Elder Ezra Taft Benson
During the fifty five years that have passed since this talk was given, the level of propaganda and lies told about America has exponentially grown to the point where our citizens, if they are not rabid anti-americans, they are definitely on the fence about whether or not to feel good about our nation and our Godly heritage.
I know for me, the final bit of ambivalence I had about our history, especially our history around the Viet Nam war, was completely wiped away when I read this interview found at Front Page Magazine. I remember that as I read it for the first time a couple years ago, I was hitting the monitor of my computer, and when I finished it, I rammed my hand down on the computer desk, because I was so floored by what Mr. Pacepa had said.
Here is the interview, followed by Ezra Taft Bensons talk given at General Conference 55 years ago.
Member Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles (Please note, this talk was given in April of 1952 at General Conference)
“Beloved brethren and sisters, in humility I invoke the inspiration of the Lord and seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I stand for a few moments in this pulpit. I should like, if the Lord will bless me, to give vent to some thoughts that have been deeply impressed upon my mind for several weeks now. I hope I shall not be misunderstood. It seems to me that the day in which we live demands a frank and forthright consideration of some of the problems which face us not only as a Church but also as a great Christian nation.
With you I thrilled at the opening address of our great leader, President McKay. As I have thought of his remarks regarding this land of America, its achievements, and its needs, I have felt that I could characterize best what he said in two words: Spiritual Statesmanship. With you I love this land in which we live. I am proud of our heritage; I am grateful for the American tradition; I am thankful that the Lord has given through his prophets information regarding this great nation.
However, it seems to me that there are certain tendencies, trends, and practices which endanger very greatly our way of life and strike at the very foundation of much that we hold dear as a great Christian nation. Of course, the conditions of the world generally give us cause for concern. We seem to live in a world of conflict, insecurity, uncertainty, and almost bewilderment. We appear to be groping blindly, aimlessly, unable to find the way. Were it not for our faith in the prophecies of God I fear sometimes we would almost be tempted to give up.
We are in the midst of continuing international crises. The outlook for world peace and security is dark indeed. The gravity of the world situation, it appears, is increasing almost daily. The United Nations seems unable to settle the troubles of the world. In truth we are faced with the hard fact that the United Nations, it seems, has largely failed in its purpose. Yes, the days ahead are sobering and challenging ones. We might well ask,
America-what of the future?
I never travel across this great land and note its broad, fruitful farms, its humming factories and gleaming cities but what I am impressed with the marvels of this great nation. Yes, we have made unequaled material progress. We have become the greatest and the richest nation in all the world.
This has been done on about 6% of the land area of the world by a relatively small group of people, only 7% of the world’s population. Yet it is reported that this small group of people produce today approximately half of the world’s total wealth in usable form to satisfy human needs.
It is reported that in the year 1950 almost half of the food and fiber of the world was produced here in the United States. Our productivity has increased one-fifth every ten years since 1850. Through the use of machines much of the drudgery and toil so common in many other nations has disappeared.
Our engineers have estimated that the average worker today has the equivalent of 99 mechanical slaves working for him. The Twentieth Century Fud recently predicted that by 1960, 96% of all the energy going into physical work in America would be performed by machines, 1% by horses, and 3% by men. The average American worker has an output per hour six times his output in 1850. Yes, we have made unprecedented achievements in material things.
The prophets of God foreshadowed these achievements when they predicted that this would be a land choice above all other lands and that it would be preserved for a righteous people. Those who were to dwell here, if they served the God of the land, should be free from bondage and captivity.
Lehi, who led the second colony which came to this great land, was told that he was leading that colony to a land of promise and that none should come here save those who would come here under the influence of heaven.
This land would be consecrated unto those whom the Lord would guide here. It would be a land of liberty. Lehi’s son, Jacob, said there should be no kings upon this land, that the God of heaven would be their king that this land would be fortified against all other nations, and that he who would fight against Zion should perish.
Reference has been made by President Young to the coming of Columbus. The scriptures tell us that the Spirit wrought upon Columbus, and upon those who followed him, and that they came here under the inspiration of heaven. Nephi predicted that when they arrived, they would humble themselves before God, that the power of the Lord would be with them, and that they would prosper.
Our history clearly records that the early peoples who did come were humble, God- fearing men and women. Bradford records that their first act upon arriving here upon American soil was to go upon their knees in humble prayer and bless the God of heaven.
The impelling force in their hearts it seems to me, was a love for basic ideals and principles, which were dearer to them than life itself. Among these were their love of God, faith in his divine purposes, their love of freedom industry, thrift, decency, and honor. Yes, this nation had its beginning in a high-minded manner.
