Through revelations granted to the Prophet Joseph and his predecessors, we learn some profound things about our relationship to God and our ultimate des­tiny. We learn that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, progressed “from grace to grace, until he received a fulness”¹ and that we may follow in that same path. He said, “For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.”² In explaining the natural conclusion of this pattern, Joseph Smith said:

Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods your­selves, and to be kings and priests to God, . . . by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.³

Joseph Smith also referred to God’s use of law in this process:

The first principles of man are self-existent with God. God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with Himself, so that they might have one glory upon another.⁴

I cite one more teaching from the Prophet that adds the remaining element to this equation—agency:

All persons are entitled to their agency, for God has so ordained it. He has constituted mankind moral agents, and given them power to choose good or evil; to seek after that which is good, by pursuing the pathway of holiness in this life, which brings peace of mind, and joy in the Holy Ghost here, and a fulness of joy and happiness at His right hand hereafter; or to pursue an evil course, going on in sin and rebellion against God, thereby bringing condemna­tion to their souls in this world, and an eternal loss in the world to come.⁵

All of this declares that we have a potential made possible by God beyond anything we can fully comprehend or appreciate at present. And we recognize, of course, that none of us will achieve the ultimate end, the status of eternal life with God our Father, in a matter of days or years or with­out substantial help. We require the help of one another and an incalculable measure of divine grace originating in Christ and administered through the Holy Ghost. Nevertheless, our own choices will always be critical to what we become. And the capacity and power to choose are, as Joseph Smith declared, dependent on laws instituted by or under the authority of God.

Such laws link particular actions to fixed outcomes. If a given choice did not always and invari­ably yield the same result, we could not in the end control outcomes, and the power to choose would be meaningless. And even with law, if we are not free to act, either to follow or reject it, we likewise could not use law to progress from grace to grace. I believe that Satan’s proposals in the premortal world attacked both of these principles. He wanted to be vested with a power of compul­sion over the souls of men and with the honor or power of God:

And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.⁶

Had Satan been granted power to dictate our choices, we would have become nothing more than his puppets, eternally dependent upon him. It is my personal opinion that in demanding “Give me thine honor,” Satan was also coveting God’s power to establish the law, and that it was his intention to use that power arbitrarily—to apply, revoke, and change laws in an arbitrary fashion that would destroy our power to act indepen­dently and to choose our destiny. For whatever reason, Satan was excep­tionally persuasive in lobbying for his approach. Happily, his plan was rejected, although echoes continue to reverberate in the world around us.

The deities of ancient Greek and Roman mythology were often arbitrary beings. While they were supposed to possess remarkable powers, they were ruled by their passions. As they fought and jockeyed for position among themselves, or simply vented feelings of lust, anger, or frustration, mere mortals were sometimes caught in the cross fire. We can be grateful, to say the least, that the true and living God is nothing like the imaginary Zeus or Jupiter.

The scripture states, “There are many kingdoms. . . . And unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.”⁷ Apparently, laws with their con­ditions and bounds may vary in different kingdoms or spheres—as, for example, the laws of the several kingdoms that prevail in our postmortal life. The Lord says that His celestial kingdom is populated by those who are “sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ,”⁸ and that those who cannot abide this celestial law must inherit a lesser kingdom whose law they are able and willing to follow.⁹ While differing laws may apply in different parts of God’s creation, the laws that do apply do not themselves vary. Such beings and creations as are subject to them can rely on them to achieve their divine potential. We are told that those who are governed by law are preserved, perfected, and sanctified by the same.¹⁰

Under the umbrella of divine law and order applicable to the “kingdom” that is our present mor­tal world, God delegates to us, His children, the opportunity and responsibility to establish laws and legal systems to govern human relations and conduct. Let me quote from section 134 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society.

We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.¹¹

These standards—(1) that laws are to be made and administered for “the good and safety of soci­ety” and (2) that they must secure to each individual the rights of life, property, and conscience—bespeak a legal environment in which man may progress toward his divine destiny, to become what God has ordained he may become. They establish the stability, order, and means whereby each individual may exercise moral agency. They produce a setting wherein each person, if he or she so desires, can “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him”¹² and all that that entails.

In the infant days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Lord expressed in a revelation to Joseph Smith the wisdom and benefit of organizing the Church and its work “according to the laws of man; That your enemies may not have power over you; that you may be preserved in all things; that you may be enabled to keep my laws.”¹³ I read this to mean that, as a general principle, submission to the laws of man will offer very real protections, providing in effect a safe haven within which we can act to obey and serve God.

In his book The Clash of Orthodoxies, Robert P. George has an interesting chapter titled “What Is Law?” He examines the debates among legal thinkers and philosophers in the English-speaking world over the last century, beginning with Oliver Wendell Holmes, about the origins and nature of law. He cites, for example, the group whose legal realist movement flourished to some extent in the 1930s and 1940s. These scholars debunked the idea of legal objectivity; to be realistic, they main­tained, we “should abandon the idea that law pre-exists and is available to guide legal decisions.”¹⁴ They argued that judges’ reasoning and citation of laws as the basis of their decisions are in reality “mere legal rationalization of decisions reached on other grounds.”¹⁵

George reviews other theories such as “legal positivism,” which in some versions holds to “the idea that law ought not to embody or enforce moral judgments.”¹⁶ Other proponents, however, acknowledge that the content of legal rules reflects “nothing so much as the moral judgments pre­vailing in any society regarding the subject matters regulated by law.”¹⁷ For George himself, “legal rules and principles function as practical reasons for citizens, as well as judges and other officials, because the citizens appreciate their moral value.”¹⁸ He subscribes to the proposition lex iniusta non est lex (an unjust law is not law), by which he means, if I understand him correctly, that it is essential for the laws and legal systems created by man to have a basis in natural law or morality.¹⁹

In his 1993 encyclical letter titled “Veritatis Splendor,” Pope John Paul II expressed the relevant Catholic doctrine in these words:

Only by obedience to universal moral norms does man find full confirmation of his personal uniqueness and the possibility of authentic moral growth. . . . These norms in fact represent the unshakable foundation and solid guar­antee of a just and peaceful human coexistence, and hence of genuine democracy, which can come into being and develop only on the basis of the equality of all its members, who possess common rights and duties. When it is a matter of the moral norms prohibiting intrinsic evil, there are no privileges or exceptions for anyone. It makes no difference whether one is the master of the world or the “poorest of the poor” on the face of the earth. Before the demands of morality we are all absolutely equal.²⁰

Latter-day Saints would necessarily be included among those who believe in preexisting and uni­versal natural law—or, as we might express it, law rooted in the preexisting justice and order of God. I firmly agree that insofar as humanly possible, man’s laws and legal systems should be tied to God’s laws and should reflect the same ultimate purpose: to foster our becoming all that we can become here and hereafter. People instinctively appreciate the value of law that has valid moral underpin­nings because it is in their nature as spiritual beings and children of God—the ultimate moral Being. The light of Christ that we sometimes call conscience lights every person who comes into this world.²¹

Some of you may be thinking, “This is all very grand, but where, for example, does tax law fit in?” I would answer that it probably does not, since tax codes are the work of the devil, right? But in all seriousness, even the very mundane can have a role if it is supportive of—or at least not inconsistent with—overarching divine principles and purpose. The Uniform Commercial Code, for example, would seem to have little if any contribution to make in helping us achieve our divine potential, but even something so unethereal can have value as part of a larger legal structure that supports fundamental fairness, mini­mizes strife, rewards honest labor, preserves stable families, and, ultimately, enshrines moral agency.

Returning again to the Doctrine and Covenants:

We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign.²²

Here, more specifically, we come to many of you in the profession of law. You live in societies where the system of “civil officers and magistrates” includes judges and lawyers who occupy a vital role in administering the law “in equity and justice.” You whose first loyalty is to God can press in a variety of ways for laws and systems that track the divine model or that at least do not undermine it. Let me be clear that I am not speaking of any endeavor to impose upon society by some sort of fiat what we see as the appropriate application of divinely revealed principles. We cannot, and we make no attempt to do so. I am speaking of advocacy and persuasion. At the same time, it will not do to pretend that an individual or group may not participate in the debates and processes that shape our laws simply because their arguments are based on moral norms or because their moral vision is not shared by all citizens. Essentially all legislation is based on moral judgments—religious, secular, or otherwise, and all parties to the ongoing contest seek to have their ethical and moral concerns heard. In the end we are governed by those that prevail in the public mind. It is not an imposition of religion for religionists to take part in the discussion, and there is no justice in one side with deeply held values seeking to silence another because it espouses different deeply held values.

Consider the example of William Wilberforce and others of his time who sought to conform the laws of Great Britain to a higher moral standard of equity and justice. Wilberforce is rightly remembered and revered for his central role in the abolition of the slave trade that was then domi­nated by British ships. For some 18 years, beginning in 1789, he labored as a member of Parliament to end this evil commerce and lay the groundwork for the abolition of slavery altogether:

Wilberforce’s involvement in the abolition movement was motivated by a desire to put his Christian principles into action and to serve God in public life. . . . [He] sensed a call from God, writing in a journal entry in 1787 that “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners [moral values].”²³

Initially, Wilberforce’s bills in the House of Commons were easily defeated. Then, just as momentum began to build, the French Revolution and slave revolts in the West Indies caused a shift back to caution and delay. During the protracted campaign, “Wilberforce’s commitment never wavered, despite frustration and hostility. He was supported in his work by fellow members of the so-called Clapham Sect. . . . Holding evangelical Christian con­victions, and consequently dubbed ‘the Saints,’ the group lived in large adjoining houses in Clapham.”²⁴ Finally, in 1807, Wilberforce’s Abolition Bill passed the House of Lords and was pre­sented to the House of Commons. “As tributes were made to Wilberforce, whose face streamed with tears, the bill was carried by 283 votes to 16.”²⁵

It is significant to recognize that while Wilberforce, as a member of Parliament, took the lead­ing role in official circles, the active and devoted efforts of many others with no political portfo­lio were essential to success in the campaign to end the slave trade. The collaboration of Thomas Clarkson, a fellow graduate of Wilberforce at St. John’s Cambridge, was especially important. Also critical was the part played by members of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, a group made up primarily of like-minded British Quakers and Anglicans that included Clarkson and that Wilberforce joined in 1791.

The society was highly successful in raising public awareness and support, and local chapters sprang up throughout Great Britain. Clarkson travelled the country researching and collecting firsthand testimony and sta­tistics, while the committee promoted the campaign, pioneering techniques such as lobbying, writing pamphlets, holding public meetings, gaining press attention, organizing boycotts and even using a campaign logo: an image of a kneeling slave above the motto “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” designed by the renowned pottery-maker Josiah Wedgwood. The committee also sought to influence slave-trading nations such as France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Holland and the United States, corresponding with anti-slavery activists in other countries and organ­ising the translation of English-language books and pamphlets. These included books by former slaves Ottobah Cugoano and Olaudah Equiano, who had published influential works on slavery and the slave trade in 1787 and 1789, respectively. They and other free blacks, collectively known as “Sons of Africa,” spoke at debating societies and wrote spirited letters to newspapers, periodicals and prominent figures, as well as public letters of support to campaign allies. . . . The campaign proved to be the world’s first grassroots human rights campaign, in which men and women from different social classes and backgrounds volunteered to end the injustices suffered by others.²⁶

William Wilberforce and his allies provide an encouraging example of success after much labor and against daunting opposition. Not every effort, however, will succeed—at least not ini­tially. Consider a more recent example in the arena of things that bear on marriage and families and the rearing of children. The “no-fault” divorce laws that have been adopted in the United States and elsewhere were warned against decades ago by President David O. McKay and others. The disastrous consequences visited on the institution of mar­riage since then are clearly evident, with children being the primary victims—some of whom, given their suffering, are now reluctant to marry and rear families themselves. But whatever the setbacks in our striving to sustain family or other moral imperatives among our fellowman, surely we must, as Paul declared, fight the good fight.²⁷ Mohammed is reported to have said, “Who[so]ever sees a wrong and is able to put it right with his hand, let him do so; if he can’t, then with his tongue; if he can’t, then in his heart, and that is the bare minimum of faith.”²⁸

Of all the moral imperatives we seek to embrace and defend in our legal systems, in my opin­ion it is individual agency and accountability that must always be preeminent, because agency is so basic to realizing our God-given potential. On the one hand, we should uphold those legal and political concepts that protect legitimate individual action, and, on the other, we should oppose those theories and schemes that exert unjust dominion or diminish predictability and consistency in the operation of law. True, there is some degree of compulsion in any law, but generally it is the kind designed to preserve space and opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Other pro­posals, however, look to compel our acceptance or tolerance of actions that offend the moral con­science. A potential example would be the case of a doctor being forced to participate in an abortion against his or her conscientious objection on pain of forfeiting the right to practice medicine.

