I hang out with people who are very high in life. This has been delightful to be here so far. I was welcomed at the airport by Lisa and Leilani, two wonderful young people who got me settled in and made me feel welcome here. I'm interested, especially facing you here today about reports I hear periodically about what people fear most of all. I keep hearing the same report over and over again. The most universal fear among human beings is apparently public speaking. I thought of that today when I came.
One of my children suggested things I ought to ponder, one of which was, "What happens if you get scared half to death twice?" You should be pondering many things and these are some of them. l give you another if you'd like. They keep telling me, "The early bird gets the worm but did you know it's the second mouse that gets the cheese?" I'm delighted to be here on this subject. If I could play or sing as we've heard here today, you would never have to listen to me speak. I just think music touches the soul in ways that the spoken word has a difficult time reaching there, as it were.
Some time ago it dawned on me that of the sixteen prophets the Lord has had here on this earth in this dispensation. I happened to become personally acquainted with ten of those sixteen. No, I'm not buddies with all of them but I have met them each personally and had some personal encounters with them and I find this as most enriching experiences, one of which is knowing these ten makes me realize that Joseph Smith was not far away as some of us think. Its only reaching a little bit farther and it happens.
I'd like to share with you some things that I learned. I'd like to share my experiences with at least three of them. I have letters in my possession. The first one is from President Heber J. Grant who served as president of the church. If you look at this on the screen you'll see this famous signature for which he was noted, especially important if you know the story about his poor penmanship and how it came about.
When my father died, I was just fourteen years of age. President Grant wrote this letter to my mother and the family and gave each of us our own copy of this letter. I didn't realize a few things at the time when I received it. But if you'll look up here where his signature is, he said to us, "Sister Grant and I do not send flowers to our friends when they are in sorrow. But instead, we send books which last so much longer. I am sending you some books with the hope that you may find words of consolation in them." He sent three books to each one of us eight children and four books to my mother, a total of 27 books. The Prince of Peace by William Jennings Bryan. Inside he had an inscription in each one of these. The Power of Truth by William George Jordan, again with his personal inscription. Then for you business majors, you might be interested in The Fundamentals of Prosperity, by Roger Babson. I find this a very wonderful practice. In fact, I find in our scriptures in the Doctrine & Covenants, at least four times, we're admonished to seek best books and search diligently to learn. Doctrine & Covenants 88: 118, Doctrine & Covenants 90:15, and Doctrine & Covenants 109:7 and 14 all note this that we should study out of the best books and you're here to do that. We'll look at that a little bit more in a minute.
Second in President Grant's letter, he shared two particular experiences with us that had made me curious. I didn't realize at the time we received this letter on September 23, 1941, that he said, "Twice in my life I have asked the Lord to give me some office in the church. One was to be in the superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. The next day, I had prayed so hard, I was appointed as one of the assistants to President Joseph F. Smith who was then the General Superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. Brother B.H. Roberts was appointed as an assistant at the same time. We immediately took a hold of the work and held regular board meetings and we had started The Improvement Era as at that time the association had no magazine. The other time that my prayer was answered in this respect was when I was in Japan. I prayed for the Lord to have me sent home from Japan and to have me called to Europe. Just a few days later, a cablegram came telling me to return home on the first vessel. I went to Europe and the three years I spent there were the most enjoyable three years of my life. I know by my experience how thoroughly your husband and father must have enjoyed his missionary work."
I've pondered for many years now why he chose to share those two experiences with us young children. When my father died, it left my mother with 8 children to raise by herself. The oldest was 16 and my youngest sister was just one year old. He chose to write this letter and I've always been curious why he chose those experiences. I have finally concluded in part why. I think he wanted us young kids to know that prayer really is efficacious. That prayers do get answered. I think the second thing he wanted us to know was probably in the 58th section in the Doctrine & Covenants. If you take a chance to read the 26th through the 29th verses you'll find there, "Be anxiously engaged in a good cause" and "do many things of your own free will" and "choose righteousness."
I think the third thing he wanted us to understand, especially in that one line, "The three most enjoyable years of my life," and he was now in the final years of his life. I think he wanted to emphasize to us that service to others really does bring joy. We hope you'll find that in your life.
A second letter I have is from President George Albert Smith. I found this one very interesting and he writes me, "Dear Brother McKay, I received your address this morning from your mother..." By the way, this is while I was serving in the military service during World War II. "I received your address this morning from your mother and hastened to send you a few lines. I trust that the set of church books reached you safely." Again, books. A pocket edition of The Book of Mormon and a pocket edition of The Principles of the Gospel just fit in my dungaree pockets and went with me throughout the war. A reference, The Principles of the Gospel gave instructions on how to hold meetings and how to do priesthood ordinances. "I trust that the set of books reached you safely and that in the not too distant future, a set will be forwarded to Private Brian Renstrom." He was the buddy who enlisted with me. " I know that you boys will enjoy reading these books together and I hope that you will be permitted to associate together as long as possible and that you will help one another in every way." And again, his signature. He talked to me a little bit in this letter about how there's a line. One side is the Lord's side and the other is the devil's side. You want to make sure you're on the Lord's side because as long as you're there, the devil has no power over you. I thought that was most interesting.
