Missionaries are not supposed to leave their companions for any reason. But here in this compact area, we decided to each take a side of the lane. Opportunities to teach anyone were so rare that we thought it wise to cover as much territory as possible. If a friendly reaction was received by one of us, the other would cross the street to share in the visit. Usually, we could see each other every minute and could almost touch hands across the lane. So the plan was working well, as we doubled our tracting efficiency.

At one door, a man answered and said yes, he would like to hear more about our beliefs. I looked for my companion, but he had disappeared. So I tried to stall until the Elder came back. He had obviously gone around one of the numerous meanderings and should reappear at any moment. I explained that my companion would be back in a minute or two. (Much later, I discovered that around the corner was a “milk bar”, where he had gone for a milk shake while he waited for me. The Elder assumed that since I was right behind him, I would soon show up there.)

After a few more minutes, the man became impatient and said, “I don’t talk standing in the lane. If you’re not interested, never mind.”

So I said, “Okay, I’ll come in.” My intention was to visit briefly, make an appointment, and return with my wandering companion.

As I began to explain our purpose, he interrupted, “Mr. Law, we have a better plan.” So I asked about his “better plan”.

The Melbourne man, as I call him, described how Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, had designed a different kind of society. This man’s plan would follow similar lines. There would be three classes of people: the leaders, the workers, and the teachers. The teachers would be trained to condition a sinless society (“…as you call sin…”, he said) – there would be no hate, no greed, no jealousy, no envy, no lust, no malice – no sin. The workers would not be envious of the leaders. The leaders would not oppress the workers. The teachers would condition each class to willingly accept their assigned role in this “perfect” society.

The Melbourne man further described how breeders would be chosen, based on superior intelligence, physical perfection and longevity genes. Children would be taken from their mothers at birth and placed in communal nurseries, and through various tests, their classes would be determined. They would then receive specialized conditioning for that particular class. All defective babies had to be eliminated. The total number of births would need to be controlled to prevent overpopulation and depletion of natural resources. By this selective breeding, a master race of geniuses could be created.

Worker-scientists were assigned to research life extension techniques until future generations could “live forever”. Through space research, they would reach out into the universe to develop planets hospitable to human life. This perfect society then spreads throughout space in a never-ending cycle.

I asked, “How will you condition them?” He then explained, in detail, the basic conditioning tools. They included diet, drugs, music, movies, education, etc.

He described how diet (the basic elements of life, food and water) could be a major desensitizing and conditioning instrument. The Melbourne man said that by using additives and special formulas, by changing plants and animals, the diet of the people leaves them submissive and easily controlled.

When that man told me that the materials, systems and procedures were already in place in 1947, my farm-boy mentality refused to accept it. Especially when he explained drug addiction. He outlined how drug addiction changes personalities, making them so dependent that they will agree to anything to satisfy their needs. I protested that people will not allow themselves to be manipulated that way. He just laughed and said, “Mr. Law, you’re such a child. Wait and see.”

I did not see how music could be used. The man then described “melodic dissonance” for me, in detail. He told of the conditioning experiments of the Russian scientist Pavlov in communist Russia, using dogs and metronomes. Pavlov found that he could condition a dog to salivate when a metronome beat at 60 beats per minute. Then he learned that he could condition the same dog to never produce saliva when the metronome beat at 120 beats per minute.

In another experiment with the same dog, Pavlov had both metronomes beating at the same time, one at 60 beats, the other at 120 beats per minute. The conditioned dog was required to do two totally opposite functions at the same time. This produced nervous shock, and the dog collapsed, unconscious.

Next, with the same dog, Pavlov had the 60-beat metronome suddenly jump to 120 beats per minute. At the same instant, the 120-beat metronome dropped to 60 beats per minute. This produced a melodic dissonance. When the metronomes were switched back and forth rapidly, the dog became so distressed that it died. In communist Russia, these experiments were then extended to humans, with similar results.

Using variations of this melodic dissonance, a new music form was created. Musical scores and lyrics were developed. A team of musicians, called “the Beatles”, was trained in Europe and introduced to America on the popular Ed Sullivan Talent Show, on national television. They were an instant hit, and all other forms of music became “old-fashioned”.

I could not understand such a phenomenon in 1947. But years later, when I first heard “rock & roll”, everything flashed back to 1947; I realized that the Australian did know that it would be a powerful tool for their conditioning plan.

The Melbourne man said they had already begun “behavior modification conditioning” in government schools, using audio-visual programs. When they introduce their messages, beginning in preschool, the results are intense and permanent.

A monster was emerging, that I found sinister and all-controlling. I could not believe what I was hearing. But over and over, he said, “Wait and see. You will live to see our perfect plan in full operation. When we control all the conditioning processes, everything will fall neatly into place.”

I protested that they were forcing their will and control on people, taking away freedom of choice. His answer was, “No, they can still choose, but they will always choose exactly what they are conditioned to choose.”

“But that’s not right!” He laughed at my evident simplicity.

So I protested again, “But God won’t allow it.”

“Why not? How can a just God – there is no such being – keep these sinless souls out of heaven? That’s what you believe, isn’t it, Mr. Law?”

So he began a different tactic. “Who do you love, Mr. Law? You certainly don’t love the Australian people.”

“Oh yes, I do, that’s why I came on a mission.”

“So, how many have you saved?”

This was a hard mission. Few and far between were our welcomes. Fewer were our converts. I admitted grudgingly, “Not many.”

“And,” he said, “all the rest are consigned to hell.”

“Oh no, there are three degrees of glory, and…”

“We know all about your three degrees of glory. It means that many are called to be Mormons, but few are chosen to be gods. We know all about your church. We control every church in the world, except yours, and we will infiltrate that.”

“Mr. Law, you don’t love anybody, do you?”

“I love my mother.”

“No, you don’t. Under your plan, she can either choose to go to hell, or make a mistake and fall through the cracks into hell. If you really loved your mother, you’d be eager to guarantee that she would go to heaven. With our plan, it is guaranteed. In fact, no one will he lost; they will all go to heaven. Of course, we don’t believe in heaven or hell, anyway. But if you really love your fellow man, our plan is the only way to show it.”

I said, “I think I’ve heard this plan before.”

“Where could you have heard it?”

“It must have been in the Council in Heaven, before I was born.” He just laughed.