All man-made legal systems are imperfect and include elements of injustice. Still, you can strive to make the legal system within which you live and work come as close as possible to the perfectly just “legal system” of God. You can take as your guide not only the wisdom of similarly minded men and women from the past but also the teachings of the scriptures, prophets, and the Holy Spirit. In this, as in other matters, you are invited to study out in your own mind concepts regarding the stan­dards, direction, and even the specifics of what the law should be, how the legal system should be structured, and how it should operate and then to ask God if it be right.²⁹ Surely you are entitled in your role and sphere to revelation on things that bear so directly on not only the present estate of man but also his ultimate future.

God finds His glory, as Joseph Smith said, in providing laws by which other beings can come to enjoy the same perfections and glory He possesses.³⁰ Our view and motivations should be the same. Rather than seeing law as an instrument of domination, it is our mission to use it as an enabling power to help men and women achieve greater independence and ultimate potential. We do so by acting to have our earthly governmental and legal systems mirror as closely as possible the divine order.

After all I have said in praise of law and all the effort I have enjoined you to make in sustaining and defending a moral order, we must in the end acknowledge that we cannot achieve ultimate jus­tice apart from Jesus Christ. To establish and preserve the law is a great good, but the greatest good we can do in helping others become what they can become will be to lead them to the Savior. Only His Atonement has the power to overcome all weakness and imperfection and to make right all injustice. Only He can convert offense and injury into blessings; only He can bring life again to a life unjustly cut short; only He can return a perfect body for one diseased or malformed; only He can reinstate beloved associations lost and make them permanent; only He can make right the suffering entailed upon the innocent by ignorance and oppression; only He can erase the impact of sin on one who is wronged; only He can remove the stain and effect of sin in the sinner; only He can eliminate sor­row and wipe away all tears;³¹ only He can provide immortality; only His grace can compensate for our inadequacy and justify us before that law that enables us to become joint heirs of eternal life with Him. Of the glorious reality of the living Christ, I bear my witness.

notes

1. D&C 93:13.
2. D&C 93:20.
3. History of the Church, 6:306.
4. History of the Church, 6:312.
5. History of the Church, 4:45.
6. Moses 4:1.
7. D&C 88:37–38.
8. D&C 88:21.
9. See D&C 88:21–24.
10. See D&C 88:34.
11. D&C 134:1–2.
12. Moroni 10:32.
13. D&C 44:4–5.
14. Robert P. George, The Clash of Orthodoxies (Wilmington, Delaware: isi Books, 2001), 219.
15. Clash, 219.
16. Clash, 222.
17. Clash, 223.
18. Clash, 226.
19. See Clash, 227–28.
20. Pope John Paul II, “Veritatis Splendor,” 6 August 1993, 91; emphasis in original.
21. See D&C 84:45–46; 88:7–14; 92:2.
22. D&C 134:3.
23. Wikipedia, William Wilberforce, 31 January 2011, 8:23 p.m.
24. Wikipedia.
25. Wikipedia.
26. Wikipedia.
27. See 2 Timothy 4:7.
28. Qanta A. Ahmed, “Fulfilling Our Duty as Muslim-Americans,” Wall Street Journal, 7 January 2011, A11.
29. See D&C 9:8.
30. See Moses 1:39.
31. See Isaiah 25:8.

“Be Subject to the Powers that Be.”

In a revelation given to the Church, August 1, 1831, the Lord said: “Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land. Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet.” It has been the doctrine and practice of the covenant people of God in all ages to be subject to the worldly “powers that be,” and to sustain and uphold them in all just and proper government.

When the Jews came to Jesus, tempting him, and trying to trip him in some manner so that they could find an accusation against him, they said: “What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” He answered them, “Shew me the tribute money, And they brought unto him a penny. And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”

In the dispensation of the Meridian of Time, Peter instructed the saints as follows:

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. (1 Peter 2:13–15)

The same commandment is required of us in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, as we see from the above quotation given to the Church in 1831. The Church has accepted as a law unto the Church, binding on all the members, the Articles of Faith. These articles have been included with the Standard Works of the Church, as a standard in doctrine and practice. The Twelfth Article reads as follows:

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

This requirement applies to the Saints in every nation upon the earth as they are at this time constituted. The members of the Church in the British Empire are under the strict injunction to be loyal to that government and its laws. The same injunction is strictly required of the members of the Church in Germany, Italy, France, Scandinavia, Japan and wherever they reside upon the face of the earth. Moreover, when members of the Church travel from one nation to another, they must by all means respect the laws and customs of the several nations which they may visit and as long as they sojourn within their dominions. This rule is imperative and will be so as long as governments of men exist and prevail upon the face of the earth.

“According to the Laws of Man.”

In February, 1831, the Lord commanded that his servants, the Elders, go out among the people preaching the Gospel, and as many as were converted through their teachings were to be organized, “according to the laws of man.” This, of course, had reference to the political organization of the people, not their spiritual organization. A few months later, in May, 1831, the Lord again instructed the saints in relation to their inheritances: “And thus all things shall be made sure, according to the laws of the land.” When the saints began to assemble on the land of Zion (Missouri) the Lord counseled them not to think they were at liberty contrary to the established law to take possession of land in that place, simply because he had proclaimed it as the land of their inheritance. On this point the revelation states:

Behold, the land of Zion – I, the Lord, hold it in mine own hands; Nevertheless, I, the Lord, render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s. Wherefore, I the Lord will that you should purchase the lands, that you may have advantage of the world, that you may have claim on the world, that they may not be stirred up unto anger. For Satan putteth it into their hearts to anger against you, and to the shedding of blood. Wherefore, the land of Zion shall not be obtained but by purchase or by blood, otherwise there is none inheritance for you. And if by purchase, behold you are blessed; And if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you, and ye shall be scourged from city to city, and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance. (D&C 63:25–31)

A Declaration of Belief.

At a conference of the Church held in Kirtland, Ohio, August 17, 1835, the Doctrine and Covenants was presented to the assembled conference for their acceptance or rejection. After the brethren there assembled had carefully and studiously considered the matter, the revelations which had been previously selected by the Prophet Joseph Smith were accepted as the word of the Lord by the unanimous vote of the conference, and were ordered printed. On the occasion of this conference, Joseph Smith the Prophet and his second counselor, Frederick G. Williams, were not present. They were on a brief mission to the saints in Michigan, and because of this were not familiar with all the proceedings of this conference. After the conference had accepted the revelations, an article on marriage, which had been written by Oliver Cowdery, was read by Elder William W. Phelps, and was ordered printed in the book with the revelations.

When this action had been taken, Oliver Cowdery arose and read another article, also written by himself, on “Governments and Laws in General.” This article the conference also ordered printed in the book of Doctrine and Covenants. Unfortunately, a great many people, because these articles appeared in the Doctrine and Covenants, readily concluded that they had come through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and hence were to be received on a par with the other parts of the book of revelations. Because of this misinformation articles have been published from time to time declaring that these words on Government and Laws have come to us with the force of revelation having been from the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith. This article and the one on “Marriage” were not considered as revelations by the conference, but were published as an expression of belief of the members of the Church at that time.

The article on Governments and Laws has appeared in each edition of the Doctrine and Covenants since 1835, and has been accepted, as the preamble of the article states, as a declaration of belief of the Latter-day Saints. It is as follows and is known as Section 134, of the Doctrine and Covenants:

Of Governments and Laws in General

That our belief with regard to earthly governments and laws in general may not be misinterpreted nor misunderstood, we have thought proper to present at the close of this volume our opinion concerning the same.

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society.

We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.

We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign.

We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others; but we do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.

We believe that all men re bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience.

We believe that every man should be honored in his station, rulers and magistrates as such, being placed for the protection of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty; and that to the laws all men owe respect and deference, as without them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror; human laws being instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, between man and man; and divine laws given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship, both to be answered by man to his Maker.

We believe that rulers, states, and governments have a right, and are bound to enact laws for the protection of all citizens in the free exercise of their religious belief; but we do not believe that they have a right in justice to deprive citizens of this privilege, or proscribe them in their opinions, so long as a regard and reverence are shown to the laws and such religious opinions do not justify sedition nor conspiracy.

We believe that the commission of crime should be punished according to the nature of the offense; that murder, treason, robbery, theft, and the breach of the general peace, in all respects, should be punished according to their criminality and their tendency to evil among men, by the laws of that government in which the offense is committed; and for the public peace and tranquility all men should step forward and use their ability in bringing offenders against good laws to punishment.

We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.

We believe that all religious societies have a right to deal with their members for disorderly conduct, according to the rules and regulations of such societies; provided that such dealings be for fellowship and good standing; but we do not believe that any religious society has authority to try men on the right of property or life, to take from them this world’s goods, or to put them in jeopardy of either life or limb, or to inflict any physical punishment upon them. They can only excommunicate them from their society, and withdraw from them their society, and withdrawn from them their fellowship.

We believe that men should appeal to the civil law for redress of all wrongs and grievances, where personal abuse is inflicted or the right of property or character infringed, where such laws exist as will protect the same; but we believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded.

We believe it just to preach the gospel to the nations of the earth, and warn the righteous to save themselves from the corruption of the world; but we do not believe it right to interfere with bond-servants, neither preach the gospel to, nor to baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters, nor to meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of men; such interference we believe to be unlawful and unjust, and dangerous to the peace of every government allowing human beings to be held in servitude.

God Overrules the Destiny of Nations and of Individuals.

It should not be understood that because Oliver Cowdery declared, and the Church has approved, the statement in this article that “We believe that governments are instituted of God for the benefit of man,” that therefore God has been the author of every government upon the earth. He is the author of government, for government prevails throughout the universe, but some of the despotic governments have been far from governments established or instituted by the hand of God. In the beginning, as previously stated, government was instituted for the benefit of man, but man in his rebellious nature turned from that government given by the Almighty to organizations of his own. It is a fact, however, that the Lord does overrule all nations. Kings and potentates may plot and plan and league together, but the Lord sets the bounds of their habitations and their authority and says: “This far, and no farther, shalt thou go.” The history of nations as it is recorded, reveals clearly and positively, the fact that the hand of the Lord has been the ruling hand among all kingdoms. The destiny of nations as well as the destinies of individuals is in his hands. Kings, presidents, despots and dictators will rule until the Lord declares it is enough and then their kingdoms and authorities shall cease upon the earth.

The Higher Powers.

Paul is quoted in the Bible as having said to the Roman Saints: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” The Lord corrected this translation through the Prophet Joseph Smith so that it reads:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power in the church but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God.

Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves punishment.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.

He who is subject to the higher powers, which are the powers of God and his authorized servants, will also obey the laws and be subject to the government of man. For thus we are commanded until he comes whose right it is to rule.

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)

We are told that we are free to choose liberty or captivity. The choice implies that we have agency, or the ability to choose between Liberty or Bondage. We are free, which means we have the capability to do the action that will decide the outcome.

Agency is the ability to choose an action, whereas Freedom is the capability to DO and action. What’s the difference? Here’s an example. You have the agency or ability to make the choice to go to New York, and can make that choice even if you don’t have a car or other form of transportation. You have made the choice, despite the absence of the ability to act on that choice. It is the access to transportation that will provide you with the Freedom, or capability, to actually go to New York.

Liberty is opposite of Captivity. Liberty is often confused as having the same meaning as Freedom, yet there is a difference. Liberty comes from choosing and doing the right actions, those which are just before God. It’s really impossible to separate Liberty from Obedience to the Laws of God.

