A Vision Splendid: The Discourses of David O. McKay

As missionaries in training at the old mission home in Salt Lake City in 1964, we were privileged to be in the tabernacle one Sunday morning in June for Music and the Spoken Word. Shortly before the program began, a frail President David O. McKay entered down front left assisted by aides at both arms. This nineteen-year-old was stunned by the spiritual feeling that washed over me. I had never felt anything like that during my less than two years as a Latter-day Saint. That was the beginning of my respect and admiration for David O. McKay, which led to my decision to write my doctoral dissertation on his general conference speaking and later a book on the same topic. During my research, I was fortunate to interview Clare Middlemiss, McKay's longtime secretary. I was impressed with her warmth and wealth of freely shared information on McKay. My appreciation grew recently when I learned from Anne-Marie Wright Lampropoulos in her interesting new book, A Vision Splendid: The Discourses of David O. McKay, that Middlemiss was her great-aunt and that she had stored hundreds of scrapbooks in the author's childhood home containing McKay's many hundreds of nonconference addresses that Middlemiss had faithfully typed and indexed over the years.What makes this book so interesting is that Lampropoulos has mined her great-aunt's scrapbooks for transcripts of McKay's speaking—not at general conference—but for dedications, civic addresses, funeral sermons, and other church addresses. This is a rich source of heretofore unpublished addresses by McKay. The author offers some excellent analysis, but also allows readers to draw their own conclusions.Dedication speeches included by Ms. Lampropoulos are the Studio City Ward Meeting House, August 10, 1952; the Ontario Ward Meeting House, January 11, 1953; and the Hyde Park Chapel, February 26, 1961. Civic addresses included are the Branch Agricultural Commencement, May 22, 1953; Scots Day at Ben Lomond High School, January 25, 1961; and Ricks College, September 20, 1961. Church discourses included “To the Youth,” October 2, 1960; North British Mission, March 1, 1961; California Mission Conference, January 5, 1953; and Junior Sunday School, Studio City Ward, August 10, 1952. McKay delivered these addresses as church president. The funeral sermons were delivered when he was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and include Lydia Spencer Clawson, February 5, 1941; Edward Jeremy Ashton, September 16, 1941; and Hilda Johnson Summerhays, February 28, 1945.Given space limitations, I chose the dedication of the Hyde Park Chapel to review. McKay's message to the 1,600 in attendance at the dedication was that peace could be found in Jesus Christ. He told of Charles Dickens writing about his visit to a ship filled with 800 British converts waiting to sail to America. Contrary to Dicken's negative expectations, he found a peaceful and happy people, free of coarse language, sober and waiting patiently for the voyage to begin. Many were writing letters. He was impressed.McKay then told of his father receiving a mission call to England while his wife was only days away from delivering a baby. Such sacrifice and devotion to the gospel were recognized. McKay told what the gospel could do to bring peace to the soul through Jesus Christ. His well-known appreciation for British writers was shown in the Dickens quote as well in his citations of Mr. Beverly Nichols. He skillfully wove a comparative history of Christianity and of the Latter-day Saint Church in England and how both had sought to spread peace. The future looked bright even though the church had few buildings and stakes in Europe at the time. The Hyde Park Chapel was a sign of progress. The church's mission to establish peace and progress was being made in that regard.David O. McKay's general conference speaking, although always insightful and uplifting, was necessarily directed to a huge international audience, most of whom shared religious beliefs. The much smaller and special occasion audiences McKay addressed in the nonconference settings allowed him to speak in a more precise manner guided by the occasion. Although there were some similarities, he was not limited to his preferred conference topics such as: the family, the dual nature of humankind, missionary work, and the redeeming advocacy of Jesus Christ. Though there was some overlap, McKay was free to emphasize other topics such as peace, excellence, what a person's life radiates, telling a story with a Scottish accent, taking care of blessings, or Communism, among other topics. I believe Lampropoulos captures the essence of McKay's nonconference speaking when she observes in the epilogue: “He seemed to carry myriad lyrics and lines within himself, to be continually adding to his repertoire and to savor the chance to share it all not only with family and friends, but also to use during dedications, civic addresses, church discourses, and funeral sermons. . . . Literature and poetry helped to make sense of the world, to discover beauty and truths, and to communicate his messages (191)”. I would add that McKay's nonconference addresses reveal additional admirable facets to the man that may not have been apparent only from the conference pulpit or in official church publications.I highly recommend Anne-Marie Wright Lampropoulos's A Vision Splendid: The Discourses of David O. McKay. As you read McKay's nonconference addresses, your appreciation for the depth and breadth of David O. McKay's intellect and oratory will be significantly enhanced. A vision splendid, indeed!

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