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This opposition to authority did not fade away with the end of that decade. If anything, the tendency has intensified. Some claim that any exercise of authority is, per se, abusive and repressive, that it infringes on their rights. You have noted, I am sure, the persistent focus on rights and the scant attention paid to responsibilities. There are those today who challenge even the authority of God. Because it is now so pervasive, if you are not careful, something of that attitude could seep into and infect your own feelings. I want today to reinforce in your mind and in your heart the love you feel for your Heavenly Father. I want to reinforce your allegiance to God and your desire to be a fit and loyal subject in His kingdom.

At one point in the book of Helaman, the narrator, presumably Mormon, paused in his account to reflect on the proclivity of the people to reject God in times of prosperity. As the result of a severe famine, the Nephites had, at the end of the 76th year of the judges, turned to God. Within a brief nine years, however, “they began again to forget the Lord their God. . . . They did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness; and thus they were ripening again for destruction” (Helaman 11:36–37). Contemplating this sad turning away that had occurred in less than a decade’s time, Mormon lamented:

O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!

Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!

Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide. [Helaman 12:4–6]

We may each look at our own lives–at times when we have been slow to walk in wisdom’s paths, when we may have set at naught the Lord’s counsel and would not that He should be our guide. In hindsight it seems so irrational. Given His great goodness and mercy toward us, why should we not desire that He would rule and reign over us?

God’s Right to Rule in Our Lives

If we are honest, we must first acknowledge that God has every right to direct us. We are, after all, His creation. Jacob reminded us that “by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word” (Jacob 4:9). Benjamin made the same point with impeccable logic:

And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

. . . Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; . . . ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you. [Mosiah 2:23–25]

Beyond our being His creation, made up of materials that He owns, there is the even more important fact that, through His Son, He is the author of our salvation. Thus we are eternally indebted to Him not only for our mortal lives but also for our eternal lives. Paul said, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). Joseph Smith testified, “That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:24)–or, in other words, born again into the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has paid our ransom and satisfied justice. “He hath purchased [us] with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). In a very real sense, the Father and the Son can claim ownership of us.

Knowing these things, it is only with the most colossal arrogance that one could claim he owes no allegiance to God. There can be no argument, really. On what basis could we justify any resistance to His commandments? The case for disobedience simply does not exist.

The Blessings of Submission to God: Freedom

Even so, our submission to God is not simply a question of duty or obligation. The blessings that flow from welcoming God’s rule in our lives are so enticing, and the alternative so appalling, that if we see things in their true light, we cannot be kept from walking in wisdom’s paths. Among the greatest of the blessings that come from yielding to His will, though it seems ironic to some, is freedom. Let me explain.

First, we must recognize that there are only two options available to us, two paths. Alma put it this way:

Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.

And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? [Alma 5:38–39]

Other prophets have stated the same truth. Elijah said simply, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). I particularly appreciate Lehi’s statement:

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. [2 Nephi 2:27]

There is no third or neutral way. Our choice in this life is not whether we will or will not be subject to any power. We will be. Our choice is to which authority will we yield obedience: God’s or Satan’s? As Lehi stated, it is a choice between liberty and captivity. If it is not one, it is necessarily the other.

It is important that we understand this choice because not knowing the truth could lead us into serious error. As I noted at the outset, there is a philosophy abroad in the world that, in essence, places man in the role of supreme being. This philosophy argues that there is no higher law than one’s own preferences or feelings, one’s own desires and opinions. Each person becomes a law unto himself or herself and should not be subject to any other authority. By this reasoning, whatever one feels is right for him is necessarily right, and the rest of the universe must acknowledge and accept that judgment. In Korihor’s phrase, “whatsoever a man [does is] no crime” (Alma 30:17). No one can judge the right or wrong of another’s choices.

People are not yet willing to accept the end result of this sophistry that would, for example, preclude punishment of a man who commits murder if he felt it was right for him to do it. We still want to define some actions as crimes and prohibit them because of their effects on others. But society has already moved a significant distance down the road toward nonjudgmental acceptance of any and all behavior. Adultery is no longer considered a crime in many jurisdictions despite its devastating impact on others, especially innocent parties. It is preached that such conduct is a personal choice, and the participants decide whether it is right or wrong for them. I have read of students who in their own minds cannot condemn the Nazi Holocaust because to do so would be imposing their values on others–something strictly forbidden by this code of moral relativism. Presumably such persons would not oppose any future genocide. The philosophy that makes each man or woman his or her own lawgiver clearly leads to a lawless and dismal end.

The Lord has said:

That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still. [D&C 88:35]

License is not liberty. Self-absorption and self-indulgence are not freedom. It is yielding to the discipline of God’s will and His love that brings true freedom–the freedom to excel, to create, to bless. The gospel, said President Gordon B. Hinckley, “is a plan of freedom that gives discipline to appetite and direction to behavior” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Principle with Promise,” Improvement Era, June 1965, 521). This path is one of increasing knowledge and capacity, increasing grace and light. It is the freedom to become what you can and ought to be. But for your freedom to be complete, you must be willing to give away all your sins (see Alma 22:18), your willfulness, your cherished but unsound habits, perhaps even some good things that interfere with what God sees is essential for you.

My aunt, Adena Nell Gourley, told of an experience from many years ago with her father–my grandfather, Helge V. Swenson, now deceased–that illustrates what I mean. She related:

Last week my daughter and I were visiting in my parents’ home. Along about sundown my mother asked if we would like to step out on the back porch and watch Father call his sheep to come into the shelter for the night. Father . . . is a stake patriarch, and you’ll understand and forgive me when I say he is the personification of all that is good and gentle and true in a man of God.

About a block and a half away from the edge of the back lawn, five . . . sheep were quietly grazing on the stubble of last summer’s wheat field. Father walked to the edge of the field and called, “Come on.” Immediately, without even stopping to bite off the mouthful of food they were reaching for, all five heads turned in his direction, and then they broke into a run until they had reached his side and received his pat on each head.

My little daughter said, “Oh, Grandmother, how did Grandfather get them to do that?”

My mother answered, “The sheep know his voice, and they love him.” Now I must confess that there were five sheep in the field, and five heads went up when he called, but only four ran to Father. Farthest away, clear over on the edge of the field, looking straight toward Father, stood [a] large [ewe]. Father called to her, “Come on.” She made a motion as if to start but didn’t come. Then Father started across the field calling to her, “Come on. You’re untied.” The other four sheep trailed behind him at his heels. Then Mother explained to us that some few weeks before this, an acquaintance of theirs had brought the [ewe] and had given it to Father with the explanation that he no longer wanted it in his own herd. The man had said it was wild and wayward and was always leading his other sheep through the fences and causing so much trouble that he wanted to get rid of it. Father gladly accepted the sheep, and for the next few days he staked it in the field so it wouldn’t go away. Then he patiently taught it to love him and the other sheep. Then, as it felt more secure in its new home, Father left a short rope around its neck but didn’t stake it down.

As Mother explained this to us, Father and his sheep had almost reached the [straggler] at the edge of the field, and through the stillness we heard him call again, “Come on. You aren’t tied down any more. You are free.”

I felt the tears sting my eyes as I saw [the sheep] give a lurch and reach Father’s side. Then, with his loving hand on her head, he and all the members of his little flock turned and walked back toward us again.

I thought how some of us, who are all God’s sheep, are bound and unfree because of our sins in the world. Standing there on the back porch, I silently thanked my Heavenly Father that there are true under-shepherds and teachers who are patient and kind and willingly teach us of love and obedience and offer us security and freedom within the flock so that, though we may be far from the shelter, we’ll recognize the Master’s voice when He calls, “Come on. Now you’re free.” [Adena Nell Swenson Gourley, I Walked a Flowered Path (unpublished manuscript, 1995), 199–200]

It is exciting to realize that we can expand our freedom by perfecting our obedience. In President Boyd K. Packer’s words, “We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see” (Boyd K. Packer, CR, April 1983, 90; or “Agency and Control,” Ensign, May 1983, 66).

The Blessings of Submission to God: Peace

Our yielding to God and his right to rule and reign over us brings other blessings. Among the foremost are the faith and confidence that permit us to live with peace. The Lord said to Joshua:

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. . . .

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. [Joshua 1:5, 7]

If we likewise “observe to do according to all the law,” we shall also have the confidence of God being with us as He was with Moses. With the Psalmist we will be able to say, “In God I have put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me” (Psalm 56:11). Has not the Lord promised, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)?

Years ago I presided in a Church disciplinary council. The man whose sins were the subject of the council sat before us and related something of his history. His sins were indeed serious, but he had also been terribly sinned against. As we considered the matter, my soul was troubled, and I asked to be excused to think and pray about it alone before rejoining the council.

I was standing in front of a chair in my office pleading with the Lord to help me understand how such evil could have been perpetrated. I did not see but rather sensed an immense pit with a covering over it. One corner of the covering was lifted slightly for just an instant, and I perceived within it the depth and vastness of the evil that exists in this world. It was greater than I could really comprehend. I was overcome. I collapsed into the chair behind me. It seemed to take my breath away. I cried silently, “How can we ever hope to overcome such evil? How can we survive something so dark and overwhelming?”

In that moment there came to my mind this phrase: “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Seldom have I felt such peace juxtaposed to the reality of evil. I felt a deeper appreciation for the intensity of the Savior’s suffering, having a better, even frightening appreciation for the depth of what He had to overcome. I felt peace for the man who was before us for judgment, knowing he had a Redeemer whose grace was sufficient to cleanse him and also repair the injustices he had suffered. I knew better that good will triumph because of Jesus Christ, whereas without Him we would have no chance. I felt peace, and it was very sweet.

Joseph Smith understood this when he said, “Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123:17). The promise to those who submit to God is that His arm, His power, will be revealed in their lives. Jesus said:

Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me;

And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost. [D&C 50:41–42]

To live with this assurance is a blessing perhaps greater than you can today appreciate. Most of you have not yet lived long enough to know how precious peace is. Others, despite your youth, may have experienced feelings of desperation. But all of us, soon or late, in a moment of looming disaster or wearying confusion, having chosen God as our guide, will be able to sing with conviction, “Sweet is the peace the gospel brings” (Hymns, 1985, no. 14).

President Gordon B. Hinckley is often heard to say words to the effect, “Things will work out” and “The Lord controls in the affairs of the Church and in the world.” In 1983 he found himself at the pulpit of the Tabernacle in April general conference, the only member of the First Presidency able to be present. President Spencer W. Kimball and President Marion G. Romney were suffering from incapacitating illnesses. I suppose President Hinckley felt somewhat alone with a weight of responsibility that few can comprehend. He recounted:

Recently while wrestling in my mind with a problem I thought to be of serious consequence I went to my knees in prayer. There came into my mind a feeling of peace and the words of the Lord, “Be still and know that I am God.” I turned to the scripture and read this reassuring statement spoken to the Prophet Joseph Smith 150 years ago: “Let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God” (D&C 101:16).