I was reeling under his attack, but I could not leave. There were no chains on me. But I felt as if I was bound, hand and foot, to the chair – as though I was paralyzed. So I asked, “Who are you? What do you call this plan?”

“I am one of three members of the central planning committee of the communist party for Australia.”

I said, “I’ve heard of communism.” But I knew very little about it.

The Melbourne man told me that the world understood economic, and political, and military communism. But the plan he was outlining to me, he called “spiritual communism”, that would evolve into a worldwide government. He said they were using the current governments until they controlled the world. Then those political, economic, and military leaders would need to be eliminated because they are violent men. Then the new world order would take over.

I asked how they could make the plan work, when there are so many people who are not prepared to accept it. He said, “We will have to annihilate all who cannot be conditioned to be either a worker or a teacher.”

“How many will you kill?”

“Hundreds of millions, maybe even you and me.”

“But that is murder.”

“That is a Christian term that has no meaning. It is really a part of cleansing. We need to reduce the population to a more manageable size, anyway. Only the inner corps of the elite leaders know about the plan. The present communist leaders don’t know it. Spiritual communism is not written or recorded anywhere. It is a secret plan.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

He was a bit perplexed, but he had an answer. “I don’t know. But we are looking for zealous young men who will join this work to help bring about this heaven on earth. Think about it, not one soul will be lost.”

I was not ready to give up yet. “You’ll never take over the world!”

He answered, “Mr. Law, we now control two-thirds of all world governments, politically or militarily or economically. Only the United States of America remains as the last major hurdle to world domination.”

So I boldly declared, “You’ll never take over the United States!”

But he said, “Mr. Law, let me tell you how it is!” He said they controlled all major conditioning instruments in America now: the entertainment industry, the news media, the education system, the courts, the financial system, political parties. Where they don’t have full control, they have infiltrated and have embedded their agents into all important decision-making bodies. He said they control every agency that affects daily living in America. Their agents were everywhere, doing their jobs.

But since I was a high school graduate, twelve years in an education system, I thought that made me an expert in education. Quite triumphantly, I said, “You don’t control the education system.”

Again, “Mr. Law, let me tell you how it is! When you get home, examine any textbook in any school, at any level, from preschool to university graduate school. You will find no mention of Jesus Christ or God or His plan. But you will find our plan being taught at every level. It’s written into every textbook.”

How right he was. I have spent almost 40 years of my life in education, as a teacher and an administrator, in public and private school systems. Satan’s plan is there; God’s plan is forbidden by law. God has even been declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

I asked when would all this take effect, and his spiritual plan be put into operation. He said, “We have a progressive agenda. We are prepared to take two steps forward, one step back, two forward, one back, until it is time. The American people won’t even know it is happening. When it is favorable, then everything will move swiftly to the purging, or cleansing stage. People will be stunned into immobility. We won’t want a time lag between take-over and full operation of our spiritual phase.”

Then he asked, “What do you think? Are you ready to join our forces?”

I fell back to the only sure ground I knew. “I believe in God, our Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s their plan that I will follow.”

The Melbourne man became violently angry and shouted, “There are no such beings! They are myths created to enslave the minds of men. They don’t exist!”

I answered simply, “But I have felt the power of the Holy Ghost fill me with fire from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, and I have heard the voice of God testify to me that Jesus Christ is His Son. His plan is the truth, and that is what I teach.”

He lunged across the room and attacked me with his fists. Suddenly, I was free. I could move, and I ran outside into the lane. I found my companion wandering around, desperately looking for me. He didn’t dare leave, but had kept on searching for me. He had to help me on and off the tram. I was so exhausted that I was unable to get out of bed for a couple of days.

Elder Matthew Cowley, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, was President of all the Pacific missions. He visited us often in Australia. In my interview with him, shortly after this experience, he sensed that something was disturbing me. He asked if I would like to tell him what was wrong.

So I outlined the Melbourne man’s spiritual communism to him. Elder Cowley told me why the man told me the plan. Now that I had been permitted to hear Satan’s plan, in detail, I could choose which I would follow, Satan or Christ.

Twenty-five years after this event, I was in Elder Ezra Taft Benson’s office and told him the account. He said that he had never heard Satan’s plan in this life. But he recognized the details that Satan used to persuade one-third of our brothers and sisters to follow him in the pre-existence. They were willing to trade their agency to choose, for Satan’s guaranteed salvation. Now, I could choose again which I would follow, Christ’s plan of agency, or Satan’s plan of total control. After sixty-three years, my choice is more firmly anchored than ever before.

I have watched spiritual communism eat its ghastly way into every country and into every government, including our own. It is everywhere. All 10 points of Karl Marx’s communist manifesto have been quietly incorporated into American life. They have been accepted as “social progress”.

The Book of Mormon tells how secret combinations destroyed two great civilizations, the Jaredites and the Nephites. The Prophet Moroni warns us:

“Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you.” Ether 8:24

Are we awake? Evidences of the secret combination – spiritual communism – are everywhere. What can we do about it? When the Jaredites and the Nephites followed the Prophets, they were protected. When they rejected the Prophets, they were destroyed. My only escape from the Melbourne man was my witness of Jesus Christ.

The Prophet Nephi warned his people:

“…nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ…Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides?…” Helaman 13:6, 29

There is a wonderful lesson to be learned from the Jaredites and the Nephites. There is safety in following the Prophets. I encourage all of us to follow the temporal and spiritual counsel of the latter-day Prophets, Seers and Revelators!

(Note: This is a corrected and updated recount of the real-life events described by Marion Law in a previously titled transcript, The Brother Law Fireside)

“I have awakened to our awful situation, now what should I do?”

The answer regarding what a person should do after waking up to their awful situation is different for everyone. My simple answer to everyone is to pray and ask the Lord what He would have you do. We each have different talents, knowledge and abilities and can be effective in different ways. It’s up to each of us to discover what the Lord has called us to do, and what role to play in furthering His Kingdom on earth.

