'Be not faithless, but believing'
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PROVO, Utah — Thousands from the Pleasant Grove Region squeezed into BYU's Marriott Center Jan. 19 to listen to direction from President Gordon B. Hinckley.
They left fortified with simple, biblical counsel: "Be not faithless, but believing."
The resurrected Christ first used those words with His doubting apostle Thomas, saying, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:27-28.)
But what, President Hinckley asked, does it mean today to be "believing?"
Believe in God, the great Governor of the Universe.
"He was the Great Creator and He is the Governor," he said. "And marvelous to believe and almost difficult to believe, He is our Father who has an interest in us. I never get over that thought, as I look to the heavens on a dark night and see the myriads of stars and think of Him as the Ruler of the Universe, and yet One to whom I pray, my Father and my God."
President Hinckley said there is something "remarkable and wonderful and majestic" that a God who stands above all also counts His children as His greatest concern.
"What a marvelous thing it is to be able to get on our knees and speak with Him, our Father and our God, and do so with confidence that He will bless us and hear our prayers."
Believe in Jesus Christ.
It was Christ — the only Begotten in the flesh and the great Jehovah — who left the royal courts on high and came to be born amid the humblest circumstances, President Hinckley said.
What a marvelous thing "that He, the Son of God, should condescend to come to earth under these circumstances, and walk the dusty roads of Palestine, to offer Himself as a sacrifice for all men, to die in pain and ignominy at the hands of cruel and ruthless men crying out, as we have been reminded, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:24)," President Hinckley said.
The Church leader marveled at the nature of Christ's atoning sacrifice that allows all to live again and, if worthy, enjoy the blessings of exaltation.
Believe in the truth of the First Vision.
There has never been anything quite equal to when the Father and Son appeared to the 14-year-old Joseph Smith, opening the last and final dispensation, President Hinckley said.
"Be not faithless, but believing in the reality, in the truth, in the actuality of that marvelous occasion," he said. "All that we have, all that we do hinge on the truth of that account of the boy Joseph Smith. If it is true, then everything that we have in this Church is true and is more precious and worth more than anything else on earth. If it is false, we are engaged in the greatest fraud that was ever perpetrated on earth."
Believe in the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The world at large will not accept the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith except "one here and one there, as we go casting out nets to find them," President Hinckley said. He then cited the testimony of John Taylor, who said Joseph Smith had done more for mankind than any other, save Christ.
Believe in the validity of the Book of Mormon.
"Be not faithless, but believing in the truth of this sacred and wonderful testament of the Lord Jesus Christ," President Hinckley said.
Believe in the reality of the restored Church.
Christ's Church has been restored to the earth, he testified, "with all the priesthood, the keys, the power, the revelations necessary to carry forward the work of the Lord in this great dispensation of time."
Believe in yourselves as sons and daughters of God.
"Each of us is His child," President Hinckley said. "Can we really believe that? We know it! We have a conviction concerning that. If we have, then we will rise above the sultry, sleazy things of the world and stand taller and be better than we might otherwise be."
The Church leader challenged the men in attendance to live worthy of the priesthood and shun anything that would destroy the proper exercise of that sacred authority. Be good fathers, husbands and neighbors, he added. Avoid greed, keep tempers in check and be gentle in family relationships.
"Stand as examples before your children at all times and in all circumstances."
President Hinckley encouraged the women to take advantage of the Relief Society program and to look after and safeguard their children without spoiling them.
"Give them a little work to do," he said. "Expect things of them."
President Hinckley expressed his appreciation for the young people in the Church who attend seminary and live the gospel. He asked the young women to live wholesomely and eschew any practices "of which you would be ashamed as a daughter of God."
Young men should avoid anything that would disqualify them from full-time missionary work, President Hinckley added.
"We are raising the bar of eligibility on missionary work. This matter of sending a young man into the field to reform him is passe," he said. Acknowledging his straightforward words, President Hinckley said he was speaking "in a spirit of encouragement" to make "you good people better people."
He then asked for God's blessings, calling those in the audience his "beloved associates."
"We are all part of it," he said. "It does not matter what your responsibility is. You have just as sacred and compelling responsibility in terms of your calling and activity, whatever it might be, as I do in terms of my calling and activity. It is incumbent upon each of us to live the gospel, to be loyal to the Church and loyal to the very best that is within us."
After bearing his testimony, President Hinckley made concluding remarks; however, before sitting down he stood at the microphone for a moment and said, one last time, "Be not faithless, but believing."
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder John H. Groberg of the Seventy, and Elder Rex D. Pinegar, an emeritus Seventy, also spoke at the conference. They were joined on the program by Elder Groberg's wife, Jean Groberg, and President Ralph Smith, who presides over the Utah Provo Mission. A combined choir of members from the Pleasant Grove Region performed.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
