THE USE OF CEMENT

I have often said and desire to repeat here that when I was a young unmarried man, another young man who had received a doctor's degree ridiculed me for believing in the Book of Mormon. He said that he could point out two lies in that book. One was that the people had built their homes out of cement and that they were very skilful in the use of cement. He said there had never been found and never would be found, a house built of cement by the ancient inhabitants of this country, because the people in that early age knew nothing about cement. He said that should be enough to make one disbelieve the book. I said: "That does not affect my faith one particle. I read the Book of Mormon prayerfully and supplicated God for a testimony in my heart and soul of the divinity of it, and I have accepted it and believe it with all my heart." I also said to him, "if my children do not find cement houses, I expect that my grandchildren will." He said, "Well, what is the good of talking with a fool like that?" Now, since that time houses made of cement and massive structures of the same material have been uncovered.

Not very far from the City of Mexico there is a monument two hundred and ten feet high, built of cement, that was supposed to be a big hill. My first counselor has stood on that monument. You could put forty tabernacles like this one inside of it. It covers more than ten acres of ground and is two and a half times higher than this building. From the top of that monument one can see small mounts, and as these mounts are being uncovered they are found to be wonderfully built cement houses, with drain pipes of cement, showing skill and ability, superior almost to anything we have today so far as the use of cement is concerned.