Not Always Wise to Expose Evil

Consider this statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith…

“Our lives have already become jeopardized by revealing the wicked and bloodthirsty purposes of our enemies; and for the future we must cease to do so. All we have said about them is truth, but it is not always wise to relate all the truth. Even Jesus, the Son of God, had to refrain from doing so, and had to restrain His feelings many times for the safety of Himself and His followers, and had to conceal the righteous purposes of His heart in relation to many things pertaining to His Father’s kingdom. When still a boy He had all the intelligence necessary to enable Him to rule and govern the kingdom of the Jews, and could reason with the wisest and most profound doctors of law and divinity, and make their theories and practice to appear like folly compared with the wisdom He possessed; but He was a boy only, and lacked physical strength even to defend His own person; and was subject to cold, to hunger and to death. So it is with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; we have the revelation of Jesus, and the knowledge within us is sufficient to organize a righteous government upon the earth, and to give universal peace to all mankind, if they would receive it, but we lack the physical strength, as did our Savior when a child, to defend our principles, and we have a necessity to be afflicted, persecuted and smitten, and to bear it patiently until Jacob is of age, then he will take care of himself.”

(Teaching of Joseph Smith. Section Six 1843-44, p.392 — June 27, 1844.)

Now also considering this seemingly contrasting statement from D&C 123:13:

For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it — Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven — These should then be attended to with great aearnestness. Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.

Keeping in mind the first statement I believe that in doing what we feel is our responsibility in bringing to light the hidden things of darkness, we must also consider strategy and tactic in how we pursue this cause.

How Do We Fight the Secret Combinations?

I’m not sure that a direct frontal assault on the Secret Combination is the right way to fight evil. I don’t think we (as a Church, and as Saints who have awakened) are strong enough to fight this battle, as Joseph Smith alluded to. We must bare some things patiently. There are many things we can do now. I believe in the indirect approach; fight evil by being informed, involved, and righteous. Personally I feel education is the key. I feel it is important to wake up as many as possible, so that more people will be found on the Lord’s side of this continuation of the war in Heaven on Earth. As I said before, ask the Lord what His will is for you. Some people will create blogs, websites, videos, some will organize and/or teach Constitution classes. Some people might be inspired to run for office, become a delegate, and so on. There are many possibilities. The correct answer for one person may be different for another.

We are counseled to “search, ponder, and pray” over the scriptures to understand the truth. You may have already “searched” and have, as Moroni termed it, awakened to our awful situation. I recommend that you ponder these things, consider what you have learned about the Secret Combination and the threats to our Freedom. Take your questions to the Lord, regarding what you should do about these things, and seek to discover His will for you. Often it is after we have received information that we receive revelation and inspiration. Those who are awakened have the information; next seek revelation.

Also, there are some talks by the prophets with general advice regarding what to do…

The Constitution: A Heavenly Banner by Ezra Taft Benson

Protecting Freedom: A Basic Part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (YouTube video)

Awakening to our Awful Situation takes readers to the here and now of scripture and warnings from this dispensation’s living prophets. Using Moroni’s poignant description of the latter-days as a guide while also considering the writings of other Book of Mormon prophets, Dr. Jack Monnett contrasts current events of today with those of the ancient Americans. Pertinent but little known historical information is unfolded to help the reader understand the relevance of revelation and the role of Church members in today’s world.
Awakening to our Awful Situation introduces Latter-day Saints to American events and political practices that are frequently disturbing. Weaved with scripture and writings from latter-day prophets are topics such as America’s world wars, major media networking, money and banking systems, public education, the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, and the United Nations. Particular attention is given to the events of 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombings, and the Iraq War. Because of the pronounced impact of the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2002, a special two-hour DVD by Dr. Steven E. Jones is included with the book.

This timely book with an attractive embossed and gold foil cover was released through Nauvoo House Publishing on December 1, 2006. 450 pp.

Jack Monnett holds degrees from Brigham Young University and a PhD from the University of Utah. He has previously authored John Taylor: Educator and a former Book of the Year: Revealed Educational Principles. Brother Monnett has worked as an educator in both the Church Education System and state community colleges; and currently serves as an advisor to several private educational programs. He and his wife Margie are the parents of thirteen children. Brother Monnett, a former stake presidency member and bishop, resides in Heber City, Utah.

Purchase Awakening to our Awful Situation by Jack Monnett

In the Book of Mormon the prophet Nephi exclaims: “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Ne. 4:34.)

Prophesying of our day, Nephi said, “. . . they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.” (2 Ne. 28:14.)

Precepts of men or principles of God

Yes, it is the precepts of men versus the principles of God. The more we follow the word of God, the less we are deceived, while those who follow the wisdom of men are deceived the most.

Increasingly the Latter-day Saints must choose between the reasoning of men and the revelations of God. This is a crucial choice, for we have those within the Church today who, with their worldly wisdom, are leading some of our members astray. President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., warned that “the ravening wolves are amongst us from our own membership and they, more than any others, are clothed in sheep’s clothing, because they wear the habiliments of the Priesthood. … We should be careful of them.” (The Improvement Era, May 1949, p. 268.)

The Lord does not always give reasons for each commandment. Sometimes faithful members, like Adam of old, are called upon to obey an injunction of the Lord even though they do not know the reason why it was given. Those who trust in God will obey him, knowing full well that time will provide the reasons and vindicate their obedience.

The arm of flesh may not approve nor understand why God has not bestowed the priesthood on women or the seed of Cain, but God’s ways are not man’s ways. God does not have to justify all his ways for the puny mind of man. If a man gets in tune with the Lord, he will know that God’s course of action is right, even though he may not know all the reasons why. The Prophet Joseph Smith understood this principle when he said, … the curse is not yet taken off from the sons of Canaan, neither will be until it is affected by as great a power as caused it to come; and the people who interfere the least with the purposes of God in this matter, will come under the least condemnation before Him; and those who are determined to pursue a course, which shows an opposition, and a feverish restlessness against the decrees of the Lord, will learn, when perhaps it is too late for their own good, that God can do His own work, without the aid of those who are not dictated by His counsel.” (Documentary History of the Church, Vol. , p. 438.)

The world largely ignores the first and great commandment–to love God–but talks a lot about loving their brother. They worship at the altar of man. Would Nephi have slain Laban if he had put the love of neighbor above the love of God? Would Abraham have taken Isaac up for a sacrifice if he had put the second commandment first?

The attitude of the world is reflected in a phrase of falsehood that reads, “Presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man.” But only those who know and love God can best love and serve his children, for only God fully understands his children and knows what is best for their welfare. Therefore, one needs to be in tune with God to best help his children. That’s why the Church, under the inspiration of the Lord, encourages its members to first look to themselves, then their family, then the Church and if need be to other voluntary agencies to help solve the problems of poverty, unemployment, hunger, sickness, and distress. Those who are not moved by that same inspiration turn instead to government. Such man-made course of action does little good compared to the Lord’s approach and often results in doing great harm to our Father’s children, even though the intentions may seem to have been noble.

