Prophet's testimony heard, felt as conference opens
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The power and fervency of President Ezra Taft Benson's testimony was heard and felt as he attended the opening session of the 161st Semiannual General Conference Saturday morning, Oct. 5 in the Tabernacle on Temple Square.
President Benson, unable to address the assembly himself because of his health, asked that his first counselor in the First Presidency, President Gordon B. Hinckley, conduct the session. With the prophet seated on the stand behind him, President Hinckley said, "President Benson honors us with his presence today."President Hinckley said that wherever the Brethren go, at home or abroad, they receive the same request: "Give our love to President Benson."
Turning toward the prophet, President Hinckley, said, "President, I am confident I speak for all who participate with us today when I say we respect you, we honor you, we love you as the prophet of the Lord in our time.
"We regret that you will be unable to speak to us. In your behalf, I convey your love and blessing upon the saints everywhere, and likewise your testimony as spoken on previous occasions."
President Hinckley then read a testimony that President Benson bore during the April 1971 general conference: "No other single influence has had so great an impact on this earth as the life of Jesus Christ. We cannot conceive of our lives without His teachings. Without Him we would be lost in a mirage of beliefs and worships, born in fear and darkness where the sensual and materialistic hold sway. We are far short of the goal He set for us, but we must never lose sight of it; nor must we forget that our great climb toward the light, toward perfection, would not be possible except for His teachings, His life, His death, and His resurrection." (April 1971 general conference.)
President Hinckley then quoted from an address President Benson delivered during the 1982 Temple Square Christmas lighting ceremony: "I testify that Christ is the light to all mankind. He has pointed, marked out, and lighted the way. Sadly, many individuals and nations have extinguished that light and have attempted to supplant His gospel with coercion and the sword. But even to those who reject Him, He is `the light which shineth in the darkness.' " (John 1:5.)