Real Liberty only comes from obeying a commandment or law to reach the destination you want. Bondage, or Captivity, is choosing a path and being bound to the outcome, whereas Liberty is choosing your destination or outcome and being bound to the path required to achieve such an outcome.

The Key to understanding and experiencing Liberty lies in choosing the outcome we want versus receiving the outcome our path dictates.

If you want the Liberty that comes from being healthy and having the ability to run an not be weary, walk and not faint (D&C 89) you must choose that outcome of healthiness and have your path dictated accordingly. If you are committed to that outcome you are not going to consume donuts and soda pop all day – that choice would bind you to the outcome inherent in unhealthy living, and you would be in bondage.

In 2nd Nephi Chapter 2, verse 25 we read that “men are that they might have joy”. It is in choosing Liberty that we will experience that joy, or happiness.

To choose Liberty is to choose to stand up for Truth and Righteousness, to be found on the Lord’s side. Choosing Liberty results in experiencing the ultimate level of Freedom.

This gives a new meaning to the words “Life, Liberty and Happiness“. This Life is a time for us to be “tried, to be tested, and to choose. Our decisions determine our destiny… Those who choose the Lord’s way” (choose Liberty) and “who prove faithful shall inherit the kingdom of God, … and their joy (Happiness) shall be full forever.” (Russell M. Nelson, Now Is the Time to Prepare, Ensign, May 2005, 16).

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)

(NOTE: This is an excerpt of what I have discussed here: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The Lord has said that “there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

“And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (D&C 130:20–21.)

It would seem from this declaration that there is no permanent progress made in any field or in any place except it be through obedience to the governing law. We know this is true in the heavens, because the Lord has said:

“… that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.

“That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin [sin being the breaking of the law], and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. …

“For … judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things.

“And … he hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their seasons;

“And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets.” (D&C 88:34–35, 40, 42–43).

This scripture tells us that all things in God’s economy, even those which to us seem inanimate, obey the laws by which they are governed.

“… the earth [for example] abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law.” (D&C 88:25.)

“Therefore, … it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

“That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; …

“And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ [which is his gospel—the perfect law of liberty], must inherit another kingdom, …

“For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.

“And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.

“And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory. …” (D&C 88:19–24.)

How blessed are Latter-day Saints to be assured by the revealed word of God that there will be no capriciousness in the world to come; that the rule of law is irrevocable; that every soul will be rewarded according to the law he has obeyed; that all divine law is as immutable as the law of gravity; that it is the same yesterday, today, and forever; that judgment will be mercifully administered, but that it will be administered pursuant to law, and that it will not rob justice. Not only are Latter-day Saints blessed by having this knowledge concerning “the rule of law”; they are twice blessed by having both a knowledge and an understanding of the laws by which they are to be judged.

In light of our knowledge of “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25), how shortsighted, how foolish, how tragic it would be if we were to fail to obey that law.

“The law of Christ” is all-inclusive. It concerns not only rules that shall govern beyond the grave, but also the law of nature here and now—local, national, and international.

Latter-day Saints should strictly obey the laws of the government in which they live. By our own declaration of faith we are committed to do so, for we declare to the world that “we believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” (A of F 1:12.)

This we do in harmony with the Lord’s command:

“Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.

“Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet.” (D&C 58:21–22.)

“Civil authority is of divine origin. It may be more or less adapted to the needs of man; more or less just and benevolent, but, even at its worst, it is better than anarchy. Revolutionary movements that aim at the abolition of government itself are contrary to the law of God. …” (Doctrine and Covenants Commentary [Deseret Book Co., 1954], p. 339.)

When the “rule of law” breaks down in a family, a community, a state, or a nation, chaos reigns.

The kingdoms of heaven are to be free from chaos, because no one will be in any one of them who does not by his own free will obey the laws thereof.

A Latter-day Saint should strictly obey every law of God, including the constitutional laws of the land in which he lives, and do it with a good and honest heart.

In this day of declining morals and increasing disrespect for law, we can all profitably review and check our own performance against the Ten Commandments, which are basic laws of God not only, but also constitute the foundations of Judeo-Christian secular law.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

“Thou shalt not kill.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.

“Thou shalt not steal.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Ex. 20:3–4, 7–8, 11–17.)

Strict obedience to these laws in the spirit of the first and great commandment—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And the second [which] is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:37, 39)—will help one to obey the law of the land and the celestial law of heaven as it applies to mortality.

Beginning with the hosts of Israel, Dr. Skousen follows God’s Law throughout history, showing the glory of those nations that embraced God’s law fully, and the fate of those who rejected it. He concludes with a startling revelation about the destiny of America and what will be necessary before God’s law can be adopted by our nation.

Purchase The Majesty of God’s Law by W. Cleon Skousen (Now back in print!)

Purchase: The Book of Mormon and the Constitution by H. Verlan Andersen

I want to congratulate the Sunday School and all of you for participating in this special Education Week program. Since we’ve had the block approach for our Sunday services, it has been just great to get through the necessary exercises. However all of our classes have to be extremely concentrated and there’s no time for a Parley P. Pratt to speak for two hours like they used to do. Everything has to be very condensed and very concentrated, and maybe that’s a good discipline for us anyway.

But these Education Nights are designed especially for a little deeper probe into some aspects of the gospel.

The 1990′s: The Last Decade of the Sixth Seal

As all of you know and realize, beginning with the year 1990 we have probably reached one of the most important benchmarks in world history. This is the great decade that constitutes the last ten years of the sixth seal. The Lord has a tremendous amount of work to accomplish in these ten years.

The secular prognosticators thought that they had the 1980′s all figured out and they were predicting certain things to happen in a certain way. Then suddenly, the Lord’s time-line cut across 1989, turned it upside down, changed everything, and you are in a new world today. The Berlin Wall is down. That was the Lord’s time-line.

You’re going to see the Lord’s time-line cut back and forth all the way across the 1990′s, because he has a lot to do. Many of the things that secular prognosticators have anticipated will not come to pass, because [page 138] the Lord has to get his work done.

So tonight I’m going to mention a few things that are significant as we go into the decade of the 1990′s, with special emphasis on what President Benson has said that we have a responsibility to accomplish.

Prophecies of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Six months before the Berlin Wall came down you could have seen what was coming. You could anticipate it. Six months before that you couldn’t have. A person would have been foolhardy to have predicted eighteen months ago that the Berlin Wall would come down by November 9, 1989. No one would have dared to predict it! But nevertheless, it came down.

The leaders of the Church have been talking about this ever since 1859, as far as I can tell. Orson Pratt was the first one to say that there are some tremendous things that have to be done to change the climate of the Slavic countries and Russia before the gospel can go in, but it is going to go in. 1

In 1 Nephi 14, Nephi had a vision, and he saw our day, as Moroni later did, and he said that we were there: the missionaries were in Russia. We were in China. We were in India. We were in every one of the 168 nations in the world today. 2 This is the decade when we go. Well, as I said, eighteen months ago that was impossible. Then after November it looked plausible, and now, it’s happening!

Apostle Melvin J. Ballard, the father of our present Apostle M. Russell Ballard, spoke at General Conference on April 6, 1930, while I was just getting ready to go on my mission. He said, “I want you to be aware that the Lord is working in Russia.” It was interesting what he said:

“Much as we are disturbed over the tyranny and the oppression that is waged against religion in that land, it is not a new thing, for that has been the order for ages in Russia. But I can see God moving also in preparing the way for other events that are to come.

“The field that has gone to wild oats needs to be plowed, and harrowed, and prepared for new seed. So it will be in Russia. It may seem appalling to us, but it is God breaking up and destroying an older order of things that must pass away. The [page 139] process will be the accomplishment of God’s purposes within a very short period of time, when it happens, which normally may have taken generations.”

Isn’t that something? It happened in three months!

“But that people will come back, for I bear witness that there are thousands of the blood of Israel in that land, and God is preparing the way for them.” 3

The ten tribes disappeared right up in that area, right in the Slavic countries. They don’t know who they are now. We didn’t know who we were. Patriarchs lay their hands on our heads and tell us that we are of the tribe of Ephraim. Imagine that! We’re Israelites. We came out from among the Gentiles, and had ourselves identified. That’s pretty thrilling.

We are those that fought for God, those whom Moses was talking about in Deuteronomy 32. 4 We succeeded and helped Heavenly Father, and were his soldiers in that great war in heaven. We were named Israel there in the pre-mortal existence, which means “soldiers of God.” 5

Is the Church Ready To Go Into Russia?

Now, at the time when we had 20,000 missionaries, President Kimball announced that the Berlin Wall was ready to be brought down by the Lord but the Church wasn’t ready. 6 When we doubled the number of missionaries and reached 40,000, the Berlin Wall came down that year. Now, obviously, the Lord thinks that we are ready.

Jesus said that before the end could come, “This gospel of the kingdom must be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.” 7 That’s why eighteen months ago you would read that passage and say, “Someday….” But suddenly, here it’s 1990 and the time is now! We’re moving in.

A Soviet spokesman was at BYU, as you probably read in the paper, just two weeks ago. While here he told us that they will welcome our missionaries in Russia. In the MTC today, they’re being trained. All of Eastern Europe is now allowing our missionaries to go in, and I won’t be surprised if we see them going into Russia, in quantity, in the not too [page 140] distant future. It really is an exciting time to be alive.

A Spirit of Urgency

Now, among the Brethren there is a spirit of urgency. I don’t know whether you have felt it or noticed it, but there is a spirit of urgency. If you haven’t felt it, just reread some of President Benson’s talks. And it’s in the other Brethren’s talks too. I met one of the Twelve at a wedding reception recently. “Oh,” he said, “Brother Skousen, you won’t believe what the Church is going to do!”

I said, “Yes?”

He said, “But you will!” I could tell he had just come out of some important meeting and he was just bubbling over with enthusiasm.

You know, one of the worst burdens in the world is to keep a secret. It’s a tough thing to do. They say the definition of a secret is something you just tell one person at a time! But the Brethren, they don’t even do that. They’re under very strict discipline.

The Brethren know what Joseph Smith said about this decade that we’re going into. He said, “There will be some more wars. There is going to be a terrible military dictatorship descend on Europe and Asia. When those wars are threatening, everyone will have to flee to Zion.” 8 So we are going to go out there and gather in as much of Israel as we can. We’re going to bring them right back to America. I’m just guesstimating now, but I don’t think we have much more than ten years.

I think you’re going to see the Church drained of womanpower, manpower, and finances as we hit this thing just like a tidal wave. Brother Joseph said, “Ye shall not have time to have gone over the earth until these things begin to come.” 9 That’s urgency. We need to get as many as we can.

The Lord also said, “Prepare yourselves for the ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the Saints for the hour of judgement which is to come; that their souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of abomination which will then be poured out upon the wicked.” 10

So it’s a desperate hour. It’s a time of going out there and finding our brothers and sisters, because we’ve got them out there. In a moment, [page 141] I’ll indicate to you the way that President Benson suggests that we will be finding our brothers and sisters. And the reason we will have to bring them back to America is in the Doctrine and Covenants:

“And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another. And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.” 11

We really have got a job on our hands, and this won’t be a time, obviously, to dally. The Lord has been accelerating his program in the Church for forty years. He was building it up before then, but the acceleration in the last forty years is astonishing.

The Phenomenal Growth of the Church

In 1950 we had a little over a million members and 180 stakes. Now we have seven million members and nearly 2,000 stakes. Did you know that 90% of all the stakes created in the Church were all created since 1950? That’s 90%! And 36% of the stakes in the Church were created since 1980. The momentum is going and it is increasing. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if we hit twenty million members within the next ten years.

Let me give you a few statistics. A few of you, I notice, are taking notes. So let me give you a few that will show the direction that we are now headed. President Benson has already said, “If you’ll just listen to us now, and follow our leadership, you’ll see this Church get a blessing hitherto unknown in the history of the Church.” 12

I sometimes like to go back to when I was born — I know some of you think it was before the Flood. It was in 1913. We had 431,000 members worldwide. That’s all we had. By 1930 they couldn’t find a thousand elders to send out in the mission field, the most they got was 898. So they began scraping the bottom of the barrel, and our bishop was allowed to send me at the age of seventeen, and Dix W. Price from Mesa, Arizona also went at the age of seventeen.