The first commandment first

Therefore, if you desire to help your fellowmen the most, then you must put the first commandment first.

When we fail to put the love of God first, we are easily deceived by crafty men who profess a great love of humanity, while advocating programs that are not of the Lord.

In 1942 Presidents Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and David O. McKay warned us about the increasing threat to our constitution caused by revolutionists whom the First Presidency said were “using a technique that is as old as the human race–a fervid but false solicitude for the unfortunate over whom they thus gain mastery, and then enslave them. They a suit their approaches to the particular group they seek to deceive.” (The Improvement Era, May 1942, p. 343.)

That timely counsel about a fervid but false solicitude for the unfortunate” could have saved China and Cuba if enough people knew what the Communist masters of deceit really had in mind when they promised agrarian reform.

False solicitude for the unfortunate

Such timely counsel could help save our country from Communism, as the same masters of deceit are showing the same false solicitude for the unfortunate in the name of civil rights.

Now there is nothing wrong with civil rights; it is what’s being done in the name of civil rights that is alarming.

There is no doubt that the so-called civil rights movement as it exists today is used as a Communist program for revolution in America just as agrarian reform was used by the Communists to take over China and Cuba.

This shocking statement can be confirmed by an objective study of Communist literature and activities and by knowledgeable Negroes and others who have worked within the Communist movement.

As far back as 1928, the Communists declared that the cultural, economic, and social differences between the races in America could be exploited by them to create the animosity, fear, and hatred between large segments of our people that would be necessary beginning ingredients for their revolution.

Three-fold attack

Briefly, the three broad objectives were and are as follows:

1. Create hatred

2. Trigger violence

3. Overthrow established government

First, create hatred. Use any means to agitate blacks into hating whites and whites into hating blacks. Work both sides of the split. Play up and exaggerate real grievances. If necessary, don’t hesitate to manufacture false stories and rumors about injustices and brutality. Create martyrs for both sides. Play upon mass emotions until they smolder with resentment and hatred.

Second, trigger violence. Put the emotional masses into the streets in the form of large mobs, the larger the better. It makes no difference if the mob is told to demonstrate “peacefully” so long as it is brought into direct confrontation with the antagonist. Merely bringing the two emotionally charged groups together is like mixing oxygen and hydrogen. All that is needed is one tiny spark. If the spark is not forthcoming from purely spontaneous causes, create it.

Third, overthrow established government. Once mob violence becomes widespread and commonplace, condition those who are emotionally involved to accept violence as the only way to “settle the score” once and for all. Provide leadership and training for guerilla warfare. Institute discipline and terrorism to insure at least passive support from the larger, inactive segment of the population. Train and battle-harden leadership through sporadic riots and battles with police. Finally, at the appointed time, launch an all-out simultaneous offensive in every major city.

Defense to be impaired

Police and national guard units will never be adequate to handle such wide-spread anarchy, especially if a large part of our men and equipment are drained away in fighting foreign wars. In self-defense, larger numbers are brought into fighting on both sides. The appearance of a nationwide civil war takes form. In the confusion, potential anti-Communist leaders of both races are assassinated, apparently the accidental casualties of race war.

Time the attack to coincide, if possible, with large-scale sabotage a water supplies, power grids, main rail road and highway arteries, communication centers, and government buildings With fires raging in every conceivable part of town, with wanton looting going on in the darkness of a big city without routine police protection, without water to drink, without electrical refrigeration, without transportation or radio or TV, the public will panic, lock its doors in trembling fear, and make it that much easier for the small but assembled and fully disciplined guerrilla bands to capture the power centers of each community. Overthrow the government! After complete control is consolidated (and that may take many months, as in Cuba), only then allow the people to discover that it was a Communist revolution after all.

Revolution through force and violence

If Communism comes to America, it will probably not happen quite like that. Even, though this is the basic formula used in so many other countries now part of the Communist empire, there is one very important difference. In China, in Cuba, and in Algeria, the segment of the population that the Communists used as the “battering ram” of their revolution of force and violence was the majority segment. In America, though, the Negro represents only 10 percent of the population. In any all-out race war that might be triggered, there isn’t a chance in the world that Communism-led Negro guerilla units could permanently hold on to the power centers of government even if they could capture them in the first place.

It would be a terribly bloody affair, all Americans suffering mightily but with Negroes paying the highest toll in human life. And the Communists know this better than anyone else. They do not really expect to take America with a “war of national liberation” (which is their term for internal conquest through force and violence) unless the aggressive revolutionary force can be broadened to include not only the minority of Negroes, but also migratory farm laborers, the poor, the unemployed, those on welfare, other minority groups, students, the so- called “peace movements,” and anyone who can be propagandized into mob action against established government But unless and until they can manipulate an overwhelming majority of the population into at least sympathizing with their revolutionary activities, they will use violence, anarchy, and sabotage, not as a means of seizing power, but merely as a support operation or a catalyst to an entirely different plan.

Internal strife and conflict

In such countries as Czechoslovakia, the Communists have used an entirely different method of internal conquest. Instead of the force and violence of a bloody revolution (a “war of national liberation), parliamentary and political means were used to bring about a more peaceful transition to Communism. The Communist strategists call this alternate plan a “proletarian” revolution.

This plan is as follows: Using unidentified Communist agents and non-Communist sympathizers in key positions in government, in communications media, and in mass organizations, such as labor unions and civil rights groups, demand more and more government power as the solution to all civil rights problems. Total government is the objective of Communism. Without calling it by name, build Communism piece by piece through mass pressures for presidential decrees, court orders, and legislation that appear to be aimed at improving civil rights and other social reforms. If there is social, economic, or educational discrimination, then advocate more government programs and control.

If riots come

And what if riots come? Then more government housing, government welfare, government job training, and, finally, federal control over police. Thus the essential economic and political structure of Communism can be built entirely “legally” and in apparent response to the wishes of the people who have clamored for some kind of solution to the problems played-up, aggravated, or created outright by Communists for just that purpose. After the machinery of Communism is firmly established, then allow the hidden Communists one by one to make their identities known. Liquidate first the anti-Communists and then the non- Communist sympathizers who are no longer needed in government. The total state mechanism can now openly and “peacefully” be transferred into the hands of Communists. Such is the so-called proletarian revolution. Such has happened in other, once free, countries. It has already started here.