President George Albert Smith served as the president right after President Heber J. Grant. I'll leave it to you to discover what relationship was President George Albert Smith to Joseph Smith. Take that to your religion class if you don't already know.
The final letter I wanted to share with you is from President David O. McKay who had some interest in this institution here I understand. No, I am not his son. We always called him, "Uncle Dade" but we're actually cousins. President McKay's father, David McKay, and my grandmother, Willimina McKay, were brother and sister. If you ever go to Huntsville Utah, you'll find two houses there: a big white one President McKay was born in and raised in and a rock house next door where I grew up. We always called him "Uncle Dade." He never lived there while I was growing up. He had already been called to be an apostle and lived in Salt Lake but he frequently made journeys to Huntsville and we became acquainted.
This letter I also received while I was a young missionary in England many years ago "My dear nephew Quinn." I guess that should be in quotation marks but it shows a relationship. This was in 1950. "I was pleased to receive your letter of April 1, 1950 and not that it radiate the spirit of a true missionary. This conclusion is received to by reports that I have received directly from missionaries who have returned from the British mission. One or two of whom who had the privilege of serving with you." And then he goes into some details telling about when he was a young missionary 50 years, of holding some street meetings in Glasgow, Scotland and the experience that he had.
Then he goes on to say, "It does not seem possible that 52 years have passed since I was in the field as you are now." On he goes to say, referring to a personal matter. And this interests me about the apostle Paul's letters. He wrote to his friend Titus. He wrote to his friend Timothy. He wrote to his friend Philemon. And they are recorded. I've often wondered what it would be like to have in our scriptures Paul's signature at the end of each of those epistles that he wrote.
Anyway, President McKay goes on to tell me, "I'm sorry that an accident prevented me from performing Gunn's marriage ceremony." That's my brother. "I promised him that I would do so but on that morning I was in the hospital and unable to fulfill my promise." He had actually hooked up his horses in Huntsville, which he often did early in the morning. If you want to test your energy level, President McKay often got up early in the morning in Salt Lake, drove a little more than an hour and a half to Huntsville, his old home town, a farming community. He'd hook up his horses for an hour or two and be back in his office by eight o'clock in the morning. He was up there, on this occasion, pulling some logs with his team of horses and one of the logs rolled on his legs and injured them and that's why he was in the hospital.
In fact, President McKay married my wife and I, performed the ceremony in the temple. In fact, it interests me when you come here and see the colors of Brigham Young University-Hawaii. I graduated from BYU and my wife graduated from University of Utah the very same year. University of Utah's colors are red. So this creates a problem in our family when basketball games are played and such. So just to compromise, we wear the color purple.
He came and performed the wedding ceremony for Shirley and me over 55 years ago and as was the custom, we invited him to come to our wedding reception held in the Institute of Religion on the University of Utah campus. He being president of the church, we just assumed that he'd be to busy to come. My wife was very active as a student with activities on the University of Utah campus, thereby, a lot of her friends came. We learned that after this reception was over that the waiting line was one hour long. Uncle Dade, President McKay, and his wife, Aunt Ray, came to the reception when my mission president spied him waiting in the line. Sovoid J. Boyer went back and said, "President, you're too busy. You can't do this waiting. Come with me," intending to bring them up to the front of the line. President McKay said, "No, thank you. We will take our turn." These last 55 years, he has haunted me. Every time I've been tempted to step in the front of a line, this vision of Uncle Dade standing in that line for an hour comes by. These prophets not only taught us good things; they exemplified the kind of behavior that we ought to emulate, to be the children of God and His followers.
In this letter, he went on to say, "I'm proud of what you boys are doing and even prouder of your precious mother. I can say to you in the words of the prince in Tennyson's poem, The Princess, "Happy he, with such a mother! faith in womankind, beats with his blood, and trust in all things high, comes easy to him, and though he trip and fall, he shall not blind his soul with clay." And then as Paul did in many of his letters, "Say hello and greet so-and-so," President McKay said, please remember me to President and Sister Richards [my mission president] and to others with whom you are laboring and whom you might meet." And then I love this sentence, "Please accept the enclosed five dollars for a few good meals with your companion." That sounds a little far fetched, but in those days, as a matter of fact, five dollars would buy a few good meals.