The rules of conduct established by the early colonists and our founding fathers were taken from the scriptures. They were embodied in the Decalogue and in the gospel. The Sabbath was set aside as a sacred day. Profanity and other vices were condemned, and gambling was forbidden. People were encouraged to keep good company and to repeat no grievances. They emphasized the spiritual virtues.
Washington but echoed the general feeling of the early colonists when he acknowledged God’s direction and emphasized the importance of spirituality honor, and moral courage. He said:
No people can be found to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.
Then as to the place of religion and morality, the Father of our country stated:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports . . . Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
His successors spoke in similar vein. Lincoln emphasized the same thought when he acknowledged that “God rules this world,” and that “It is the duty of nations as well as men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow…., ” and then quoting from the scriptures, “and to recognize the sublime truth that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.” Yes, my brethren and sisters, they spoke of self-evident truths-inalienable rights.
When the Prophet Joseph came upon the scene to open a new gospel dispensation, he shed even further light upon the establishment of this great nation and the coming forth of the Constitution, which he stated was a glorious standard, founded in the wisdom of God.
Through revelation the Lord said to him, as was quoted by Brother Moyle yesterday,
Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood. (D. & C. 101:79-80.)
We have enjoyed divine favor through much of our history, but what of the future? It seems to me, my brethren and sisters, that the lessons of history, many of them very sobering, ought to be turned to during this hour of our great achievement because I feel in my own heart that during the hour of our success is our greatest danger.
I feel firmly that even during the hour of great prosperity, a nation may sow the seeds of its own destruction. This may happen even during a period of great income, relatively full employment, and high business activity. History reveals that rarely is a great civilization conquered from without until it has weakened or destroyed itself within.
I read recently volume three of that monumental work by Will Durant, The Story of Civilization. This volume entitled Caesar and Christ, covers the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the coming forth of Christianity. It covers a period of 1125 years, from 800 B.C. to 325 A.D. At the end of this six-hundred-page volume, the author writes an epilogue under the caption “Why Rome Fell.”
It is generally agreed that not infrequently history repeats itself. The author lists the major causes why this great civilization fell apart. I wonder if there is anything in what he says for us to take note of today. As a read this volume I was caused to reflect on the similarity of conditions and practices then and now. May I give you briefly his summary:
The first group of causes he termed biological, and no doubt most fundamental. They had to do with the limitation of families, the deferment and avoidance of marriage, the refusal of men and women to shoulder the great responsibilities, God-ordained, of honorable parenthood.
He mentioned that sexual excesses were indulged in commonly, both in and outside the marriage covenant.
The operation of contraception and abortion was common. This, together with other things, resulted in reduced fertility. Sex ran riot, and moral decay resulted.
He mentioned as another cause of Rome’s decay, the waste of natural resources in mining, deforestation, erosion, the neglect of irrigation canals but most important of all, the negligence of harassed and discouraged men the failure to teach high moral principles so necessary for the building of real character.
Then he lists with great emphasis the rising costs of government because of armies, doles, public works, expanding bureaucracy, a parasitic court, depreciation of currency, absorption of investment capital by confiscatory taxation.
Is there anything suggestive in this summary?
May I give you the following figures on this last grouping particularly, taken from what seem to be reliable sources? According to projected estimates, our federal government will spend during the coming fiscal years, 1952-53, more than the total income of all the people west of the Mississippi River-22 states. The federal payroll in 1952 will top 22 billion-4 billion above last year and 16 times the 1929 total.
Nearly one out of every four adult Americans is receiving regularly federal checks. At the present rate, by 1953 the government will be spending approximately 38% of the national income. During only three of the last twenty years has our federal budget been balanced. It requires today approximately 2 1/2 million civilians to staff the federal bureaucracy.
In the matter of the depreciation of the currency, it is reported that the present dollar is worth only 38 cents compared to the 1913 dollar, and that the dollar today will purchase only about half as much as it did in 1935-39.
As to taxation, the federal government took in taxes during all past administrations up to six years ago-156 years-248 billion dollars.
In the last six years we have taken in taxes 260 billion, and still we seem not to have enough to pay our current bills. With a debt of over one- quarter of a trillion dollars the annual interest payment is 6 billion dollars plus, more than all government expenditures in 1933.
Now, my brethren and sisters this author lists other causes. Political causes, he says, were rooted in one fact that through centralized control and the increasing despotism of the state, the citizens’ civic sense was destroyed and dried up, thus destroying statesmanship at its source.
Men felt powerless to express themselves and lost interest in government. Yet, I presume, Rome has had no equal in the art of government. She achieved a democracy of free men and then destroyed it with corruption and violence.
With you, I love this great land in which we live.