Factors of internal conflict

The Communists are not entirely certain whether force and violence or legal and political means or a combination of both would be best for the internal conquest of America. At first, there was talk of splitting away the “Black Belt,” those southern states in which the Negro held a majority, and calling them a Negro Soviet Republic. But, as conditions changed and more Negroes migrated to the northern states, they applied this same strategy to the so-called ghetto areas in the North. It now seems probable that the Communists are determined to use force and violence to its fullest, coupled with a weakening of the economy and military setbacks abroad, in an effort to create as much havoc as possible to weaken America internally and to create the kind of psychological desperation in the minds of all citizens that will lead them to accept blindly the application of legal and political means as the final blow.

Some wonder if it can happen here. Just take a good look at what has been going on around us for the past few years. It is happening here] If it is to be prevented from running the full course, we must stop pretending that it doesn’t exist.

Let us consider some suggestions for our survival. The hour is late.

Factors of conspiracy becoming commonplace

The Communist program for revolution in America has been in progress for many years and is far advanced. While it can be thwarted in a fairly short period of time merely by sufficient exposure, the evil effects of what has already been accomplished cannot be removed overnight. The animosities, the hatred, the extension of government control into our daily lives–all this will take time to repair. The already-inflicted wounds will be slow in healing. But they can be healed; that is the important point.

Negroes victims not cause

1. First of all, we must not place the blame upon Negroes. They are merely the unfortunate group that has been selected by professional Communist agitators to be used as the primary source of cannon fodder. Not one in a thousand Americans–black or white–really understands the full implications of today’s civil rights agitation. The planning, direction, and leadership come from the Communists, and most of those are white men who fully intend to destroy America by spilling Negro blood, rather than their own.

Beware anti-negro reactions

2. Next, we must not participate in any so-called “blacklash” activity which might tend to further intensify inter-racial friction. Anti-Negro vigilante action, or mob action, of any kind fits perfectly into the Communist plan. This is one of the best ways to force the decent Negro into cooperating with militant Negro groups. The Communists are just as anxious to spearhead such anti-Negro actions as they are to organize demonstrations that are calculated to irritate white people.

Legal discovery of facts

3. We must insist that duly authorized legislative investigating committees launch an even more exhaustive study and expose the degree to which secret Communists have penetrated into the civil rights movement. The same needs to be done with militant anti-Negro groups. This is an effective way for the American people of both races to find out who are the false leaders among them.

Build up local police

4. We must support our local police in their difficult task of keeping Jaw and order in these trying times. Police should not be encumbered by civilian review boards, or asked to be social workers. They have their hands full just trying to keep the peace. Recent soft-on-crime decisions of the Supreme Court, which hamper the police in protecting the innocent and bringing the criminal to justice, should be reversed. Persistent cries of “police brutality” should be recognized for what they are–attempts to discredit our police and discourage them from doing their job to the best of their ability.

Salaries should be adequate to hold on to and attract the very finest men available for police work. But, in questions of money, great care should be taken not to accept grants from the federal government. Along with federal money, inevitably there will come federal controls and guidelines that not only may get local police embroiled in national politics, but may even lead to the eventual creation of a national police force. Every despotism requires a national police force to hold the people in line. Communism is no exception. Our local police should remain free from federal control.

5. Further encroachment of government should be stopped and the entire process reversed. The solution to most, if not all, of the current problems involving civil rights is less government, not more.

Awaken citizens to know the menace

6. Lastly, we need a vast awakening of the American people as to the true nature of the Communist blueprint for revolution. Considering the degree to which the controlling influences of the federal government and many of the communications media are now furthering this Communist revolution, it is unrealistic to expect most of our present leaders or the networks to bring about this awakening. In fact, they may be expected to resist it. That means that individual citizens must stand up and assume more than their share of the responsibility. The speaker’s platform, hand distribution of literature, study clubs, home discussions–all must be pressed into service. All of us should read the new book, Communist Revolution in the Streets, written by Gary Allen, with an introduction by W. Cleon Skousen. Each of us must be willing to discuss the problem openly with our friends–especially those of the Negro race.

The success or failure of Americans of all races to meet this challenge may well determine the fate of our country. If we fail, we will all lose our civil rights, black man and white man together, for we will live under perfect Communist equality–the equality of slaves.

Satanic threat to peace, liberty and God’s work

As President McKay has stated, “The position of this Church on the subject of Communism has never changed. We consider it the greatest satanical threat to peace, prosperity, and the spread of God’s work among men that exists on the face of the earth.”

He has also counseled that “next to being one in worshiping God, there is nothing in this world upon which this Church should be more united than in upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States]” (The Instructor, Vol. 93 (1956), p. 94.)

May we unite behind the Prophet in opposing the Communist conspiracy and preserving our freedom and our divine constitution, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

My beloved brethren and sisters, I accept this opportunity in humility. I pray that I may be guided by the Spirit of the Lord in that which I say.

I have just been handed a note that says that a U.S. missile attack is under way. I need not remind you that we live in perilous times. I desire to speak concerning these times and our circumstances as members of this Church.

You are acutely aware of the events of September 11, less than a month ago. Out of that vicious and ugly attack we are plunged into a state of war. It is the first war of the 21st century. The last century has been described as the most war-torn in human history. Now we are off on another dangerous undertaking, the unfolding of which and the end thereof we do not know. For the first time since we became a nation, the United States has been seriously attacked on its mainland soil. But this was not an attack on the United States alone. It was an attack on men and nations of goodwill everywhere. It was well planned, boldly executed, and the results were disastrous. It is estimated that more than 5,000 innocent people died. Among these were many from other nations. It was cruel and cunning, an act of consummate evil.

Recently, in company with a few national religious leaders, I was invited to the White House to meet with the president. In talking to us he was frank and straightforward.

That same evening he spoke to the Congress and the nation in unmistakable language concerning the resolve of America and its friends to hunt down the terrorists who were responsible for the planning of this terrible thing and any who harbored such.

