Thank you for that music. I asked especially to have that presented tonight. It's number 214 in the hymn book. You very seldom hear it, but embodied in it is everything that I will say to you tonight. I can see in my mind's eye the students-- young adults gathered in the beautiful new Institute building in San Salvador in El Salvador, where I was just seven days ago. And see them in Samoa, Madrid, Pusan, Accra in Ghana, and Mendoza, Moscow, Seattle, in Anchorage, in Virginia, and dozens of other places where we have been to meet your counterpart there. To them, I say, welcome, bienvenidos, wilkommen, funyihng, zdravstujte, youkoso, and plain welcome. I'm counting on the dedicated interpreters to give that welcome in the other 25 or so languages. I find that through them, my Spanish is perfect, my Russian is adequate, and I'm a man of many tongues. Now, you are young and I am not. And I have been where you are, but you haven't been where I am. And with the encouragement of my wife, I'm going to do something I've never done before, and that is to speak very openly and directly and personally to you, and speak more about myself than I've ever said before a congregation. My wife reminded me that you will be leading families, and have almost as much important leading the Church in the years ahead. When I was five years old, I became very ill. It later turned that I had polio that was not diagnosed by the small town doctor. But I lay for several weeks on a World War I army cot in our front room beside a coal stove. And after those weeks, the doctor said I could get up, having been cured of pneumonia. I found I couldn't walk. I remember clearly sliding around on the linoleum floor, and pulling myself up on the chairs and learning to walk again. And as I moved on into elementary school and into junior high, and then into high school, I found that my muscles were very weak, and I was very self conscious. I couldn't be an athlete. And it-- well, it didn't help a lot when I read about the man that went to a doctor to see if he could get some help with his inferiority complex, and the doctor studied him for a while and said, "You don't have a complex. You are inferior." With that encouragement, I set about through life and tried to compensate in other ways. Then, just as we were about to graduate from high school, World War II opened up, and us senior boys, we all amended the certainty that the war would be over before we were out of high school in June. Little did we know. And so I went to basic training boot camp, and there, the physical training was very rigorous. My older brother was a pilot, and I thought, well, I'm going to be drafted. I think I'll at least try to enlist in the air cadet pilot training program. And to my surprise, I passed the physical. And looking back on that, I can see two reasons for it. One was that they had learned that you didn't have to be a well muscled athlete to fly a plane. And the other was, perhaps more important, they needed tens of thousands of pilots and bombardiers and navigators. So I found myself, then, in the air cadet program, where the physical part of it was very strenuous. So I was back on the army cot. Laying at night in agony, with aching muscles and swollen limbs, the thought that, well, in the morning we're going to go right at it again. Actually, that was the best possible therapy. And in that time, I learned to pray. I learned the difference between saying prayers and praying, earnestly praying, for help and strength and wisdom. And then something happened that changed my life entirely in a remarkable way. I had my patriarchal blessing. And usually, they're very, very private, and we don't talk about them with others and don't read parts of them to others. But I'm going to read a paragraph or two to you tonight, you young people who are here with us all over the world. The patriarch, whom I had never met before, blessed me in this way in part. You had the opportunity, before coming here, to voice your desire to have the privilege of earth life in the counsel to the spirit world. You are valiant in the defense of the truth and right. You made a free and willing decision to abide by the laws of eternal progress, as outlined by our elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. You kept faithfully your first estate, and have been added upon by being born into this world and given a physical body with which you might experience earth life. You have been given a body of such physical proportions and fitness as to enable your spirit to function through it, unhampered by physical impediments. You should cherish this as a great heritage. Guard and protect it. Take nothing into it that shall harm the organs thereof, because it is sacred. It is the instrument of your mind, and the foundation of your character.

I all at once didn't care what kind of a body I had. I had a body of sufficient capacity to let my spirit function through it, and I had learned that a body is sacred. And I found that it didn't matter, really, what kind of bodies we have, so long as we understand that our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind, and the foundation of our character. And from then on, I saw no purpose, nothing to be gained by talking to other people about my aches and pains. Just moved on through life.