God is weaving his tapestry according to his own grand design. All flesh is in his hands. It is not our prerogative to counsel him. It is our responsibility and our opportunity to be at peace in our minds and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that this is his work, and that he will not permit it to fail. [Gordon B. Hinckley, CR, April 1983, 4–5; or "He Slumbers Not, nor Sleeps," Ensign, May 1983, 6]

Those who accept God’s supremacy and act accordingly can count on His support. His power, His love, and His mercy all insure that He can and will sustain them. Those who reject God’s rule do not have access to this precious peace. “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). Reflecting on Korihor’s end, for example, “we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:60). With no promises, other than what may come from the father of lies, those who have not taken God as their guide are plagued by insecurities, looking fearfully over their shoulders at real and imagined threats to their safety and happiness. As noted in Proverbs, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth” (Proverbs 28:1).

Submission to God Must Be Voluntary and Wholehearted

Although it is God’s right to rule and reign over us, it is a right that generally He does not enforce. It is a true principle that He accepts only voluntary obedience, only that which is unforced. Moroni observed:

For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. . . .

For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift. . . .

And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. [Moroni 7:6, 8–9]

We should not expect freedom or faith or peace or any other such gift from our divine head if our acceptance of His leadership is lukewarm or grudging. If it is ritual rather than real righteousness, we should not expect a reward. A detached, aloof allegiance is for Him no allegiance at all. Our submission must be full, wholehearted, and unstinting. “See that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day” (D&C 4:2).

You will recall Benjamin’s statement that one must become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19). What God requires is the devotion portrayed by Jesus, who was asked to drink a cup so bitter it amazed even Him, the great Creator (see Mark 14:33). Yet He did it, “the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7).

For God truly to reign, the first commandment–to love Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength (see Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30)–must be first in our lives. President Ezra Taft Benson said:

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities. [Ezra Taft Benson, CR, April 1988, 3; or "The Great Commandment--Love the Lord," Ensign, May 1988, 4]

This is not for the fainthearted or unstable. Our submission to His will can require some wrenching sacrifices. The Lord himself observed, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). We do not know what may come. We must be able to say with Joseph Smith, “Whatever God requires is right” (Joseph Smith, Teachings, 256), and with the Savior, “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).

There are some significant words added to a verse in Luke in Joseph Smith’s inspired version. Luke, chapter 14, verse 27 reads: “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” The added words are: “Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you” (JST, Luke 14:28). That is my plea to you. Settle it now in your heart that you will have God to rule and reign over you, that you will walk in wisdom’s paths. Make the choice once and for all. Hold nothing back. “Offer your whole souls as an offering unto him” (Omni 1:26).

Don’t resist or resent God’s guidance; rejoice in it. Rejoice that He knows you and is willing to guide you. Rejoice that He binds Himself to bless you when you follow Him (see D&C 82:10). In an address here some years ago, President Boyd K. Packer related:

As I meet young people around the Church, they are always saying, “When will my parents ever think I have enough maturity to act for myself?” I know when with my family . . . I know that they are ready for full freedom in any field of endeavor the very minute they stop resenting supervision. At that moment I can back off, let them go alone, and really just be there to respond if they come for help. . . .

. . . We should put ourselves in a position before our Father in Heaven and say, individually, “I do not want to do what I want to do. I want to do what Thou wouldst have me do.” Suddenly, like any father, the Lord could say, “Well, there is one more of my children almost free from the need of constant supervision.” [Boyd K. Packer, "Obedience," in "That All May Be Edified" (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982), 254, 257]

I can tell you what will happen to you. In yielding your will to His, God will tutor you in the successful use of moral agency. You will find freedom to be, to feel, and to do. You will be supported in all your trials. You will “bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit” (D&C 97:9). Over time your prayers will become powerful, and you will come into God’s presence, through prayer, with confidence. Because of your unwearyingness in seeking the Lord’s will rather than your own, He may promise you as He did Helaman’s son, Nephi, “even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will” (Helaman 10:5). Your life, your personality will take on the characteristics and qualities of Christ. As B. H. Roberts observed:

The man who so walks in the light and wisdom and power of God, will at the last, by the very force of association, make the light and wisdom and power of God his own–weaving those bright rays into a chain divine, linking himself forever to God and God to him. This [is] the sum of Messiah’s mystic words, “Thou Father in me, and I in thee”–beyond this human greatness cannot achieve. [B. H. Roberts, "Brigham Young: A Character Study," Improvement Era, June 1903, 574]

I leave you my witness that through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we may become one with God, just as He prayed that we might be (see John 17:20–23). May your reverence for these holy beings and your allegiance to them be the shining guide of your life forever, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

This nation is distinctive among the nations of mankind. It is not just one among the families of nations, but it has a unique origin, purpose, and destiny. The foundation of this nation is spiritual. It was founded on belief in the sovereignty of God and that he—not government—granted man his rights. Furthermore, the Founding Fathers gave deliberate acknowledgment that the hand of God was in the events that brought about our independence. Here are a few of their testimonies:

George Washington: “The success, which has hitherto attended our united efforts, we owe to the gracious interposition of Heaven, and to that interposition let us gratefully ascribe the praise of victory, and the blessings of peace.” (To the Executive of New Hampshire, November 3, 1789.)

Alexander Hamilton: “The Sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records. They are written . . . by the Hand of Divinity itself.” (“The Farmer Refuted,” 1775.)

Thomas Jefferson: “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.” (Rights of British America, 1774.)

John Quincy Adams: “From the day of the Declaration . . . [the American people] were bound by the laws of God . . . and by the laws of the Gospel, which they nearly all acknowledged as the rules of their conduct.” (Oration celebrating July 4, 1821.)

It was not just incidental nor was it mere political platitude that the name of God was mentioned in the Declaration of Independence four times, and that our adopted national motto became “In God We Trust.” From the life of our illustrious founder, George Washington, we have an example of rectitude worthy of emulation by all public servants, an example that demonstrates a consistency between his private morality and public behavior. In light of past and present indiscretions by public officials, it would seem that this is a lesson that needs to be relearned.

It is evident from the vantage point of two hundred years that this country today enjoys an unparalleled freedom and prosperity. The facts speak for themselves.

Few nations possess the freedoms we do: freedom to speak, freedom to own property and business, freedom to worship, freedom to print, freedom to travel at home and abroad, freedom to censure even public officials, and freedom of private enterprise. No other country has been more richly blessed or more generous in terms of money and food.

Of those who malign our country or system, we ask, by what source did we receive such blessings and prosperity?

The source of all these blessings is God, because to a great extent we have been a God-fearing, Christ-worshiping people. Yet it should be evident to all who survey the social, political, and domestic landscape before us today, that we have departed from the ways of our forefathers and the path they marked out for us. In recent years we have witnessed a corrosion of the constitutional government established by our forebears, and a departure from the laws of God. No longer may it be said that we have a nation united under God. In Abraham Lincoln’s words, “We have forgotten God.”

There are some in this land, among whom I count myself, whose faith it is that America is “a land choice above all other lands” to the Lord, and that we shall remain on this land only as we remain in God’s divine favor.

There are principles that may bring us back into heaven’s favor again. These principles are embodied in the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments. They came from God Himself to Moses, and form the foundation of civilized society. Designed by the Almighty, these laws plumb the depths of human motives and urges, and, if adhered to, will regulate the baser passions of mankind. No nation has ever perished that has kept the commandments of God.

Neither permanent government nor civilization will long endure that violates these laws. The conscience of all right-thinking people declares this to be so. “America cannot remain strong by ignoring the commandments of the Lord.” (President Spencer W. Kimball, June 3, 1976.)

Again, our vantage point today, two hundred years after the birth of this favored nation, yields to us a foresight to see that if we as a nation are to long remain under heaven’s benign protection and care, we should return to those principles that have brought us peace, liberty, and prosperity. Our problems today are essentially problems of the spirit. The solution is not more wealth, more food, more technology, more government, or instruments of destruction. The solution is personal and national reformation. In short, it is to bring our national character ahead of our technological and material advances. Repentance is the sovereign remedy to our problems.

This nation is God-ordained for a glorious purpose. It is an ensign of liberty to all other nations. This liberty will be maintained as we keep the commandments of God. Righteousness is the indispensable ingredient to liberty.

The home is the rock foundation, the cornerstone of civilization. The church, the school, and even the nation stand helpless before a weak and degraded home. No nation will rise above its homes, and no nation will long endure when the family unit is weakened or destroyed. If we accept the truth of these statements, then we must conclude that the American family has serious problems.

All is not well with this most basic institution, the American home. In fact, it is in grave danger, if not in deadly peril. There is convincing evidence that a creeping rot of moral disintegration is eating into the very vitals of this temple of American civilization. It gives cause for serious concern.

The facts are not reassuring as we soberly appraise them. Far-reaching changes, resulting from industrialization, concentration of populations, commercialization of recreation, and other activities once performed in the home, all tend to lead away from home associations.

Accompanying these changes, and in some measure resulting from them, has been a marked increase in pleasure seeking; the mad rush for money and other material things; the unwarranted indulgence of personal gratifications; the insidious inroads of tobacco, liquor, gambling, and many other tendencies in our complex modern civilization. All these have exerted a pulling power away from the home and have weakened its structure.

There seems to be a tendency for many married people to become soft and to seek a life filled with ease and the pleasure of the moment. They invite the pleasure of conjugality but often refuse to shoulder the responsibility of parenthood.

Divorce today is epidemic. The father’s place at the head of the home is being challenged, and mothers have, in many instances, left the hearth to join the work force, which weakens the stability of the home. Children, growing up without strong parental guidance and spiritual influence, are allowed to roam freely. Not only does this permissiveness and lack of training sponsor indolence, but many of these youth, out of boredom, have turned to drinking, drugs, delinquency, or crime.

One great Church leader has wisely said, “No other success in life can compensate for failure in the home.” (President David O. McKay.) If this nation is to endure, then the home must be safeguarded, strengthened, and restored to its rightful importance. The home is the bulwark of the nation—our most fundamental and basic institution.

Marriage, the home, and family are more than mere social institutions. They are divine, not man-made. God ordained marriage from the very beginning. In the record of that first marriage recorded in Genesis, the Lord makes four significant pronouncements: first, that it is not good for man to be alone; second, that woman was created to be a help meet for man; third, that they twain should be one flesh; and fourth, that man should leave father and mother and cleave unto his wife. (Genesis 2:18, 24.)