Now we are at war. Great forces have been mobilized and will continue to be. Political alliances are being forged. We do not know how long this conflict will last. We do not know what it will cost in lives and treasure. We do not know the manner in which it will be carried out. It could impact the work of the Church in various ways.

Our national economy has been made to suffer. It was already in trouble, and this has compounded the problem. Many are losing their employment. Among our own people, this could affect welfare needs and also the tithing of the Church. It could affect our missionary program.

We are now a global organization. We have members in more than 150 nations. Administering this vast worldwide program could conceivably become more difficult.

Those of us who are American citizens stand solidly with the president of our nation. The terrible forces of evil must be confronted and held accountable for their actions. This is not a matter of Christian against Muslim. I am pleased that food is being dropped to the hungry people of a targeted nation. We value our Muslim neighbors across the world and hope that those who live by the tenets of their faith will not suffer. I ask particularly that our own people do not become a party in any way to the persecution of the innocent. Rather, let us be friendly and helpful, protective and supportive. It is the terrorist organizations that must be ferreted out and brought down.

We of this Church know something of such groups. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret organization bent on evil and destruction. In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society. We see the same thing in the present situation.

We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ who was and is the Prince of Peace. But there are times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization, just as Moroni rallied his people in his day to the defense of their wives, their children, and the cause of liberty (see Alma 48:10).

On the Larry King television broadcast the other night, I was asked what I think of those who, in the name of their religion, carry out such infamous activities. I replied, “Religion offers no shield for wickedness, for evil, for those kinds of things. The God in whom I believe does not foster this kind of action. He is a God of mercy. He is a God of love. He is a God of peace and reassurance, and I look to Him in times such as this as a comfort and a source of strength.”

Members of the Church in this and other nations are now involved with many others in a great international undertaking. On television we see those of the military leaving their loved ones, knowing not whether they will return. It is affecting the homes of our people. Unitedly, as a Church, we must get on our knees and invoke the powers of the Almighty in behalf of those who will carry the burdens of this campaign.

No one knows how long it will last. No one knows precisely where it will be fought. No one knows what it may entail before it is over. We have launched an undertaking the size and nature of which we cannot see at this time.

Occasions of this kind pull us up sharply to a realization that life is fragile, peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance, concerning debt, concerning thrift. So many of our people are heavily in debt for things that are not entirely necessary. When I was a young man, my father counseled me to build a modest home, sufficient for the needs of my family, and make it beautiful and attractive and pleasant and secure. He counseled me to pay off the mortgage as quickly as I could so that, come what may, there would be a roof over the heads of my wife and children. I was reared on that kind of doctrine. I urge you as members of this Church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day.

We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation remind us that this we should do.

As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son.

Great are the promises concerning this land of America. We are told unequivocally that it “is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). This is the crux of the entire matter—obedience to the commandments of God.

The Constitution under which we live, and which has not only blessed us but has become a model for other constitutions, is our God-inspired national safeguard ensuring freedom and liberty, justice and equality before the law.

I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us.

I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh’s dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn.

I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew.

I am familiar, as are you, with the declarations of modern revelation that the time will come when the earth will be cleansed and there will be indescribable distress, with weeping and mourning and lamentation (see D&C 112:24).

Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. There is so much of the Lord’s work yet to be done. We, and our children after us, must do it.

I can assure you that we who are responsible for the management of the affairs of the Church will be prudent and careful as we have tried to be in the past. The tithes of the Church are sacred. They are appropriated in the manner set forth by the Lord Himself. We have become a very large and complex organization. We carry on many extensive and costly programs. But I can assure you that we will not exceed our income. We will not place the Church in debt. We will tailor what we do to the resources that are available.

How grateful I am for the law of tithing. It is the Lord’s law of finance. It is set forth in a few words in the 119th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It comes of His wisdom. To every man and woman, to every boy and girl, to every child in this Church who pays an honest tithing, be it large or small, I express gratitude for the faith that is in your hearts. I remind you, and those who do not pay tithing but who should, that the Lord has promised marvelous blessings (see Mal. 3:10–12). He has also promised that “he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming” (D&C 64:23).

I express appreciation to those who pay a fast offering. This costs the giver nothing other than going without two meals a month. It becomes the backbone of our welfare program, designed to assist those in distress.

Now, all of us know that war, contention, hatred, suffering of the worst kind are not new. The conflict we see today is but another expression of the conflict that began with the War in Heaven. I quote from the book of Revelation:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

“And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ” (Rev. 12:7–10).

That must have been a terrible conflict. The forces of evil were pitted against the forces of good. The great deceiver, the son of the morning, was defeated and banished, and took with him a third of the hosts of heaven.

The book of Moses and the book of Abraham shed further light concerning this great contest. Satan would have taken from man his agency and taken unto himself all credit and honor and glory. Opposed to this was the plan of the Father which the Son said He would fulfill, under which He came to earth and gave His life to atone for the sins of mankind.

From the day of Cain to the present, the adversary has been the great mastermind of the terrible conflicts that have brought so much suffering.

Treachery and terrorism began with him. And they will continue until the Son of God returns to rule and reign with peace and righteousness among the sons and daughters of God.

Through centuries of time, men and women, so very, very many, have lived and died. Some may die in the conflict that lies ahead. To us, and we bear solemn testimony of this, death will not be the end. There is life beyond this as surely as there is life here. Through the great plan which became the very essence of the War in Heaven, men shall go on living.

Job asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). He replied: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

“Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25–27).

Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.

Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.

May the God of heaven, the Almighty, bless us, help us, as we walk our various ways in the uncertain days that lie ahead. May we look to Him with unfailing faith. May we worthily place our reliance on His Beloved Son who is our great Redeemer, whether it be in life or in death, is my prayer in His holy name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Friends, it is a great honor for myself to stand this day, to introduce our speaker this evening, Dr. Skousen. He was the man that really inspired me to study the life of J. Reuben Clark. He often quotes him in his talks. It’s been quite a great journey for me to learn of this man, because I was seven years old when J. Reuben Clark died, and I really didn’t know him personally. But I’ve come to really appreciate J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and I know after you hear Dr. Skousen speak of this great man today, you will appreciate J. Reuben Clark, Jr. for his accomplishments.

