I am very glad today to know that the members of this choir are descendants of the German people. Many of them were born here, it is true. It always reminds me, when I hear music rendered by Germans, of the lovely words of Schiller: "You weep today, but you have peace in your hearts tomorrow.

We, my brethren and sisters, have a great heritage, and the object of our general conferences is to bring the members of the Church together to hear the word of God. We are living in an age when the truths of God are needed to solve the problems of our times. Our fathers, their lips glowing with the words of faith, called God to witness that the truths of the gospel would be taught our children of the future. No age of history has been more complex than that of today, and one of the problems is how to teach our children that they may grow up with faith in God and his eternal purposes. There are fundamental truths that must ever be known and held sacred by us and by the children of the world, for we have been passing through an age of wars, and never in all history has the hate of man for man been so universal as it has been the last few years. It was a writer of ancient times, 500 years B.C. who wrote:

The age in which we live should be distinguished by some glorious enterprise. Let the leaders strive to put an end to our present troubles. Treaties of peace are insufficient for that purpose. They may retard, but they cannot prevent our misfortunes. We are in need of some durable plan which will forever put an end to our hostilities and unite us by the lasting ties of mutual affection and fidelity.

It is only a few weeks ago that Albert Schweitzer left this message to Americans, and we may say the world, for he has become a world character:

If men can be found who will revolt against the spirit of thoughtlessness and who are personalities sound enough and profound enough to let the ethical ideals radiate from them as forces, there will start an activity of the spirit which will be strong enough to evoke a new mental and spiritual disposition in mankind.

A few days ago we had the opportunity of meeting a group of students who are doing advanced work in a well-known university who came with the purpose of talking over a few questions that had puzzled them. It was a pleasant hour which we spent together, for their minds were open to the great truths of religion. They were not all of the same church, and one of them was the son of well-known Jewish parents. We had a chance of speaking about the Holy Bible and particularly the book of Genesis, part of which came up for discussion. We all agreed that nothing surpasses the first chapter of Genesis in sheer beauty, for it is the divine truth that God lives and is the Creator of heaven and earth and is the Father of mankind. What a fine thing for the youth of the world to have this knowledge taught them. It was just a few days ago too, that a student from Harvard College, writing his thesis for his doctor's degree in philosophy, had his attention called to the belief that Williams James, one of the most learned men, wrote when his little boy died:

Our little Humster, whom you never saw since his first babyhood, has also gone over to the majority. We buried him yesterday under the pine tree, at my father's side. For nine days he had been in a desperate condition, but his constitution proved so tenacious that each visit of the doctor found him still alive. At last his valiant little soul left his body. He was a broad, generous, patient little nature, with a noble head who would have done credit to his name had he lived. It must be now that he is reserved for some still better chance than that and that we shall in some way come into his presence again.

Another beautiful truth could be taught to the youth of our schools. It concerns the American Indians. The tribes of America always held through the years that the whites had taken their lands, and this brought about many Indian wars. Indian chiefs rose at times to great heights of noble thoughts and actions. It was in the early days of the last century that one of the noblest chiefs left this message. It is called the message of Gard and was quoted in the Overland Monthly in 1872:

Many snows ago, there lived a young Hoopa named Gard. He knew the stars and the habits of the trees. "Wide as the eagles fly," was he known for his love of peace. He walked in the paths of humility, and clean was his heart. His words were not crooked nor double. He went everywhere, teaching the people the beauty of meekness. He said to them, "Love peace, and eschew war and the shedding of blood. Put away all wrangling and the spirit of wrath. Dwell together in the singleness of love. Let all your hearts be one heart. So shall ye prosper greatly, and the great One above shall build you up like a great rock on the mountain. The forests shall yield you abundance of game, and rich nutty seeds and acorns. The red-flecked salmon shall never fail in the rivers. Ye shall rest in your wigwam in good joy, and your children shall run in and out like the young rabbits of the field for number."

The report of Gard went throughout the land. Gray-bearded men came many days journey to sit at his feet. But one day Gard went from his wigwam and was gone many suns. His brother was distressed and feared. At first he said: "He is teaching the people and will come back."

