Speaking on the revelation contained in Doctrine and Covenants, section four, David O. McKay said,
“When that revelation was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he was twenty-three years of age. The Book of Mormon was not yet published; no man had been ordained to the priesthood. The Church was not organized; yet the statement was made and written without qualification that ‘ . . . a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.'”
April 1952
General Conference
President David O. McKay spoke on what we can do to take upon us ‘His yoke’ in a world of trouble and tribulation. He said,
“First—We can set an example of uprightness; be honest in all our dealings; avoid vulgarity and profanity; demonstrate to our neighbors and to all whom we meet that we live clean, honorable lives.
Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven ( Matt. 5:16).
Second—Let us strive for peace and harmony in the home. If we cannot keep quarreling, bickering, and selfishness out of our home, how can we even hope to banish these evils from society?
A true Mormon home is one in which if Christ should chance to enter, he would be pleased to linger and to rest.
Third—Having at least striven for a good character, having a home environment that is creditable, we may then consistently discharge our duty as authorized representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ to declare to the world that the conditions that will bring peace and comfort to the individual, to the family, and to the nation, are found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. These can be named and understood and as easily practiced with resultant contentment and peace as are the evils and vices that bring tribulation.
Summarized these fundamentals are: An acceptance of Christ as Savior and Redeemer; a moving, soul-consciousness of the existence of God, and that he is our Father in Heaven; a daily life consistent with such a knowledge; a love for one’s fellow men.
In other words, as the Savior summarized the law and the prophets:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind . . . and thy neighbor as thyself ( Mark 12:31-32).”
“The Significance of World Trends”
October General Conference, 1947
David O. McKay shared the following experience:
“One of the great influences upon my youth was the memorizing of that important saying: “My spirit will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle” ( Hel. 4:24). I recall other warnings. One came to me as a boy. I sat on a spring seat by the side of my father as we drove into Ogden. Just before we reached the bridge across the Ogden River, a man came out of a saloon on the north bank of the river. I recognized him. I liked him because I had seen him on the stage. But on that occasion he was under the influence of liquor and had been, I suppose, for several days.
“When he saw us, he broke down and cried and asked Father for 50 cents so that he could go back into the saloon for another drink. As we drove across the bridge my father said, “David, that man whom you just saw in that drunken state used to go with me to visit the members of the ward in their homes as a representative of the priesthood.” That was all my father said to me about the incident, but it was a very vivid warning to me about the effects of dissipation that I have never forgotten.”
“A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship”
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1968, pp. 4-9
David O. McKay said,
There are, however, two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter–mind you, I say enter, not begin–a war: (1) An attempt to dominate and to deprive another of his free agency, and (2) Loyalty to his country. Possibly there is a third… Defense of a weak nation that is being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one…
(David O. McKay, CR, April 1942, p. 72)
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