Later, as though to reinforce the earlier statement, the Lord said: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6.) He also said, “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.” (D&C 42:22.)

This first marriage, instituted by God, was between two immortal beings. Marriage was thus intended to be eternal. Following the consummation of this marriage, God gave Adam and Eve important instruction about the perpetuation of the family, instruction that has never been rescinded: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Genesis 1:28.)

The scriptures teach that man was created in the image and likeness of his Creator. (Genesis 1:26–27.) Fundamental to the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the belief that the purpose of man’s whole existence is to grow into the likeness and image of God. We accept quite literally the Savior’s mandate: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48.)

We believe God to be the personal Heavenly Father to all mankind, that all mortal beings are literally His spirit offspring. We worship God as a personal, all-knowing, all-powerful being, endowed with all the attributes of perfection. As God’s literal offspring, we believe man to be His only creation blessed with His image and His likeness. Our children sing a song from the time they learn to talk that impresses upon them their celestial as well as mortal heritage:

I am a child of God, And he has sent me here, Has given me an earthly home With parents kind and dear.

I am a child of God, And so my needs are great; Help me to understand his words Before it grows too late.

I am a child of God,Rich blessings are in store;If I but learn to do his will,I’ll live with him once more.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,Help me find the way.Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday. (—Sing with Me, no. B-76)

Yes, we believe marriage was ordained by God for a wise eternal purpose. The family is the basis for the righteous life. Divinely prescribed roles to father, mother, and children were given from the very beginning. God established that fathers were to preside in the home. Fathers are to procreate, provide, love, teach, and direct. A mother’s role is also God-ordained. Mothers are to conceive, bear, nourish, love, and train. They are the helpmates and counselors to their husbands.

Children are likewise counseled in holy writ in their duty to parents. Paul the apostle wrote: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1–3.) When parents, in companionship, love, and unity, fulfill their heaven-imposed responsibility, and children respond with love and obedience, great joy is the result.

Did the God of heaven who created and intended marriage and family to be the source of man’s greatest joy, his dearest possession while on this earth, intend that it end at death? Do marriage and families pertain only to this transitory state? Are all our sympathies, affections, and love for each other a thing of naught, to be cast off in death? Another distinctive teaching of Latter-day Saint theology is our belief in revelation from God to latter-day prophets. We testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet raised up by God to restore many great truths that had been lost because of the absence of revelation. Through him, God revealed the eternity of the marriage covenant and the timelessness of the family. The effect that this teaching has upon Church members is most pronounced. One of the early apostles in the Church recorded his feelings about this doctrine in these words:

I received from [Joseph Smith] the first idea of eternal family organization, and the eternal union of the sexes in those inexpressibly endearing relationships which none but the highly intellectual, the refined and pure in heart, know how to prize, and which are at the very foundation of everything worthy to be called happiness.

Till then I had learned to esteem kindred affections and sympathies as appertaining solely to this transitory state, as something from which the heart must be entirely weaned, in order to be fitted for its heavenly state.

It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife; of brother and sister, son and daughter.

It was from him that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the foundation of divine eternal love. It was from him that I learned that we might cultivate these affections, and grow and increase in the same to all eternity.

It was from him that I learned the true dignity and destiny of a son of God, clothed with an eternal priesthood, as the patriarch and sovereign of his [family]. It was from him that I learned that the highest dignity of womanhood was, to stand as a queen and priestess with her husband. . . .

I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this grovelling sphere and expand it as the ocean. I felt that God was my heavenly Father indeed; that Jesus was my brother, and that the wife of my bosom was an immortal, eternal companion; a kind ministering angel, given to me as a comfort, and a crown of glory for ever and ever. In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also. (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, Deseret Book Co., 1975, pp. 297-98.)

Because of this confidence in the perpetuity of the home and family into the eternities, we build our most elaborate and expensive structures—temples of God, so that man, woman, and their children may be bound together by covenant in an everlasting union that will transcend all the limitations of this mortal sphere. It is because of this belief that the Church decries divorce, and that we are actively engaged in teaching fathers that their most important duty is within the walls of their own homes, and mothers, that they should be full-time mothers in the home. It is why we encourage parents to teach their children fundamental spiritual principles that will instill faith in God, faith in the family, and faith in their country. There is no other institution that can take the place of the family, nor fulfill its essential function.

Yes, families are intended to have joy. President David O. McKay once said, “In the well-ordered home we may experience on earth a taste of heaven.” (Conference Report, April 1969, p. 5.) How true that is!

My plea to all who read these words is that we strengthen our families so that our memories of home may be happy ones, that our home life may be a foretaste of heaven.

God intended the family to be eternal. With all my soul, I testify to the truth of that declaration. May He bless us to strengthen our homes and the lives of each family member so that in due time we can report to our Heavenly Father in His celestial home that we are all there—father, mother, sister, brother, all who hold each other dear. In this, the greatest of all nations, in this land choice above all others, I pay humble tribute to the home. It is America’s greatest strength.

God grant that the love and unity in all our homes will be preserved to transcend the bounds of this mortal life.

This is a followup to my previous writing on the difference between Agency, Freedom and Liberty.

Moroni’s Title of Liberty is another example that illustrates the difference between Freedom and Liberty. God, Religion, Freedom, Peace, Family – these things combined are labeled the Title of Liberty, for Liberty is only achieved by remembering and being good stewards in all of these areas.

As I previously stated, Liberty comes as a result of following God’s plan and choosing to be righteous.

Captain Moroni, saw that many of the people were being led astray and forgetting the Lord their God. They were falling into iniquity and complacency. Moroni recognized what it takes for a people to experience true Liberty and therefore he had this standard of Liberty hoisted upon every tower in the land as a reminder to the people.

The Foundation of Liberty:

• God – Moroni knew that God would support them so long as they were faithful unto him and to His commandments. He also turned to God for inspiration, even in battle.
• Religion – He recognized the importance of religion, that they might understand the words of God and worship Him.
• Freedom – Moroni enjoyed freedom from slavery and was willing to fight in defense of His faith, country and family.
• Peace – Moroni did not delight in bloodshed. He allowed the enemy every opportunity to enter into a covenant of peace and allowed them to depart with their lives. He also never waged a preemptive or offensive war, only defensive.
• Family – He recognized the stewardship that men have for their wives and children and the sacred support which they owed to them.

(see the Book of Mormon – Alma chapters 43 to 46)

And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery; Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood. …if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. (Alma 48:11–13,17)

My beloved brethren and sisters, humbly and gratefully I approach this sobering responsibility. I am grateful for this conference. I have had a prayer in my heart in the last few moments that every person living in this world might have the opportunity to hear and to read the masterful address given by our beloved President at the beginning of this conference and the great and statesmanlike address to which we have just listened from President Clark.

For months I have had borne in upon my heart a desire to discuss a certain matter in this conference which I feel impressed to discuss with you. I hope I will not be misunderstood. I assure you that I also need the counsel which I am about to express.

In the book of Kings we read about a woman who came weeping to Elisha, the prophet. Her husband had died, and she owed a debt that she could not pay; and the creditor was on his way to take her two sons and sell them as slaves.

By a miracle Elisha enabled her to acquire a goodly supply of oil. And he said to her:

Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. (II Kings 4:1–7.)

“Pay thy debt, and live.” How fruitful these words have ever been! What wise counsel they are for us today!

Read the words of wise men down through the ages, and we find over and over again this great insistence upon the wisdom of being debt-free. Shakespeare put on the lips of one of his characters in Hamlet these words:

Neither a borrower nor a lender be: For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Others have written:

Do not accustom yourself to debt as only a convenience; you will find it a calamity. (Johnson)

The debt-habit is the twin brother of poverty. (Munger)

Poverty is hard-but debt is horrible, said another philosopher. (Surgeon)

John Randolph, one of the early leaders of our nation, remarked:

I have discovered the philosopher’s stone that turns everything into gold; it is, “Pay as you go.”

And one of the wisest men in the annals of our country, Ben Franklin, wrote:

Think what you do when you run into debt; you give to another power over your liberty.

True, times have changed since Franklin’s day, but the principles of truth and wisdom never change. Our inspired leaders have always urged Latter-day Saints to get out of debt, live within our means, and pay as we go.

Our own pioneer forefathers have left us a heritage of thrift–of saving–of freedom from debt.

Surely they would counsel us today: “Pay thy debt, and live.”

I speak to you today of a twofold duty which all of us have-a duty to our country as Americans-and a duty to ourselves as individuals, as children of God.

Never has a nation been so blessed with productivity as we in this land. Last year our output of goods and services reached the enormous value of 412 billion dollars. This was an increase in terms of real value of more than forty percent in the last ten years. The increase in output for each person since 1946 has been nearly twenty percent.

Whence comes this astounding capacity to produce? I am deeply convinced that it lies in the blessings of our Heavenly Father and in the untrammeled initiative, enterprise, and freedom of our people, in the fact that success or failure of our nation rests primarily with the people.

Yet, despite our wealth, our productivity, our material progress, do we not see signs of danger ahead? Do we not discern unhealthy tendencies, perhaps even germs of decay, in a general weakening of some of our oldest American traditions?

In the past quarter century, there has been a tremendous shift from individual to governmental responsibility in many phases of economic and social life. There has been a rapid shift of responsibility from the states to the federal government.

Twenty-five years ago the federal government received one-fourth of all the taxes collected in the United States. Today the federal government collects not one-fourth but three-fourths of all our taxes. Twenty-five years ago all taxes, federal, state, and local, took fourteen percent of our national income. Today, taxes take thirty-one percent.

In twenty-four years, our expanding federal government has boosted the average family’s tax bill from 120 to 1600 dollars a year. In twenty-four years the national debt has swollen to an average of 7,000 dollars for each family.

Many forces work together toward the concentration of power at the federal level. Our people have come to look to the federal government as the provider, at no cost to them, of whatever is needful. If this trend continues, the states may be left hollow shells, operating primarily as the field districts of federal departments and depending upon the federal treasury for their support.

The national debt today is 277 billion dollars, equal to two-thirds of a year’s total income. Interest on this debt is more than seven billion dollars a year, about sixty percent as much as the net income of all our farm people.

Through a great effort, in this the period of our greatest prosperity, we reduced this debt by four billion dollars last year (1956), and the expectation is for a further slight reduction this year. This but illustrates how much easier it is to go into debt than to get out.

History teaches that when individuals have given up looking after their own economic needs and transferred a large share of that responsibility to the government, both they and the government have failed.

