I'd like to hear from President Timpson now. I've often said there's an advantage in wearing one of these things. Sometimes you can turn it off. There are several brethren that are conspicuous by their absence tonight. My thoughts have been with them a great deal today and during this service because I know where they are and what they're doing.

And it wouldn't matter whether it were in Africa or any other place. If they were called, they would be there doing the same thing. It's characteristic of the spirit of the priesthood. The spirit of the priesthood is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is peculiar. We're often confused in this subject. God is so great in the universe. He's in all things and throughout.

And those things, of course, that he accomplishes through his mind, the united mind of the Father and the Son, is the power of the Holy Ghost. But the light of Christ is in all things and through all things. And everything that breathes and has its being is by the light of Christ. It is in all things and through all things. And this light is striving with all life to keep it going, to bring about the consummate purposes.

of God. We speak of a horse being distempered. We speak of it being temporarily or permanently mentally deranged. It can be caused from an injury, from a wound inflicted, or it can be caused from improper care, improper food, diet, or care, housing. We see dogs in our neighborhood distemper. We see them fighting one another.

We see them in their peaceful moments and we see them in their warring moments. We see Mr. Khrushchev that has been referred to here tonight, many times in the past few years, in his peaceful moments and in his warring moments. No one is acquainted with Mr. Khrushchev like, except Mr. Khrushchev, except Mrs. Khrushchev. She knows his bad temper, she knows his good temper, she knows his sweet influence.

spirit when he's peaceful and he knows it when it's warlike. And we could go on and on and on and analyze these things from now until some distant, far distant time. I don't think we would accomplish very much. The spirit of God is peaceful until it's time to go to war. It's warlike. He brings about destruction. He brings about destruction because he doesn't do it when the spirit is mistaken.

Now, we've heard so much about getting the Spirit of God and keeping it these many years. Lo, these many years that I hope, my dear brothers and sisters, that we can reduce it down to just a little, narrow, little, tiny bit of a thing so we can look at it and understand it as it is. Pardon me saying so. The Spirit of God, cheerful obedience.

to one's legitimate authority. You can talk about it from now until 20 million years from now, and if you can bring it down to any more clear and beautiful, concise English terms than that, I don't know how. I'm going to challenge that statement here. I'm going to do something which is to challenge that statement. Did the Savior keep the Spirit of God with him? Did you ever hear of him ever being out of harmony with his file leader?

Did he ever speak at great length about anyone else except his file leader? He referred to Isaiah, he referred to Noah, he referred to Jonah, he referred to others of the prophets, but did he go at great length? He quoted Isaiah at quite great length in trying to make his position clear by prophecy to the people in the synagogues where he was teaching them. Because Isaiah's prophecies concerning him were very replete, numerous and beautiful. And while we're speaking of Isaiah's prophecies, I'd like to just quote one of the little ones, one of the short ones. I love it. I love to hear it quoted. I love to hear it sung. I love to hear it honored. And it was he himself, the Savior, that said, study to his disciples, search the words of the prophet Isaiah, for great are his words.

For unto us a son is given, unto us a child is born, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called. Wonderful counsel of the mighty God the Father. It's a blind, short, concise definition of the mission of our elder brother Jesus Christ, whom we have been called to follow after and after.

pattern our lives act and he paid the strictest obedience to his file leader he only had one it was easy wasn't it he only had one so it was easy wasn't it most difficult job that a man has ever taken in the history of man to follow him perfect to say if our husbands were only more intelligent if they were only more truthful if they were only more peaceful and long-suffering and patient and kind, we could follow him. You've got your wires all twisted, my dear sisters. If you can't follow the man of God in his imperfection, how are you going to follow a perfect man? Jesus was given the most difficult task that any man has walked the earth, to follow a perfect being, to be obedient to him. Now because we believe in a God who is perfection, and because

Jesus, our elder brother, proved that man also could become perfect. It has given us the faith that our God is a perfect man, that our God is just and is keen in judgment and mercy, full of mercy and full of love and full of truth. He cannot lie. He is not a variable person, but is continuous and constant and no respecter of persons and delights to honor any person in any land or nation that will honor him and keep his commandments. That's why we have faith in him. And if we study these attributes, study them and study them and study them, as we study them and exert our minds upon them, they will become a part of our character. And if we don't study them, brothers and sisters, they will not be a part of our character. Now, how do we study them?

