When Alvin R. Dyer arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, on January 28, 1960, to begin his tenure as European Mission President, he brought with him an inspiring and powerful testimony of missionary work. At the time, I was serving in the mission home in Frankfurt and thus was on hand to record in my journal these comments about Elder Dyer: “Our first impression was that he was a big rancher. He had long David O. McKay-type hair… . His powerful jaw gave him a certain force and one saw that he was a great personality. Like most general authorities, he could look right through you.” The day after his arrival, Elder Dyer called the mission staff together to instruct them in the particulars of his strategy for missionary work. At the heart of his plan was the universal principle that one must teach by the Spirit (D&C 50) and never engage in debate: “Again I say, hearken ye elders of my church, whom I have appointed: Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit” (D&C 43:15). Like Alma and Amulek before the lawyers of Ammonihah, Elder Dyer shunned descending into nonproductive dialogue of worldly terms, and instead embraced the high road of bold testimony-bearing as guided by the Spirit of the Lord.
One of the most striking and memorable points he made about the power of bearing fervent testimony concerning the truth was the following: When he served as president of the Central States Mission, he conducted a mission-wide research poll among all the converts of the mission, asking them to declare when they first knew that the gospel was true. Several thousand participated in the project. Elder Dyer learned that 82 percent of the converts knew the gospel was true the first time they heard the missionaries bear witness of it. Thus in most cases the transforming witness came not after a period of experience with the Church but immediately upon hearing the message for the first time as the missionaries spoke with the power of the Spirit. Elder Dyer testified that this phenomenon was a substantiation of the Savior’s statement: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). What a lesson for all as we accept the Lord’s errand to convey the good news of the gospel to the peoples of the world. (Richard J. Allen)