt to ensnare him with regard to paying tribute to Caesar  Matt. 22:17-22 He satisfied the scribes regarding the first and great commandment  Matt. 22:37-40 Now he put to silence the Pharisees regarding their anticipated Christ.

To this congregation, to the Church, and to the world, I repeat this question as being the most vital, the most far-reaching query in this unsettled, distracted world.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF GREAT MEN

Great minds in all ages who have contributed to the betterment of mankind have been inspired by noble ideals.

History is replete with men who, as Wordsworth expresses it, "By the vision splendid, were on their way attended." There is John Milton, for example, inspired with a desire as a boy of twelve to write a poem that would live for centuries. As a result, the world has Paradise Lost, and later in life, though blind, the poet as he approached the closing moments of his life, exclaimed: "Still guides the heavenly vision." Sir Walter Scott, as you know, wrote almost day and night to pay off a debt for which he was not really responsible.

George Washington, guided by the desire to build a noble character and to be of service to his country, cried: "I hope I may always have firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles—the character of an honest man." Abraham Lincoln's lofty soul, expressing himself thus: "with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." (Second Inaugural Address.)

These and others who live to their best are the men "who realize in daily life their luminous hours and transmute their ideals into conduct and character. These are," continues the writer, "the soul architects, who build their thoughts and deeds into a plan: who travel forward, not aimlessly, but toward a destination; who sail not any-whither but toward a port, who steer not by the clouds, but by fixed stars. High in the scale of manhood these who ceaselessly aspire towards life's Great Exemplar."

HIGHEST OF ALL IDEALS

But let me explain again, the highest of all ideals are the teachings and particularly the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and that man is most truly great who is most Christlike.

What you sincerely in your heart think of Christ will determine what you are, will largely determine what your acts will be. No person can study this divine personality, can accept his teachings without becoming conscious of an uplifting and refining influence within himself. In fact, every individual may experience the operation of the most potent force that can affect humanity. Electricity lightens labor in the home, imprisons alike on a disc the warbling tones of the mockingbird and the convincing appeal of the orator. By the turn of a switch, it turns night into day. The possibilities of the force resulting from the breaking up of the atom seem to be limitless either for the destruction or the blessing of life. Other and greater forces are already glimpsed.

THE MAN OF GALILEE

None, however, is so vital, so contributive to the peace and happiness of the human family as the surrendering of our selfish animal-like natures to the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. George R. Wendling in The Man of Galilee confirms this thought as follows: "Believe it! The most wonderful work in all the world is not to take iron, steel, and brass and make a locomotive nor is it to take gold and diamonds and cog-wheels and make a watch; nor is it to take canvas and colors and brush and paint an Angelus; nor yet is it to take pen and parchment and write an Iliad or Hamlet, but an infinitely greater work than all is to take an ignoble, cruel, impure, and dishonest being and transform him into an upright, gentle, noble, and pure man. Here we touch the creative power of the Galilean—and bow before the mystery.

"Here we find the crowning glory of all the evidences, attested by millions of intelligent men and women, the fact, mysterious but not illusory, that His very presence is found, is realized, is verified, and that He is as helpful, as vital, and as inspiring now as when the matchless Beatitudes fell upon the ears of a listening multitude two thousand years ago."

PETER AND PAUL TRANSFORMED

Peter, the chief Apostle, is a striking example of this transforming power. He was a humble, reputedly a rough, uncultured fisherman to whom Jesus of Nazareth became an inspiration. The vision that bade him say, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God"  Matt. 16:16 became the guiding light of his life. Conditions occasionally made him falter, but he regained the lightened pathway. Bigots scoffed at him; religious zealots, political charlatans arrested, imprisoned, and shackled him as a dangerous enemy to society, but the heavenly vision lightened the darkened dungeon, burst open prison doors, struck off the fetters that bound his wrists, as well as his wavering soul, and gave him courage and strength to face his accusers with the sublime testimony: He "whom ye crucified, Jesus Christ, is the only name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (see  Acts 4:10,12 Only a comparatively well-to-do man, making a fairly good living by fishing of whom the world would never have heard had he not been inspired by a testimony of the divine mission of the Man of Galilee—just a humble fisherman, who, by the light of that inspiration to him and to other members of the Twelve, and disciples, "many of the world's loveliest things have been created, many of the world's finest minds inspired."

Another good example is Paul, a contemporary of Peter, whose early life and teachings were entirely different from those of the fisherman, but who, when the vision of the Risen Lord pierced his prejudiced mind, was inspired throughout the remainder of his days by one guiding thought expressed on the occasion of his great vision: "Lord, what wouldst thou have me do?"  Acts 9:6

Paul, as Peter, had his hours of discouragement. Pride sometimes perturbed him, and conformity to church authority was occasionally difficult. He, too, was mobbed, beaten, and imprisoned, put in stocks in a dungeon, but the heavenly vision of the Risen Lord ever guided his footsteps.

EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH SMITH

May I remind you also of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who declared: ". . . I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation"  JS—H 1:25

Through railings, scoffings, mobbings, arrests, imprisonments, persecutions that led to martyrdom, Joseph Smith as Peter and Paul before him, ever strove to the utmost of his ability to follow the light that had made him a "partaker of the divine nature"  2 Pet. 1:4

INFLUENCE OF SAVIOR'S MISSION

I quote these three outstanding leaders in the realm of religion to show how the assurance of the divine mission of our Lord and Savior not only transformed their personal lives to a greater or less degree, but also influenced for good the entire world.

