By the early months of 1971, Dallin was settling well into his new role at the Foundation, but feeling he was being prepared for something even more important. The previous year, he began having premonitions that he would replace Ernest L. Wilkinson as President of Brigham Young University. 'At first, I speculated that this was the position for which I was being prepared,' he wrote. 'Then I would berate myself for such imaginings, accusing myself of being arrogant and puffed up, and of putting my worth much higher than it was. But my mind would return to it again and again, not by way of envy or ambition, but by way of premonition.'

The recurring feelings bothered him immensely. 'I began to pray to the Lord to take away these thoughts and premonitions, that I not be troubled by them and by what my imagination was making out of them,' he wrote. 'I said in prayer that I was willing to do whatever I should be asked, but unless there was some purpose in these inklings, I should like to have them removed.'

In a short time, they ceased. They stopped, that is, until March 9th, as he and June were driving to a professional conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. On the car radio, they heard that President Wilkinson had announced his retirement from BYU, and immediately the earlier feelings came rushing back to Dallin. He turned to June and said, 'This development may change the course of our lives.'

When the first LDS missionaries began their work in Great Britain and Europe, they were often going to the countries of their own ancestry, where the laws and customs were similar to those in the United States. That has been the pattern for more than a century. In Europe and in the nations of the Americas, our missionaries have been welcomed or at least tolerated.

In contrast, in the century ahead, we will knock on the doors of nations with whom we do not have ancestral ties. In addition to differences of language and nationality, we will face barriers of culture and some barriers of hostility from wars or resentments against prior colonial or other repression.

The laws of some nations, such as China, presently forbid foreign missionaries. In other nations, the laws forbid any proselyting by Christians. Some of those barriers will drop when friendship is cultivated and trust is earned. Other barriers will fall because of the blessings of God, whose work this is.

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Things do not happen rapidly in China. When the impatience of Americans meets the patience of Orientals, patience wins.

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People sometimes ask me about what can be done to “open China.” In response, I state my belief that China is already “open”—it is we who are closed. We are closed because we expect the Orient to be the same as the West, China to be the same as Canada or Chile. We must open our minds and our hearts to the people of this ancient realm and this magnificent culture. We must understand their way of thinking, their aspirations, and their impressive accomplishments. We must observe their laws and follow their example of patience. We must deserve to be their friends.

As we become friends of China, and as we learn from them, our Father in Heaven, who has made “all nations of men . . . and [has] determined . . . the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26), will bring his purposes to pass in that great nation “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68).

With a trained mind and a skillful manner of presentation, a teacher can become unusually popular and effective in teaching. But Satan will try to use that strength to corrupt the teacher by encouraging him or her to gather a following of disciples. … How, then, do we prevent our strengths from becoming our downfall? The quality we must cultivate is humility. Humility is the great protector. Humility is the antidote against pride.