Joseph Smith-- now these are very significant paragraphs. We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have none. The devil has no power over us, only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power. Now, let me restate that. The punishment of the adversary was that he did not receive a body, and that all beings who have bodies, as the prophet said it, will have power over those who do not. The devil has no power over us, only as we permit him. Now that was a great moment of enlightenment when I read in my patriarchal blessing. And then, as I began to study and learn, there came the knowledge and understanding of who we are and where we came from. And as I was in the military, hadn't been on a mission, hadn't had any college, and often was alone, as we often are alone, all of us in our lives, and I became a product of the Book of Mormon. I have here the Book of Mormon. It is bound in leather. Real leather. I know-- I bound it myself. I picked up in the wreckage of our headquarters on the little island of Ishima, in the Ryukyus islands, an old leather pilot's flight jacket. It was wet. The building was torn all to pieces. Everything on the island was destroyed by a hurricane, and I rescued from that an old army jacket. And my Book of Mormon was getting to the point where-- so I gave it a leather cover. Genuine leather. And I sewed it on myself. And the bindings I took from the strings of a parachute that likewise had been ruined. I don't know whether that has any meaning, but there's one other thing I picked up in that orderly room. I picked up a dictionary. And I found out you can't find anything unless you know how to spell it before you look.

And that became part of my education. And from the Book of Mormon, I learned something else that's very important. [INAUDIBLE]. For behold, the spirit of Christ is given to every man that he may know good from evil. The spirit of Christ is given into every man. I'll comment on that in a moment. Wherefore I show unto you the way to judge, for everything which invited to do and to persuade [INAUDIBLE] to believe in Christ is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ. Wherefore you may know the perfect knowledge, it is of God. And I had already read, when I came to that, the statement of Nephi in Second Nephi that all men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. So that's built into us. We know what is right and what is wrong. We all know. That's a very important thing to understand. And as we move through life, we begin to understand some other things. Now, we live in very troubled times. The beginning of more troubled times. And I want to speak to very openly. What we faced in World War II-- the jeopardy and challenge-- it was nothing compared to what you young people face now. It is a terrible and challenging time, and at once, perhaps the best time ever in the history of mankind to be alive. I want to make one other point.

In the pre-mortal existence, we were given spirit bodies, and we were given, likewise, agency. So we are free. Let me read a couple of verses from the 93rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants.

And no man receiveth the fullness unless he keepeth the commandments. He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.

Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created. Neither, indeed, can it be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it to act for itself. So there we are. We have agency, and what happens in our lives and in our pattern of eternal progression is just what we decide it will be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it to act for itself, as all intelligence, also. Otherwise there's no intelligence. No existence. Behold, here is the agency of man. So as we learn about ourselves, and learn about the great plan of redemption, we know that in the pre-mortal existence, intelligence existed forever. It wasn't created. And it will exist forever. And in due course, we were given a spirit body, and we became, then, the sons and daughters of God. We had gender then. We were male or female. And when, in that existence, we were valiant and chose good, as Alma recorded. Incidentally, in that same chapter, Alma defines the great plan-- it was just called the great plan of redemption, and by six or seven other titles-- he called it the great plan of happiness. And he said that God gave unto man commandments, after having given unto him the great plan of happiness. Then, in the course of our having chosen good, and that was mentioned in my patriarchal blessing, that we had a body prepared by mortal parents, and we were born into mortality. And with that came the power to create life, to follow the plan of redemption, the plan of happiness, and how we employ that power and understand the supernal value of it is that one factor that will determine where we go in life. Now, that paragraph that was a revelation to me a patriarch who's a prophet said, take nothing into it that will harm the organs thereof. And then I began to read, and came to section 89, and learned that it was a word of wisdom, given as a principle with a promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak, and the weakest of those who could be called saints. And that included me, I figured. And there was another essential point. He gave it-- he said, I warn you and forewarn you, in consequence of evils and designs that do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men, I warn you and forewarn you, by giving into you this word of wisdom by revelation. Now the scriptures say elsewhere that this is a day of warning, and not a day of many words. In one way, I envy you, with your youth and looking forward to all the opportunities and challenges. And in another way, I'm glad I'm old.