Being so young, we didn’t even think that we were going to get to be senior companions. We find that age means nothing in the mission [page 142] field. Dix W. Price ended up in charge of the London area, and my assignment was to be in charge of northern Ireland. Why, if you had told me that when I was in the mission home, I’d have been scared spitless!

As of December 1989, we had 41,000 missionaries. We’re shooting for 60,000. I think before the end of the decade is over, we’ll probably have 100,000 in the field.

It’s like Brother A. Theodore Tuttle said. He was at a meeting and he saw a young man twenty years of age. He said, “Why aren’t you on your mission?”

“Oh,” he said, “I don’t want to go on a mission.”

Brother Tuttle said, “What’s that got to do with it?!” In other words, we’re on a roll, and the Church needs us. It needs all of us functioning in our particular area of activity.

We now have three temples that are in the process of being built, and 46 are finished. We’ll probably have 50 temples here before the end of the decade. We’ve doubled the number of temples in the last ten years.

The Church has now divided this entire planet into eighteen regions, covering all 168 nations. The gospel is now being preached, already, in 100 of these nations. So we have about 68 to go, and some of them are big ones — India, China, Russia.

The State of China Today

Deng Xiaoping, China’s present dictator, has a strange combination of characteristics. He was one of those leaders in China who helped wipe out somewhere between 40 and 60 million Chinese in order to set up the big communes and appropriate all their property. When Mao Tse Tung died, Deng took over as a reform leader. It was he who dismantled all of the communes. It was he who invited in foreign capital. It was he who started a great drive toward bringing China back into the mainstream of civilization.

But, a year ago June, something happened for which he had no answer: a million students, on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, were asking for participatory democracy. He didn’t know what to do with them. A Marxist is only trained to do one thing and that is to establish order, and then do whatever he thinks is good for the people. And things were out of order. The whole nation was beginning to say, “Perestroika! Glasnost! Hooray for Gorbachev!” Gorbachev came over and visited, and they practically worshiped him.

Deng panicked, as you know, and mowed down thousands of those [page 143] students and burned their bodies. Now he’s dying, they tell us. We’re told by those who know the situation that Deng Xiaoping represents the end of the old, conservative, Marxist, revolutionary, Leninist sentiment. As soon as he does disappear from the scene, the whole machinery that he set up will be dismantled, and you’ll get reform in China. So I expect that by the time that we’ve gotten into Russia, and gotten ourselves oriented there, China will be opened up.

Membership of the Church Continues To Grow

We’re adding about 500,000 new members to the Church each year, but I don’t think it will be long before we add a million each year.

The Book of Mormon is now translated into 48 languages, which fits the language requirements of 114 nations. Sometimes it’s not the whole Book of Mormon, but all of the salient parts.

We have about 100,000 men and women serving in the Church without compensation, and learning how to govern God’s people. We actually have 100,000 in training, right now, in this Church! No other church duplicates it or comes close to these numbers.

We have about 500,000 young people that are learning about the gospel in the Church Educational System.

Those are just a few statistics to remind us that something rather remarkable is happening.

What Others Are Saying About the Church

This growth is not being missed by other people. I have here a page from one of the very latest textbooks in the California schools. In a section titled “Religious Innovations and Creation of the Mormon Faith” it says:

“What is remarkable about Mormonism is the phenomenal degree to which it has grown since its inception. While most new religions die in almost total obscurity, Mormonism has enjoyed the highest growth rate of any new faith in American history. By 1840, only ten years after Smith and his five followers declared themselves to be the first Mormons, membership in the Mormon church had reached about 30,000.

“Ten years later in 1850, there were 60,000. This doubling of membership took place despite persecution from non-Mormons, a change in leadership following the death of Joseph Smith, and a grueling migration across the plains and Rockies to start a new community in Utah. By 1950, there were over a [page 144] million Mormons, and by 1980, 4.6 million.” And of course now, it’s 7.3 million.

“This means a growth rate of well over 50% for three intervening decades. Such an impressive growth rate was due in part to the custom of young Mormon men, and increasingly young women, volunteering for several years of unpaid missionary work. In 1980, there were 30,000 young Mormons serving as missionaries around the world, converting other young adults to the Mormon faith. By projecting into the future, we see there could very likely be over 250 million Mormons by the next century.”

Of course it will be a lot more than that — that will be during the Millennium!

I have several examples here where other people, in rather commendatory ways, say that it is amazing how the Church is catching on. It gives us a more pleasant climate for the missionaries to go out and preach the gospel when we have that kind of background rather than the misinformation and propaganda that used to go out when I was a boy in school in California.

President Benson and Communism

It is very interesting that Michel Gorbachev came to power in March of 1985. Ezra Taft Benson became President of the Church in November of 1985. Gorbachev had orders to conquer Europe and overcome NATO within about 18 months and he started to do it.

I remember when I used to tell my students about Nephi’s great vision in which he saw the missionaries in Russia 13 and my students would say, “Well, Brother Skousen, we’d have to conquer those people before you could preach in Russia and China.”

I would reply to them, “Well, don’t forget that God can soften the heart of Pharaoh.” When he softens the heart, it reverses itself. Do you remember the brothers of Nephi? Here they were going to kill him and a little while later they were practically worshiping him. 14 It’s amazing! If they let a little of the Spirit of the Lord in, they become different people. Their personalities change and their attitudes change.

Ezra Taft Benson is the foremost spokesman against Communism among all the leaders of the Church. When he became President of the [page 145] Church it was immediately expected that he would really unload on them. He didn’t say a word. So finally somebody went up to him and said, “President Benson, aren’t you going to say anything about Communism?”

“No,” he said, “the Saints have been warned long enough and now the Lord has something more important for us to do.” It wasn’t long before we heard it. He stood up in Conference and said, “I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon. Indeed I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon just like Enoch saw in his vision in Moses 7:62.”

President Benson Pushes

the Book of Mormon Forward

He said, “My beloved Saints, I am now entering my ninetieth year. I do not know fully why God has preserved my life to this age, but I do know this, that for the present hour he has revealed to me the absolute need for us to move the Book of Mormon forward in a marvelous manner. You must help with this burden and with this blessing which he has placed on the whole Church. Even the children of Zion can help if they will just do what they are asked to do.” 15

Why is President Benson so concerned about the Book of Mormon? There are three things he says that the Book of Mormon will help us do in the 1990′s. It is the manual for the three things that we have to do, and much of it will be launched in this decade.

First, President Benson said we must know the Book of Mormon well enough to use it as a missionary vehicle. Most people read the Book of Mormon just enough to get a testimony that it’s true. Then they put it on the shelf and say, “I tell you, it’s true!”

What’s in it? What does it say? If you met a Jewish rabbi, how would you use the Book of Mormon to convert him to the gospel?

You would say, “Rabbi, have you ever had a chance to read Isaiah 53?”

“Well, of course!”

“Who is this person that would be born, and would be killed, and would be resurrected?”

“Does it say that?”

[page 146]

“It’s in your Bible.” Of course, it’s explained in the Book of Mormon. You get it out of the Book of Mormon so you know with confidence what you can tell the rabbi.

“What do you think your ancient prophet Zechariah meant when he said that when your Messiah comes, he will have wounds in his hands and in his feet?” 16

“Does it say that? Where do you think that might be?”

Suddenly you’ve got a vehicle where you can transfer your knowledge from the Book of Mormon over into the Bible, and talk to a rabbi, and astonish him with his own book.

Suppose that you meet a minister — a Baptist minister — and say, “Do you believe the Bible?”

“Oh yes, every word!”

“What do you say about Ezekiel 37 where it says that in addition to the Bible we’ll have another book from the hands of Joseph and they will be two books to go together in the latter days?” 17

“Does it say that?”

“Yes, and we have that book! Would you like to have a copy?”

“Well, yes, I guess I would.” He looks at it, and it says “The Book of Mormon.”

“The Book of Mormon! That can’t be the Lord’s book!”

“Have you ever read it? Do you know anything about it? How do you think the Jews felt when the Christians came with all their new literature? You don’t want to miss knowing about the other book, do you? I’ll give you a copy.” That’s the way we approached a Baptist minister who is just about ready for baptism.

We have to know the Book of Mormon so well that it becomes the tool for the converting of masses of people. We’ve been converting others on a one-on-one basis. But how do you convert a minister and his whole congregation like Wilford Woodruff did? How do you go into communities in Russia and the Slavic countries and convert our fellow Israelites in great quantities?

President Benson says that if we know the Book of Mormon well enough, we can do it. So in my own mind I work out a little scenario. I [page 147] imagine that I am allowed to go into a town where the Russians say the missionaries will be welcome. In fact, I hope that they’re much like the three Russian leaders that recently visited the state of Utah.

The Russians Enjoyed Their Visit to Utah

Oh, they said they liked this state! The man that was interviewing them, a local TV interviewer, tried to depreciate Utah. He said, “This is a religious state. If you want to know how politics are run in a state, you shouldn’t have come here. This is a very religious state and dominated by one religion.”

“Oh,” they said, “that’s what we like about it. Our people want religion, and they want to know” — this is a quote — “what the man upstairs is thinking.”

Well, this interviewer was being driven up the wall. He happens to be anti-Mormon and anti-Utah, and so he was expecting these Russians to really bash the state. It was just the opposite. He said, “Of course we have some problems, you know, in America. We have racism.”

“Oh, racism — that’s universal. You’re doing as good a job here as anybody did.”

“Well, we have air pollution.”

The Russian replied, “You’re talking to a man that was raised in the fumes of a Russian industrial city. You know nothing about air pollution! You’re ignorant of air pollution! Over here in America I like it, and Utah is the best of all. I love the Utah air!” This poor interviewer, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Anyway, the Russians were very friendly. They talked to our governor, they talked to our state legislature and they were real friends. They were asked why they wanted to come to Utah, because they first went to Washington, D.C., and talked to Congressmen. All that the Congressmen would tell them was what a great job Washington was doing for the States. That’s not what they wanted to hear. They wanted to know: how do you handle a state so it doesn’t want to secede? See, that’s Gorbachev’s main problem. How much freedom do you give them? How do you handle them?

So they weren’t happy and they were asked, “Well, where do you want to go?”

They said, “We want to go to Utah.”

So when they got out here, this interviewer said, “Why did you [page 148] choose Utah?”

“Well,” he said, “some of our people were here with Thiokol, inspecting the armaments, and they were treated better than our inspectors anywhere. Our inspectors like Utah, and they like the people, and they like the way they were treated, and we like the way we’re being treated.”

Preaching to an Audience in Russia

Anyway, President Benson has said, “I want you to know that book well enough so that you can make it a tool for the conversion of masses of people.” As I was saying, I’ve tried to work out a little scenario in my mind: what would I do if I had the responsibility to teach a large audience of Russian people, and I could speak Russian?

It has been unlawful and illegal for the Russian people to have a Bible until just recently. But now they’re being shipped into Russia by the tens of thousands and it’s a matter of status to have a Bible. So that’s where I’d begin.

I’d say, “Folks, I know you’re happy to get your Bibles. I hope all of you have gotten one. If you haven’t, try to get one as soon as you can, because there are things in the Bible that you need to know. I want to see how many Bibles there are in this congregation,” and I’d have them hold them all up.

Then I’d say, “All right. Not as many as I hoped there would be, but all of you who have a Bible now, I want you to turn to page 1,080.” Of course, they don’t know their Bibles yet, so you can’t say, “Turn to Ezekiel.” They don’t know what you are talking about. So you give them the page number, and then you give them verse 16 in Ezekiel 37, and then you say, “Now that’s where a prophet of God in nearly 600 B.C. said that you would get your Bible.”

“He then said, ‘God will also give you the book of your own people, the book of Joseph.’ You may not have known it, but most of you are probably of the blood of Israel since this is right where the ten tribes disappeared. So this message will sound familiar to you. The Bible says 18 that it will sound familiar, it will be like a voice coming up out of the ground, and when it’s translated and published, it will sound familiar.”

