Hugh B. Brown - Eternal Quest

My first recollection of Hugh B. Brown was when I was a small boy in church. He was then a young veteran of World War I. He had served as a major with Canada's mounted infantry. He was speaker in our ward. I cannot remember what he said those many years ago. But I could not forget him. His name became a household favorite in my father's home. It is in ours today. It doubtless holds a similar place in thousands of other homes across the broad horizons of the Church.

Hugh B. Brown has a way of making young people want to be good for the sheer adventure of it. He can take truths that otherwise seem dull, and give them an exciting freshness. His messages have a poetic manliness that sinks right into the sinew of the soul.

Elder Brown can be both solidly practical and inspiringly lofty. His own life is like that. He has excelled as a soldier. He has succeeded in business and lawin two countries. For decades he has been in demand as a speaker and teacher. Hundreds have taken their personal problems to him for counsel. Thousands have followed him as a Church leader. He is equally happy with a book or a five-iron, but there is no joy to him like that of his family.

Elder Brown has presided over two stakes, Lethbridge in western Canada and Granite in Salt Lake City. He was president of the British Mission during some of its most difficult years: immediately before and after World War II. During the war he was coordinator of all Latter-day Saint servicemen. Since 1953 he has been one of the General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This book is the result of urgings of friends and familyfor a ready collection of Hugh B. Brown's wisdom and inspiration. The compilation has been made by Elder Brown's son, Dr. Charles Manley Brown, himself a distinguished educator. There are gleanings from addresses, articles, stories, and lessons through many years. The result is a wide range of challenging subjects, from "Immortality" to the "Girls behind the Men behind the Guns." In all of it Hugh B. Brown is at his beststimulating, logical, brilliant in rhetoric, entertaining, yet always inspiring.

This is a book you will want to open to start or close your day. You will find it a soothing companion when life's pressures run high. It is also rich in helps for the gospel teacher or speaker. It has much for the leader. It is full of lifts for life.

Wendell J. Ashton

Eternal Quest is the result of a half-century of Church activity. It carries the working philosophy of one who has responded with distinction to a wide variety of calls to Church service.

Many of those who have been inspired by Father's writings and sermons have long encouraged their collection and publication. Only after considerable persuasion from several sources was his reluctant permission to proceed with the present volume granted.

The content of Eternal Quest has various origins. Some sections are from radio sermons delivered when Father was a professor at Brigham Young University. Others are editorials and articles from the Millennial Star written during his presidencies over the British Mission. Articles from the Instructor, the Improvement Era, and the Relief Society Magazine, written before and since he was called as one of the General Authorities, have been used. Material written for Church members in the armed-forces when Father was coordinator for LDS Servicemen during World War II form an important part of Eternal Quest. Speeches and sermons included in this volume have been delivered at BYU devotional assemblies and Leadership Weeks as well as at recent General Conferences and at conferences of the various auxiliary organizations. No attempt has been made to group the contents either chronologically or with respect to source. Instead a topical organization has been employed. Materials written or delivered at various times and under various auspices have been grouped around central themes.

The title, suggested by my sister, Margaret, (Mrs. Clinton O. Jorgenson) reflects Father's lifelong desire to see truth ever more clearly. One of his favorite songs is "O Take the Dimness of my Soul Away." That he has frequently warned of the danger of arriving at a point of development where further growth was felt unnecessary is illustrated by this characteristic quotation from a Leadership address: "Then, when the change called death shall come, we shall find that we must take up the quest where we left it off. Awareness, like creation and salvation, is an on-going process. The quest for truth is eternal."

Many influences have helped to shape Father's life. I will not attempt to enumerate them they are too well stated in his poem at the beginning of this volume for me to presume to reiterate. But of one influence, on behalf of the seven living children, I must speak. All of us knowand Father is always the first to assertthat Mother has been his constant inspiration. In addition to epitomizing all that is desirable in a mother and home-maker, as a wife she has helped him "Meet triumph and disaster and treat these two impostors just the same." She has been tenaciously loyal, courageously true, constantly faithful. No man has ever had a more selfless companion. Because these qualities have contributed beyond measure to the quality of his Church service, this volume is most appropriately dedicated to his eternal companion in honor of their son, Hugh C., who gave his life in World War II.

Many persons have had a part in the fruition of this project. Acknowledgment is especially due to Norma Ashdown whose faithfulness, diligence, and accuracy have made the final editing easier and to my sister, Zina Lou (Mrs. Gaurdello P. Brown) who has transcribed many of his sermons from her own shorthand notes and assisted with the editing.

And so this volume is offered to those throughout the Church who may be encouraged in their own quest for truth. Charles Manley Brown

Glendale, California

October 26, 1956

I thank thee, Lord, that thou hast called me "son,"
And fired my soul with the astounding thought
That there is something of thee in me.
May the prophecy of this relationship
Impel me to be worthy.
I am grateful for a covenant birth;
For noble parents and an ancestry who beckon me
To heights beyond my grasp, but still attainable
If with stamina and effort I cultivate their seed
And prove that I am worthy.
I am grateful for a companion on this Eternal Quest,
Whose roots and birth and vision match my own;
Whose never-failing faith and loyalty have furnished light in darkness,
And re-steeled fortitude. May her faith in me
Inspire me to be worthy.
I am grateful for the cleansing power of parenthood,
With its self-denial and sacrificeprerequisites to filial and parent love;
For each child entrusted to our care, I humbly thank thee;