Do we go like the world does and go from the top down to the bottom, or do we start at the bottom and go to the top? Now I'm going to ask you the question, Brother Nielsen, it looks like you're listening. How many people did the Lord give you to follow at one time? There's one. Isn't that amazing? It's so simple that anyone can answer it. Even I can answer it.

They say, oh, yes, we have several. When Daddy isn't home, why, then it's Mama. And when Mama isn't home, it's the elder brother or sister. Oh, yes, we have many, but we have one. We have one. We who are grown up and matured in this work have one file leader. Now, he may have others represent him to speak to us, to instruct us, to exhort us, to correct us, but we have one.

Now our file leader, brothers and sisters, those of you brethren who hold the priesthood, the high priesthood, have one man to follow. And he set the pattern. And when he found out who that man was that he was to follow, he went to him. This is what he wanted. I believe you. The Lord has given a testimony of the divinity of your mission. Brother Barlow, what shall I do? He was filled with the Holy Ghost.

And he's been filled with it ever since because he's never lost his source. Am I telling the truth, sister? Am I telling the truth, sister? Has any one of you ever seen Leroy Johnson when he wasn't full of the Holy Ghost? When he wasn't full of loyalty to John Y. Barlow while John Y. Barlow was alive? When he didn't boost him and help him, speak no evil against him, and never criticize him?

Is there anyone who disagrees with this? Any? We all have the same testimony. Now why did Brother Johnson do that? He did it because it was the easy way of life. And he didn't want to work at it hard. He believed the Savior when he said, My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Are you people that have gone out of your way to listen to television and radios and all this moving picture to prove that crime doesn't pay?

Even you will agree with me that the yoke of righteousness is an easy one. And if any of you won't find enough sorrow, sadness, and loneliness in this world, when you're full of the Holy Ghost, I would exhort you to try what Brother Alfred tried. Go over to New York. See how lonesome you can get. Go over to San Francisco. See how lonesome you can get.

The saints of God are lonesome and homesick when they're away from the saints. And that's the mark of the saints. It's the spirit of the Holy Ghost. It's the gathering. They desire to be at the feet of the priesthood to learn the will of God. Now there's nothing difficult about it. What is a prophet of man? He has everything else in the world. He doesn't learn his duty to God. And where else can he learn his duty?

other than that authority which God himself has placed over him to teach him. We've observed on a previous occasion that the spirit of the world is the spirit of oppression, the spirit of dominion. That's the word I want, where you usurp. That's what I want, usurp. Usurp authority. Castro's down there usurping authority, and now the United States is going to send men down to usurp Castro's authority.

Or else they're going to have some trouble with the communists if they do it. Well, that's the spirit of the world. But the spirit of the world is the same spirit that Erwin referred to tonight. A challenging of the priesthood of God. A challenging of a well-defined order that's been set up from our father Adam down to the present time. These men get the spirit.

period of usurpation because they're asked to sit on the bench a little too long. They get ambitious. They're going to kill somebody themselves and their families and other folks' families while they're doing it. Now that is not the spirit of the priesthood. The spirit of the priesthood is the spirit of submission to legitimate authority. And there's no ambition in it. There's no ambition in it. You never hear of God being an ambitious God. You don't hear of Joseph.

smithing ambitiously except in apostates. No, he was not ambitious. He wanted to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his brothers and sisters. How in the world can a man get ambitious and engage in that kind of a thing? Unless it's Lucifer and wants to save them in spite of himself and damn them to hell if they don't do what he tells them. Well, I'm grateful, my dear brothers and sisters, that we have manlike Brother Johnson will lead us. Brother Hammond. Brother Mussel. Brother Jeffs. Brother Jessup. But I love them like I love my own life. I love them because they've taught me to serve God and to keep his commandments. And I'm so damn stupid that I can't follow their instructions. And I'm breaking the commandments all the time they are. The word of wisdom. The word of wisdom hits me like a hammer. Hits glass and I fly in 26 feet.

thousand different directions. But I doubt if there's a man in this work that loves the word of wisdom more than I do. I love it because it's pounding me, pounding me. I sometimes have to take a drink of wine to forget how hard it's pounding me. Well, Susie, did you enjoy your tea once more? Well, I would just wish him when I got up to speak that I had a cup of Susie's tea. I want to talk a little about the Word of Wisdom, and probably I'll end up by reading it if I have time. I'll talk about it first.