At least twenty great civilizations have disappeared. The pattern is shockingly similar. All, before their collapse, showed a decline in spiritual values, in moral stamina, and in the freedom and responsibility of their citizens. They showed such symptoms as excessive taxation, bloated bureaucracy, government paternalism, and generally a rather elaborate set of supports, controls, and regulations, affecting prices, wages, production, and consumption.

When we add up our total debt-debt owed by federal, state, and local governments, by business and by individuals-the sum is a staggering 693 billion dollars. In ten years, our total debt has risen nearly 300 billion dollars-about seventy-five percent. Most of this increase was in private debts, which climbed from 252 to 425 billion dollars, or an increase of seventy percent.

We have mortgaged our future. We have done so because we live beyond our income.

Now I do not mean to say that all debt is bad. Of course not. Sound business debt is one of the elements of growth. Sound mortgage credit is a real help to a family that must borrow for a home.

But is it not apparent that in the areas of both public and personal debt the limitations of soundness have been seriously strained?

Personal income, even after taxes, on a per capita basis, is the highest it has ever been. Yet mortgage debt and personal debt have been increasing. Between December 1952 and December 1956, home mortgage debt rose sixty-nine percent. This was by no means due entirely to the building boom.

Personal debt has also sharply increased reaching a total of 42 billion dollars at the end of 1956, compared with about 9 billion dollars only fifteen years earlier. The increase in personal debt during the past two years exceeded the total personal debt outstanding in 1954. No matter which income group we select, the proportion of people with such debt has increased since 1949. A few years ago only one family out of three owed personal debts; now more than half have such obligations.

Why this great increase in debt today? Have incomes declined so that people must borrow money to maintain their level of living? No, incomes generally have shown a steady climb to the present record level.

Is there something about the distribution of income which explains this increase in debt? No, strangely enough, personal debt is reported most frequently not for the low but for the middle income brackets, those families with incomes from $3000 to $7500 annually.

How, then, can we explain the increase in private debt?

One reason, I believe, is that the adult experience of many people covers only the period of the war and postwar inflationary period, the years of high employment and high income since the early ‘forties. During these years, those who went in debt to buy a home or a farm saw the value of their equity increase. Those who bought cars or home utilities experienced relatively little difficulty in paying for them. Wages and prices rose. Incomes increased. The longer one postponed a purchase, the more he had to pay.

For many of these people it is difficult to believe that serious recession will ever come again. Feeling secure in their expectations of continuing employment and a steady flow of wages and salaries, they obligate their future income without thought of what they would do if they should lose their jobs or their incomes were stopped for some other reason. But the best authorities have repeatedly said that we are not yet smart enough to control our economy without downward adjustments. Sooner or later these adjustments will come.

Another reason for the increase in debt, I believe, is deeper-and causes greater concern. This is the rise of materialism as contrasted with spiritual values. Many a family, in order to make a “proper showing,” will commit itself for a larger and more expensive house than is needed, in an expensive neighborhood. Again almost everyone would, it seems, like to keep up with the Joneses. With the increasing standard of living, that temptation increases with each new gadget that comes on the market. The subtle and carefully planned techniques of modern advertising are aimed at the weakest points of consumer resistance. And there is a growing feeling, unfortunately, that material things should be had now, without waiting, without saving, without self-denial.

How many people stop to think when they buy on a thirty-six-months-to-pay basis that they place their future earnings for three years ahead in the hands of moneylenders. What is there about a late model car that can make such a sacrifice worth while?

Worse still, a large proportion of families with personal debt have no liquid assets whatsoever to fall back upon. What troubles they invite if their income should be suddenly cut off or seriously reduced! We all know of families who have obligated themselves for more than they could pay.

There is a world of heartache behind such cases.

All of us as Americans have a patriotic responsibility not to contribute to the inflation danger by needlessly building still higher the mountain of total debt. All of us as individuals-and above all, as members of families-have an obligation in conscience not to mismanage our resources.

Yes, there is a tendency for all of us to want to “keep up with the Joneses,” but even though our income is low we have plenty of company. This should make it easier to live within our income and resist borrowing from the future except in cases of necessity-never for luxuries.

It is not fair to ourselves or our communities to be so improvident in our spending that the day our income stops we must turn to relief agencies or the Church for financial aid.

Do not, I solemnly urge you, tie yourselves to the payment of carrying charges that are often exorbitant. Save now and buy later, and you will be much farther ahead. You will spare yourselves high interest and other payments, and the money you save may provide opportunity for you to buy later at substantial cash discounts.

If you must incur debt to meet the reasonable necessities of life-such as buying a house and furniture-then, I implore you, as you value your solvency and happiness, buy within your means.

So, use credit wisely-to acquire a farm, to own a home.

But resist the temptation to plunge into a property far more pretentious or spacious than you really need.

How much better off you will be, especially young families just starting out, if first you buy a small house which you can expect to pay for in a relatively short time. Such a house in a neighborhood where values are increasing will usually provide the basis for a very large down payment on a bigger home when you are ready for it.

True, you can sometimes buy with little or no down payment, and on long terms. But these terms mean that a very large part of your total payments will go to pay interest charges, not to retire the principal of the debt. Remember, interest never sleeps or takes a holiday. Such payments of interest can easily become a tremendous burden, especially when you add to them taxes and cost of repairs.

Do not leave yourself or your family unprotected against financial storms. Forego luxuries, for the time being at least, to build up savings. How wise it is to provide for the future education of children and for old age.

The smaller the family income, the more important it is that every dollar be used wisely. Efficient spending and saving will give the family more security, more opportunities, more education, and a higher standard of living.

As I look back on the establishment of my own home I’m grateful for a companion who, although accustomed to many of the luxuries of life, was willing to start humbly.

Vividly, I recall her doing the washing by hand until we could buy a secondhand washer. There was no overstuffed furniture; there was no carpeting on the floors. As a graduate student on a $70-a-month scholarship, I recall entertaining at dinner the head of the department at the college. He sat down at a card table-which was not used for cards-because there was no dining table. We gathered vegetables from the college experimental plots to cut down on the grocery bill and live within our means. Many have had similar experiences in a determination to make ends meet.

Now, when personal incomes nationally are at the highest level in history, is the time to pay off obligations.

I doubt that there will be soon again a more favorable time for Latter-day Saints generally to get out of debt than now. Let us use the opportunity we have to speed up repayment of mortgages and to set aside provisions for education, possible periods of decreased earning power, and emergencies the future may hold.

Truly, man does not live by bread alone. A good name is still to be preferred to great riches. Especially is it to be preferred to the appearance of riches, acquired with nothing down and nothing to pay for two months.

Stewardship, not conspicuous consumption, is the proper relationship of man to material wealth.

There may never be a more favorable time than now for most people to get their financial house in order so far as debt is concerned.

Yes, let us live within our income. Let us pay as we go. Let us “pay thy debt, and live!”

Cry unto the Lord for strength to heed the counsel of the oracles of God. The prophet Amulek said:

Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.

Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. (Alma 34:24–25.)

May I add this to Amulek’s counsel: Pray to the Lord over your debts that they may be paid. Pray to him for faith to get out of debt, to live within your means, and to pay as you go. Yes, “pay thy debt, and live!”

My brothers and sisters-Latter-day Saints-let us heed the counsel of the leadership of the Church. Get out of debt!

Let us pay first our obligations to our Heavenly Father. Then we will more easily pay our debts to our fellow men. Let us heed the counsel of President Brigham Young, who said:

Pay your debts…do not run into debt any more….Be prompt in everything, and especially to pay your debts.

President Joseph F. Smith:

…In the time of prosperity…get out of debt….If you desire to prosper, and to be…a free people, first meet your obligations to God and then…to your fellow men.

President Heber J. Grant:

Tithing is a law of God…be honest with the Lord and I promise them [the Latter-day Saints] that peace, prosperity, and financial success will attend. Let me warn the Latter-day Saints to buy automobiles…and the luxuries of life…when they have the money to buy them, and not to mortgage their future.

Brothers and sisters, there is a peace and a contentment which comes into the heart when we live within our means.

God grant us the wisdom and the faith to heed the inspired counsel of the priesthood to get out of debt, to live within our means and to pay as we go-in short, to “pay thy debt, and live,” I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

My brethren and sisters, if the Lord will bless me I desire to say a few words about a most serious world-wide threat. In the Old Testament we read: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6.)

Thus spoke Hosea, the prophet. In keeping with the spirit of President McKay’s masterful opening address, I take these words of warning as my text, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

As in Old Testament days we need knowledge today. We need to know our enemies. We must assess clearly and accurately the perils that face the free world as we enter the Missile Age. At the same time we must assure ourselves of the knowledge which brings confidence and trust in our ability and that of our friends around the world to face the future–not in fear but with vigilance. From knowledge comes strength, and from strength comes the power to preserve freedom both at home and abroad.

President Eisenhower and other dedicated men have worked tirelessly to help the free world understand better the deadly world conflict between good and evil which is constantly going on.

We are now entering a period of conferences, first at the Summit in May and again in June when the President travels to Moscow for a ten-day visit in Russia.

As the President said in his State of the Union Message last January, “We will continue in our search for peace and in our efforts to reach mutually enforceable agreements.”

We have an enormous responsibility here in the United States to help maintain peace and freedom and to push back the somber clouds of war-threats caused by international tensions.

The power of communism depends to a large extent on public ignorance. Knowledge is a dangerous thing–to totalitarian states; but knowledge is strength to a free people.

There are some fundamental facts which must never be overlooked, lest it be said of this our land, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6.)

We must never forget exactly what communism really is. Communism is far more than an economic system. It is a total philosophy of life–atheistic and completely opposed to all that we hold dear.

We believe in an all-wise Creator. Communism teaches that everything in existence came about as a result of ceaseless motion of the forces of nature.

We believe in the dignity of man. Communism holds that human beings are but graduate beasts. Hence communism does not hesitate to destroy those who stand in its way. The Russian communists in their rise to power liquidated millions of their fellow countrymen. The Chinese communists wiped out tens of millions–perhaps as many as 30 million.

We believe in a moral code. Communism denies innate right or wrong. As W. Cleon Skousen has said in his timely book, The Naked Communist: The communist “has convinced himself that nothing is evil which answers the call of expediency.” This is a most damnable doctrine. People who truly accept such a philosophy have neither conscience nor honor. Force, trickery, lies, broken promises are wholly justified.

We believe in religion as a mode of life resulting from our faith in God. Communism contends that all religion must be overthrown because it inhibits the spirit of world revolution.

