My hope is that our leaders will capitalize on our country's most admirable qualities. When people in other nations face a challenge or a problem, it… - Jimmy Carter

Of the several hundred visitors who attend my Sunday lessons each week, only about 15 percent happen to be Baptists. When I take a few minutes to let my class identify themselves, there are usually about a half dozen "mainline" Protestant denominations represented, often accompanied by Roman Catholics, Amish, Mennonites, Mormons, Quakers, and Seventh-day Adventists. Our church welcomes Jews, Muslims, and other non-Christian worshipers, and we encourage everyone to take part in the discussions. They are quite interesting and helpful to me, and over the years I have acquired an insight into the beliefs and interests of many other religious people.

When I made my inauguration speech just a few weeks ago, I quoted a schoolteacher of mine, Miss Julia Coleman. She was a principal in a tiny school where I attended when I was a country boy. She taught me above and beyond the classroom how to write themes and how to debate and how to appreciate works of art and how to understand good music and how to read books that I would otherwise never have known to exist. She was crippled, and she couldn't see the children in her classroom. I think she would have been a good teacher had she not been handicapped, but I think that knowing about her own shortcomings in a physical way gave an extra dimension and depth to her caring about other people. Your conference is important. You're intelligent, courageous leaders. But because you have experienced suffering and because you have overcome it, I think the recommendations that will be coming from you that will affect the lives of many millions of people now and in the future will have that same extra dimension. Our country needs you, and I know that you will never disappoint those who look to you for leadership. Thank you very much.

Good morning. Thank you. I have two brief statements to make. One concerns Senator John McClellan from Arkansas, whose funeral is being held today. He served in the Congress for 39 years and exemplified a deep commitment to his own major committee assignments. He has recently been the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He was always a strong fighter for an adequate national defense, and he was a man of supreme integrity. In a few minutes, the Vice President and my wife, the First Lady, will be going to the funeral along with a large delegation of Members of Congress. And I want publicly to express, on behalf of the American people, my admiration for what he has done, my public condolences, in addition to the private condolences I've already extended to his wife, and my appreciation for his tremendous contribution to our country.