On the train en route to Ogden, I had
a long and interesting conversation with Apostle Lorenzo Snow, President of the
Quorum of the Twelve. He spoke to me at length concerning the Church School
Cause, and encouraged me in my labors in the same. Then, taking me by the hand,
he pronounced over me words of counsel, and blessing, and that too by the
spirit of prophecy; for so he declared to me; and so the testimony in my own
heart bore record. As soon as possible,—within a quarter of an hour after the
interview closed, I wrote down, as fully as I could remember, the sentiments he
expressed. Said he, “I do not know exactly why, but I feel, and have always
felt a deep interest in you. I want you to feel encouraged in your labors; and
to cultivate a love for life and a desire to live, for I tell you, you shall
live till you are satisfied with life; and if you so desire till you are a very
old man. You shall attain to the very highest pinnacle of fame, that your heart
may aspire toward; and you shall reach a position which very few men in the
church will attain. The Lord has wondrously blessed you; you are endowed with
talents many and great,—endowments for which many men would give a fortune of
millions of dollars; and if you will continue to cultivate a spirit of humility,
and fail not to give to God the glory for your successes, achieved through His
favor, you shall be blessed of God, more and more; and your heart shall be
filled with blessings indescribable. You are called to fulfill a mission of
rare and great importance in the Church, and the Lord will assist you”.
I was deeply affected at his words;
and I asked of him as a favor to offer criticism and instruction whenever he
saw me wandering from the track of the Gospel, for I have seen so many men,
highly favored of God, fall away through pride and arrogance. To this
President Snow replied,—“Brother Talmage, I will do so, but I prophecy to you,
as Joseph Smith prophesied to me once,—though your weaknesses may be many, and
your failings not a few, yet the Lord will not permit you to live to wander
entirely from the path of right. God bless you, and you shall be blessed”.
Oh! how can my heart contain the
blessings of my Father! God grant me power to live for them and to resist the
temptations that come in my path. (James E. Talmage, Journal, December 16, 1892, in
Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
1835-1951 [rev. ed.; Salt Lake City, 2020])
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