“I’ll tell you what this book of Joseph will do. It will give you a wonderful understanding of what’s in the Bible that you may not have known before. It was written by the prophets of God in the Western [page 149] Hemisphere. Isaiah and three or four of the prophets 19 talked about a people that were beyond Africa, over on the American continent.”

“God raised up prophets among them, and they received everything the Jews received. You can get both books. You’ve got the Bible, and if you want the book of Joseph, they’re here for you tonight and they’re free. They’re free. I’ve got a couple trunk-loads here donated by the home wards.”

I’d then say, “I want to now quote a few things about that great book, in your Bible.” I’d give them the page number of Isaiah 29. “This passage tells about the second book coming forth. We have several of the prophets talking about the time when you would get your second great book. And I’ll tell you what else they said, ‘The end is very close.’ It’s very close. As a matter of fact, we only have a short period of peace, and then it’s going to be terrible. There’s going to be the worst, monstrous military dictatorship in the history of the world.” 20

“So here’s my message to you, and I want to bear testimony to you because we don’t have much time left. We are here with your second book, and it will tell you that it’s necessary for you to turn away from those things in your life that you know are not correct, so that you can start living God’s law, and accept a covenant-making baptism. It won’t be a sprinkling, but a baptism by immersion just like Jesus’ baptism was. And then you will be confirmed by the Spirit of God, and you will become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ as it was originally organized on the earth.”

“How many of you used to be Catholics? I want to see your hands. All right, this is the original Christian Catholic church. Over the years it was changed a little. The Lord wanted you to have the real, original Catholic church. It’s back!”

I think that would be a good way to begin.

The Book of Mormon Contains

Principles of Righteous Government

The second thing the Book of Mormon is a manual for, according to President Benson, is to learn the principles of righteous government that we one day will have to teach this country after our present government becomes unraveled. All of you remember the prophecy that our [page 150] Constitution will be on the verge of destruction. 21 We won’t rush forward to save it. The people will come to those who seem to be getting along all right and who seem to have order. They will lean on this people as a staff, and we will lead the Constitution away from the verge of destruction.

I’m a Constitutional lawyer. That prophecy used to scare the wits out of me, because I learned nothing in law school that would be of much help when we came to a time of great distress in this nation and the people would say, “All right now, set us up again. How should we do this?”

I made a wonderful discovery in the Book of Mormon. In Mosiah 29, the king issued a proclamation of independence for the people. It was a declaration of independence for the people, but a proclamation by the king. He said, “You’re free. God has shown me how to set you up the way it was originally designed by God.” Well, what they did was fantastic. The only thing is, what they set up is not in the Book of Mormon, it was in the plates of brass.

So where are we going to find what they set up? Do we know what was in the plates of brass? Most of it. Some of the prophets like Zenoch and Zenos we don’t have. But where are most of books from the plates of brass available to us? In the Bible. Nephi said, “I’m not including that in my plates because I’ve already been told you’ll have it.” 22

So I went diving into God’s revelation in the Bible of how you set up an ideal government. Then to my astonishment I found, from John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, that they already had that in mind. 23 They would have given us that form of government. The people wouldn’t buy it and we got a watered-down version.

Joseph Smith Tries to Amend the Constitution

When Joseph Smith learned for the first time that the Constitution is actually the Millennial form of government, he decided to fix any problems it might have. He said to the Quorum of the Twelve, in early 1844, “Let’s amend the Constitution in any way that we feel is necessary, and then I’ll take it to the Lord.” 24

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So they worked on it, and they couldn’t amend it. They tried to fix it in one place, and it would get unbalanced in another. And so they would try another place. Finally they said to Joseph Smith, “We don’t know enough to amend the Constitution. You try it.”

He worked on it for a week, and finally he went to the Lord and said, “How would you like this Constitution perfected?”

The revelation that came was kind of a reprimand. The Lord said in the revelation, “If I wanted to amend it, I would have told you. You are my spokesman.” 25 Then in Doctrine and Covenants 101 the Lord said, “I established the Constitution. I didn’t do it by ministering of angels. I didn’t do it by laying on of hands. I did it by wise men that I raised up for this very purpose.” 26

And in Doctrine and Covenants 98 he said, “Anything that’s more or less than this is evil. It doesn’t need amending. What you are calling weaknesses is actually the work of wicked men. When the wicked rule, the people mourn.” 27

So Joseph Smith ran for President, and wrote a pamphlet titled Views on the Powers and Policy of the Government. 28 When I read that, I knew I was getting closer to home base. There I found the great things that we will want to be implementing when they start leaning upon us and ask, “Will you restore order?”

The Majesty of God’s Law

So I’ve been working the last twenty years, off and on, on a book that I hope to complete this year — my wife doesn’t believe it, but I really think I can complete it this year — which will be called The Majesty of God’s Law.

If you are approached and asked to establish order for the people, in that book you’ll find the first thing you need to do, the second thing, the third thing — there are about 22 things you need to know. You don’t need to have a Ph.D. in political science to carry this out.

Not only can you restore order, but by establishing those principles, Alma was able to eliminate poverty and crime in five years! 29 If the people are all members of the Church — which of course they won’t be, [page 152] but if they are — then it can be done in one year like Nephi IV did. 30 I’ll tell you, if you want to see the Constitution shiny and brilliant, this is where you find it.

When we are asked to restore the Constitution, we’ll do just what John Adams advocated, what Benjamin Franklin advocated in the Convention, and what Thomas Jefferson tried for ten years to get the state of Virginia to adopt. All they were able to get were a few fragments, so we ended up with a watered-down version.

When I found out that those men had been inspired to set up the original thing that Mosiah did, I got pretty thrilled. So I put all of that together in this book which will be called The Majesty of God’s Law.

I’ve been asked to advise some of those who are getting a master’s certificate in advanced political science, and I’ve been sharing this with them. I recently talked to about fifty very fine scholars from ten different states, representing many faiths. Because I can teach this right out of the Bible, nobody gets nervous about it. But I teach it with confidence because of the Book of Mormon! They are excited about it, just like I’ve become excited about it.

So I wanted you to know that the topic I was assigned to talk on tonight, which is the Book of Mormon and the Constitution, is all there in that wonderful book of scripture. Now, to share with you all that it contains, and how you do it, and those 22 things that you need to know in order to restore what God calls a perfect order of government, well, that takes about a week, which I understand is more than you are allowing tonight!

The Book of Mormon Teaches

How to Set Up a Zion Society

The third thing President Benson said the Book of Mormon is designed to do is to teach us how to set up a Zion society. Three Book of Mormon prophets were able to do this: King Benjamin, 31 Alma the Younger 32 and Nephi IV. 33 Nephi IV was able to make his last almost 200 years before it finally caved in. 34

As Alma discovered, one of the problems of setting up a Zion society [page 153] is that it immediately becomes rich. 35 It isn’t very long before everybody is well-off, and there aren’t any poor people.

Alma also used God’s law to eliminate the criminal element. He said, “I didn’t eliminate criminality, but when they saw what happened to them when they committed crimes, they became more still [that's a quote].” 36 As a chief of police at the time I discovered this I thought, “Now there is something worth studying. I need to know more about that.”

How do you set up a Zion society? Actually, you can’t have a Zion society unless you have a Zion people, and that’s the very foundation of a good Constitutional government. So I am going to talk about that for just a minute as a concluding part of my talk.

Decathlon Mormon Champions

How do you develop Zion people? What I would like to suggest is that we try to become “decathlon Mormons.” What’s a decathlon athlete? He’s a champion of ten sports, and I want you to listen to them: the 100 meter dash, the broad jump, the 16 pound shot-put, the high jump, the 400 meter dash, the 110 meter hurdles, the discus throw, the pole vault, the javelin throw, and the 1,500 meter race. If you’re a champion in all of those ten areas, you’re a decathlon champion — decathlon, which means ten events.

If you can be a champion in ten facets of Mormonism, I think the rest will take care of itself. So for those of you who are taking notes, I’ll run through the list of ten things that seem to be fundamental. In fact, it’s an agenda or an inventory by which we can judge ourselves to see if we are gradually developing Zion people in our families.

Our Savior said, “When I come, about half of the Church will be acceptable to me, or about half of them will be decathlon champions. The others I won’t be too happy with, because they will not have gone on their missions, they will not have done their home teaching, they will not have been paying their tithing and otherwise helping me do my work. But they’ll want to be with me, and they’ll want to say that they are part of my kingdom. I will have to shut the door, and say, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know you.’” 37

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This is in the Doctrine and Covenants, 38 and also the New Testament, 39 where it talks about the ten virgins. The Lord said, “Five of them will be acceptable to me. The others are virgins, they’re good girls, but not good for much.” So he said, “They won’t make it and their lamps will have gone out. They won’t be able to receive me when I come.”

So I want all of you to make it! On a scale of one to ten, I want you to grade yourselves as we go through these ten things that will qualify you to be a decathlon Mormon champion.

1. Get in a “Yes” Mode

The first thing to ask yourself is: “Am I doing what the bishop wants me to do?” This is fundamental to a Zion society. “You need to get in a ‘yes’ mode,” my father used to say. When the bishop asks you to do something, always say yes, and then explain to him why you can’t do it. In other words, you leave it up to him.

Once or twice I’ve had to say to a stake president or somebody that wanted me to do something, “I’ll be glad to do it. What do you want to release me from? Because I now have five jobs in the Church, and I would be dishonest if I told you I could accept any more and do justice to all of them.”

The stake president in this instance was very reasonable, and he said, “Yes, thank you. I didn’t know that. That’s too much.”

Accepting Church Callings Can Bring Blessings

When I was a young fellow, the bishop said, “We have the droopiest bunch of singers in the San Bernardino Ward. We need to get somebody that is like a cheer leader, that will get up there with some pep and get them to sing.” So the superintendent of the Sunday School asked if I would lead the music.

I said, “Yes, but there’s one problem. I don’t know anything about music.”

“Oh,” he said, “it’s easy. Just follow the beat, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. And there’s also another beat, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, which is waltz time. You can do that.” So I got up there, and it wasn’t long before those people were singing! They would sing so heartily that we would have them all stand up, take a big breath and really sing.

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However, the most important part of that assignment was the pianist, a little younger than myself, but a very lovely brunette who had blossomed a little early. She and I had to talk over the program, and it wasn’t very long before we were making beautiful music. She’s now my wife. So the moral of the story is: it pays to say yes!

What Makes a Great Bishop?

I also ought to add one other thing. Do you know what makes a really great bishop? Is it being set apart and ordained by the stake presidency? Does that make a great bishop?

No. The thing that makes a great bishop is when the priests go on missions, and the deacons are in their place, and the teachers are teaching exciting lessons, and everybody is on fire in the ward. Other people are trying to get houses and move into the ward. Everybody is supporting the bishop.

This is what the Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “The ordination comes from above. Your power comes from below. This is also true of myself.” 40 Power in the priesthood comes from those that you supervise who are under your stewardship. So, that number one is very important: “Am I doing what the bishop asks me to do?” That’s what makes a great bishop.

2. Use The Power of Prayer

The next one: “Am I a prayerful person? Am I really a prayerful person?” Don’t be embarrassed if you have to say, “Well, you know, I do it once in a while. We say a blessing on the food once in a while.” I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about reaching a stage where you look forward to talking to Heavenly Father. First by yourself, when you get up, and then with your family around you. At night, your family once again goes to your family “altar” — sometimes it’s the kitchen table that you surround, or you go to the front room where there’s a “postum” table — and you surround that with the family. Then you go to your room and talk to the Lord by yourself.

We need to learn to pray like Baptists. They have learned to do what God wants you to do when you pray. Too often we are inclined to pray in generalities: “Heavenly Father, we thank you for these blessings.” “Keep ‘em coming!” — that’s really the general tenor of it!

But when you watch a Baptist pray, he’ll say, “Oh, Lord our Father. What a beautiful day you’ve given us today. And moisture yesterday. [page 156] The grass is out, the flowers are up, the air is clean. Here is a congregation of thy children that want to thank you for this good and beautiful earth on which we live.” Isn’t that something? That’s the way to pray. Be specific!