I pray for the chief executive and his cabinet and the legislative and judicial branches, the officials of our states and our cities. But I wonder sometimes, my brethren and sisters, what our founding fathers, our pioneer fathers, would do and say if they were here today.
I’m sure they would give serious reflection to present conditions. I wonder if they would not recognize that our liberties have already been abridged, that there has been too much of a tendency for us to call upon our federal government every time we felt the need for the accomplishment of any particular objective.
I wonder if we haven’t had a tendency to call for help for those things which our forefathers would have done willingly for themselves.
Yes, I presume as a people we are to blame, but I feel that if they were here today, they would apply some very definite tests before any new service or new program were approved. May I just mention three:
First, I think they would ask the question: Can this service, assuming it is needed, be done more efficiently, more effectively by our federal government or should we do it ourselves on the local level? They believed that government is best which governs least.
Government seems to be inherently wasteful and inefficient. Possibly it is because the profit motive and competition-the very life of private enterprise-are largely absent.
Second, How will it affect the morale and the character of the people? This seems to me to be of great importance. They were interested in the building of character. They recognized that character, not wealth or power or position, is of prime consideration.
Third, they would possibly ask: How will it affect our free institutions-the church, the school, the home, and our local form of government?
I believe if they were here, they would look for the answers to the decline of public morals.
As they looked searchingly for the answers, they would probably observe evidence of weak and vacillating leadership in many places, not confined to one group or one party.
They would find a tendency for men in high places to place political expediency ahead of principle. They would be concerned with the alarming growth of a something-for-nothing philosophy, a failure of people to stand on their own feet.
They would probably find bad examples by unscrupulous politicians and by delinquent parents, and possibly a weakening of religious training, and the substitution therefore of a faith-destroying materialism.
I think, my brethren and sisters, as Latter-day Saints, and as American citizens, we need to rouse ourselves to the problems that confront us as a great Christian nation. We need to recognize that these fundamental, basic principles, moral and spiritual, lay at the very foundation of our achievements in the past.
If we are to continue to enjoy our present blessings, we must have a return to these basic and fundamental principles.
Economics and morals are both parts of one inseparable body of truth, and they must be in harmony.
We need to square our actions and our policies with these eternal principles.
I wonder if we have forgotten the counsel of the prophets, the founding fathers, and our great statesmen. Surely we need a nationwide return to these fundamentals. We need a nationwide repentance to rid this land of corruption. We must return to the fundamental virtues that have made this nation great.
There is a force in the universe which no mortal can alter. This nation does have a spiritual foundation. It has been established in keeping with great spiritual and moral principles, but there seems to be a tendency for us to lose our sense of uprightness and to do wilfully those things which we must know to be wrong. This cannot be done with impunity.
God help us to raise our sights beyond the dollar sign, beyond material things. May we have the courage to stand up and be counted, to stand for principle, for those principles and ideals which guided the founding fathers in the establishment of this great land. Thank God for the promises that have been made regarding the future of America.
I hope and pray we shall realize the fulfillment of these promises because we merit their fulfillment.
I am grateful that the Lord has said through his prophets that this nation unto the righteous shall be blessed forever, and that he will be a light unto them forever that hear his words.”
PACEPA INTERVIEW AT FRONT PAGE MAGAZINE
Jenny Hatch
Tag General Conference
Live Blogging General Conference
This is General Conference weekend. During the two days of Conference Faithful Mormons drop everything and listen or watch Conference to hear the messages that the Lord would have us hear. Conference talks are modern scripture to us as Saints, and we believe that when the Lord Jesus Christs mouthpiece, the Prophet, speaks, it is as though he was here among us, speaking in person.
We had a beautiful day yesterday. The weather, although windy, was warm and sunny. I really enjoyed General Conference and plan to live blog this fourth session of the sunday morning broadcast. For me, the higlight of both sessions yesterday was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Come Thou Fount, which is my favotire hymn. Here it is:
Here is a copy of the combined BYU choirs singing Come Thou Fount with full Philharmonic Orchestra as the finale to their Thanksgiving of American Folk Hymns Concert.
You can purchase the DVD of this concert here.
I sang with the University Chorale during the year that I was at BYU, and really enjoyed being a part of that huge, fun choir. Those who make it into the elite BYU Choirs are mostly music or voice majors and the competition is fierce.
Here is my own simple acapella version of Come Thou Fount:
If you felt a special spirit as you watched and listened to the music, if you feel like something is opening up in your heart, I would like to testify to you that what you are feeling is the Holy Spirit whispering to your soul that what you have heard is true. I would like to bear my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Heavenly Fathers kingdom on the earth. I know that prophets walk on the earth again and that the heavens are open and God is very much alive and available to his children on the earth.