Our speaker has served sixteen years with the FBI. A professor at BYU for more than ten years, author of more that thirty books, he has given lectures in forty-four foreign countries, and all fifty states. He has gained an international reputation as an authority on governmental philosophy. He is the founder of the National Center for Constitutional Studies, which was established to help restore constitutional principles in the tradition of America’s Founding Fathers. I know that he’s also a great admirer of J. Reuben Clark, Jr. I give you Dr. W. Cleon Skousen.

W. Cleon Skousen

Thank you. Thank you, Bill, and Mayor Murray, and Senator Mantese, and Representative Nielson, and all you wonderful distinguished people. I feel honored tonight to be here on this historic occasion, when we are initiating a whole new series of programs honoring this great friend and native of this community, J. Reuben Clark.

I’d like to say right here at the beginning: I wish I had Ron’s voice. My, that was beautiful. I had a voice, not like that one, because mine is tenor. Thirty years ago I could really boot it out pretty good. But time has taken its toll. After an average of about 350 speeches a year for these many years, it’s a little bit on the rusty side. But I appreciate a good voice when I hear one, and that was great tonight.

I just want you to know what it did to me, rolling across this highway coming in here tonight. It’s been a few years since I’ve been here. But I visualize the time when this valley will be filled, and Grantsville will have its own place as a center of a lot of very grateful people. Grateful that you have preserved the inheritance of this environment that’s here.

Won’t be long before Utah is filled. As I move across the country, both East and West, I feel the restlessness, I feel the anxieties, I feel the insecurity of people for their children, for themselves, for their safety. They know something is very seriously threatening on the horizon of the future, and they instinctively sense that in the cloistered valleys of these mountains, there is a spirit of protection and security which if we live worthy of it, will one day be the salvation of many millions of people, who will look to these mountains for safety and protection.

We wish sometimes that we could control events, but as we read the writings of the great persons that God raised up and allowed to see the future, we know that there would come a time when there would be a generation that would see the fulfillment of what these prophets saw. It would be very challenging, and it would take people with great integrity and capacity for endurance, to stand steady and know that God is in heavens, that his purposes will be fulfilled, and that the blessings we have just living here are beyond measure. Beyond measure.

J. Reuben Clark knew that. This is sacred ground to him. You know he used to come out here to recharge his spiritual battery. Isn’t that something? Come out here and ride those beautiful horses of which he was so proud, that I understand once, about two or three miles from here, I’ve seen pictures of it, though I’ve never visited it. But I feel very happy to be in the home territory of J. Reuben Clark.

In a sense I sort of followed in some of his footsteps, back to Washington and so forth. I watched the great impact that he had made wherever he went. When I was interviewed for the passing of the bar in Washington DC, the man who was interview me said, “Did you know J. Reuben Clark?”

I said, “Yes, I do know him.”

“Well,” he said, “I sat next to him. My desk was next to him for four or five years in the State Department. I never knew a more righteous, Christian gentleman than J. Reuben Clark.”

Then when I told this to President Clark, on one occasion, and he embarrassed me by asking me the man’s name. I think I’ve identified him, as I’ve gone through the biographies and everything, but he certainly admired J. Reuben Clark. He loved him, as a fellow Christian.

J. Reuben Clark, during nearly all of his life, pioneered — in the sense that he carried the message, the charter and the banner of the restored gospel wherever he went: to law school, into the State Department, into the highest circles of post-war arbitration meetings, etc. He was well-known for what he was.

He didn’t push it on people, but the word would pass, “He’s a Mormon.” There would be people, you know, suck in their breath, “Oh, is that right?” You know, you can just hear it, because they have so many preconceived ideas, inaccurate as they are. But in any event, it makes a person stand out and make inquiry, so that eventually they know him better. Everywhere that J. Reuben Clark went, he aroused admiration, except for a period of his life that I will tell you about tonight.

Everything that I’m going to tell you is out of three books: This is J. Reuben Clark: The Public Years by Frank Fox, This is J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years by Michael Quinn. This book is called Tragedy and Hope, this is written by Carol Quigley of Georgetown University. It’s one of the more prominent histories of the world in our time. It’s big: thirteen hundred pages.

Bill Clinton praised Carol Quigley the other night in his acceptance speech, and said this man, when Clinton attended Georgetown, inspired him and gave him great visions of the future. He therefore became a Rhodes scholar and became part of a team that I’m going to tell you about tonight, that have great ambitions to change our society and change the Constitution.

He’s not alone, because President Bush had the same training. It’s kind of interesting, because they have gobbled up most of those who exhibited leadership qualities and abilities, and tried to get them to join a movement to accomplish a new world order. They’re now coming out and calling it the new world order. When you sit down and talk with them, you’ll say, “My that sounds like that would be great.” But J. Reuben Clark knew exactly what it would produce.

Last night in the newspaper I saw a full-page ad by just an ordinary citizen down in Florida. He said, “I’ve had it. I’ve had it. And I’ll tell you why.” He just went ahead and itemized: 66 percent of our income taxes going to pay interest on an accumulated debt. That interest, of course, is being paid to a number of major banking houses that bought up the government IOUs that have been issued over the years by the tens of thousands, even the millions. They’ve got them, and we’re paying them.

J. Reuben Clark saw that all coming. It came after his day, mostly. But he ran into it head on when he was practicing law. So that’s a little story that I want to tell you briefly about tonight. My problem is that I only know a pittance of the real J. Reuben Clark, but it’s a lot more than I could tell in the time that would be available tonight.

Every year when you meet, you might even take a theme out of his writings. Any one of — oh, I can think of twenty or thirty themes — you could take out of his writings. It would fill a whole evening, just learning to appreciate the mind and the leadership of this man.

Now I just want to read a page or so of biographical notes here at the beginning so I don’t miss any details. Tonight we are celebrating the 121st birthday of J. Reuben Clark, Jr. He was the first of ten children. When he was born in Grantsville the population was 1,240 people. But when he had died in 1961, it had grown to 2,100 people. How are we doing now, mayor? Are we holding it? We got to hold it, because you’re pivotal to a great group of the future. Actually he liked the fact that Grantsville was a small town. He called it his “spiritual retreat.”

His mother was Mary Woolley, daughter of Edwin D. Woolley, a former Quaker who joined the Church and became a close friend of Joseph Smith. After the move to Utah he became a business associate of Brigham Young. I think he was a Bishop of one of the wards in Salt Lake City for a couple of decades.