A very recent convert who has a fine family came to me not long ago and he says, Brother Timpson, I'm in trouble. Trouble? I said, what about? He says, over the word of wisdom. I said, you too? Trouble over the word of wisdom. I wanted to just get out, but he just kept me right there. So as you know, one of my dear brethren that has a little more authority than I do was criticizing one of our dear sisters because she drank a cup of tea and told me that she's under condemnation, and I know she isn't. And I told him she wasn't. He said, well, she's under condemnation to the extent that she takes a cup of tea.

I guess that isn't as good a condemnation, is it? I hope everybody here can stand the little story I'm going to tell them, Brother Johnson. I've told it to half of you already. If I shouldn't have them done, I should be. I'll tell it to the rest of you, and then you tell it to the cockeyed world. I was down in Cedar City a few weeks ago and went in the cafe to see the owner of the cafe to buy some stock.

And there was Brother Johnson drinking a cup of coffee. That's a nasty word. If I hadn't have told that quick, I wouldn't have dared to tell it. He said, will you have a cup of coffee, Brother Timpson? Glad to see you. And I said, I sure will. So we talked over our business. He was feeling good about his day's work, and I was feeling pretty good about my anticipation for a day's work. He gets up earlier than I do. And after I left, he insisted on paying for that coffee. I was glad of that. Didn't want to ever have anyone accuse me of buying Brother Johnson a cup of coffee. Well, we went on our way.

excused himself and came on up the line and i proceeded to talk to the thing i went to this man who had complained bitterly against one of our dear sisters drinking tea and told him this story and i said my dear brother my dear brother and i tell you this in all sincerity i would rather drink a half of a bottle of whiskey and lay in the gutter all night long than to find myself criticizing my file leaders. And if you please, I'd rather break the word of wisdom than I would commit the most mortal sin that man can commit. So help me God, I hope nobody will challenge me on it, because I'm not a drinking man. Do we realize what we're doing to our bodies when we drink tea and coffee, chew tobacco? I don't know much about it. I've read these scientists.

until I'm blue and black in the face, and I don't know much about it. But I'll tell you I know what happens to me when I start criticizing my legitimate authority. I have heard men with a goblet or two of wine in their stomach praise their file leaders, sing songs and anthems to God the King. And I've never witnessed a finer spirit in my life. But I have never in all my life ever witnessed a fine spirit connected with the criticism of one's legitimate authority. And if I live to be as old as Methuselah, I don't expect it. Now, one of our earlier speakers tonight said, if you want to obey your legitimate authority, get the Spirit of God. And that's wonderful. Now, my dear brother, if you want the Spirit of God, obey.

your legitimate authority. And just tie them both up together and just keep doing both of them. But I would put the horse right square in front of a cart. If you want the Spirit of God to obey your legitimate authority, placed over you by the priesthood of God, which is God. I don't give one damn how many times you get mad. I don't. So help me, I don't, if you throw one of your kids through the wall.

If you're doing what your husband tells you to do, you don't lose the Spirit of God. No, you won't. But if you're doing that when he tells you not to, then you will. When the Lord told Nephi to cut off a man's head, he didn't lose the Spirit of God. It increased him. That act of obedience built up his spirit of power. The Spirit says it's better that one man should die than a whole nation should dwindle in unbelief.

Now there's no mystery about it anymore. Has anybody got any questions? Has anybody got any questions? The Spirit of God is here because you people have come up to call a priest to be here and to listen to the words of life. Why do you lose it when you go away? Has your purpose changed? Has your purpose changed because you go home and go to bed and you go out and do your work? If you're going out to build up Brother Johnson, And he sure needs a lot of building up. The Lord doesn't, but Brother Johnson does. He needs a lot of help, doesn't he? He needs a lot of help. He needs a lot of help, brothers and sisters. He needs faith and he needs prayer. He needs money. He needs a few of the good things of life. God help you and me to help him get to my prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.