Well, brothers and sisters, this has been a wonderful evening, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to say a few words. I hope I can add to the wonderful instruction and spirit that we've all felt together so far. Melvin J. Ballard said the following, and as I received this assignment, I went back into some of his teachings. He was a great advocate of the family history work in his day. He said (quote): "It was made known to me that it is because the righteous dead who have received the gospel in the spirit world are exercising themselves. And in answers to their prayers, elders and sisters of the Church are sent to the homes of their posterity so that the gospel might be taught to them and that a descendant in the flesh is then privileged to do the work for their kindred dead." Grandfather continued: "How we looked forward to the completion of the Logan Temple. It was about to be dedicated. My father had labored on that temple from its very first beginning, and my earliest recollections was carrying his dinner each day as he brought the sand and the rock down from the quarry. How we looked forward to that great event. I remember"--and he was 11 years of age--"how in the meantime Father and Mother made every effort to obtain all the data and information they could concerning their relatives. It was the theme of their prayers, night and morning, that the Lord would open the way whereby they could get information concerning their dead. "While Father was a bishop, and incidentally served for two months short of 40 [4-0] years, was writing recommends for the members of his ward who were to be present at the service of dedication, two elderly gentlemen walked down the streets of Logan, approached my two younger sisters, and coming to the oldest one of the two, he placed in her hands a newspaper and said, 'Take this to your father. Give it to no one else. Go quickly with it. Don't lose it.' "The child responded, and when she met our mother, she wanted the paper. The child said, 'No, I must give it to Father and no one else.' She was admitted to the room and told her story. Father looked in vain for these travelers. They were not to be seen. No one else saw them. "Then he turned to the paper. The newspaper, the Newbury Weekly News, was printed in my father's old English home, Thursday, May 15, 1884, and reached our hands in Logan on May 18, three days later, in 1884. We were astonished, for by no earthly means could it have reached us. "So our curiosity increased as we examined it. Then we discovered one page devoted to the writings of a reporter of the newspaper who had gone on his vacation, and among other places, he visited the old cemetery. The church's inscriptions led him to write what he found on the tombstones, including the verses. He also added the names, dates of the births, deaths, etc., filling nearly an entire page. It was the old cemetery in Thatcham where the Ballard family had been buried for generations. And many of my father's immediate relatives and other intimate friends were mentioned in the article." When the matter was presented to President Merrill of the Logan Temple, he said, "You are authorized to do the work for those because you received it through messengers of the Lord." And Grandfather concluded: "There is no doubt that the dead who had received the gospel in the spirit world had put into the heart of that reporter to write these things. And thus the way was prepared for my father and mother to obtain the information they sought. And so it is with you who are in this work. The way shall be opened, and you will be able to gather data far beyond your expectations" (close quote). Now, brothers and sisters, 65 years ago, while on my mission to England, I visited Mr. Ashley Turner, the publisher of the Newbury Weekly News. The effort to convince Mr. Turner that I needed to see the May 15, 1884, edition took all of my missionary skills. I was grateful I had served for 20 months and was able to overcome all of his objections. Finally, I told him this story that I've just shared with you. He then took me back to what they call the "morgue" in the newspaper business. We lifted up the May 15, 1884, edition. He allowed me to take this picture, which we'll put up on the screen. That was taken with my camera as a missionary 65 years ago. I'd like bear testimony to you, my beloved brothers and sisters, that all that's been said tonight about this work operating on both sides of the veil. For the Ballard family, this story that I've just shared with you and my personal experience of seeing the newspaper in the Newbury Weekly News offices convinces me without reservation or question, along with many other experiences myself and others of the Brethren and you have had, that it is true that those on the other side of the veil are very much interested in what we are doing and can do here as we carry on this glorious and wonderful work. I had an experience that I'd like to share with you from Brother Wood. Brother Wood was a remarkable leader in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. He was--and I could be wrong on this, but I think he was the temple president and the stake president and a patriarch all at the same time. He was an institution. He said the following, that he was performing a sealing and when he started, he felt impressed to ask the mother if the list contained all the names of her children. She responded, "Yes." President Wood attempted to proceed but was stopped again, and he asked the mother again. The third time, he was stopped. He asked the mother if she had lost a child. The mother then remembered that they had lost a son who was born alive but died very shortly after. The name was given and the sealing took place. President Wood said (quote): "Every time I started to seal the children, I heard a voice, 'Mother, don't forget me,' and I could not go any further. The appeal was made each time until the omission was discovered. Our loved ones who have departed are conscious of what is happening. They are often very near to us. Their hearts are turned to the work we are doing. We can make them happy and make ourselves happy" (close quote).

My brothers and sisters, while I was in Thatcham, I went to the same graveyard where the Ballards had been buried. And I was fortunate enough to have somebody that knew a lot more about family history than I did. And she had found--this is Sister Linton. She was in her 60s, and she called me. I was in talking to the vicar. And I heard her: "Elder Ballard, Elder Ballard, come quickly! Come quickly!" I thought someone maybe was attacking her. I ran out, and here she was--I still see this as though it was yesterday--on her hands and knees. She had the wire brush. She had the sponges. She had everything you needed to have. I didn't have anything with me, but she did. Then she responded, "I think I've found your fourth great-grandfather and his father." I wrote immediately. I got all the information. We took it down just like the reporter had done, and I sent it to Aunt Myrtle. In those days, everybody had an Aunt Myrtle that did family history. We didn't have what we have now. I got a letter back from her, before my mission concluded, that I had found something they'd been looking for for a long time. Sister Linton found it, the Lord found it, and I was a beneficiary to be part of it. So I simply add my testimony to those beautiful testimonies that have been borne tonight, that this is one work. We are anxiously engaged in finding, teaching, baptizing, confirming, blessing the lives of our Father's children on this side of the veil. Likewise, the work is going forward very aggressively on the other side of the veil. Wilford Woodruff has this one remarkable story in his journal. He said that he wanted to talk to the Prophet Joseph. Apparently, after the Prophet had been martyred, it was not unusual for the Prophet to visit and to answer questions, I suppose, for Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff. Wilford Woodruff had something on his mind he wanted to review with the Prophet. The Prophet came past him. He said he couldn't stop because he was in a hurry. And then Father Smith passed him, and some of the brethren that he had worked with all passed him. None of them would stop and talk to him because they were in a hurry. Finally, Joseph returned. He said, "Wilford, what is it you want?" He said, "Well, one thing I'd like to know. Why is everyone in such a hurry? I thought I would die and get on the other side and things would be calm." Then Joseph Smith--and I quote this as closely as I can--said: "Wilford, every dispensation has had ample time to do their work. We have not. We are in a hurry to prepare both the spirit world and the physical world and preparing for that day when the Savior will return." So, my beloved brothers and sisters, you're the stake presidents. You're the leaders in this area that have been invited to this meeting tonight. May the Lord bless you. May you inspire your people. May you lift them and get them to see and feel the power of family history, the power of what happens in the temples of the Lord, this great and wonderful work of redemption, salvation of our Father's children. May you be blessed. And I ask our Heavenly Father to bless you in every way as you lead in your stakes this great and holy work. I leave you my testimony that I know that Jesus is the Christ. He's the Savior and Redeemer of the world. This is His Church. We are all on His errand. May the Lord bless us to be in a hurry is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.