But his people feared, and in a few days they left the wigwams and began to search the hills and valleys for their Gard. They called through the forests. Day after day they beat up and down the mountains. They shouted in the gloomy canyons, but no sound came to them except the echo of their own voices. Still the brother wandered on. He went through the forest; he exclaimed aloud: "O Gard, my brother, if indeed you are already in the land of souls, then speak to me at least one word with the voice of the wind that I may know it for a certainty and therefore be content."

Then Gard came to him from the sky and spoke to his brother. "Listen. I have been in the land of souls. I have beheld the great God above. I have come back to earth to bring a message to the Hoopas, that they must dwell in peace with their neighboring tribes. Put from you all thoughts vengeance. Wash your hearts clean. Redden your arrows no more in your brother's blood. Then the Great Man will make you to increase greatly and be happy in His good land. Ye shall keep the dance of Peace which the Great Man has appointed. When ye observe, ye shall know if ye are clean in your hearts by a sign."'

Having said these words, Gard was wrapped in a cloud and floated up into the souls.

With all the individual and racial differences among men of the nations of the world, there are also common characteristics. Spiritually minded people have always lived. The sublime faith in God as shown in the writings of the Old Testament indicates that this life on earth is but a period of preparation for the life hereafter. Maeterlinck, the Belgian writer, tells us that when we become acquainted with ancient religions, we find them complete in their broad outlines and divine principles, and the farther back we go, the more perfect they are and the more closely related to the loftiest beliefs of our own times. Rudolph Steiner, a German scholar, says that what we read in the Vedas or Hindu scriptures gives us only a faint idea of the sublime doctrines of the ancient teachers. It seems that the more ancient the texts, the purer and more awe-inspiring the doctrines which they reveal.

Then we think of the Hebrew conception of immortality and how the prophets taught the word of God. Men were to find their relationship to the Creator which was an eternal tie here and hereafter. Community of conviction grew up, and this conviction bound men into a brotherhood to serve God and to learn and keep his commandments. The sublime faith in God as shown in all the writings of the Old Testament shows that this life is but a period of preparation for the life hereafter. From the Psalms we have "The Lord is my shepherd"  Ps. 23:1 and then in the book of Job we have Job uttering these divine words:

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

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God  Job 19:25-26

In the early days of Kirtland and following the organization of the Quorum of Twelve and the Seventies, the Prophet Joseph Smith organized Hebrew and Greek classes in the temple which had just been finished. This was in keeping with the ideals of education which the prophet had at the very beginning of our history. In the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, we have these words:

Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith  D&C 109:7

We are further admonished:

. . . study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people  D&C 90:15

The Prophet Joseph Smith employed a noted Hebrew scholar from New York City to come and teach classes in Hebrew. While he also kept Greek and Latin in mind, he first wanted to be able to read Hebrew that he might read the Holy Bible in the original language in which it was written. From the journal of the Prophet, we find him studying daily and attending the classes with many of his brethren who were reading and studying with him. We read: "After a hard day's work, went to my Hebrew class, and studied far into the night. Up in the morning and out at nine o'clock, attended the school and translated with the morning class . . . Attended my studies as usual and made some advancement."

"Every man who learns," says Ralph Waldo Emerson, "must do so by laborious reading." Such a man looks forward to an expanding knowledge. He becomes a lover of books, and great books tell us of God and truth. The attitude of the Prophet Joseph Smith alone in reference to study and the gaining of knowledge from books is one of the sublime truths of his life. He had the spirit of learning, a thing we need in our schools today.

The gospel of Jesus Christ will yet appeal to millions; yes it will be seen and known in all the world. The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope. Strife and sorrow will disappear. Peace and love will reign supreme sometime. The lesson of prophets, the dream of poets and musicians is confirmed in the light of modern knowledge, and as we gird ourselves for the work of life, my brethren and sisters, today and tomorrow, we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of Christ  Rev. 11:15 and he shall reign forever and ever as King of kings, and Lord of lords  Rev. 19:16

That is the great ideal of the future of the members of this Church, of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that we may know it, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.