If you would like to be baptized into this church, I would like to challenge you to learn more of its doctrines by going here. And then take the opportunity to contact our missionaries wherever you live. They would be thrilled to come teach you the basic principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our sunday sacrament meetings are open to the public, and you are very welcome to attend. Go here for a meetinghouse locator to find the church closest to you.
As for liveblogging General Conference, I will simply share a couple of links and simple synopsis of each talk. If you would like to listen to conference live or see it on the internet, just go here
Jenny Hatch
Motab is starting with Rejoice the Lord is King
President Hinckley is conducting
Opening Hymn: The Lord my pasture will prepare
Opening Prayer
Hymn: I am a child of god
Speaker one: James E. Faust
The Healing Power of Forgiveness.
The Story of the Amish whose children were murdered by a 32 year old milkman. He killed five wounded five and then took his own life. Among the Amish, anguish but no anger. Hurt but no hate. Amish Leaders visited the Milkmans father, wife, and children and expressed love and forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not always instantaneous, our natural response is sometimes anger.
Def Forgiveness: Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy we had previously used to hold grudges.
Most of us need time to work through pain and loss.
If we can forgive, we can enjoy higher self esteem. Forgiveness is a liberating gift that people can give themselves.
President Faust has just shared several stories of forgiveness.
For a feeling of forgiveness, the Savior will help us. Of course society needs to be protected from hardened criminals, mercy cannot rob justice. Precious peace comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
We need to forgive to be forgiven. Forgive all men.
Speaker Two: Dallin H. Oaks
Divorce
He will speak plainly about the impact of divorce, which affects all members of the church, and how it relates to our hope of Eternal Families as part of the gospel plan.
We live in a world where the whole concept of marriage is in question.
Modern Prophets have warned that looking at marriage as a casual thing is evil especially when children are involved.
In temples of the Lord marriage is for all eternity.
He spoke first to those who have been divorced, then to those who are married and contemplating divorce. Divorce is not an all purpose solution.
Children are the first victims of divorce.
He then shared several stories and studies that outlined how staying together is better than divorce.
Then finished by claiming that if you love the Lord, Keep his commandments, and endure to the end, you will not be denied any blessings in eternity. All things work together for them that Love God.
Now to those planning to marry:
Dating, followed by carful courting, fiancees should learn everything they can about the families they are going to join. To obtain the happy marriage means long hard economizing.
Testifys of the sweetness of family life outlined in the Proclamation on the Family.
Speaker 3 – Neil L Anderson
Its True isn’t it? Then what else matters.
Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, shares story of man who gave up much to join the church.
Joseph Smith restored the Pristhood, and we have a charge to be a light to the world as the gospel rolls forth to every corner of the world.
How do we find our way through the many things that matter?
Simplify and focus on the essentials.
Faith is not only a feeling, it is a decision.
Are we motivated by great and powerful convictions of faith? We know what is right. Excuses can impede our progress. Srength of faith move the gospel forward.
Many of the deep acts of faith are only known to God, but they are recorded in heaven.
Speaker four: Vicki Matsumori
I love the Book Of Mormon. Message is for first generation members of the church.
Story of the people of Ammon.
Persistance is the key during the difficult passages of the Book of Mormon, especially the Isaiah chapters in 2nd Nephi.
We can ask Heavenly Father to help us with our scripture study.
Making covenants increases faith. Baptism and the Sacrament helps us keep our promises to the Lord. As first generation members of the church we have the duty to teach the children.
Rest Hymn: High on the Mountain Top
Speaker Five: Glen L. Pace
A Winess of the Spirit
Let’s pause for a moment and talk about what you are remembering. It is our responsibility to help the investigators learn to know when they are feeling the holy spirit.
Spiritual witnesses come to those at a young age to those who are exposed to spiritual experiences, and then have a chance to recognize those feelings for what they are.
Spiritual 6th sense which cannot be mistaken. This spiritual sense vibrates only when activated by the Holy Ghost.
D & C 11: 13-14
Speaker Six: M Russell Ballard
The Holy Bible is a Miracle.
It teaches us to know God and understand his law. The best gift God has given Man.
It is not by chance or coincidence that we have the Bible Today.
The dark ages were dark because the light of the gospel was hidden from the people.
We own much to the many reformers like Luther, Tyndale, Wycliffe, and the countless martyrs who gave their lives so that we might find the path to eternal happiness.
How grateful we should be for the Holy Bible. Without the bible we would not have the fullness of his gospel now.
I love the perspective and the peace that comes with reading the Holy Bible.
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior and that we believe, and love, and revere the Holy Bible.
Jesus taught that we should search the scriptures.
The scriptures are rich in history, doctrines, testimony..all of which are essential to Heavenly Fathers children.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
The Bible is one of the pillars of our faith.
