PROVO, Utah — The Church's course over the last 100 years unquestionably fulfills prophecy, said Elder Marlin K. Jensen Sept. 29.

"Only with the help of the Spirit can we come to know not just what has happened in our remarkable history but, more important, why it happened and what God's intentions and designs for each of us are," said Elder Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy.

Offering the keynote address at the 29th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, Elder Jensen addressed the theme, "Out of Obscurity: the Church in the 20th Century."

Elder Jensen began by pointing out the interesting contrast for the Church between the beginning and end of the 20th Century. Early in the century, the Smoot hearing (held after the 1903 U.S. Senate election of Reed Smoot which focused on polygamy and the Church) revived substantial anti-Mormon sentiment.

"It is perhaps not coincidental that during this renewed period of suspicion and ill will . . . a baby boy named Gordon Bitner Hinckley was born on June 23, 1910. . . . With the [life] expectancy of U.S. males at that time being 50 years, no one would have expected the spindly and frail boy to exceed that norm by at least 40 years (and we hope many more) and be instrumental in leading the Church at the end of the 20th Century into its most sustained period of public understanding and acceptance. But President Gordon B. Hinckley has certainly done that and much, much more."

Elder Jensen said most people are aware of the Church's tremendous growth during the past century; the Church began the century with only about 268,000 and ended it with nearly 11 million.

"While such growth is something for which we should be very grateful and reflects that vitality and appeal of the LDS way of life, President Hinckley constantly reminds us that management of worldwide growth is our biggest challenge," Elder Jensen said. "With more members living outside the U.S. than within and with Spanish on a course to become the predominant language spoken by Church members in the next 25 years, we have our work cut out for us, but the prospects are exciting."

Elder Jensen said although 170 years is a short period of time for a religious movement to grow and mature — and for the benefits of its ideology to be reflected in the lives of its adherents — substantial evidence now exists that obedience to the covenants and ordinances of the restored gospel contribute significantly to a happy, healthy and productive way of life.

"The fact comports with the test announced by the Savior for distinguishing true prophets from false ones — we are to know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:15-20.)

One example of a gospel fruit is the care provided by the Church to the poor and needy during the last century. "Beginning formally with the institution of the welfare program in 1936, the Church has encouraged self-reliance on the part of its members and has taught and followed basic welfare principles for providing the necessities of life for needy members. . . .

"In the last 15 years, Church resources have also permitted an outreach to people of all faiths and nations in extending humanitarian aid. This service has touched 146 nations through thousands of projects involving the delivery of tons of clothing, food, medical equipment and supplies, educational materials and millions of dollars in cash."

Another notable gospel fruit is the Church's commitment to the education of the intellect as well as the spirit. "Gospel doctrines encourage Church members to educate their total beings toward greater temporal and spiritual independence, character values and social conscience," Elder Jensen said. "An interesting evidence of this commitment is a study that shows that the more educated Latter-day Saints are, the more religious they become."

Continuing, Elder Jensen said the Word of Wisdom has resulted in measurable benefits to those who obey its principles and that Latter-day Saints have an exemplary record of family life.

"A fruit or by-product of gospel living I particularly appreciate is the opportunity for personal involvement provided by a Church organization that 'hath need of every member,' " he said.

Personal growth comes, he explained, as Church members labor without pay in providing leadership and teaching. "The spirit of this unique system is epitomized for me each time I see President Hinckley taking his wallet out of his pocket and paying for his own lunch in the modest little lunchroom at Church headquarters where the General Authorities eat each day. . . . It certainly proves that in the Kingdom of God there is no aristocracy."

Elder Jensen continued that in a world of shifting values, the eternal truths upon which the gospel is based have positioned the Church in the last century to be an anchor in a sea of change. "Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Church's efforts throughout the 20th Century to safeguard the institution of the family as the basic unit of the Church and of society."

In prospecting through 100 years of the Church's history, Elder Jensen said it is easy to sense the history of the Church in any era is the history of its acting prophet. "President Lorenzo Snow's revelation regarding tithing, for example, not only brought the Church out of the fiscal bondage it was in at the start of the century, it also helped lay the firm foundation, financially speaking, on which the rapidly growing Church would eventually keep up with the demand for the construction of new meetinghouses, provide for an expanding educational system, support a worldwide missionary effort and finance the building of temples and family history work at an unprecedented rate."

Elder Jensen added that any commentary on the Church's history in the 20th Century must include mention of the momentous 1978 revelation which extended priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members of the Church without regard for race or color. "For all of us old enough to remember the June 9 announcement that year, it will always remain a joyous moment frozen in time," he said.

Equally as important to the Church and its future, he continued, are the organizational changes which have been made to the Quorums of the Seventy since 1975. The new edition of the scriptures is also an important aspect of the Church's history.

"A thrilling sight each Sunday everywhere in the world is the great number of Latter-day Saints of all ages carrying their scriptures to and from Church. The resultant increase in gospel scholarship and faith has made this development one of the crowning achievements of the past century."

In light of the decline in faith in Jesus Christ, perhaps the most important fact of Church history in the 20th Century is the ringing conviction of the reality of the Savior's birth, death and atoning sacrifice carried in the hearts of literally millions of Latter-day Saints, he said.

Elder Jensen concluded his remarks by looking forward.

"Where do we now stand as we leave the 20th Century and begin another? In his magnificent October 1999 conference address, President Gordon B. Hinckley said we stand on the summit of the ages. What can one see from the summit as a new millennium dawns?

"To be sure, one sees great possibilities as well as great challenges. . . . In the midst of it all, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will continue its onward march."