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This is the first address given by Elder Moyle after being called to the Holy Apostleship and sustained to the Twelve.
It goes without saying that we do in this Church what we are told. I have never understood that it was my privilege as a member of this Church, holding the priesthood, to say no. I have never had a desire in my heart to do anything other than that which the brethren direct. While I may feel as if some of the things that they have most recently asked me to do are beyond my power, nevertheless so far as my Heavenly Father will give me the power to act I shall do so, and all that I have and am belongs to my Heavenly Father. I had a grandfather who met with a very great disaster. All that he had was swept away by fire. His thoughts and his actions at the moment he was told of his loss have been on my mind for the past several minutes, and I must say I feel rather as he then felt:
. . . the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21.)
I know that the Lord can take that away which he giveth, if we give him cause so to do; that we may be the recipients of his blessings today but to continue to be such recipients, we must be obedient to his laws and his commandments.
Brethren and sisters, my faith in this gospel is such that I do not confine my obedience alone to that which I find in the scriptures, but I believe that our obedience should be pledged, that of every one of us, to every word that comes from the mouths of the prophets and the representatives of our Heavenly Father here upon this earth. To me that which the Presidency of this Church have said and say now, is as much the law and the gospel as anything that has ever been said or written before for our guidance.
It is not the wisdom of the world as Paul says that is important to us; it is the power and the strength of the gospel: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (One- Corinthians 2:5.) If there is anything else in life that we can better afford to dedicate that which we have and are than to the work of the Lord, I do not know what that would be. Certainly it is not to be found in the world. I have had an exceptional opportunity, as I have told many of you in your quarterly conferences in our welfare work, to examine the minds and understand the reasoning and the philosophy and the weaknesses of the world in its counsels, and by comparison to see the strength and the certainty and the wisdom and the knowledge that come to the leaders and the councils of our Church from our Heavenly Father on high.
And so, with my heart full of gratitude and humility for this further opportunity to serve the people, I hope and pray that I may be blessed in my ministry with the wisdom that comes from above, and never be tempted to rely upon that which comes from the world.
I know that after eleven long years in this welfare work that if we had depended upon the wisdom of the world, and had let our people go as the world goes, the time is rapidly approaching when they would have no security. They would have no welfare, because the philosophies of men by which many of our people have been led astray will fail, whereas that which comes from the Lord will remain with us eternally.
I want to bear you my testimony that I know that this Church and this people are capable of taking care of their own; that there is no need for any of us to go beyond the confines of our own combined resources, to garner into the bishops' storehouses of this Church all that we need for ourselves, all that we need for our brethren and sisters in Europe, and I will go one step farther and say, all that we need for our neighbors, if we will but keep in close communion with the spirit of obedience and act under the direction of the leaders of Israel, here upon this earth and here upon this stand today.
I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this group of men, before me in this audience, are in reality the representatives of the only group of men in the world made up, as they are, of all professions and coming from all walks of life, that is to say the priesthood of this Church, who can bear this same testimony--that they know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. You cannot go anywhere else in the world and find such a group of men able, ready, and willing so to testify. I have never in my life met a doctor or a lawyer or a business man of any other church or of any other denomination that had a testimony to bear concerning this most important knowledge of all, our knowledge as Latter-day Saints of the fulness of our gospel.
There has never been a question of a doubt in my mind that our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. I have stood on that spot. I have heard the testimonies of the leaders of this Church borne there. I have felt with all the feeling there was within my being, that that was the Sacred Grove, and that that was where the gospel of Jesus Christ was again restored to mankind in this day and age. It shall be my hope and my desire that I shall ever be worthy in the sight of my Heavenly Father to retain the good will and the confidence and the love of these my brethren who have called me into their quorum and that I may be an honor and a credit to may family and my people and be able to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to bear this testimony throughout the world. I pray for this further blessing with the assistance of my Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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