The Bible is the bedrock of all Christianity.
The Book of Mormon does not dillute or diminish the Bible.
The Book of Mormon is the third testament and the subtitle of it is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Each of these three testaments is part of a whole of the revealed words of God to his children. Those that think that one part is more true and more whole than another is missing an important truth.
The name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ.
We are true and full believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We not only believe the Bible, we strive to live its concepts and teach its precepts.
To all people, we extend our love to you and invite you to accept all that God has revealed.
Hymn: For he shall give his angels to watch over thee and When Faith Endures (Another one of my favorite hymns. I love this hymn and the message it proclaims so much that I chose it to be the theme for the Husband/Wife Home Birth Conference I organized in 2001. Click on this link to hear Susan Baigs talk from the conference which includes me singing this hymn to introduce her talk.
Text of When Faith Endures:
I will not doubt, I will not fear;
God’s love and strength are always near.
His promised gift helps me to find
An inner strength and peace of mind.
I give the Father willingly
My trust, my prayers, humility.
His Spirit guides; his love assures
That fear departs when faith endures.
President Hinckley:
The wind is blowing and I feel like the last leaf on the street. 97th year.
My testimony, the things of which I know, I speak to you this morning.
Constantine: He gathered the great people of his day together in 325, the argument grew more heated. Compromise was the Nicean creed. Personally, I cannot understand it, to me the creed is confusing. To me, it is comforting to know that we do not rely on any man made rule for our belief, we claim and believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ came to Joseph Smith in person, and told him not to join any church, but rather that he would be the means of restoring Christs true church in the latter days.
Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, watch over you in your sleep, and when you are awake, and if ye do these things, you will be lifted up at the last day.
Prophet had a vision, it is that Jesus Lives, he is the living Christ. He is the Messiah of the Old testament, and the Savior of the New.
In the Beginning was the word, all things were made by him. He was the great creator. It was his finger that wrote the commandments on the mount.
Duing his brief ministry he healed the sick, raised the dead, and in the garden of gethsemane he suffered so greatly that he sweat drops of blood, but this was part of his great atoneing sacrafice. He carried his cross, and called out to his father, Forgive them for they know not what they do.
Three days later on that first easter morning, the tomb was empty. He appeared to his apostles, he told them, other sheep I have which are not of this fold. There shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
He appeared to those assembled in the Land Bountiful in the new world. This is all recorded in detail in the book of mormon, which stands as a second witness to the Bible.
The father appeared and said, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
There would be no christmas if there were no easter.
Restoration of the Priesthood.
Restored under the hands of John the Baptist, and Peter, James, and John.
Fact it does not make any difference if a man is a priest or an apostle. The priest hold the key to the ministering of angels. The melchezedik or higher priesthood allows those who hold it to give blessings.
Temples: Offer blessings that are had no where else. It has to do with the eternal nature of man. Here husband, Wives, and children are sealed together for all eternity.
It also allows us to perform ordinances for our departed loved ones.
This is my testimony which I solemnly share with you.
In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Closing Hymn: O My Father
1. O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured near thy side?
2. For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, “You’re a stranger here,”
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.
3. I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there.
4. When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I’ve completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.
Text: Eliza R. Snow, 1804–1887
Music: James McGranahan, 1840–1907
Closing Prayer
Healthy Families Make A Healthy World!
General Conference April 2007
Today I have been preparing the childrens’ conference packets for our weekend of General Conference.
Most of my blog readers know that our family belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Twice yearly we have a world wide general conference which is available at our meetinghouses over satellite systems, and also cable, Internet, and Radio broadcasts. In Utah it just shows up on Television, but with the internet, listeners can hear the conference in real time.
We have satellite here at home so we enjoy conference in the comfort of our own home and today the children and I have been deep cleaning, shopping, and cooking to make our weekend saturation of conference more comfortable. We don’t do too much besides listen and learn and it is a spiritual feast that recharges me for another six months of living.
Here are some links:
General Conference Broadcast Page
General Young Women Meeting (which was held last saturday. Shelly and Allison and I attended it at the church)
I looked in past issues of the Friend Childrens Magazine for Conference acitivities this year. Here is the link I just hit the search Friend link and typed in Conference and it came up with dozens of links for activities for the children to do. I asked my older teens if they still wanted to do the simple activities during conference and they all said yes, so it is still a big hit at our house, with treat bags, and prizes if they do all the activities.
I also found a couple of activities at this site
I printed out these booklets for the four older children and then put them together.