Earl Browder, a long-time leader of the Communist Party in the U. S. A. said, “. . . we Communists do not distinguish between good and bad religions, because we think they are all bad.”

This atheistic, degrading, but militant philosophy is backed up with the strength and resources of a big country of 210 million people and a fast-growing economy. In addition, communism has built an empire of 700 million people more. Besides this, it has agents in all free world countries whose ultimate aim is to overthrow the existing social order and bring these countries under the red flag.

The major communist objective, make no mistake about it, is to destroy any society that adheres to the fundamentals of spiritual, economic, and political freedom–the integrity of man.

As the leading exponent of the free society, the United States is thus the primary target of Marxian-Lenin philosophy.

Internationally, communism seeks to isolate us from the rest of the free world. Here at home, communism ceaselessly pursues the disintegration of the American way of life. It strives to use education, science, literature, art, even the churches, to undermine our free society.

Suppose for a moment that this country fell under communist control. What would be the fruits of this calamity? First, the true seat of government would immediately be removed from Washington to Moscow. William Z. Foster, the former head of the Communist Party in the United States, said this: “When a Communist heads the government of the United States–and that day will come just as surely as the sun rises–the government will not be a Capitalistic government but a Soviet government, and behind this government will stand the Red Army to enforce the dictatorship of the proletariat.”

What would this mean to you and me in our daily lives?

Could we own our own homes? Our living quarters would be assigned to us, and we would pay rent to the state as ordered.

Could we own our own farms? Our farms would be collectivized and become the property of the state and we would work them under orders from the state.

Could we start a business and hire people to work for us? To do so would make us criminals.

Could we work where we pleased? We would work when, where, and how we were told–and the government would do the telling. No labor unions as we now know them would be permitted to exist. Neither would Chambers of Commerce, Farm Organizations, Rotary Clubs, the American Legion, and other organizations.

What would happen to our bank accounts? All above a small sum would be confiscated. The rest would be state-controlled for us. The state would take over our insurance.

Except for a few closely personal items we would have no property to leave to our families when we die.

We could travel around the country only with police permission.

We could not travel abroad or marry a foreigner without the specific approval of the state.

We could not even write freely to friends in other countries.

Our children would go to the schools selected for them, and only so long as the state permitted. Lenin said, “Give us a child for eight years, and it will be a Bolshevik forever.”

Teachers would be free to teach only what the state authorized. William Z. Foster said, “Our teachers must write new school textbooks and rewrite history from the Marxian viewpoint.”

To belong to a church would be sure to bring discrimination and penalties of many kinds against us and our families. The great majority of church buildings would become state museums or warehouses.

No real compromise is possible with evil such as this.

Is there any real danger that such a calamity could befall us here? My response to that is merely to recite the following shocking fact:

In forty years, communism, by trickery and force, has brought more people under its domination than the total number of Christians now living in the entire world–and Christianity has been in existence for nearly 2,000 years.

We dare not underestimate the communists’ zeal, nor their aims, nor their power. To do so could mean our destruction.

We dare not accept communist pledges at face value.

The German situation is a dramatic example.

The Soviet Union in the 1940′s sealed off its German occupation zone–breaking its promise.

The Soviet Union built up a powerful East German semi-military police force–breaking another promise. The Soviet Union pledged Germany political freedom, as well as freedom of speech and press. Here again she broke her promise.

The Soviet Union agreed to four-power rule in Berlin, then set up a separate East Berlin–breaking its promise.

I visited the Soviet Union last fall spending much of my time with the good, honest, hard-working people of the soil. I am sure the Russian people want peace. I am confident that we can look forward to an era of peace if the governments of the world respond to the will of the people. But I saw no evidence that the communist leaders have altered their goal of world conquest–by economic if not by military means.

Even this short visit to the Soviet Union clearly revealed how uneven and unbalanced their economic progress actually is. Their success in the field of rocketry is in sharp contrast to their backwardness in general standards of living. A Soviet wisecrack of recent vintage goes like this: “Last year we got a sputnik and this year a lunik, and one of these days we may even get shoes.”

In agricultural efficiency and productivity the Soviet Union is still a long way behind the United States. But they do have a substantial growth potential.

By means of a great effort, including better economic incentives, Soviet agriculture has increased production by one half or more in the past six years.

About fifty million persons work in Russian agriculture and forestry–more than forty percent of their total labor force–compared with a little over seven million persons in the United States, or less than 10 percent of our labor force.

They have relatively few farm machines compared to the United States, and they use a great deal of hand labor, most of it done by women. Some sixty to seventy-five percent of their agricultural labor force consists of women.

But one farm worker in the United States produces enough food and fiber to support about twenty-five persons–one farm worker in Russia produces enough for only five or six persons.

The typical Russian laborer has one pair of shoes and one suit of clothes. That’s because it takes a month’s wages to buy a pair of shoes and two months or more to buy a suit of clothes.

They are putting up a bold front as regards their ability to catch up. I saw hundreds of posters in the USSR urging farmers to surpass the United States in per capita production. I also saw numerous posters forecasting the ultimate victory of the communist system.

But we in this country are driving ahead also.

I feel sure that the Soviets will not equal nor surpass our productivity in our lifetime, if ever, under their system of agriculture. Why? Because they can never duplicate the levels of efficiency and productive ingenuity which are called forth in a free society.

But let us not underestimate them. On the contrary, let us strive harder to make our own free system of agriculture and industry even more efficient. And let us constantly keep our guard up.

What can you and I do to help meet this grave challenge from a godless, atheistic, cruelly materialistic system–to preserve our God-given free way of life?

First, let us all prize the treasures we have in this country. This is a choice land–all of America – - choice above all others. Blessed by the Almighty, our forebears have made and kept it so. It will continue to be a land of freedom and liberty as long as we are able and willing to advance in the light of sound and enduring principles of right.

Second, let us all do our part to stay free! Let us stand eternal watch against the accumulation of too much power in government. Here in our free land let us preserve a true climate in which man can grow.

Third, let us all reaffirm our patriotism, our love of country. Patriotism is more than flag-waving and brave words. It is how we respond to public issues. Let us rededicate ourselves as patriots in the truest sense.

Fourth, let us all help to build peace: True peace springs from within. Its price is righteousness, and to achieve righteousness we must so conduct ourselves individually and collectively as to earn the loyalty and devotion of other men.

Finally, let us all rededicate our lives and our nation to do the will of God. With each of you, I love this nation. It is my firm belief that the God of heaven guided the Founding Fathers in establishing it for his particular purposes. But God’s purpose is to build free people of character, not physical monuments to their material accumulations.

Nations that truly love freedom love God. History is replete with examples of once powerful nations that have forgotten God. No nation ripened in iniquity can long endure. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs

We in this land have a rich heritage of freedom. It has rewarded us beyond our brightest dreams. The key to further progress–the key to national security–is the preservation of the initiative, vitality, energy, and resourcefulness of our people. Our material progress is merely a by-product of our freedom. Our God-given freedom, a basic principle of religious truth, is still the most powerful force on the face of the earth.

The people of the world long for peace–and I specifically include the people of Russia.

That is why we can approach these talks with the Russians with inner strength but without illusions. We know that knowledge of the enemy teaches us wariness and caution; we know too that we speak for millions of suppressed people on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain, all those everywhere who want peace with human dignity.

May I conclude by saying that any system which deprives men of their free agency, which weakens the home and family, which depends on butchery for power, which denies all moral responsibility, which holds that man lives by bread alone, and which denies the existence of God, is of the devil.

This is the communist philosophy. There is no real evidence that it has been changed in the last forty years.

Knowledge of the enemy and knowledge of ourselves give us the strength to fight the good fight for freedom and world peace.

May it never come to pass that “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” (Hosea 4:6) I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

In keeping with the spirit of the masterful address given by our great leader, President David O. McKay at the beginning of this conference, I declare to you this morning that human liberty is the mainspring of human progress.

The one great revolution in the world is the revolution for human liberty. This was the paramount issue in the great council in heaven before this earth life. It has been the issue throughout the ages. It is the issue today.

It is difficult for Americans to understand the danger to our liberty. “It is generally outside the range of our experience.” But we live today in an age of peril. We are threatened with the loss not only of material wealth but of something far more precious–our liberty itself.

Never before in the history of our country has there been a greater need for all of our people to take time to discover what is happening in the world. Every day decisions are being made affecting the lives of millions of human beings.

We as a people have never known bondage. Liberty has always been our blessed lot. Few of us have ever seen people who have lost their freedom–their liberty. And when reminded of the danger of losing our liberty and independence our attitude has usually been: It cannot happen here.

We must never forget that nations may, and usually do, sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity.

The children of Israel, willing to sacrifice liberty, wanted Moses to be their king. Generations later their descendants begged Samuel the prophet to give them a king. He pointed out the fallacy of their reasoning. Samuel, like other great spiritual leaders, ancient and modern, saw the results that would follow the surrender of liberty.

In that sacred volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, we note the great and prolonged struggle for liberty. We also note the complacency of the people and their frequent willingness to give up their liberty for the promises of a would-be provider.

The record reveals that a man “of cunning device . . . and . . . many flattering words,” . . . sought . . . “to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, . . .” (Alma 46: 10.)

Then Moroni, the chief commander of the armies dramatically “. . . rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it–In memory of our God our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children–and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

“. . . (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, . . .” (See ibid., 46:12-13.)

This great general, Moroni, like the prophets whose words are recorded in the Book of Mormon, spoke of the Americas as a chosen land–the land of liberty. He led the people in battle who were willing to fight to “maintain their liberty.”

And the record states: “. . . that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land…. and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites.” (Ibid., 46:36.)

This is our need today–to plant the standard of liberty among our people throughout the Americas.

While this incident occurred some seventy years BC, the struggle went on through one thousand years covered by this sacred Book of Mormon record. In fact, the struggle for liberty is a continuing one–it is with us in a very real sense today right here on this choice land of the Americas. Yes, on an island strategically situated only ninety miles from our shores.

Just a short time ago Fidel Castro broadcast to the world his boastful confession that he had been a hard-core communist all of his adult life. He gloried in the fact that he had been able to confuse and deceive many people simply by saying he was not a communist. And because there were gullible people in this and other countries who believed his false assertions, he was able to establish a Soviet beachhead–”A communist satellite under active Russian control.”

Americans must face the cold hard fact that Fidel Castro was encouraged and supported in his seizure of Cuba. Why? Simply because many Americans were led to believe the falsehood that he would resist Soviet influence and restore the full basic liberty of the Cuban people. A few of us issued early warnings based on unimpeachable evidence. Two United States ambassadors repeatedly warned that Castro was part of the communist conspiracy and that he was working for the communist conquest of Cuba. These voices went unheeded.