To understand President McKay and a little bit of what you have emanated here on your campus, he grew up in a day when the eighth grade was the expected education for any young person. Most people in our town didn't even get to the eighth grade but those who did, they had fulfilled what you would think of as a high school education today.
At one time President Mckay's mother, we called her Aunt Jeanette, received an inheritance of $2500. All those around her were advising her, in particular, her brother in law, Isaac McKay, who was a very successful businessman, advised Aunt Jeanette, "Now take that $2500 and invest it and only use the interest for what you want. That would serve you for a long time in your life." Aunt Jeannette declined all the advice. She took the $2500, she provided wagon, team of horses, loaded in the wagon some flour, some potatoes, and other things to eat and keep, put four of her children in the wagon, tied dairy cow on behind the back of the wagon and sent them off 75 miles to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah to go to school. Those four children got a college education when it was almost unheard of, especially in our farming community, population 496, up in the mountains.
That emphasis on education has made all the difference in the world to President McKay and others in his family. Now, you are in that position. I want to extend a little bit of what this has spawned in me and as I thought about it for several days now what might be of advice and help to you.
I would like to charge you, if I can, give you my admonition. My wife and I teach institute of religion. We teach 18 to 31 year olds every Friday night; 18 to 31 year old singles, by the way. We're talking about Paul's letters right no, First Corinthians in chapter 13. Paul urges us to bear up one another's burdens and then he goes on to list the number of things that we can do. Where their hands hang down, lift them up. In fact, the scriptural thought from Galatians emphasized this, that we should love one another. And I'm guessing that most of you are here trying to get an education so you can get a career that will allow you to go out and serve your fellowmen. I'd like to suggest to you, you rethink that. Go ahead, get a career and go out and serve. How will you serve them?
I'd like to share with you an experience, if I can, that makes me grateful. I'm sorry, I don't know the poet's name but I like his verse. "My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done. Make countless marks for good or ill ere sets the evening sun. This is the thought I always think, the prayer I always pray. Lord, may my life bless other lives along the way." I'm going to admonish you right now that you don't wait until you get out and earn a career with enough money to provide food or clothes or housing for those that are down and out. There are things you can do now and I'd like to share part of my own experience in hopes that it will carry a message home.
Because of economic circumstance, ten years of depression, my mother and father never talked about getting an education in collage. They always talked at the dinner table about not if the boys go on missions but when they went and we all did go. But no one mentioned about getting an education and especially when father died and left mother in dire economic circumstances to provide for those eight children, missions were in jeopardy, let alone an education.
Then some things began to happen. I was seven years out of high school and I was home from my mission. I was working as a milk deliveryman, up at 3:30 in the morning to prepare my truck with the milk bottles and then deliver the early morning milk. This was several years after high school had occurred. My supervisor began to suggest, "Quinn, why don't you think of gettin a college education?" That was out for me so I didn’t pay much attention. He'd remind me again, "You know Quinn, you could go to Weber College." It was a two-year school. He talked and finally when Christmas time came around, the week between Christmas and New Years, my supervisor comes to me and he says, "Quinn, you ought to go over to Weber college and register, they're registering there for school."
I thought about that for a while. I knew where the Deseret Gym was so I finally wondered over. I didn't know you had to register, I didn't even know what registration meant. I walked in the door and there was a young student sitting there are the desk. When I walked in she says, "Can I help you?" and I said, "Yes, I want to go to school." She said, "What to you want to study?" and I said, "Books!" She said, "Well, what do you want to major in?" That immediately called my military experience, and I said to her, "Well, I was only a Corporal, I wasn't a Major." This dialogue went on for a few minutes and she could see it wasn't getting any place.
Fortunately Talmage DeLange came walking by and she said, "Mr. Dalang, can you help this young man?" Mr. DeLange took me over and sat me down and counseled me about how to get into school and what to study. I don't know why it happened, it must be obvious. He was an accounting teacher so I majored in accounting. In fact, at one time I was headed to be a CPA and then I escaped.
I registered for school but at that time, I was earning money to help mother provide for the needs of those eight fatherless children so I know I had to work part time and I knew I had to make up my mind I would study. I would get my lessons. I would not have time for extracurricular activity. I went to school. Don Ripplinger, who was president of the Delta Phi fraternity, a return missionary fraternity, invited me to come join. I told him I couldn't, I had these other obligations. He came back again one day. "Quinn, we're short a member on our intramural football team. Would you come and play with us this afternoon?" I couldn't turn it down and so one thing led to another and he got me involved in the extracurricular activities on campus.
When I was nearly finishing my second year at Weber Collage, Henry Dickson, the president of the collage stopped me in the hall. He said, "Quinn, what are you going to do now when you graduate?" I told him I had to go out and go to work for I was already providing means for my mother to provide help for this family. He turned to me and he said, "Quinn, you need to finish your college." Patted me on the shoulder and walked away. I cogitated on that for about two weeks. Finally decided I’d experimented so I sent in an application to BYU. They accepted me, to my surprise.