Here is a picture of those booklets with some other materials, like Conference Bingo:
It is difficult to get children to sit for eight hours over a two day span to listen to long talks about Christ and his gospel. But I have learned that these conference packs along with the treat bags makes our conference weekend zip by, and the children always look forward to our picnics at the park (don’t know if we’ll do them this year though as we have some snow on the ground as I type), and spending time with just our family, no outside distractions. Jeff is twelve now and he will attend the priesthood session with Paul on saturday night while the other children and I stay home and do some easter baking.
I love being able to hear the voices of our modern day prophets in our own home. It is one of the greatest blessings in our life.
Jenny Hatch
Healthy Families Make A Healthy World!
Ezra Taft Benson: A Witness and a Warning
A Witness and a Warning
This General Conference Talk was given to the Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in October of 1979. As a prequel to President Bush’s State of the Union Address tonight, I thought it would be a timely thing to share this wonderful witness and warning, a message still completly relevant to our day as Communist College and High School professors and teachers seek to indoctrinate America’s youth with Socialism, and Communist forces are reviving in Venezuela and other parts of the world.
I have highlighted those paragraphs that I felt were most important to our day, almost thirty years after it was offered to the Saints.
Jenny Hatch
The Lord has declared this “a day of warning, and not a day of many words” (D&C 63:58). My message is a witness and warning about some of the evils which threaten America—a land I love with all my heart. There are other countries with this same problem. You who have seen these dangers in the land you love will have a deep feeling for what I will say.
America is a place of many great events. Here is where Adam dwelt, where the Garden of Eden was located. America was the place of former civilizations, including Adam’s, the Jaredites’, and Nephites’. America is also the place where God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith, inaugurating the last gospel dispensation on earth before the Savior’s second coming.
This consecrated land has been placed under the everlasting decree of God. That decree is recorded in the sacred Book of Mormon, a new witness for Christ, in these words:
“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. …
“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:10, 12).
The eventful destiny of America has also been revealed to God’s prophets. To Joseph Smith the Lord revealed that “the whole of America is Zion itself from north to south” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1938, p. 362). Further, the Lord decreed this land to be “the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, … the holy sanctuary of the Lord” (Ether 13:3). To serve God’s eternal purposes and to prepare this land for Zion, God “established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom [He] raised up … and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (D&C 101:80).
The Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1789. The priesthood of God was restored in 1829. Between those two dates is an interval of forty years. It is my conviction that God, who knows the end from the beginning, provided that period of time so the new nation could grow in strength to protect the land of Zion.
In the decade prior to the restoration of the gospel, many countries of South America fought wars of independence to free themselves from European rule. Russia, Austria, and Prussia, however, urged France to aid Spain and Portugal to restore their monarchies in South America. This effort was repulsed by a proclamation from the United States government known as the Monroe Doctrine. The heart of the Monroe Doctrine consists of these words: “The American continents … are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”
The Lord had promised, “I will fortify this land against all other nations” (2 Ne. 10:12). President Joseph Fielding Smith said that “the greatest and most powerful fortification in America is the ‘Monroe Doctrine.’ … It was the inspiration of the Almighty which rested upon John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson and other statesmen, and which finally found authoritative expression in the message of James Monroe to Congress in the year 1823” (The Progress Of Man, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., pp. 466–67).
Thus, in that four-decade period the United States had grown to sufficient strength that she was able to provide a cradle of liberty for the restored Church of Jesus Christ.
But whenever the God of heaven reveals His gospel to mankind, Satan, the archenemy to Christ, introduces a counterfeit.
Isaiah foresaw the time when a marvelous work and a wonder would come forth among men. Isaiah also predicted there would be those who would “seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us?” He saw the time when the work shall say of him that made it, “He made me not” (Isa. 29:15–16).
It is well to ask, what system established secret works of darkness to overthrow nations by violent revolution? Who blasphemously proclaimed the atheistic doctrine that God made us not? Satan works through human agents. We need only look to some of the ignoble characters in human history who were contemporary to the restoration of the gospel to discover fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. I refer to the infamous founders of Communism and others who follow in their tradition.
Communism introduced into the world a substitute for true religion. It is a counterfeit of the gospel plan. The false prophets of Communism predict a utopian society. This, they proclaim, will only be brought about as capitalism and free enterprise are overthrown, private property abolished, the family as a social unit eliminated, all classes abolished, all governments overthrown, and a communal ownership of property in a classless, stateless society established.
Since 1917 this godless counterfeit to the gospel has made tremendous progress toward its objective of world domination.
Today, we are in a battle for the bodies and souls of man. It is a battle between two opposing systems: freedom and slavery, Christ and anti-Christ. The struggle is more momentous than a decade ago, yet today the conventional wisdom says, “You must learn to live with Communism and to give up your ideas about national sovereignty.” Tell that to the millions—yes, the scores of millions—who have met death or imprisonment under the tyranny of Communism! Such would be the death knell of freedom and all we hold dear. God must ever have a free people to prosper His work and bring about Zion.