This is merely a repetition of the same deceitful pattern which was used after World War II to have us tolerate revolutionary communists in China–to accept them as “agrarian reformers” and allow them to seize and enslave some 450,000,000 people on the Chinese mainland.

This is the same deceitful pattern which we have been asked to accept in the Congo, in Laos, in British Guiana, etc. In fact, everywhere the communist conspiratorial machinery is preparing for a seizure of power, we are assured there is no immediate danger from communism.

In less than half a century this evil system has gained control over one-third of mankind, and it is steadily pursuing its vicious goal of control over all the rest of the world. It is time, and past time, for us to be alarmed.

I raised a voice of warning two years ago following my return from South America. And now, today, Cuba is being used as a base to spread subversion and armed revolution throughout Latin America. Cuba is being used as a funnel through which communists are infiltrating other American Republics. There can be no stability in Latin America so long as “The shadow of the hammer and sickle is darkening the Western Hemisphere.” The communist objective is to isolate North America.

Less than fifteen years ago communism was not a powerful force in Latin America. Today it is not only strongly present there as an enemy to be reckoned with–it is openly allied with a government located on an island only about 90 miles south of Key West, Florida.

The only political party now functioning in Cuba is the popular Socialist Party–the Communist Party under another name.

It is authoritatively reported that by the end of 1958 there were 316 known communist or pro-communist publications in Latin America, the largest number being 55 in Mexico. About one half are newspapers and other periodicals. There were more than 150 communist publishing houses and bookstores. These activities have increased sharply since 1958. (South Wind Red, by Ray, p. 17.)

True to communist and dictator tradition, the Cuban government has deprived its people of the rights of a free press, free elections, and the protection of other fundamental human rights.

How did this situation come about? How is it possible for communism to be here and now moving into Africa, pressing upon all of Asia, threatening the Middle East and increasingly becoming a danger in the Western Hemisphere?

There are, of course, many reasons. Our apathy–our complacent indifference is a major cause. We have permitted ourselves to be pacified and lulled away into carnal security as Book of Mormon prophets predicted. (See 2 Nephi 28:21.)

As emphasized from this pulpit two years ago, we have a rich history to guide us. Think back with me a moment to the year 1823. In that year, James Monroe of Virginia was President. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts was Secretary of State. These two men formed and announced a policy–the Monroe Doctrine–which has profoundly influenced the development of our entire hemisphere. (Here was the situation that called forth this policy–known as the Monroe Doctrine–in 1823.)

Several of what are now the Latin American republics had by force of arms newly won their independence from Spain and Portugal. Among them were Columbia, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil.

Meantime a number of the sovereigns of Europe were seeking to enforce the “divine right of kings” with the express purpose of putting “an end to the system of representative government….”

This our government refused to permit. It said so plainly in the celebrated Monroe Doctrine. The heart of the Monroe Doctrine consisted of these words “. . . the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers….” The Monroe Doctrine, which should be and is an enduring cornerstone and living principle of national policy, stated further: “The political system of the allied powers is essentially different . . . from that of America….”

Surely if it were true a century and a half ago that European monarchy was essentially different from our American system of representative government, it is even more true today that the communist system is totally different, totally incompatible, totally inimical to our free way of life.

This is a time of decision. Further vacillation will serve only to drive all of Latin America straight into communist hands. If action is not taken against the power-drunken bandit and his cohorts, the day will soon come when it cannot be done at all.

The Monroe Doctrine was first invoked against the Russian Czar Alexander. The Cuban menace represents the first time in one hundred years that a hostile foreign power has established a firm beachhead in the Americas.

The American people are deeply upset, frustrated, and angry at what they fear is a retreat from the time-honored Monroe Doctrine–a retreat which could now end in war.

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., whose scholarly work on the Monroe Doctrine, as Under Secretary of State, is well known, in tracing our destiny said this:

“Then came our GREAT Monroe Doctrine which placed us of the United States squarely behind efforts of Latin America to gain freedom and against those European states who would thwart it.

“God again moved us forward towards the destiny He has planned for us. He was preserving the blessings He had given to us.” (Memorandum on the Monroe Doctrine, Dept. of State Publication #37, December 17, 1928.)

President Joseph Fielding Smith in his ever timely volume, The Progress of Man, in discussing America’s fortification against other nations makes this significant statement.

“The greatest and most powerful fortification in America is the ‘Monroe Doctrine.’ . . . It appears to the casual observer that this doctrine came by chance . . . but this is not so. 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 President James Monroe to Congress in the year 1823….

“It is generally understood . . . in the Church that the greatest and most significant principle by which this land is fortified against the encroachments and invasions of European and Asiatic powers is found in the Monroe Doctrine….” (Joseph Fielding Smith, pp. 357, 466-467.)

This Monroe Doctrine widely accepted by the republics of the south has been the continuing policy of our nation for almost a century and a half. It has been reaffirmed by many American presidents. We are on solid traditional American ground in demanding that the communists should not attempt to extend their political system to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

If time permitted, we could show that in recent years, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine have been strengthened by various joint agreements among the American nations: These should be invoked. The longer we wait the more difficult will be the job.

It is almost unthinkable that any people would knowingly and wilfully take on themselves the yoke of communist oppression. No nation has ever done so yet. If large masses of the Cuban people have done so, it is because they have been duped or coerced.

As a people who have known only liberty, we are inclined to feel, it cannot happen here. We have become lulled away into a false security.

A most brilliant discussion of the Latin American problem, which appeared in the May 1961 issue of American Opinion, concluded with these words:

“. . . history gives us one more chance. If the American people are too blind or too cowardly to take that chance, then whether or not we as individuals deserve it, you and I and all that we hold dear . . . must suffer the doom that history mercilessly imposes on fools.”

Why are we so timid in standing up to a Godless communist police state which can’t even feed its own people, and whose economy, they know, will not support a major war. They “lead from weakness and we retreat from strength.”

I say to you it can happen here. It is happening here. We have retreated from the Monroe Doctrine. Our liberty is in danger. But we go blithely and gullibly on our way. Some of us fall for the Kremlin line as planned by the mass murderer Khrushchev and call patriots “extremists” and accuse courageous liberty-loving citizens of “dividing our people.”

As President McKay said at the close of the April general conference, quoting J. Edgar Hoover, “There is no place here in America for part-time patriots. This nation is face to face with the greatest danger ever to confront it, a sinister and deadly conspiracy which can be conquered only by an alert, informed citizenry. It is indeed appalling that some members of our society continue to deplore and criticize those who stress the communist danger. Public indifference to this threat is tantamount to national suicide. Lethargy leads only to disaster….”

We must be vigilant. Let us unite. Let us join in our fight against the forces of anti-Christ.

Forgive me for being so blunt, but I feel most deeply on these matters. Possibly it is because I’ve seen at close range so much of this godless, treacherous conspiracy in the past few years in more than forty nations.

I realize that the bearer of bad news is always unpopular. As a people we love sweetness and light–especially sweetness. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that every mind must make a choice between truth and repose. Those who will learn nothing from history are condemned to repeat it. This we are doing in the Americas today.

As a Church we have a world message of salvation to deliver to our Father’s children. The restored gospel can only thrive in an atmosphere of liberty. We are in a worldwide conflict. It is the first of its kind in history. It is between light and darkness; between liberty and slavery. It is a struggle for the souls of men. We must win this war.

In 1946 I stood in Czechoslovakia. The deadening socialist-communist philosophies were even then infiltrating that lovely country. Our church mission was thriving among these liberty-loving people. They too said it could not happen there. Only two years later it had happened. They had lost their liberty.

At the close of World War II while serving as European Mission President, I visited Stanislaw M. Mikolajczyk in Warsaw, the leader of the liberty-loving Polish people and former premier of the Polish Government-in-Exile. I had hoped we might do missionary work in Poland. Though Mikolajczyk was the leader of the indisputable majority of the electorate, he had to flee from Poland to save his life from the insidious encroaching communist police state.

I also talked to our Polish Ambassador, Arthur Bliss Lane. He told me of the tragic course of appeasement our government was pursuing in selling out the Polish people to the communists. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Lane voluntarily resigned so he could tell the story. He titled his book I Saw Poland Betrayed.

And so the pattern has been repeated in country after country.

Rather than impede communism our policies in their total effect have apparently helped promote it. And so the honest in heart, many of whom have probably already been murdered, are deprived of the message of the restored gospel–good people who would have responded to the words of truth from our missionaries.

Who then is to blame? What then can be done?

To some extent we Latter-day Saints and Americans every where must share some blame for we have not been awake to the warnings of the prophets. We have not exerted our righteous influence as citizens to stop this disastrous course. Our skirts are not entirely clean. Many of us have been asleep in Zion–the Western Hemisphere.

“But,” say some, “why should we be so concerned. After all if the Lord wants them to get the gospel message, they’ll get it.”

Of course, if the Lord desired, he could this instant preach the gospel to every soul and do all our genealogical work. He could also right every wrong, feed the famished, plant our crops, train our children, etc. But his doctrine requires us to do our best ourselves in these areas and ask the Lord’s help in our endeavors. After we’ve done all we can, then the Lord will cover for us.

Now what can be done? We have missionaries and Saints in South America. Those countries fall within the scope of the Monroe Doctrine. These countries are now being pushed in the direction of bondage–the loss of liberty.

What can we do to help meet this grave challenge from a godless, atheistic, cruelly materialistic system–to preserve our God-given Liberty?

We can encourage our government wherever we live, to stand firm at all costs against any further expansion of despotic communism.

We can support our government in keeping the flame of liberty burning in the souls of the oppressed–wherever they may be throughout the world.

We can heed the words of men like Edward Hunter who for twenty years has been reporting communist conspiracy and brain-washing from abroad and who recently wrote this:

“In Washington these days one hears a great deal of the word escalation but never the word honor.

“Escalation was the reason Americans had to stand by and watch with folded hands as a young man bled to death a hundred feet from them at the Berlin wall of shame, although we had every right to go in and stem his bleeding under wartime agreement. “Imagine anyone telling an American, only a few years back, that he would stand by idly, witnessing a man die needlessly because he wanted to be free! . . .

“Escalation is why we stood by wringing our hands when the East Germans started building the wall, whereas is now known, their orders were to stop if we showed any serious resistance.

“Escalation, if continued, will complete our softening-up, until we ‘bury ourselves,’ as Khrushchev predicts….

“This soft escalation policy in Cuba, starting in 1958, permitted ‘a small band of hoodlums, under the leadership of Fidel Castro’ to conduct ‘open warfare against the established government of Cuba, which was friendly towards the United States….’ We have, thus passed the time for soft and easy action to protect ourselves,” says Mr. Hunter. “We have only one course of action left: to destroy Communist power in Cuba by force of arms.”

As I visited among the good people of Cuba in 1955, I had a secret hope we would soon be able to bring to them the truths of the restored gospel. What are our prospects now? People said in Cuba in 1955: It cannot happen here. We love liberty.

The insidious but rapid take-over of Latin America is drawing ever closer to the final showdown.

Unless godless communism is stamped out of Cuba, it is only a matter of time until like Czechoslovakia, other missions will likely close and more of our Father’s children will be deprived of their liberty and the fulness of the everlasting gospel.

The message of salvation must move forward. God grant that every effort to stay its growth will be frustrated.

Courage and statesmanship are imperatively needed today. We must take chances for liberty. May God bless our national leaders in this time of crisis.

Yes, the effective preaching of the gospel can only thrive in an atmosphere of liberty. Yes, we all say, we love liberty. But that is not enough. We must protect and safeguard that which we love. We must save liberty.

God grant us the wisdom and the courage so to do, before it is too late, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

My brethren and sisters, seen and unseen, godless forces threaten us of the free world. My text is from Paul’s timely admonition:

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye maybe able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:11–12.)

A modern-day prophet has said, “. . . when acts and schemes are manifestly contrary to the revealed word of the Lord, we feel justified in warning people against them. We may be charitable and forbearing to the sinner, but must condemn the sin (David McKay, quoted in Statements on Communism and the Constitution of the United States [Deseret Book, 1964].)

Fear for free world

Correspondence and the printed word, crossing my desk daily, proclaim the deep concern and agonizing fear of alert people, especially concerned parents, in my own and other Christian nations, fear for the future of America and the free world, fear we may lose all we hold dear, and soon.

While most Americans continue to enjoy their comfortable complacency, the fact remains that the American way of life, with its spiritual foundation, is under powerful attack.

The godless worldwide Communist conspiracy expects one day soon to take over the United States. With the active support of some 150 known or suspected Communist fronts and infiltrated groups identified by the FBI (Human Events, September 20, 1969); with almost half the student bodies of colleges and universities of America reported to have elected presidents who support the revolution; with acts of treason against the United States committed daily throughout the nation, and laws on treason and sedition shattered by decisions of the Supreme Court; with riots in 125 cities within five days’ time, 2,600 buildings burned and 713 of them in the nation’s capital; with revolutions interrupting operations of 200 colleges and universities since Christmas; with the Reds ordering the New Left to “close down 100 universities in 1970″; and with the constant aid of leftists, dupes, fellow travelers, and complacent citizens, the conspiracy is now moving into what they claim is the final stages for a nationwide “revolutionar take over.’ (The National Program Letter; Dr. McBirnie’s Newsletter, both October 1969.)

Some of the most prominent targets now under withering fire in this war against us are the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the Constitution of the United States, the institution of private property, and the basic concepts of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Surely this is a time when consideration might well be given by the people of America, and the entire free world, to the important matter of citizenship responsibility and, more importantly, membership in the churches of the free world.

Insidious evils widespread

Today we face insidious, devastating evils that are widespread. Aimed especially at the destruction of America—the last great bastion of freedom—with emphasis on our youth, the evils are everywhere, sponsored, promoted, and directed by the Communist conspiracy, fellow travelers, and dupes. Never has evil been presented in such an array of appealing forms. We face a most dangerous revolution in America, and it is now in progress. According to the FBI, “It is well-planned, well-financed, and well-armed.” As citizens of the greatest nation of the world, we face a deadly serious crisis. We must do battle with these evil forces on every front, now. Any delay will be disastrous. “We must begin aggression against evil. The time for procrastination and permissiveness is long past.”

These atrocious, destructive evils are now revealed in our music, in our art, in sex perversion and so-called sex education in the schools, in destructive sensitivity training—a powerful form of Pavlovian brainwashing, as used by Communists on captured American servicemen in Korea and by Hitler in Nazi Germany.

These evils are prominent in the promotion of drugs—LSD, marijuana, and a host of others—in leading magazines and underground publications for youth; in TV, movie, and radio programs, in pornographic literature, in morally destructive paperback books available to all on newsstands, and in Communist-oriented anti-American organizations, such as SDS (Students for a Democratic Society).

These devilish forces “led generally by dirty minds in dirty bodies,” seem to be everywhere. They are spreading into every segment of our social, economic, and religious life—all aimed at the destruction of one whole generation of our choice youth in preparation for the Communist takeover.

The godless Communists have declared, “We are going to destroy the moral character of a generation of young Americans, and when we have finished you will have nothing with which to really defend yourself against us.

Courageous action needed

We may, as adults, close our eyes to them and keep our heads in the sand, hoping they will go away; but these evils are here, close by, working insidiously and destructively day by day, hour by hour, without ceasing. Will parents who have abandoned their responsibilities for the training and guidance of their children awaken and act before it is too late?

We may cry, “peaceful coexistence,” but there is no such thing with the devil and his emissaries. We are at war—not a cold war, but a burning, searing hot war, the most serious war in the memory of man. We must win this war now. Will parents bestir themselves before it is too late? Will our political leaders really awaken to the danger? Will courageous action come before destruction falls? Will we as citizens rally prayerfully and actively to courageous leadership?

Eternal verities

The Christian world—the real Christian world—knows that there are certain eternal verities, principles, that never change. Jesus Christ is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life.” The Ten Commandments are verily true. They form a permanently binding code of conduct that man cannot violate without drastic damage to both his material and his spiritual welfare. We know that God is not dead—that he is watching us even though one of the Russian astronauts cracked: “We’ve been all over ‘heaven’ and we didn’t see any sign of God.”

Yes, godless forces do threaten our great civilization. These godless forces are forging a union of state and atheism. I quote in substance from the well-known constitutional lawyer, Dean Clarence E. Manion (see Manion Forum Broadcast 747, January 26, 1969):

Astronauts’ praise of God

Can you name the three kings who came out of the East bearing gifts for the Infant Jesus? St. Matthew called them the Three Wise Men of the Year One A.D. A few months ago a national magazine called the Apollo 8 Astronauts the Three Men of the Year 1968. But by whatever name they are called, these six famous men are now forever joined across the centuries by their colorful execution of the same high purpose. All of them followed their stars from the end of their earth to praise and glorify God.

The miracle for St. Matthew’s men was the unerring accuracy of the Star of Bethlehem, which guided them to their divine destination. The wonder of the world for 1968 was the apparent common faith, wisdom, humility, and, last but not least, the moral courage of Colonel Borman, Captain Lovell, and Major Anders, who, on Christmas Day, at the apex of history’s then longest and most perilous voyage, gave praise and thanks to God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and implored his blessing upon all of the three billion listening people of this world.

When all of the facts, figures, and findings of the first incredible journey to the moon are finally evaluated and computerized, this unscheduled, unprecedented public act of religious faith and worship will be found, like the name of Abou Ben Adhem, to lead all the rest for all the years to come. Without the blessings of the Lord, all this would be quite impossible.

War against religion

Those professed atheists, who have confidently relied upon science to dethrone and eclipse Almighty God, are already doing their manful best, of course, to rub out all reference to the prayer in their recapitulation and evaluation of Apollo 8. The monitoring Communists in Moscow decided wisely to ignore it. But some others are unable to restrain their indignation and have probably been back to the United States Supreme Court seeking the same kind of prohibition against the public glorification of God in the heavens that they have so successfully maintained here on earth.

The justices may or may not welcome this new opportunity to reenforce their strange new doctrine of neutrality in the weird war that is being fronted against God and religion. Undoubtedly, the Court’s ultimate decision will be influenced by what happens to the attitude of the American people in the meantime. For the real question now is this: How much longer will the American people—the whole Christian world—continue to tolerate the sadistic beating that religion has been taking in this country and elsewhere for the past 25 years?

Strategy of godless forces

Frankly recognizing that godless forces in this country have always been overwhelmingly outnumbered by the faithful, the first working principle of the anti-God strategists has been to move insidiously and always carefully to avoid anything that resembles a direct attack or a frontal confrontation with their opponents.

So in launching their campaign against God, the attackers proceeded first to ignore him in the secular press; second, to humanize him in the churches; third, to clobber him with ridicule on the campus; and, finally, to induce the courts to enforce official governmental neutrality in all litigated controversies about God and religion.

From a practical standpoint, of course, these decisions establish a union of state and atheism. The accomplishment of this last objective has taken prayer out of the public schools; and if and when the judicial conclusion is extended to its logical limits, it will abolish tax exemption for church property, eliminate chaplains from the armed services, remove our motto “In God we trust from our coins, and require major surgery upon our official salute to the flag.

We must realize that the anti-prayer decisions are simply a beguiling climax in the wide-ranging campaign against God and religion that has been sustained here in this country, and in many other nations, for more than three decades.

Recognition of Russia

It was boldly begun here in 1933 (November 16), when the United States announced our diplomatic recognition of atheistic Soviet Russia. For 15 years the United States had refused to recognize the godless Moscow Communists, for the reasons published at length in 1920 by Bainbridge Colby, Secretary of State in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. In concluding his long letter of documentation and explanation, Colby had said this: “There cannot be any common ground upon which the Government of the United States can stand with a power whose conceptions are so entirely alien to our own, so utterly repugnant to our moral sense.”

This recognition, together with the abandonment of the inspired Monroe Doctrine, gave the Red atheists a big diplomatic sanctuary for the coordination and direction of their propagandist spies and saboteurs. These promptly infiltrated every branch of our federal government and later every segment of our economy, and more recently have established a godless base 90 miles from our shores. Our recognition broke the ice of American resistance to the acceptance of the Kremlin gangsters into the international community as a legitimate government and so strengthened their iron grip upon the tortured people of Russia and her satellites.

Works of atheism

Judging by its demoralized works, atheism has now quit advancing in this country simply because it has arrived. Not just rhetorically but actually—our country is in an ungodly mess. City streets are terrorized by crime; our biggest and most expensive campuses are paralyzed by nihilism and anarchy; with special license from the Supreme Court, theaters are boldly featuring sex perversion and the newsstands are loaded with hard-core pornography. Big-name investigating commissions have told us all about riots, crime, progress, and poverty, but always in materialistic terms of money, housing, social service jobs, and birth control—without a word about the possibilities for personal moral self-restraint.

What about our churches? You have heard the startling story of what scientific atheism has done to institutional religion in the United States and elsewhere.

America’s belief in God

But if atheism has taken over, then who and where are the atheists? It was sheer coincidence, of course, that the day after the 1968 astronauts gave us their inspiring prayer from the moon, the Gallup Poll reported that 98 percent of the American people believe in God. Fantastic? Not at all. Mow many avowed atheists do you know personally?

Gallup also found that 65 percent of us believe in hell and 60 percent of all Americans believe in the devil. Now just a word to this big majority who believe in the devil. Who, in your opinion, has masterminded this tragic transformation of the official, controlling American mind? The devil? Through Satan’s communistic counterfeit to the gospel? Then, why don’t we all say so?

Now to the 98 percent of us who believe in God: Well, the astronauts did something big about it. Now will you please do a little something about it when you get your next captive audience, however small it is?

Organized atheism, representing just two percent of our population, has contaminated—is still contaminating—the whole course of American life, of Christian life everywhere. In this country today a two percent tail is wagging the big 98 percent dog. Never in all history have so many been hornswoggled by so few.

Start working and praying

For years we have all been obsessed with the iniquities of the Supreme Court. The way to do something about the Supreme Court is for the 98 percent of us to become obsessed with the omnipotent goodness of the Supreme Being. What do you suppose would happen in all branches of our government if the 98 percent of us would stop complaining and start working and praying?

We Americans have come almost a year with a new national administration in the United States. The world is watching. Perhaps now is the time to return to basic eternal concepts, to praise the Lord while we continue to work hard on the Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court.

Other nations might well follow a similar pattern of concern.

As Americans—as members of the worldwide Christian community—we can defeat the godless, atheistic forces that threaten us. Yes, with the help of Almighty God we can—we must—win the war against the evil forces which seem almost to overwhelm us. The eternal verities revealed from God, through his inspired prophets, have not and will not change.

Let us “put on the whole armour of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” There is no other way of safety.

God is not dead. He lives, for he has appeared—together with his Beloved Son Jesus Christ—in our day. This I know, as I know that I live, and I bear this humble witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

While attending the Fairfax Christian School in Virginia, my grandson Ezra Taft was introduced to the historical character Israel Putnam. Israel Putnam was one of the Revolutionary War farmers who left his plow in the field and gave up his comfort in order to protect his family, defend his inalienable God-given rights, and help establish this great, free country. It is heartening to know that today there are still those who answer to the rallying cry of God, family, and country.

Recently it was my privilege to walk across a part of that sacred soil where some of the best blood of Israel Putnam’s generation was shed for freedom and the redemption of this land. Those noble souls did not initiate freedom, and one of the privileges of mortal life is the opportunity to rise in freedom’s defense during the time when Lucifer is permitted to tempt and test men with his satanic schemes of slavery. This is part of our mission today. The same sun that shone on Israel Putnam during his mortal probation shines on us. And the same issues of light and darkness, force and freedom, right and wrong, that provided men a chance to prove themselves in his day continue to sift the souls of men today.

The thing that concerns so many of us today is not that wickedness is new, but that never before in our history has it been so well organized or so insidiously successful. Now, in view of this fact, and with a final showdown approaching between the powers of good and evil, may I be so bold as to make a few personal observations and express my convictions regarding God, family, and country.

I know, as I know that I live, that there is a God in heaven; that he is perfect and all powerful; that we are his children; that he loves us; and that we are eternal beings. I also know that life is a testing time in man’s eternal existence, during which he is given his free agency—the right to choose between right and wrong—and that on those choices hang great consequences, not only in this life, but, even more important, in the life to come. There are boundaries beyond which Satan cannot go. Within those bounds, he is presently being permitted to offer an unrighteous alternative to God’s righteous principles, thus allowing men to choose between good and evil and thereby determine the station they shall occupy in the next life. Said the poet:

Know this, that every soul is free

To choose his life and what he’ll be,

For this eternal truth is given

That God will force no man to heaven.

He’ll call, persuade, direct aright,

Bless with wisdom, love, and light;

In nameless ways be good and kind,

But never force the human mind.

God has not left man alone. He sends prophets, gives scripture, whispers counsel, answers righteous prayers, and in innumerable ways blesses his children. And he would more richly bless them if they were willing to obey the commands on which those blessings are predicated. I know that truth will eventually triumph and freedom will ultimately and finally prevail.

That fact alone should life the spirit and hope of those who have an eternal view of things. Some of you will recall that during World War II, many of the British children were sent into rural areas for protection. One night, one of the small children, saying her prayers while the Battle of Britain raged over London, asked the Lord to bless the members of her family who were absent, including her father who was serving in the Royal Air Force. And as she was about to close her prayer, she said: “And dear God, please take care of yourself—because if anything happens to you, we’re all sunk!”

Now, the great consolation and hope of every patriot should be that God is in his heaven; that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; that this is his earth; that he is in charge; that his word will not fail; that in due time every wrong shall be righted, every virtue justified, every evil punished, and every good rewarded. But for the immediate future, we face times and calamities that will test the spiritual fibre of the best of us.

Now, with that knowledge, what is our responsibility? Why, what it has always been: to keep God’s commandments. No more and no less. And that includes the declaration of Moses, inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.” (Lev. 25:10.)

It is my conviction that despite the serious trials and tribulations we will have to face before Jehovah’s triumphal return, the forces of freedom and righteousness, which have never been better organized than they are today, shall not be destroyed. The number who are dedicated to, and will preserve, our inspired Constitution are on the increase, and God watches over the faithful no matter what is going on in the world.

It is our duty to be faithful, and a man cannot be counted among the fully faithful unless he is an active fighter for freedom. Resistance to tyranny is still obedience to God. How to resist in the most effective manner will require careful and prayerful thought on the part of all of us. To be fully effective in the fight for freedom, a man must be in tune with the greatest champion and leader of free men—the Lord our God. And to be in tune with him, we must be in step with him; we must walk in his way.

Now, that divine duty to be a faithful fighter for freedom requires that those of us who have been warned do our duty to warn our neighbor, for our neighbor’s involvement in this struggle can bless his soul, strengthen his family, and protect him from pitfalls while he helps his country. The blessings far outweight the burden when we stand up for freedom. With gall comes glory; with a cross comes a crown; with thorns comes a throne, if we will persevere in righteousness. There are still more victories to be won in this fight for freedom, the most important of which is to save our own souls by taking a stand for liberty with the Lord. For amid the encircling gloom, the kindly light of the Lord can lead us on—can help expose and stop evil in some places, slow it down in others, give the forces of freedom the chance to become better entrenched, provide righteous alternatives, and develop faith and hope to keep on keeping on in the divine assurance that in the brightness of the Lord’s coming, the darkness of Satan’s conspiracy will eventually be fully exposed and destroyed.

Now, in preparation for the showdown, may I encourage each of us to strengthen our families. The communists are determined to destroy the three great loyalties—loyalty to God, loyalty to family, and loyalty to country. Some of our patriots are losing their children. In our attempt to save our country, we must not let our own homes crumble. Don’t neglect your own. You can’t delegate that divine duty nor neglect it without tragic consequences. be careful in sending them away from your hearth for additional education. There are worse things that can happen to a young person today than not getting a liberal college degree.

We must multiply our influence by raising up God-fearing patriots at our own fireside. We need more than one generation of patriots in a family line. We need more men like John Adams, who took time amid all the demands of the revolution and the building of this republic to teach and train a future president, his own son, John Quincy Adams. We must stay close to our children.

Not only should we have strong spiritual homes, but we should have strong temporal homes. We should avoid bondage by getting out of debt as soon as we can, pay as we go, and live within our incomes. There is wisdom in having on hand a year’s supply of food, clothing, and fuel, if possible, and in being prepared to defend our families and our possessions and to take care of ourselfes. I believe a man should prepare for the worst while working for the best. Some people prepare and don’t work, while others work but don’t prepare. Both are needed if we would be of maximum service to our God, our family, and our country.

It is a part of my religious belief that America is a land choice above all others, that we are not just another of the family of nations, but that we have been singled out to perform a divine mission for liberty-loving people everywhere. Those who founded this republic were wise men raised up by our Father in heaven to perform that very task, and the Constitution of this land was inspired by God. We have a divine duty—even a destiny—to preserve that Constitution from destruction and hold it aloft to the world.

A book that I accept as scripture tells of two ancient American civilizations that were destroyed as a result of murderous conspiracies lusting for power and seeking to overthrow freedom. That book warned that when we should see a similar situation developing in our land in our day, we would be under commandment of the Lord to awake to our awful situation. That day is upon us, and those of us who are awake to our situation have a moral obligation to do all we can to awaken our fellow citizens.

The Book of Mormon states that America will remain a free land as long as the people worship the God of the land. It also assures us that “unto the righteous” this land “shall be blessed forever.”

I remember a number of years ago when Cecil B. DeMille, the great producer of such films as The Ten Commandments, was invited to accept an honorary degree from Brigham Young University. In his address to the student body, Mr. DeMille made an interesting observation. He said that men and nations cannot really break the Ten Commandments; they can only break themselves upon them. How true!

And so, in talking about our country as well as our families, we return again to God, because this whole basic struggle revolves around the spiritual and moral fitness of our people. Nineveh was saved because the people repented while there was still time. But Sodom was destroyed because God couldn’t find even ten worthy souls. As the wicked become more wicked and more numerous, the righteous will need to increase in spiritual strength and numbers to offset them. One of the great blessings of the last few years is that the patriotic movement in America has become organized and strengthened to an unprecedented degree.

A while ago some lonely American must have felt like Elijah, who fled into the wilderness thinking that he was alone in rejecting false gods. But God knew differently and told Elijah of some 7,000 who had not bent their knees to the idols. This lifted Elijah’s heart and he went back to the battle with Baal. We know that we are not alone in this freedom fight. Many have helped lift other hearts, but there are many more who feel alone whose knees have not bent or who might be wobbly. There may be some who, with our help, understanding, and encouragement, might get off their knees to the idol of socialism and acquit themselves like men.

We must have an even greater determination to reach and influence those who, with our help, understanding, and encouragement, might themselves join us in the battle. God is counting on us to follow through. If we do it well, then we will have done our job. Like the watchman on the tower referred to in the Bible, it is our task to warn others of the darkness. Some will not listen, and they will be held accountable. But if we who have the word fail to issue the warning, then God will hold us accountable.

May we pledge anew that the divine principles embodied in the divinely inspired documents that govern our country be written on the tablets of our own hearts. I pray that our eyes might be single to the will of God, that we might thereby bless our families and our country, and that we shall, with increased devotion, work for less government, more individual responsibility, and, with God’s help, a better world.