It's more comfortable. And the word of wisdom given as a principal with a promise. But what is the promise? The promise, of course, is personal revelation. Those who remember to do these things will receive health in their navel and marrow in their bones. So run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. And that means we'll have some measure of health, which is of secondary importance, I've learned. And I, the Lord, given to the promise that the destroying angel will pass by them as it did the children of Israel and not slay them. And in this, you shall receive great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. Now, the word of wisdom is, incidentally, I think, to keep us healthy. We'll observe it. But that's a losing battle. You know, no matter what you do to take care of your body, in due course, it begins to-- you know what happens. And we're not going to live forever in this life, and we can live with our infirmities. I remember once we were having a sacrament meeting in the temple, and Brother Marion D. Hanks was passing the sacrament. And I had to catch it on my shoulder, and I couldn't get my hand up to the bread plate. And it was very awkward, and I was very embarrassed. And finally, we accomplished it. And later, I apologized to him, and said, "I just couldn't. My shoulder just wouldn't move." And he said, "My shoulder wouldn't move. I couldn't get it down to you." So that was some comfort. But we have accepted as the word of wisdom in the Church some standards that we will not change. And you're not going to go on a mission unless you observe it. You're not going to go to the temple for the more sacred ordinances unless you observe it. That's no tea or coffee or liquor or tobacco or whatever else is covered by it. You know, we get strange letters that marijuana isn't listed in Section 89. Neither is strychnine or arsenic.

But of course, they're not habit forming.

The point is, if you want to move on spiritually, and do as you ought to do in this life, that's one of the requirements. And you can't just toy with it. Just a week or two ago, in a seminary class, there were some students standing in the back of the room, just as the class was opening. A new girl in the class had come in, and she kind of overheard them. And these foolish young people were talking-- it was a Monday. They were talking about what happened that weekend, and what drinks they had had. And one of them turned to her and said, what is your favorite drink? And she said, water stupid.

So, like it or not. Now, if you are tampering, if there's any mischief, you've got to quit it. And it isn't that you're going to be a healthy athlete all your life, and it isn't that you're going to avoid old age. It's that you will have the key to revelation. And when your body begins to deteriorate, the patterns of revelation will be augmented and magnified.

It's another thing to know that the Holy Ghost which is conferred upon us at the time of baptism-- remember, first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second, reptent, third, baptism by immersion to the remission of sin, and the fourth, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the Book of Mormon, again, angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. Wherefore they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, as Nephi said, wherefore I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things that you must do. Now, you in your youth are being prompted, if you will, and if you'll keep your body in a receptive circumstance, you'll be prompted. You'll have angels attend you. Angels will attend you, and they'll speak to you by the power of the Holy Ghost. But you also should know, as Moroni said, the devil persuadeth no man to do good. No, not one. Neither do his angels, neither do they who subject themselves unto him. So you are the focus of two conflicting patterns trying to influence you in your life, trying to have you go this way or that way. And you are the one that makes the decision. As the old man a generation ago said, the Lord's votin' for me, and the devil's votin' agin' me, but it's my vote that counts. And that is good solid doctrine. Now, you'll have just what you want. You have inspiration from the Holy Ghost, and you have what President Benson calls sinspiration from the angels of the devil. And they're with you all the time. Now, I gave a talk once in which I likened the mind to a stage. And there's always something going on that stage. And whatever you think's going on the stage, these ideas and prompting and temptations will move in from the side. What do you do about it? You ought to have a delete key. I know a little about computers, because my grandkids have taught me. And I know that every computer keyboard has a delete key. And something there you don't want, something you did that you want to get rid, you underline it and delete it. You can have a delete key in your mind. Your mind is in charge, and your body is the instrument of your mind. Now, you'd have to figure this out for yourself. One man showed me once that he used it his wedding ring. And he said whenever there was a thought that tried to get into his mind, and it's everywhere, he said he just rubbed his thumb against his wedding ring, and that was the delete key. Get out. I'm in charge. Now, you're in command, so you can't say that, well, I didn't know any better. You do know better. There are other ways. Music is powerful. And my older brother taught me that when he was flying in the 8th Air Force, and it was terrible, and he was shot down twice. He said finally, he got so he wasn't afraid. He wasn't afraid, because when it got that way, he turned on this little orchestra in his mind, or this little piano or musical instrument in his mind. And he took his favorite hymn, and played over and over again in his mind. I learned something, and I've lived that way. And when some ugly thought from the nether kingdom tries to get into my mind, I move it out with good music. Hymns. That's one of the reasons why you are very, very, very, very, very foolish when you like to participate in music that is dark and noisy. That inspiration can't get to you through there. No matter how popular it may be, or how much you want to belong, just remember that there are those angels of the devil. You remember the incident when Christ came across the water? They came to a cave where there were two wild men possessed of the devils. And they said, what have we to do with you? And they knew what was going to happen. And he said, if thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. There was a herd of swine feeding there. They would rather go there. They didn't have a body. Couldn't get a body. Would never have a body. And they were in possession of the bodies of those poor men. And Christ did that, and then it records that they ran away into the sea and were drowned. Now, learn from the scriptures. They're teaching you-- teaching you about everyday life. The First Presidency in the Quorum of the Twelve issued a proclamation on the family. And I can tell you how that came about. They had had a world congregation conference on the family, sponsored by the United Nations in Beijing in China. We sent representatives. It wasn't pleasant, what they heard. They called another one for Cairo. Some of our people were there. I read the proceedings of that. The word marriage was not mentioned. It was on the family, but marriage wasn't mentioned. And then they announced they were going to have one here, in Salt Lake City. Some of us made the recommendation, if they're coming here we better proclaim our position. So the proclamation on the family-- you read it. I'll read the first paragraph. We, the First Presidency and the Council of 12 Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between man and woman is ordained of God, and the family is central to the creators' plan for the eternal destiny of man. And here, the physical body comes into play. Within us is the sacred power of creation. And the adversary is busy with all of his angels, focusing right to the bullseye of what would destroy us quicker. Now, there's a matter of pornography.

It's become almost a pornographic world. Now, you leave it alone, and if you have any, destroy it. And if you have somebody that has it, help them destroy it, and don't look at it. Not ever. It is destructive, and it will take you on a path that it is not consistent with who you are, and what you can decide. Not ever. Now, to talk in something less than casual terms, don't you ever let anybody touch your body in order to stimulate, in any way, those sacred powers of creation. Nobody. Not of your same gender or any other gender. That power is to be expressed only and solely with your husband and wife to whom you are legally and lawfully married. And then, all of the happiness that is open is open to you, and you must guard that sacred power with your life. Now, if you young women are going with a young man who wants to take you to places where you shouldn't go, however appealing, but it's to those dark and noisy places, and there's some move to try to get you to do something you know you shouldn't do, cut it off. Break it up. Send him a letter.

And stamp it second class mail.

Calm down, we're talking about sacred things.

Well, it's just that serious. No pornography, no mischief. You save those creative powers until they're used for the purpose for which they're intended, and that is to create a family. Now, there are natural instincts. And they're very strong, and they have to be. And they're good. And there are cravings and temptations, and there can be habitual self-stimulation, and a lot of things that are just unworthy. Now, the young men are not the only ones we're finding now-- the young women are becoming aggressive. Not a custom in times past. And you young men guard yourself. And you just let it be known that you have ahead of you the fulfillment of the blessings that come with the great plan of happiness. And there isn't a man that I know that can't send a woman who has those designs away with just a look or a gesture, and just-- no. And the same with you young women to those young men. Now, you may feel alone. A lot of times, you are alone. But that's part of what life is. Now, they write asking, what's the position of the Church on-- word of wisdom, for instance, on soft drinks or something? And you think, why do they have to ask? It's a principle, and you have the freedom to do is you will. And you don't have to be told. You don't have to be commanded in all things. And you should know, without having to have the Church deliver a statement on it-- you should know what the Lord's position is on abortion, or cloning, or same gender marriage, or birth control. All of those things-- they're built in as a part of what we know and what we are. Now, we're about the only ones left in the world that hold of these things. When you look around, we can't find any organization that's holding to the standard. And we don't like to talk about the other churches, we're going to stand alone, and if so, there we will be. There are many things that cannot be understood, or taught, or explained, unless it is in terms of the plan of redemption. Unless you understand the basic plan, pre-mortal existence, the purpose of life, the fall, the atonement, and the resurrection-- unless you understand that, the unmarried, the abused, the handicapped, the abandoned, the addicted, the disappointed, those with gender disorientation, or the intellectual-- you'll find no enduring comfort, and not think that life is fair. Now, some say, well, we're born with some tendencies. Whether you're born with them, or you acquired them, or you got them though overmedication, addiction, or any other way, what should you do? Resist them. You resist them. You push them away. How long? As long as you live. There are some things that's a lifelong battle. Now, finally, two things.

