ELDER ROY A. WELKER

Former President of the German-Austrian Mission

Once upon a time I was asked to give a toast, and the toastmaster said: "In front of you is a green light. When that green light flashes on, you are to stop." My excuse was that I was color blind and did not know when the green light was to be flashed. I have no excuse this morning, however, so I will try to stop within the range of ten minutes.

A little over three years ago, I with my family left Salt Lake City for Germany, where I went to preside over the German-Austrian Mission. I knew at that time there was a tremendous task to be performed; conditions were uncertain, many of the Elders were feeling that perhaps they would be banished, or that war would soon break out or some other conditions would prevail by which they would be called home.

But conditions began to settle down and before many months they had tremendously improved. We saw then an opportunity to work harder than we had been working or the Elders had been working. We did our best to make friends with the officers of the German government, both in a general as well as a local way. We discovered that they were in a transition period themselves, and feeling their way along. Many of their regulations were private laws that were being passed nearly every day by the Diet, and there was a group of police regulations that was never published.

These were the conditions that gave us greatest anxiety. In various cities police were given power to act under given circumstances. We soon found that it was our business to make friends with these local authorities and not to ask them whether we could do this or that, but to do everything that seemed reasonable to us, and if we were forbidden to do that again, we would make our excuses and go about doing something else. It worked out very well.

We also played strongly upon our twelfth Article of Faith, declaring that we meant it when we said that we believed in sustaining and upholding the government. They seemed to believe us, for there were something like thirty-four small religious denominations forbidden in that country, and yet we went on doing work that others who like us were not forbidden, could not do.

There is a law in Germany that the small religious denominations should not scatter their literature from door to door. We debated for a long while whether we should stop tracting, but we had been tracting ; in most of the places we had never ceased tracting, and we felt that inasmuch as we had been doing it we would continue, and we did continue. And in only a few places were we prevented from tracting, and in only a few places are the Elders forbidden to tract now.

As President Grant said yesterday, in Berlin we may advertise our meetings freely.

I rejoice to be able to testify to you today that the testimony of President Grant in the city of Berlin left a wonderful influence upon the people who attended that meeting. The newspapers that had refused us the opportunity of printing matter concerning us for a long time before, themselves wrote up articles of that meeting and of the President's speech. I have since learned from somewhat of an authoritative source that Mr. Hitler has learned of us and has said that the Mormon people are doing the German government no harm and he wants them let alone.

I believe perhaps that may be true, for I can testify that during the past six months particularly we have had a friendliness shown us in that nation that has been splendid, and a matter of considerable comfort to us as well.

Not only in Germany are the people tremendously receptive to the influences of the Gospel of the Master, but I believe with all my heart that the blood of Israel flows in the veins of the peoples of the northern European countries. Our missionaries whose business it has been to go into Poland and Lithuania have found responses there that have convinced me that before long the Lord will see to it that those fields are opened up for the promulgation of the Gospel. Likewise in the great country of Russia. I believe that Europe is a rich field for the harvest of the work of the missionaries in the near future.

My heart did rejoice yesterday when the President said that he will see to it that in the future the Authorities of the Church go to Europe more often. I have been praying for that sort of thing, for the inspiration of our leaders in the hearts of those people is tremendous.

There is a professor in the Halle University in the school of religion who invites the Elders to come to his study once a year. In 1934 the local Elders and missionaries were asked to his study or department in the school, and there he kept them until four o'clock in the morning, finding out what he could from their side of Mormonism. About six months ago two young men from this city were called into his study in the evening and kept until three o'clock in the morning. He had them deliver a lecture with illustrating films before a class of his advanced students. This man said: "There has been but one great religious leader arise in the world since the time of Christ, and that man was Joseph Smith."

When our learned men can come to appreciate that there is not only a simple plan in the Gospel for people to follow, but a plan that will last through the eternities, these thinking men will adopt this plan that will give them eternal comfort as it gives us who have adopted it eternal comfort.

My testimony is that Jesus is the Christ, that the prophets who surround us this day — fifteen of them — are spokesmen for almighty God, and are engaged in the service of our Heavenly Father, and we who give our time and our tithes to assist them in carrying this message not only will make people happy in the world today, but give them eternal satisfaction.

May the Lord help us to realize this and study it, and not be content with our membership alone, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.