Since man's first advent on earth, God has been urging him to rise above the selfish, groveling life of the purely animal existence into the higher, more spiritual realm. After several thousand years of struggling, mankind even now but dimly recognizes the fact that the greatest of the world's leaders are those who most nearly approach the teachings of the Man of Galilee. This is psychologically sound, because the thoughts a man harbors determine the realm in which he serves. "Be not deceived," writes Paul to the Galatians, "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting"  Gal. 6:7-8

GREAT WORLD DRAMA

At the moment there is being enacted a great world drama, the final act of which we can only dimly surmise. In Korea, one of the bloodiest wars of modern times is raging. But here is a singular thing. Engaged in it are soldiers from South Korea, United States, Great Britain, France, Turkey, Greece, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, South Africa, and one or two other nations—all enlisted under the United Nations' banner.

Political relationships leading up to their fighting as an international army need not concern us this morning, but there is one significant fact most worthy of attention: Battling for the same cause are Buddhists, followers of Confucius, Moslems, and Christians. Opposed to these are Communists, openly avowed to be anti-Christ. Two hundred twenty-nine thousand casualties are already reported in this conflict! It would almost seem to be the beginning of the great battle of Armageddon.

More destructive to the spreading of Christian principles in the minds, particularly of the youth, than battleships, submarines, or even bombs, is the sowing of false ideals by the enemy  Matt. 13:25 Particularly, during the last five years Communist Russia has gained for the time being conquests over the satellites under her domination, including China, and is now threatening Japan by sowing seeds of mistrust in the body politic.

Misrepresentation, false, propaganda, innuendoes soon sprout into poisonous weeds, and before long the people find themselves victims of a pollution that has robbed them of their individual liberty and enslaved them to a group of political gangsters. Let us draw a lesson from this.

THOUGHTS DETERMINE DESTINY

So it is with evil thoughts that may be permitted insidiously to enter and to find lodgment in the human mind. Thoughts harbored determine destiny.

"My spirit," says the Christ, "will not dwell in unclean tabernacles"  Mosiah 2:37  Hel. 4:24 The corruption that is in the world through lust, as mentioned in one of Peter's epistles  2 Pet. 1:4 has its source in thoughts and schemes harbored in the individual mind. A man who takes advantage of his neighbor in a business deal when the opportunity offers has prepared himself for the occasion by dishonest thinking. Young couples do not lose their chastity, named by the Book of Mormon as "precious above all things"  Moro. 9:9 without their having previously in thought justified the act.

The husband who coolly turns from a loyal wife and family and seeks illicit relationships elsewhere, perhaps with a disloyal wife of a neighbor, has previously poisoned his soul with immoral ideas. Disgruntled members of society, faultfinders in wards and stakes, do not become such merely because of some offense, real or imagined. What they say and do have been preceded by selfish desires or unattained ambition.

CORRUPTION FROM WITHIN

I mentioned Communism in its war against individual liberty and free enterprise as surreptitiously sowing poisonous seeds  Matt. 13:25 within the body politic. It is also from within, morally speaking, that our cities become corrupt, not from outward, open assaults on virtue, but from insidious, corrupt actions of trusted individuals. Our government, as you know, has recently uncovered a gambling ring that covers a twenty billion dollar business in vice. Many large cities in the United States are connected with it and contaminated by it.

Too many of these city officials license darkened rooms wherein men and women, and not infrequently teenage boys and girls, may guzzle beer and whiskey and indulge in other vices sought by persons of low ideals. For the permission and perpetuation of such dens of iniquity in our cities, the public is not entirely free from blame. However, those who are elected to office—commissioners, peace officers, trusted servants of the people—are most directly responsible.

Generally speaking, these men are honest in their intentions and actions to enforce the laws and if possible to eradicate, at least to reduce to a minimum, the evils upon which the underworld thrives. One or two, or a half a dozen unprincipled men, however, can frustrate the most earnest efforts of the upright officials. For example, officers informed that minors are permitted to enter a certain "joint" will find when they get to the place that the proprietor has been "tipped off" and seemingly everything is within the law.

If and when appreciation for such "tips-off," and other favors, is expressed in secretive payments of money, those participating in the graft may meet in a room, a club, or in a private residence, ostensibly to play a social game of poker and under this guise divide their ill-gotten gains. Thus do our cities, as individuals, become corrupt from within.

Such exploitation of the poor unfortunates whose thoughts and desires lead them only to gratify their appetites, indulge their passions to exist by deceit, cunning, and crime, are among the corruptions that Peter says "are in the world through lust"  2 Pet. 1:4

Let us always remember that, "There is no vice so great but we can kill and conquer it if we but will."

CHRIST OUR IDEAL

Christ came to redeem the world from sin. He came with love in his heart for every individual, with redemption and possibility for regeneration for all. By choosing him as our ideal, we create within ourselves a desire to be like him, to have fellowship with him. We perceive life as it should be and as it may be.

The chief apostle Peter, the indefatigable Paul, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and other true followers of the Risen Lord recognized in him the Savior of the individual, for did he not say, "This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man?"  Moses 1:39not the sacrificing of the individual for the perpetuation of the socialistic or communistic state.

Members of the Church of Christ are under obligation to make the sinless Son of Man their ideal—the one perfect being who ever walked the earth.

Sublimest Example of Nobility
Godlike in nature
Perfect in his love
Our Redeemer
Our Savior
The immaculate Son of our Eternal Father
The Light, the Life, the Way

I know he lives and his power is potent: that he is the Son of God, and that he has restored in this dispensation the complete plan of salvation. God bless us all that we may hold him as our ideal and pray for power to be like him, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.