I am a witness to nations and people deprived of their freedom. I was there. I watched that great Iron Curtain drop around nations which formerly had prized their freedom—good people. I was aghast as these were written off by the stroke of a pen. I saw Poland abandoned by nations with a heritage of freedom—the United States and Great Britain.
I was in Warsaw in June of 1946. I shared a room with seven other men in the Polonia Hotel, the only hotel even partially intact in the great city of Warsaw. Our ambassador, Bliss Lane, had his office in part of the building. He was so saddened that he resigned and wrote the book I Saw Poland Betrayed, which detailed the failure of the United States and England to keep their promise that the Poles would have a free election after the war.
I saw firsthand our great nation stand by at the time of the Hungarian revolution—when “freedom fighters” with bare hands and stones resisted bullets, tanks, and artillery. I confess I was ashamed at the response of my country—a nation which I believe the Lord intended to be an ensign of freedom to all others. Freedom did not die that day (23 October 1956) for Hungary alone. Hope died for many in other captive nations and has only recently been somewhat revived by courageous men willing to speak against oppression.
Since that day, I have seen the Soviet Union, under its godless leaders, spread its ideology throughout the world. Every stratagem is used—trade, war, revolution, violence, hate, detente, and immorality—to accomplish its purposes. Many nations are now under its oppressive control. Over one billion people—one-fourth of the population of the world—have now lost their freedom and are under Communist domination. We seem to forget that the great objective of Communism is still world domination and control, which means the surrender of our freedom—your freedom—our sovereignty.
On 3 July 1936, the First Presidency published this warning to Church members:
“Communism is not a political party nor a political plan under the Constitution; it is a system of government that is the opposite of our Constitutional government. …
“Since Communism, established, would destroy our American Constitutional government, to support Communism is treasonable to our free institutions, and no patriotic American citizen may become either a Communist or supporter of Communism. …
“We call upon all Church members completely to eschew [shun] Communism. The safety of our divinely inspired Constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that Communism shall have no place in America” (signed: Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., David O. McKay, The First Presidency, in Deseret News, 3 July 1936; italics added).
More recently, President Marion G. Romney, in the First Presidency Message in the September 1979 Ensign, wrote: “Communism is Satan’s counterfeit for the gospel plan, and … it is an avowed enemy of the God of the land. Communism is the greatest anti-Christ power in the world today and therefore the greatest menace not only to our peace but to our preservation as a free people. By the extent to which we tolerate it, accommodate ourselves to it, permit ourselves to be encircled by its tentacles and drawn to it, to that extent we forfeit the protection of the God of this land” (p. 5).
The truth is, we have to a great extent accommodated ourselves to Communism—and we have permitted ourselves to become encircled by its tentacles. Though we give lip service to the Monroe Doctrine, this has not prevented Cuba from becoming a Soviet military base, ninety miles off our coastline, nor has it prevented the takeover of Nicaragua in Central America, the surrender of the Panama Canal, or the infiltration by enemy agents within our American borders.
Never before has the land of Zion appeared so vulnerable to so powerful an enemy as the Americas do at present. And our vulnerability is directly attributable to our loss of active faith in the God of this land, who has decreed that we must worship Him or be swept off. Too many Americans have lost sight of the truth that God is our source of freedom—the Lawgiver—and that personal righteousness is the most important essential to preserving our freedom. So, I say with all the energy of my soul that unless we as citizens of this nation forsake our sins, political and otherwise, and return to the fundamental principles of Christianity and of constitutional government, we will lose our political liberties, our free institutions, and will stand in jeopardy before God.
No nation which has kept the commandments of God has ever perished, but I say to you that once freedom is lost, only blood—human blood—will win it back.
There are some things we can and must do at once if we are to stave off a holocaust of destruction.
First: We must return to worship the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. He has promised that the righteous will be preserved by His power (see 1 Ne. 22:17). But we must keep the commandments of God. We must pay our tithes and offerings, keep the Sabbath day a holy day, stay morally clean, be honest in all our dealings, and have our family and personal prayers. We must live the gospel.
Second: We must awaken to “a sense of [our] awful situation, because of this secret combination which [is] among [us]” (Ether 8:24). We must not tolerate accommodation with or appeasement toward the false system of Communism. We must demand of our elected officials that we not only resist Communism, but that we will take every measure to prevent its intrusion into this hemisphere. It is vital that we invoke the Monroe Doctrine.
Then we must put our trust in Him who has promised us His protection—and pray that He will intervene to preserve our freedom just as He intervened in our obtaining it in the first place.
Third: We must do as the Lord commanded us by revelation in 1833: “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil” (D&C 98:10).
Men who are wise, good, and honest, who will uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, must be sought for diligently. This is our hope to restore government to its rightful role.
Last: We must study the inspired Constitution and become involved in the political process ourselves. I quote the First Presidency statement that was read in sacrament meetings on Sunday, 1 July 1979: “We encourage all members, as citizens of the nation, to be actively involved in the political process, and to support those measures which will strengthen the community, state, and nation—morally, economically, and culturally” (Letter from the First Presidency, 29 June 1979).
I fully believe that we can turn things around in America if we have the determination, the morality, the patriotism, and the spirituality to do so.
My single-minded concern is for the freedom and welfare of my countrymen and my posterity, the freedom of all men.
I testify to you that God’s hand has been in our destiny. I testify that freedom as we know it today is being threatened as never before in our history. I further witness that this land—the Americas—must be protected, its Constitution upheld, for this is a land foreordained to be the Zion of our God. He expects us as members of the Church and bearers of His priesthood to do all we can to preserve our liberty.
May God bless us that, with His help, we will not fail to bring to pass His purposes on earth. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Healthy Families Make A Healthy World!
Live Blogging General Conference – A Prophet Speaks
Recently I took some morning pictures of the Fall Colors. We generally have a short and sweet blast of color here in Colorado. I just went up to my favorite park to take these pictures. It was so serene and beautiful to walk among the trees with the fall morning sunshine shining on my face.
Right now I am listening to General Conference. I thought it would be a good idea to live blog President Hinckleys talk, which is always the highlight of conference on sunday morning.
I can’t believe what I am hearing! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is singing movement four from Brahms Requiem right now! My blog readers will understand what an impact this music is having on me right now. I have just immersed my life in this music for the past few months, and received my CD of the performance on thursday. I have been listening to it on and off for the past few hours, and I am just so happy to have had the chance to participate in that glorious music.
How Lovely are thy dwellings! What a perfect introduction to the prophets talk:
Brothers and Sisters – A Personal Matter – 96th birthday last june.
Speculation concerning the Prophets health. If he lives a few months older, he will live to be the oldest prophet in the modern church.
Miserable surgery – never been a patient in the hospital. Miraculous 2nd surgery. Does not know for how long he will live. Not an easy thing to preside over the church. Stress and responsibility are great.
Trasition to new Prophet will be smooth. Go forward in Faith.
Faith is theme he wishes to discuss this morning.
Faith of Joseph Smith – to translate, to pray, to restore the priesthood, organized the church. Thanks Joseph for the gift of his life.
Faith was the moving power behind Brigham Young. He knew nothing about the soil, water, or climate, and yet he set out without hesitation. And so it has been with each of the presidents of the church. They moved forward with faith. Despite crickets, persecution from the federal government, etc…etc..it has all been the same. Move forward with Faith.
150th Anniversay of the coming of the Hand Cart companies to the Salt Lake Valley. Willie and Martin companies struggled through the tedious journey. Up the valley of the sweetwater, food rationed, oxen died, carts broke down, inadequate clothing and bedding. Starved to death. Scores died. Franklin D Richards passed them by and came to the valley in the fall of the year, general conference was in session. Brigham Young was given a note during conference telling of the company. 5th of October 1856, our brethren must be brought here. Text is the people on the plains. Bring them in before the weather sets in. 60 good mule teams, 12 good wagons, good horses and mules. 12 tons of flour, 40 good teamsters.
I will tell you, said he, your faith, your profession, nothing will save you in the kingdom of god will save you as what I am teaching you right now. Clothing, bedding, food, supplies were gathered and within a day or so, the wagons were rolling. The handcart people were transferred to the wagons. 200 people died, but 1000 were saved.
Among those who were saved were his wives great grandmother.
His wifes gravesite looks down on Mary’s grave, who was saved in the company. Her three children died on the trail. Freezing winter, howling blizzards, slow climb up rocky ridge.
Faith of the pioneers is a reminder to us of the faith of our fathers.
Small and significant events also prove faith.
Manti Temple – George Paxman was a carpenter. He and his wife had one child and were expecting another. George suffered a strangulated hernia from hanging the door of the temple. He died. Martha was a widow for 62 years. Martha lost her ring when she was house cleaning. She prayed to find the ring. Found the ring after praying, gave it to her grandaughter.
Faith – Jesus Christ is the strength of our faith.
I’m really grateful to have had the chance to hear the Prophet speak on faith. I want to testify in the name of Jesus Christ that this Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Heavenly Fathers Kingdom on the earth. Gordon B. Hinckley is his living prophet, and Joseph Smith was the prophet who restored the church on the earth in Modern Times. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ…AMEN.
Jenny Hatch