What are you really thankful for? That’s the way we should begin our prayers. “Heavenly Father, oh, I’m so thankful for my sweetheart. Bless her with health and strength; she’s having a little difficulty. Bless her. Bless her that we may live together during these golden years for a long time to come.” That’s the way you talk to the Lord.

After you have thanked him for membership in the Church, thank him for all of the things that he has given us. Think of what God has done for you! Be specific. Then ask him for blessings, and once again, what do you really want? Usually, I first pray for those that I’m duty-bound to pray for. I want to pray for President Benson. I love him. I worked right under him in Washington, D.C. I know both of his counselors personally and I love them and I pray for them. I know most of the General Authorities. If you live long enough, that happens! I pray for them.

I pray for our bishop and our stake presidency. I don’t multiply words. I pray for our two missionaries. We’ve got a sweet niece in Hungary. There are only two hundred missionaries in Hungary, and we’ve got a niece who’s one of them. They are already getting baptisms. It’s pretty exciting. I pray for Jered, our grandson, who’s up in Scotland, laboring in President McKay’s old hometown. I pray for him, too.

Sometimes you pray in desperation. You talk to Heavenly Father, and let him know in all earnestness, praying with all your heart, might, mind and strength, “Heavenly Father, if it be thy will, please, spare her life. Please let her remain. Please let us have her to maturity.” We worked for nine years with one of our daughters, and she died two days after her twentieth birthday.

We learned how to pray before the Lord, and how to cry before the Lord. He’d bless her and sustain her just a little bit longer, but she wasn’t to be here forever, and he finally took her. But, oh, she was such a beautiful girl. How we miss her, and how we wanted her to stay if it was the will of the Lord.

So ask yourself, are you a prayerful person? Get used to praying in the morning privately, then with the family, and then pray in the evening with the family, and then privately, and be specific.

3. Follow the Prophet

Now, number three: “Do I follow the counsel of the prophet?” We’ve [page 157] got a great leader. We’ve had a whole series of great leaders. I don’t know of a single prophet we’ve had that was mediocre. They were all marvelous human beings.

Back in the early days of the Church, people used to write to the Brethren for counsel. “Shall I buy the north forty, or do you think a section is enough?” “Do you think I ought to have Jerseys or Holsteins? Or should I have a mix?” Brother Leonard Arrington says that they just found a whole box of letters from the Saints to Brigham Young, with all of his answers. He was kind of the “Dear Abby” of pioneer days!

I thought one was particularly interesting. A woman wrote, “Dear President Young. My husband told me to go to hell. What shall I do?”

President Young wrote back and said, “Dear Sister. Don’t do it! Signed, Brigham Young.”

You remember that President Kimball really began pushing missionary work as the prophet. President Benson is on top of that. He’s also really after us to read the Book of Mormon, and to be scriptorians. I’ll talk about that more in just a minute.

President Benson is also emphasizing the need for us on the Wasatch Front to stop being so proud and trying to keep up with the Joneses. 41 We need to have a sweet and humble spirit. You know, you can try to catch up with the Joneses, but they will just refinance! You never can catch up with the Joneses.

I wish I could say to a number of my friends, “Do what my father told me to do about thirty years ago when he said, ‘Son, enough is enough! Your house is paid for. You’re relatively secure. Now serve!’” We’ve got many people that could afford to do marvelous things in this Church if they would just say to themselves, “Enough is enough!”

When you reach that point, enjoy life! Don’t say, “Well, another million would make it so that I could do that much more good! Think of all the tithing I’d pay!” The next thing you know, you’ve had a heart attack and died. Well, you will do work over on the other side, I guess.

Listen to the counsel of the prophet.

4. Attend the Temple Regularly

The next one: “Do I go to the temple on a regular basis?” The Brethren go every week. We certainly ought to be able to go once a month. I want to tell you, our temples are so crowded now. It is just [page 158] great. Just a few weeks ago you had to wait for a couple of hours to get into a session at the temple. The word got out that the Brethren have made the endowment ceremony one of the most beautiful things that has ever happened to anybody.

My wife and I finally got to attend a session. I’ve been to the temple, of course, scores and scores of times. I never have cried before during an endowment, but when that music started, and I saw the beauty of God’s power, I couldn’t hold back the tears. What a blessing it is to belong to this Church.

For four years, 500 people worked on that production to do it just the way the First Presidency and the Apostles wanted. Did you know about it? Not a whisper. At least I didn’t hear a whisper. Suddenly, there it was. We’ve gone back and taken all our children, a couple at a time. We sit there and marvel. Afterwards in the Celestial Room we visit a little bit, and discuss the changes.

It’s important to know what changes were made, because when the endowment was first given you could do it in one room, divided into four parts. But Brigham Young was told by the prophet to set it up so that there would be additional material put in so that you could bring fifty or a hundred people through. It would give time to handle large numbers. And that’s what they were able to take out, because now we are in one room. It’s beautiful. This is the way the Prophet Joseph and the Quorum of the Twelve received it in the first place. None of the endowment has been changed, but some of the extra that was put in by Brigham Young, under the instructions of Joseph Smith who later approved it, was essentially, shall we say, padding. It’s gone.

Go to the temple. If you don’t have a recommend, say to yourself, “What do I have to do to be a decathlon Mormon champion?” If you’re a decathlon Mormon champion, you’ll get a recommend, guaranteed.

5. Live a Clean and Virtuous Life

Now, the next one is: “Am I living a clean life?” Nobody knows that but you. Not even your spouse or companion knows it; only you do. It was very interesting when Jesus gave the 48 principles of the Sermon on the Mount. He made a great deal of the point that some of his listeners were proud that they hadn’t committed adultery. He said, “I’m going to tell you a new order of the gospel, and this is called the new covenant. Under the new covenant you should not commit adultery in your heart.”

So you haven’t committed the act. But what’s all that pornographic literature doing under the bed? What are those X- and R-rated movies [page 159] doing, that you’ve got all cased up there for your TV when nobody is at home? You will be judged for committing adultery in your heart.

Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly. 42 That’s something everybody has to deal with. The great procreation drive that is in everybody is not something to just be ignored. You can’t ignore it, but you have to deal with it. The Lord says, “You will keep it under control, and honor that power, or else you’ll lose it.” You’ll be resurrected without the capacity to have children — you’ll be a ministering angel. 43 If you want eternal lives, keep yourself clean.

6. Study the Scriptures Daily

The next one is a good one, and this is what President Benson is talking about : “Do I study the scriptures daily?” I know you’re busy, and it’s awfully hard to find time, because there isn’t any. So what you have to do is make some time! I have a little challenge for you. Give yourself a minimum of seven pages of scripture a day, and you’ll get a blessing that I could only tell you about. But a year from now you’d be the one to tell me what a blessing it was.

Read seven pages per day, and don’t just read them, but mark two or three of the words in each verse that will help you remember what that verse is about. For example, a verse says, “There was a great flood.” So I’d underline “great” and “flood.” Do that to each verse, because a marked scripture can be reviewed in about ten seconds per page. I can go down though every verse in my marked Bible, for example, and as I’m looking for something I can say, “No, that’s not it…. That’s not it….” And in ten seconds, I’ve gone over that page. I know that the verse that I am looking for is not on that page. You can do it.

Seven pages a day really isn’t much. What is your profession? Is seven pages of instructions supposed to be overwhelming in your profession? You think nothing of it! It’s necessary reading. So is this! Seven pages a day will take you through the entire Old Testament, the entire New Testament, the entire Book of Mormon, the entire Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price in a year. You can then get a brand-new quad, and start all over again!

If you do that for two or three years — guess what? — you’ll be a rabbi, you brethren. Do you know what a rabbi is? “A master of the scriptures.” I teach the High Priest quorum, and I’ve got them all trying to become rabbis. Most of them are reading seven pages per day, [page 160] marking a couple of words in each verse, so that it will help them remember that verse.

Some of the high priests in the Church think that they’ve graduated out of activity. I say to them, “You must remember the prayer of the old Scotsman who said, ‘Oh Lord, I pray that I shall live as long as I’m alive.’” Think about that for a minute. I look around, and sometimes people are living, but they’re not alive. High priests need to become rabbis.

Everybody should be reading the scriptures every day. I get in about two hours of scripture reading every day. I’ve done that all my life. It takes a long time to devour them. I wish I had four hours to devote to the scriptures. But I squeeze in a little in the morning, a little at noon, a little in the afternoon or whenever I have any spare time. I get into those scriptures, trying to be a good rabbi. Master the scriptures. That’s your calling, brethren and sisters.

We Need to Become Scriptorians

We need to learn a lot more things about the gospel that we don’t know. What chapter in Isaiah tells about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? Isaiah 29. Where is Isaiah 29 discussed verse-by-verse in the Book of Mormon? Nephi fills in a lot of the details that Isaiah didn’t include. What would you say? 2 Nephi beginning with chapter 25.

Which section tells about the Civil War? Doctrine and Covenants 87. Does it say where it will start? Does it say what countries will be involved? All right. Where does it talk about World War I and World War II? See, you can guess now. Doctrine and Covenants 87. In fact, it lumps them together, and it says “world wars” in the plural.

Where does it say that the slaves will rise up against their masters and overthrow them? Where is that found? It’s not talking about black slaves, but it’s talking about all slaves. Where is that? Doctrine and Covenants 87. Has that happened? Isn’t that amazing? That’s being fulfilled before our very eyes, D&C 87:4!

In D&C 88 the Lord says, “When I fulfill prophecies, you brethren need to sit down and talk about it. Remind yourselves. You’re supposed to know prophecy and its fulfillment, and talk about it, and teach each other.” 44 Where does it say that if the United States does not repent, it will be invaded by Latin America? How do you like that? What would you guess? It’s D&C 87:5.

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The Lord said in 3 Nephi 21 that this invasion doesn’t have to happen. “But if this nation becomes anti-Christ, and wicked, and vicious so that I can’t use it as my launching pad for the great work I have to do, it will come to pass. The remnant of Jacob will be like lions among the sheep.” 45

President McKay used to say that we need to work hard to save this nation. The Lord has promised us the United States will help us build the New Jerusalem if we can get them to repent. It will be a lot easier to have this nation help us than to start from scratch with a nation in ruins. Isaiah 54:3 says that it could be in ruins. That’s kind of ominous, isn’t it? All right. It’s great to know the scriptures! So let’s all get at it. Let’s read all four standard works by this time next year.

Where are the political beliefs of the Church in the scriptures? D&C 134. Which section tells about Jesus preaching to the dead in the spirit world? This is a new one that was just put in the scriptures. That is D&C 138. Where does Jesus describe how terrible it was to go up on that cross? “Just the contemplation of it,” he says, “caused me to sweat drops of blood.” D&C 19.

7. Be a Good Record Keeper by Keeping

a Journal and Taking Notes in Church

The next one is: “Am I a good record keeper like President Benson wants me to be?” 46 How can you tell? Do you make a daily account of your life? What did you do today? Did anything interesting happen? Where did you go today? Who did you hear? What did they say? Have you got a little bit of that in your journal? Is there anything worthwhile in your journal?

Don’t write the other kind like, “Dear Diary, today he smiled at me.” If you use your diary for confessions, that will be the one you burn just before you get married, so that doesn’t do us any good. We want an accounting of your family and what you’re doing.

Are we doing what President Benson said to do? I’m afraid we’re a little slothful. We enjoy hearing the prophet. Brother J. Reuben Clark used to say, “You don’t need new prophets or more prophets. You need listening ears.” So let’s try to do that. And when it means something to us, record it.

When Joseph Smith was alive he said to the Brethren, “When I’m in [page 162] the Spirit, write what I say!” 47 There was one man, the least educated of all the General Authorities, who took it seriously. He worked up a system of shorthand, and the vast majority of the things that we know Joseph Smith said were recorded by Wilford Woodruff. Wasn’t that a blessing? The rest of the Brethren got scraps, but not much. This man is almost the exclusive custodian of the prophet’s teachings, in his shorthand and longhand.

When I was young I complained to my father that I couldn’t remember things well enough. He said, “Well son, your brain is a Danish brain.”

I said, “Is that a handicap?”