10 years ago, I was in England. And I had my 68th birthday. And I was having a little difficulty. I couldn't put on a coat, and to comb my hair, I had to bend down. I didn't do very well at that. So I wrote a few lines, which I have entitled, "The Unfinished Composition." This isn't going to impress you English professors, but-- Unfinished Composition, Part One. I had a thought the other night, a thought profound and deep. It came when I was all worn down, too tired to go to sleep. I'd had a very busy day, and pondered on my fate. The thought was this, when I was young, I wasn't 68. I could walk without a limp, I had no shoulder pain. I could read a line through twice, and quote it back again. I could work for endless hours, and hardly stop to breathe. And things that now I cannot do, I mastered then with ease. If I could now turn back the years, if that were mine to choose, I would not barter age for youth. I'd have too much to lose. I'm quite content to move ahead, to yield my youth, however grand. The thing I'd lose if I went back is what I understand. Now, a few months ago, 10 years later, part two of this unfinished composition. 10 years have flown to who knows where, and with them, much of pain. A metal hip erased my limp-- I walk quite straight again. Another plate holds neck bones fast-- a wonderful creation. It backed my polio away. I've joined the stiff neck generation. The signs of aging can be seen.

Those things will not get better. The only thing that grows in strength with me is my forgetter.

You ask, do I remember you? Of course, you're much the same. Now, don't go getting all upset. I don't recall your name. I would agree I've learned some things I did not want to know, but age has brought those precious truths that make the spirit grow. Of all the blessings that have come, the best thing in my life is the comfort and encouragement I get from my dear wife. Our children all have married well, with families of their own, with children and grandchildren, how soon they all have grown. I have not changed my mind one bit about regaining youth. We're meant to age, for with it comes a knowledge of the truth. You ask, what will the future bring? Just what will be my fate? We'll go along and not complain. Ask when I'm 88. Part three, to be continued. Now, the last thing I want to talk to you about-- I want to talk to you about a broken bird. Over the years, I, as a diversion, I've carved wooden birds. Sometimes it would take a year to complete one. To carve the bird, I'd get specimens, and measure the feathers, and study the colors, and carve them, and carve a setting for them. And it was very helpful sometimes, when I'd get the way that I'd get depressed, and my wife would say, why don't you go carve a bird? It was a very calming thing in my life. And we were going into town one day, Brother [? Tuttle ?] and I. And I had one of the carvings. I was taking it in to show someone, and we'd put it on the backseat. And at an intersection, there was a car-- he slammed the brakes, and it tipped it upside down on the floor and broke it to pieces. He pulled over the side and looked at it, and he was devastated. And without thinking, I said, forget it. I made it. I can fix it. And I did. And I made it stronger than it was. I improved it a bit. Now, who made you? Who is your creator? There isn't anything about your life that gets bent or broken he can't fix, and will fix. But you have to decide. And if some of you have made mistakes, and you think you're broken and can't be put together, you don't know the doctrine of the Church. You don't know what the Atonement was about, and who the Lord is, and what a power he is in your life. This is His church. We are His servant. We have His authority and power. And we can perform miracles. And there are many of them. We don't talk about them, because they can be misleading, because most of those miracles seem to have to do with the body and the healing, when the greater miracles are the miracles in the lives of every one of us. So that if you're on the wrong path and you decide you have the agency, and you have the promptings of the Holy Ghost to guide you, and there is that great truth that the gospel is a gospel of repentance, and repentance is just like a mathematical equation. Repentance equals forgiveness. So, you young people, move ahead in your lives. It's a marvelous time to be alive. The world isn't going to come to an end. You're going to have time to stand as I stand now, talking about your children, and your grandchildren, and your great grandchildren, and on beyond that. You decide. You were born as spirit children of God, in the pre-mortal existence. You were born to earthly parents in this life. And the spirit and the body eternally combined, the Lord said, receiveth the fullness of joy, and the spirit and body combined is the soul of man. You are consummately precious-- to the Church, to your parents, to one another. You now begin to decide what is right. You know what's right, and have the courage to do it, and you'll be blessed, and redeemed, and exalted. As a servant of the Lord, I invoke his blessings upon you, you consummately precious young people, that you'll be protected, and that you'll learn how to hold these powers of the adversary in abeyance, simply because you command it. That he has no place with you. And on the other hand, you learn to invite the spirit of revelation that will be constantly with you, that the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion, and teach you all things. May you be blessed in your parents, who've sent you here, and may you look forward to a marvelous life in the greatest work that has ever been on the face of this earth. I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ. He lives. We know Him. He directs this church. And the gospel is true, and the plan is a great plan of happiness, with all that we should want to do. We are in one way compelled to do by commandment of the Almighty. I bear that witness, and invoke that blessing upon you as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.