George S. Romney April 1932

Not all talks given at General Conference are huge sermons. Below is a short and simple talk, delivered in the April 1932 conference.

Elder George S. Romney

President of the Northern States Mission

I have been thrilled, during this Conference, with the testimonies of my brethren. I am happy to report to you that the missionaries in the Northern States mission are carrying the message of the Gospel, and the testimony that the Lord has spoken again to his people in this day, and that they are doing it well. They are faithful young men and women. They grow very rapidly in the testimony of the Gospel when they come to the mission field.

This last Sunday I listened to the testimony of a young lady who has been only a few months in the mission field. She was a very timid girl when she left home, and was extremely frightened when she arrived in the mission field. It seemed almost beyond her strength to go up to the doors of the people and announce that she was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last Sunday, in her testimony, she stated that she had never known much about the Gospel. Just the other day, however, she was invited into a home of very intelligent people. They asked her questions for an hour and a half, and it seemed to her that she did not lack for an answer to any of the questions that previously she had no idea she could answer.

Such is the testimony of the young men and women. I received a letter from one of the boys not long ago. He, too, was just a young man who had had no experience at home. He said :

"A non-member of the Church called for us to administer to a young lady who had been sick for some time. We administered to her. We were very timid and frightened — scarcely knowing what to say. In two hours after the administration the young lady was up and out at play, and has been well ever since."

We are very glad to have the young men and women come into the mission field, and we trust that they will come filled with the spirit of testimony.

President Grant spoke this morning of the things that are said and have been said against him. I believe that sometimes, even in the words of those who write and speak against the prophets of the Lord, we have some of our strongest testimonies.

Just recently a book came from the press in Chicago, written by Mr. Beardsley. Its newspaper review was entitled : "A Drunken Fiend, or a Prophet, or Mouthpiece of God." The title of the book is "Joseph Smith and His Mormon Empire." In this book we have rehearsed again many of the old stories that have been told about Joseph Smith, the Prophet, derogatory of his character. He is pictured as one of the vilest of men. In fact, Mr. Beardsley seems to find him the "drunken fiend." I was surprised, when I read that book, to notice some of the inconsistencies in it. After picturing the prophet of the Lord as he does, he makes statements concerning the time just following the driving of the Saints from Missouri to this effect:

"At that time what talent the little town of Quincy could boast! There was Abraham Lincoln, the future President of the United States, and the great martyr of the American people. There was Stephen A. Douglas, who has written his name so prominently across the pages of history. And there was Mr. Browning, a senator and cabinet officer. There was Brigham Young, whose name was to become a common word upon the lips of the American people, and there was Joseph Smith."

And he said :

"In this company of people who was the dominating personality? Was it Abraham Lincoln? No. Was it Stephen A. Douglas? No. Was it Mr. Browning, or Brigham Young? No. It was Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, a fugitive from justice."

It seems to me that such contradictions in the writing of those who would speak evil of the prophets of the Lord are but testimonies to the truth of this great work. In the beginning of the book Mr. Beardsley refers to the statement of Joseph Smith .which the Prophet made when he was fifteen years old, when he said that an angel told him that his name should be known for good and evil among all nations of the earth. It seemed strange to me that Mr. Beardsley should raise his voice and take his pen, trained in literature as he is, to write a book to help fulfil that prophecy, wherein he is doing his part in making the name of Joseph Smith known among all the nations of the earth. I feel that he would be much safer if he were on the right side rather than on the wrong side.

I have a testimony that the prophets of the Lord came in this day and are here yet; and I know, as my friends who have spoken before me, that our leaders are men of integrity, men of honor and honesty; and that this, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the truth. I trust that the Lord will bless us, that this testimony may sink into our hearts, in the name of Jesus. Amen.