“No,” he said, “it’s a normal brain. But you ought to know that it’s like a Danish wooden bowl. First of all, it’s shallow and doesn’t hold much. Number two, things spill out of it very easily. Number three, with the passing of time, it warps!”

“So,” I said, “how do I remember things?”

He said, “Write it down and then review it. Frequency and recency is the key to memory.”

Have you noticed how some people seem to know so much? Guess what? They spent time on it. Let me give you a test. What is six times six? You can remember it right away. What is twelve times twelve? You can remember it right away. What is thirteen times thirteen? The answer is not there so fast.

Whatever you’ve spent time on you can recall instantly. When you haven’t spent the time you’ll say, “Just a second, I’ve got to figure that one out.” Try twenty-one times twenty-one. Or thirty-nine times thirty-nine. We haven’t worked those out yet, have we? That’s memory.

At the university I had a student once say, “Brother Skousen, I hope you don’t make us memorize things like we had to do in high school.”

I said, “Then why did you come to college?”

“I want to learn how to think.”

I said, “With what?”

Most of learning is memory. You hit those scriptures, get them planted in your mind and take notes. You will hear people who went to a meeting say, “Oh, it was so great!”

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“What was it about?”

“Well, it was just great. It had a great spirit.”

Someone else will pull out some cards and say, “I learned how to become a decathlon Mormon champion.”

8. Do I Have a Good LDS Home?

Next question: “Can I say that my home is representative of a good Latter-day Saint home?”

How many of us get the Ensign? Okay, nearly everybody. The whole Ensign is magnificent. The last issue we got in May covered April’s General Conference. But on this subject I want you to turn to the last twelve pages if you want to get a thrill. There is the life story of each of the ten new men who were put into the Council of Seventy. And also a summary of our new Relief Society presidency and Sister Hales, the new counselor in the Young Women. I read them all this morning in anticipation of this meeting. I was going to do it later, but I thought I’d do it now.

What great men! They have all been stake presidents. All but one of them has been a mission president. The one from England has not been a mission president. They were all outstanding in their professional lives, but most of them said, “Enough is enough,” and then went out and served the Lord. All have great wives, and three of them were converted to the Church by their wives. Their wives converted a General Authority and didn’t know it.

There’s one from England and one from Brazil. He’s the first black among the General Authorities, Brother Martin. There’s one from Chile, two from Idaho Falls, five from Utah, but nearly all of them from small towns in Utah — Moab, Blanding, that sort of thing. It makes you stop and think. Maybe it’s a little harder to raise a good LDS family in the big city. It’s a challenge.

All of them talk about the importance of family prayer. They talk about the importance of frequent private prayer. Every time that anything important is happening, they ask the Lord for help. They talk about studying the scriptures, vigorously, continuously and consistently, and going to the temple regularly, as often as they can. The Brethren do it to recharge their spiritual batteries every week.

Make the General Authorities

Real for Your Children

Do you try to make the General Authorities come alive as human beings for your children? Do you ever tell them stories about them? Your [page 164] children see them up there in a dark suit, maroon tie and white shirt. They give their talks for twenty minutes and then sit down.

“Who’s that man?”

“Oh, that’s … a … you know … Elder Nelson.”

“Oh, who’s Elder Nelson?”

“One of the world’s greatest heart specialists, that’s who that man was who was just talking to you.” Our children need to know that. These people have got to be somebody besides an Apostle. That’s a great honor, but where is he coming from? Who is he?

I took a little story out of Ezra Taft Benson’s biography because some of my grandchildren thought he was kind of straight-laced, and very serious. 48

“Did he ever smile, Grandpa?”

I said, “Most of the time! But when he’s talking to the Saints, it’s very serious.”

“Yea, it seems like he is always serious.”

“Well,” I said, “Did you know he was one of the greatest basketball players that Utah or Idaho produced? Did you know he was a great basketball player?”

“Oh really? Tell us about it, Grandpa.”

In a championship game between Utah and Idaho, it was just nip-and-tuck. First one team was ahead, and then the other. It came down to one minute left in the game, and Utah was one point ahead. Ezra Taft Benson was the man from the Idaho team that needed to get the ball. He had his father’s name, so they used to call him “T.”

So he tried to get in the open, and of course the other side knew that he must not be allowed to shoot. But he got the ball, and they practically triple-guarded him. He managed to get around them and make a shot, but it missed. So he tried to get clear again, and they batted it around, trying to get it to him. Finally they got it to him, and he tried a shot from the other side, but he missed again.

Only ten seconds were left. Only one basket was needed to win the championship between these two competitive states. So, finally he got in the open, they threw the ball to him quickly, and a big man stood up in [page 165] the audience and yelled, “Hell, T! Put it in!”

It was his father. So he put it in, and Idaho won.

President Benson said, “That’s the first time I ever heard my father swear. I never heard him swear before or after that, so I decided that he really meant it!” You know that story has changed my grandchildren’s attitude toward Ezra Taft Benson. He’s a regular fellow now. And that’s one of the things that we should do — help our children learn about our Church leaders.

9. Pay an Honest Tithing

The next question is: “Do I pay an honest tithing?” When I was a boy, honest tithe payers in a ward were about 10% and the Church went bankrupt. The Lord said, “If you don’t get the Saints to pay their tithing, they won’t be blessed! Neither will the Church!”

So we worked and worked. President Grant worked, President Snow worked and President Joseph F. Smith worked to get us to pay our tithing.

Today it’s finally getting closer to 40-50%. The Lord only promised us five wise virgins, you remember that? Okay. So we need to be up to at least 50% in attendance at sacrament meeting and payment of tithes.

Already the Church is able to look around and see that it can handle almost all of its finances if we’d just pay our tithing. We don’t have to have raffles and special funding. So generous fast offerings and honest tithing is number nine.

10. Live the Word of Wisdom

Then the last one is, “Am I living the Word of Wisdom?” In the fourth verse of Doctrine and Covenants 89, the Lord said that it would be addictive liquids, addictive tobacco, and addictive alcohol that would be the foundation of the great secret combination of the last days.

We are at the point where billions of dollars are going into the hands of the criminals. And it is all because our nation is addicted to alcohol, something you shoot, or something you sniff. Billions of dollars. So the Lord asked us to live the Word of Wisdom so that we can have treasures of knowledge, run and not be weary, and the destroying angel will pass us by. 49

I appreciate being with you tonight. I want to tell you I’m so grateful to Heavenly Father for his scriptures, for the gospel, for my sweet wife [page 166] and family, and for the priesthood. May he bless us in this great decade that lies ahead of us, that we can all be decathlon Mormon champions, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Introduction: In a special solemn assembly of the Church, April 6, 1986, Ezra Taft Benson was sustained as President of the Church. In what might be called his inaugural address, President Benson said he would implore the Lord to remove the scourge and the judgment which is presently threatening the Church. The Lord had talked about this scourge and threatening judgment clear back in 1833. A body of missionaries had just returned from the field and were rejoicing to be home again. But the Lord was not happy with them. They had gone forth thinking they were preaching the fulness of the gospel. The Lord said this was a display of their own vanity. He said they had not learned the fulness of the gospel themselves. It must have been shocking to these Elders of the Church as the Prophet Joseph relayed the Lord’s message to them as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord said:

“And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received — which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

“And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written –

“That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.” 1

We Are Still Under Condemnation for Not Studying the Book of Mormon

Mormon had also anticipated the day when the members of the Church in our day would be worthy of a very special blessing the Lord wanted to bestow on them, but he knew this would not come until the modern Saints had achieved something which they have not yet achieved. Listen to Mormon as he was recording the teachings of the Savior to the Nephites:

“And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people; but behold the plates of Nephi do contain the more part of the things which he taught the people.

“And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

“And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.” 2

Because we have not yet received the large plates of Nephi, President Benson knows we are still under the condemnation of the Lord and threatened by a scourge and a judgment if we do not repent. The revelation in 1833 described what we must do. The Lord says we must remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments.

Beautifying the Spirit With the New Covenant

Of course, the former commandments were all set forth in the old covenant given to Moses. The Lord wants us to study the old covenant and those former commandments. Of course, the prophets in the Book of Mormon knew we would have the writings of Moses in the Bible, 3 so they said very little about the old covenant and the former commandments. What they concentrated on was the new covenant which came with Christ. The new covenant did not do away with the old covenant, 4 but Jesus commanded the Saints to beautify their spirits far above the requirements of the old law.

This beautification of the spirit is the new covenant. This is why the Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes which means the beautification of the spirit. The rest of the sermon tells how this can be accomplished. When we are living the Sermon on the Mount, we are living the new covenant.

We should point out that the Sermon on the Mount can be much better understood in the Book of Mormon than the New Testament, and therefore the Lord identifies the new covenant with the Book of Mormon rather than any other scripture.

We should also point out that the Sermon on the Mount is not easy to live. In fact it is the foundation for a Zion society such as the people of Enoch lived, also the people of Melchizedek in the City of Salem, as well as the Nephites during the first 300 years after they were taught by the resurrected Christ.

I think all of us realize we are not yet living on the highly spiritual level of those great people of the past, but that’s where the Lord wants us. He wants us to lift our sights, lengthen our stride, and quicken our pace. Until we do, we are still under condemnation.

Now listen to a few more lines from President Benson’s great inaugural address:

“Now, in the authority of the sacred priesthood in me vested, I invoke my blessing upon the Latter-day Saints and upon good people everywhere.

“I bless you … that God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown — and we will plead to the Lord that he will begin to lift the condemnation — the scourge and judgment. Of this I bear solemn witness.” 5

A Blessing Hitherto Unknown

II. What is the blessing hitherto unknown?

No doubt the blessing President Benson is talking about is the one promised by the Lord in 3 Nephi 21:22–25. There the Lord promises that if we will repent and cease to treat lightly the treasures of sacred knowledge we have received, the Lord will not only give us the large plates of Nephi containing all of the teachings of Jesus, but he will begin to lay the foundation for the New Jerusalem and establish cities of Zion from one end of America to the other.

To do this, we must sanctify the land as well as ourselves. America is the Lord’s land and he will not allow it to be desecrated. In fact, the Lord declared to the Book of Mormon prophets:

“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fullness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.” 6

Then there follows the word of the Lord to the people who occupy America today:

“And this [warning] cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God — that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fullness come, that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.” 7

America is Very Sacred to the Lord

America is very sacred to the Lord.

It was here that the Garden of Eden was planted.

It was here that Adam and Eve established their home at Adam-ondi-Adam after they were cast out of the Garden of Eden.

It was here they were first taught the gospel.

This is where Cain killed Abel.

This is where the City of Enoch was built, apparently comprising millions of people in a vast network of model cities. After 300 years this whole nation was translated. Paul refers to it in Hebrews 11:5.

This is where Noah built the ark and tried to warn the people of the great flood if they did not repent.

When Noah was 600, the Great Flood struck. According to Genesis chapter 5 plus Genesis 7:11 we know the flood engulfed the earth in 2344 B.C.

After the Great Flood, American continued to be the most choice part of the earth even thought it was not separate from the rest of the continental terrain at that time. The Book of Mormon makes this clear when it says:

“After the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof.” 8

But around 2250 B.C., in the days of Peleg, there was a great division of the tectonic plates which divided the land into continents and islands, so that America was thereafter considered a huge island by itself.

The Americas are the “Isles of the Sea”

The Book of Mormon says the prophet Isaiah knew about America and the Israelites scattered on the isles of the sea. In his book he frequently addresses himself to the “isles of the sea.” A typical example is Isaiah 49:1.

The Book of Mormon prophets were well aware that they were on an isle of the sea or a continent that had been separated from the mainland. As Jacob said:

“We have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.

“But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.

“For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure.” 9

Three great migrations to America occurred after it became an “island.” First the Jaredites came across the Atlantic around 2200 B.C. Then the Nephites came across the Pacific around 600 B.C., and were followed by the Mulekites who came across the Atlantic a few years later. The Jaredites killed themselves off in civil war around 250 B.C. and the Nephites amalgamated with the Mulekites a short time later.