His father was Joshua Clark. He was never christened, Joshua Reuben Clark. He found that when the mail came through while he was fighting in the Civil War, there were too many J. Clarks, so he just stuck in Reuben, to give it a little character and dignity. Of course, then that became a family name. Joshua Clark was a son of a German Baptist who belonged to the brotherhood called the Gunkards. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and then went west to haul freight.

While going through Farmington on a Sunday, and being a good Baptist he stopped off and went to church. It was different than any church that he was ever in before. But they were all baptized — that made it pretty good for a Baptist. So he stayed over, he kind of liked the people. Wasn’t very long before he was baptized and he became a member.

Now, he asked if there was any place where he might get a job because he was a teacher. They said, “Well, they have a ward school out in Grantsville that they’re looking for a teacher.” So he came out here, and he got the job.

Joshua met Mary Woolley at a Christmas party in Salt Lake and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1870. J. Reuben was born the following year, 1871, the first of ten children.

His mother began his home schooling early — you home schoolers, you see, it goes with Grantsville — and then he attended his father’s ward school in town for one year. Then his father began to realize his education was more limited than he had thought. This son of his asked more questions. So he had his son go ahead to the regular school beginning at the age of ten.

By this time he was an important asset to the family farm. At age nine he was milking two cows and taking care of the irrigation turns. By the time he was eleven he was hauling rocks for their new stone house that his father built. He was able to brand calves, and round up cattle on his cattle pony. By his mid-teens, he could use hand sheers to sheer eleven sheep a day. I don’t know whether you’ve ever tried to wrestle a sheep, and get that wool off his back, but that’s an assignment, even for a teenage boy.

On September 2, 1879, he was baptized by his father and confirmed by the Stake President. The Stake President was Francis M. Lyman. Brother Lyman had been sent to preside over the Tooele stake by Brigham Young. He didn’t particularly want to come, he had a nice place in Salt Lake, but that’s the way Brigham Young did it. He would just simply say, “Brother Lyman, they need a Stake President out in Tooele, (and that Stake was the whole county,) so you just go out there, will you, and will ordain you to be their Stake President.”

So he came out, but he was released about a year later in 1880 to become an Apostle, and they sent out a young 23 year old “boy” to be their new Stake President. We’ll the folks out here were tough pioneer stalk, and this young whipper-snapper from Salt Lake City, age 23, he wasn’t very well received. Brother Woolley came out and assured the people, “He’s a fine young man. He has great promise.” His name was Heber J. Grant. Little did nine-year-old J. Reuben Clark Jr. know how important this young Stake President was going to be in his life.

About a year later, they asked Heber J. Grant if he would have his picture taken. So he went in and had it taken by Charles Savage, who became probably the most famous photographer in Utah. We are over-indebted to him for a lot of these pictures of our wonderful antecedents who settled these valleys.

While Charles Savage was preparing to take the photographer of Heber J. Grant’s, he suddenly stopped. He said, “Young man, within a year you will be named and ordained an apostle in the quorum of the Twelve.” Of course this shocked Brother Heber J. It’s bad enough to be a Stake President, and he had to tell him he was going to be an apostle.

But one year and four days later it was suddenly announced that the vacancy in the quorum of the twelve would be filled by this young man, only 26 years of age, named Heber J. Grant. A big, tall sturdy boy. I mean, this wasn’t exactly what he would have chosen for a career. He wanted to be a baseball player — you remember that story — but couldn’t pitch worth a darn. But he learned to be a great pitcher just by doing it over and over again.

He had a terrible scribbling hand, you thought he was a doctor or something. So he just took lessons, and he became one of the most beautiful pen men in Utah. I’m sure some of you have books in which he has inscribed his name. Because at Christmas he used to send out a nice little book or a memento of some kind with that beautiful signature in it.

Well I want to say another word about Heber J. Grant, because he figured so closely in the life of J. Reuben Clark. He felt very uncomfortable in his calling. He didn’t speak very well, and he didn’t even sing that well. My grandmother, who was his cousin, sat at the piano by the hour, saying, “Now Heber, it’s up a little. Listen carefully, it’s up a little.” And he’d go up a little. Then she’d hit another note, “No, it’s down a little.” Then up a little, up a little more.

He would go over that until my grandma, who was an Ivans, almost went crazy. But he learned to sing! At conferences he’d insist on doing it. I don’t know whether you were ever at a stake conference where Heber J. Grant sang, but sometimes he’d announce the song he was going to sing and the pianist would start playing, getting the background for the song he was going to sing, and he’d sing a different song! She’d have to change fast and try to get it in the key.

Oh, what a great man! He was another great, great human being, prepared in time to be a prophet of the Lord. Well, in the beginning he was very uncomfortable. As he was going horseback riding down to a conference, and coming back, he’d given a pretty poor speech. He said, “I don’t have the Spirit with me yet, something’s wrong. The Spirit of my calling just isn’t with me yet.”

So as they crossed a little brook, he stopped to give his horse have a drink, and he let the brethren all go by. He knelt down beside the horse and said, “Heavenly Father, am I really where I’m supposed to be?”

All of the sudden the veil parted and he saw a group of men seated around a table. He recognized some of them, it was quite a large group, looked like a quorum of twelve apostles or something. But there was Brigham Young, who had been dead for a number of years, and there was Joseph Smith, and there was his father who had died a number of years before. They were talking about selecting an apostle.

Someone said, “Joseph, we don’t have any of your descendants in the church, but Rachel Grant was sealed to you, and she now has a son Heber. Why don’t we have him made the new apostle so that at least you’ll be represented by him?” They all agreed, and the veil closed, the vision disappear.

Heber J. Grant knelt there crying. He”didn’t get the honor of being an apostle because of himself, he0was there to honor someone else> He set his face like flint, like Isaiah says you have to do sometimes, to try and represent the first prophet of the restored Church the best he could. I’m sure all of you have heard that account before, it’s been published a number of times in the Era and elsewhere. But to me, it’s a very precious story. We don’t know very often why we find ourselves in special places, or with special callings. The main thing is to perform it well and honorably.

J. Reuben Clark finished the 8th grade here in Grantsville, but there was no high school. So he took the 8th grade again. He didn’t want to miss going to school, he just loved to go to school. So he graduated from the 8th grade three times in Grantsville. Then he was ordained a priest at seventeen, his father ordained him an Elder at eighteen, and ordained him a Seventy at nineteen. