My Gratitude

Elder Charles A. Didier

Of the First Quorum of the Seventy

My dear brothers and sisters, I suppose that everybody knows, even if it is not yet Church doctrine, that French is the language of heaven. Yes. And if you didn’t know it, I think there is still time to repent before the next conference.

My dear brothers and sisters, if I am here today, I owe it to hundreds of hands which pushed me, pulled me, helped me, sustained me to be here today; in fact, to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And what I want to share today with you is simply a message of gratitude: First to thank my wife, my dear wife, for what she has done for me, for the faith that she had in me and her constant effort to be a loving mother to two boys.

To my mother, now deceased, but who had the courage to lead the family to the Church, to see that the children of the family were taught in the principles of the gospel.

To my father, still not a member, but for what he taught me—to always select quality in life.

To the missionaries, the missionaries who came knocking on my door to bring me the message of the restoration of the gospel, to those who taught me, who baptized me, to those with whom I had the great pleasure to work in the France-Switzerland Mission, missionaries whom I respect for their dedication, their sacrifice, and their example.

Thank you to you great people of America, for you, your fathers, and your grandfathers who gave your lives to give freedom to my country two times in forty years.

Thank you to the leaders of the Church, to the managers who have helped me to be a constant practicer of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you also to the prophet of the Lord, President Kimball, whom I love and admire because he’s here to lead us, to guide us in very difficult times.

Thank you to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for his sacrifice. Thank you to my Father in heaven who gave me the possibility to learn about the beauty of his gospel.

I would like to share with you my testimony, that I know that God lives, that I know that Jesus is the Christ, as well as I know that the Holy Ghost can murmur and whisper in your ear the same testimony that I have today about the veracity of the Book of Mormon and all the principles that exist in the church of Jesus Christ on earth today.

And this I bear solemn witness to you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.