After Christ established a Zion society among the Nephites, they prospered for nearly 300 years just as the City of Enoch had done, however, the Nephites were not translated. They collapsed into seventy years of civil war just like the Jaredites. Their civilization was devastated, but those who survived gradually spread out across the continent until they numbered several million people. But they had lost their heritage and a curse descended on them as the prophets had foretold. From that time forward America was virtually a lost continent. Concerning this epoch of America history, the Lord had told Lehi:

“And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.” 10

The Discoveries of America

During the centuries which followed, America was discovered many times — by the Asiatics, the Chinese, the Scandinavians and the ancient sea kings. But none of these colonized this land. They came, made a few settlements, and then went away.

III. Nephi sees a vision of the coming of the Gentiles to America. He says:

“And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren….

“And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

“And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles … and it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise….

“And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance.” 11

Jesus had told the Nephites about these Gentiles and the great mission he had in store for them. He had said:

“For it is wisdom in the Father that they [the Gentiles] should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth.” 12

It is significant that the Lord was compelled to set up a “free people” before he could restore the gospel. There was no place on the face of the earth where the restoration of the gospel could have survived. In fact, it barely survived in America.

IV. When the gospel was first restored it was called three things:

1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2. The Kingdom of God.

3. Zion.

All three of these terms were used loosely to refer to the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

However, by 1833 Joseph Smith was beginning to realize that the Church and the Kingdom of God were not the same thing even though the Lord was in charge of both of them.

The Church was established by open revelation, the ministering of angels, and the laying on of hands by those in authority.

The Kingdom of God emerged through God’s inspiration but without open revelation, without the ministering of angels, and without the laying on of hands.

The Prophet Daniel Sees The Latter-day Kingdom Established

Clear back around 600 B.C. the Lord had revealed to Daniel how it would happen. You recall that the Babylonian emperor, Nebuchadnezzar had a nightmare in which he saw a terrible image with a head of gold, a chest of silver, a belly of brass, hips and legs of iron, and toes made of iron and miry clay. The Lord told Daniel that the image represented what turned out to be around 3,000 years of brutal, bloody dictatorships. The first would be Babylon represented by the head of gold. Then came Persia represented by the chest of silver. Next came Greece under Alexander the Great represented by the belly of brass. Finally came Rome, the kingdom of iron, which divided into the two legs of the Eastern and Western Roman empires. Out of the Roman empire developed the smaller weaker kingdoms represented by the toes of iron and miry clay.

Now, after all this, here is what the Lord told Daniel to relate to Nebuchadnezzar:

“Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

“Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” 13

The U.S. Constitution Is a Precursor for the Kingdom of God on Earth

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, the development of the Kingdom of God cut out of the mountain without hands would go through two stages.

The first stage would be its emergence under inspiration without the laying on of hands. This would be the basis for the raising up of a “free people” under an inspired Constitution so that the gospel could be restored.

Then the gospel would be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, 14 but the gospel could only “roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountains without hands shall roll forth.” 15

In other words, a wave of passion for freedom would have to permeate each nation before the gospel could be successfully preached among its people.

The Lord then revealed to his prophet that eventually catastrophic circumstances would be such that the entire fabric of Constitutional principles would be seriously threatened with extinction and the terrified people would begin to turn to those who had honored the Law of the Covenant for leadership and guidance. Joseph Smith was told that this would happen when the Constitution would be “on the brink of ruin.” In the midst of this crisis the prophet said the people of the covenant “will be the staff on which the nation will lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.” 16

After that, the servants of the Lord will be in charge and set up a “general council” containing representation from both the members of the Church and those who are not. This general council will take the place of our present political parties to select the best qualified people for various positions. The names of these candidates will then be presented to the people with whom they will be working for approval. Joseph Smith received a revelation on exactly how this political system will work when the Kingdom of God is operating under the inspiration of God’s chosen servants.

V. In the light of this knowledge it will be better appreciated why the General Authorities have been urging the members of the Church to diligently study the Founding Fathers and the principles they were inspired to put into the Constitution.

Joseph Smith said: “The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it is to all those who are privileged with the sweets of liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a thirsty and weary land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun.” 17

Our Responsibility to Study the Constitution

President McKay said: “No greater immediate responsibility rests upon members of the Church, upon all citizens of this Republic and of neighboring Republics than to protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.” 18

President Kimball said: “We urge members of the Church and all Americans to begin now to reflect more intently on the meaning and importance of the Constitution, and of adherence to its principles, in giving strength not only to this country but to the entire family of nations…. There is a need to rededicate ourselves to the lofty principles and practices of our founding fathers.” 19

President Benson said: “We must learn the principles of the Constitution in the tradition of the Founding Fathers…. Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it? Are we aware of its principles? Are we abiding by these principles and teaching them to others? Could we defend the Constitution? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound? Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it?

“As Jefferson said, ‘If a nation expects to be ignorant and free … it expects what never was and never will be.’” 20

The Remarkable Story of Christopher Columbus

It is interesting that from the very beginning, the spirit of inspiration whispered to various leaders that something marvelous was going to happen in America. For example:

Columbus told King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that his expedition that led to the discovery of the America was guided by the Lord. He wrote: “I came to your Majesty as the Emissary of the Holy Ghost.” 21

Columbus said that during his dangerous expeditions he felt the power of God giving him courage and strength: “The Lord was well disposed to my desire, and he bestowed upon me courage and understanding…. Our Lord with provident hand unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my enterprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed, but who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?” 22

Nearly 2,000 years before Columbus was born he was seen in vision by the young prophet, Nephi. He wrote: “And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.” 23

Columbus is Aided by Moroni

The angelic companion of Columbus on his historic mission was the angel Moroni. In 1854, Apostle Orson Hyde gave a memorable address as part of the Fourth of July celebration. In one place he said:

“That same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country … was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by vision, respecting this New World. Trammelled by poverty and by an unpopular cause, yet his persevering and unyielding heart would not allow an obstacle in the way too great for him to overcome; and the angel of God helped him — was with him on the stormy deep, calmed the troubled elements, and guided his frail vessel to the desired haven.” 24

Orson Hyde called Moroni “the guardian angel of America.” 25

In his journal, Columbus wrote: “Neither reason nor mathematics nor maps of the world were of any help to me…. But the words of Isaiah were completely fulfilled…. If you have faith, you may be very confident of victory.” 26

Isaiah seemed to sense what the Book of Mormon later verified, that much of Isaiah was about America and events of the last days. The parts he felt specifically applied to him as well as others, were these passages:

“Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from afar; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name…. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth…. Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, and the silver and gold with them…. Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind.” 27

It is interesting that Nephi, the most authoritative commentator on Isaiah, said Isaiah’s words should be interpreted as applying to the reader where appropriate. 28

After the discovery of America, Columbus thought perhaps the opening up of this wonderful new land would bring about the great new age referred to by Isaiah and John the Revelator. Columbus wrote in his journal:

“Of the new heaven and the new earth which the Lord made, and of which St. John writes in the Apocalypse, as the Lord told of it through the mouth of Isaiah, he made me the messenger, and he showed me the way.” 29

There is no doubt that Columbus was well aware that he was in on something big. When others would ridicule him he would repeat the words of St. Matthew:

“I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” 30

Columbus Hears the Voice of Moroni

Insofar as the record shows, Columbus was never allowed to see or converse with his angelic guardian, but he did get to hear his voice. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, the co-authors of The Light and the Glory, describe the incident as follows:

“In the basement reading room of Beinecke Library [at Harvard] we made the discovery which would prove to be the most exciting of the entire project. In Columbus’s journal, he described an incident which took place on his fourth and final voyage…. He heard a stern voice strongly rebuke him for self-pity. The voice reminded him that the Almighty had singled out him, of all the men in his age, for the honor of bearing the Light of Christ to a new world, had given him all that he had asked for, and was recording in heaven every event of his life!” 31

Here are the actual words which Columbus recorded concerning this remarkable vision. Columbus says the angel spoke to him on April 6, 1503 with a “compassionate voice,” and said:

“O fool, so slow to believe and to serve thy God, the God of all! What more did He do for Moses or for His servant David? He has had thee in His care from the mother’s womb. When he saw thee a grown man, He caused thy name to resound most greatly over the earth. He gave thee the Indies, which are so rich a part of the world, and thou hast divided them according to thy desire. He gave thee the keys to the gates of the Ocean, which were held with such great chains. Thou wast obeyed in many lands, and thou hast won a mighty name among Christians.

“What more did He do for the people of Israel when He led them out of Egypt, or for David, that shepherd boy whom He made king in Jewry.

“Turn thyself to Him, and acknowledge thy sins. His mercy is infinite. Thine old age shall not prevent thee from achieving great things, for many and vast are His domains.

“Abraham was more than hundred years old when he begat Isaac; and Sarah, was she a girl? Thou cried for help, with doubt in thy heart. Ask thyself who has afflicted thee so grievously and so often: God or the world?

“The privileges and covenants which God giveth are not taken back by him. Nor does He say to them that have served Him that He meant it otherwise, or that it should be taken in another sense; nor does He inflict torments to show His power. Whatever He promises he fulfills with increase [interest]; for such are his ways. Thus have I told thee what the Creator has done for thee, and for all men.

“He has now revealed to me some of those rewards which await thee for the many toils and danger which thou hast endured in the service of others.”

Columbus continues:

“I heard all this as if in a trance, but I could find no reply to give to so sure a message, and all I could do was to weep over my transgressions.

“Whoever it was that had spoken ended by saying: ‘Fear not, but have faith. All these tribulations are written upon tablets of marble, and there is reason for them.’” 32

Had Columbus only known it, the angel, who obviously appears to have been Moroni, was better acquainted with suffering and sorrow than the great Admiral of the Ocean Seas. It is interesting to contemplate what it must have been like when Columbus met this angel just a little over two years later. Columbus died on Ascension Day (forty days after Easter), 1506.

America is the “New Israel”

Not only did Columbus consider America “a new heaven and a new earth,” but so did many prominent leaders of Europe and America during the next three centuries.

Nearly all of the early settlers repeatedly stated that they knew they were on a mission and that America was the “new Israel” where the preparation for the millennium would take place.

Bishop Berkely in Ireland wrote a poem referring to the fact that the four major events spoken of by Daniel had already taken place, so it was now time for the stone cut out of the mountains without hands to roll forth.

Thomas Jefferson predicted that the original gospel of Jesus Christ would be reformed and restored in America. His only regret was that it would not occur in his lifetime. He made this statement in 1820.

It was anticipated that the New Jerusalem would be built in America.

These early Founders considered America to be the main base of operations for the Lord as he prepared the world for the ushering in of the Millennium.

It is interesting that the Lord said in 1833 that it was “for this very purpose have I established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this purpose.” 33

Notice that the Lord says: “I established the Constitution.” The Founders were merely instruments in the hands of the Lord. In fact, the Framers of the Constitution did such a superb job that the Lord commended them and said, “Anything that is more or less than this is evil.” No higher compliment could be paid a body of political engineers.

The Founders felt the Lord’s Spirit and talked about it. In his inaugural address George Washington said: “At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, Washington had called the final product a miracle. Madison also called it a miracle.”

Now the members of the Church are committed to three things:

1. Strengthen the Church.

2. Building up the Kingdom of God.

3. Establishing Zion.

Everyone will appreciate that up until recently it was assumed among the general membership of the Church that supporting and strengthening the Church was automatically Building up the Kingdom of God and establishing Zion. Now we learn that they are three different assignments. and the Church is under condemnation because we have not embraced the new covenant set forth in the Book of Mormon which tells us how to set up a righteous government and how to establish a Zion culture.

Strengthening the Church

VI. Strengthening the Church.

A. Strengthening the Church is threefold:

1. Getting the Saints to live the gospel by cleansing the inner vessel.

2. Perform the vicarious ordinances for those who are dead.

3. Perform the task of taking the gospel to the four corners of the earth, and flooding every nation kindred tongue and people with the Book of Mormon and the message of the restoration of the gospel. We have 39,000 missionaries in the field as of 1989. Before long the Church will need 100,000.

a. The opening up of Russia.

b. The opening up of China.

c. Opening up of Eastern Europe — Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Austria.

d. Opening of the Moslem world.

e. Opening of India.

f. Opening of Africa.

B. Preparing the Saints for leadership roles.