Conference in Paris

“We love you very much,” said President Kimball. “We have come a long way to tell you this, and to tell you how we appreciate all that you are doing.” That is how President Kimball opened the area conference in Paris, the first of five area conferences in July and August.

About 4,200 members from France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and French-speaking Switzerland and Belgium thrilled to the messages of the General Authorities and poured out their feelings in their music, their cultural presentations, and their attentive listening to the messages.

President Kimball set goals for them: a thousand missionaries from Europe, choirs in every ward or branch, a firm commitment to build up Zion where they are, to follow the example of self-sufficiency and mutual aid given by members of the Church after the Teton Dam flood in Idaho, and to become concerned, dedicated parents. “We are convinced that nobody can take care of children like their own parents. We hope the fathers will take a more definite interest in the rearing of their children. It isn’t enough just for a father to provide the means.”

Sister Camilla Kimball, speaking at the mother-daughter session, underscored President Kimball’s warning that a mother’s first responsibility was to her children. Then she encouraged women to qualify themselves to fulfill two vocations: that of homemaker and that of breadwinner. She explained the reasons: “An unmarried woman is always happier if she has a vocation in which she can be socially serviceable and financially independent. In no case should she be urged to accept an unworthy companion as a means of support. Any married woman may become a widow without warning. Another valid reason for a woman to prepare herself to fulfill a vocation is that not all of her lifetime could possibly be completely filled with demands of a family, home, and children. When a mother’s children are reared, … her real life’s work may seem done, when in reality it has only changed. Shall she become a burden or shall she embark upon a new adventure?”

President N. Eldon Tanner related several stories from his own life of opportunities to bear witness of the gospel in high places, and he encouraged members never to be ashamed of the gospel. “What is there in the Church to be ashamed of?” he asked. “The only thing I can think of is the way some of us live. Are you ashamed that you’re a spirit child of God? that you voted to support Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world? that you know God lives? that there will be a resurrection for all of us?”

Elder Thomas S. Monson encouraged the members to make three pledges that would enrich their participation in the conference and increase their ability later:

First, “I will listen to the words of the Prophet. I will let them penetrate deeply into my heart. I will let them be the guiding influence in my life.”

Second, “I will learn.” Elder Monson testified that he had learned determination from President Kimball, loyalty and integrity from President Tanner, tenacity and obedience from President Romney.

Third, “I will labor.” He stressed particularly missionary labors as new directions in missionary work unfold in Europe during the next months.

The conference took place in the Centre International de Paris, a recently completed and thoroughly modern structure. Side-by-side translation of the General Authorities’ talks turned English into French while simultaneous translations through earphones provided for the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese members.