I went that fall to BYU, again, to study. Mel Maybe, a friend of mine, a missionary, who I had met in Czechoslovakia years before, came to me and said, "Quinn you ought to join Blue Key Honor Society." I declined him. Again, I other things to do, and came back to me again, and of all things it was made up of men that were so busy, the only time they could get together once a week was 6 AM in the morning. Well I had time then so I went with him and joined. It was interesting, I'd only been on campus one quarter. It was when we had the quarter system.
One of the members of that blue key organization came to me and said, "Quinn, you ought to run for student body president," which was starting a month away. I had only been on campus for one month and he said, "That doesn't make any difference. You can do it. We'll help you." So he and a group got together and ran me for student body president. Somehow I was elected.
In your life, in lives of people around you, one of the greatest gifts you can give them is to give them a vision of their possibilities. So many of us go through life and we don't see our potential. We're sons and daughters of God and many of us don't understand that. Just a little help from a friend.
I was just graduating from BYU. In fact, I don't know how it happened. That spring when I was elected, I went with Leroy Porter down to University of Arizona. They had an association of student body presidents of the thirteen western states. When we got down there, I got acquainted with all these students from the thirteen western states. During the course of events, a couple of the kids from the University of Utah nominated me for president of that organization. I still don't know how it happened but I got elected. Whole worlds began to open up just because someone had enough interest in this little farm boy from the great town of Huntsville, saw more potential in him than he saw in himself.
I was finishing my last year at BYU, after one of the classes taught by William F. Edwards, he stopped me and he said, "Quinn, there's a scholarship posted on the bulletin board by the dean's office. You should apply for it and do graduate work." Well, I followed his advice. I went by the bulletin board and sure enough, there was a scholarship covering tuition and living expenses. But it was a little collage back in Boston called Harvard. A boy from Huntsville that milked cows every night and morning going to a place like that? It didn't take me long. That didn't make any sense at all. Two weeks later after class, Professor Edwards stopped me and asked, "Quinn, I thought you would ask me for a letter of recommendation for that scholarship." I had forgotten and so I said, "What scholarship?" He said, "You didn't apply did you?" He took me into his office. He pulled out an application, blank, a 16-page application blank, and helped me fill out the first two pages and said, "Now take it, and finish it, send it in," and I did. I got notice back that I was the recipient of the Donald Kirk David Fellowship." That opened that world to go to school where our President Steve Wheelwright served so very well.
Young people, most of us don't see the potential that's in us. You have friends. You have an obligation not to wait till you graduate to help but them get a vision of what they might do. Education pays in this world. A little bit of encouragement. In fact, I'm convinced now that half the educational value on a University campus comes outside the classroom in extracurricular activities. Somebody else taught me this. You have the chance to teach someone else. All of your people don't need to go to a university and get a degree but they need education beyond high school. Good technical schools learn how to weld, learn how to put pipes together for plumbing, learn how to handle electricity. These are also useful, worthy things in life to know but just the exposure, the opening of those veiled eyes to see what you as a child of God have as a potential is the greatest gift you could give to one of your fellow brothers or sisters.
This process of good friends led this little farm boy to live out in Rangoon, Burma, now Myanmar, between Thailand and India. My wife gave birth to our first child while we were out there and spent two years with our Buddhist and our Hindu friends. Our whole eye opener as to what it really means that we are brothers and sisters. Later, we spent two years in Nigeria, Africa, where our last child was born. I know she's ours. It wasn't mixed up in the hospital, I was the only doctor present when she was born even though I'm the kind of doctor that doesn't do anybody any good. We lived in Switzerland for a year and learned of a whole group of people coming from around the world and England in five years. We even spent five years in Texas, another foreign country.
Brothers and sisters may I plead with you. Be mindful to love one another and this is one way you can love a brother or a sister, to help them clear their eyes, and have that vision of what their potential is. I am so grateful that others saw so much more in this Quinn McKay than he ever saw in himself. That is what I call serving our brothers and sisters. I repeat again, "My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done. Make countless marks for good or ill ere sets the evening sun. This is the thought I always think, the prayer I always pray. Lord, may my life bless other lives along the way."
I bear you my witness that learning these things, the hymn comes back, "Because I have been given much, I too must give." This is one way you can give now is help a brother or sister see their potential. Once they see they'll often find a way to get there but if they don't see, it's hard to push them there. I bear my witness that God lives. We are truly sons and daughters. His prophets that I have come to know personally and the others anciently truly are his emissaries and speak to him. I bear this witness that it will bring joy to your lives and bless others beyond even your imagination, which witness I give, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.