Delivered Mason Temple (Church Of God)

Memphis, Tennessee - April 3, 1968

The night before he was shot and killed

“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land !

"Drum Major Instinct" - Ebenezer Baptist Church - 4 February 1968

“Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death”….” And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?"

“If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say.

Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.

I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody."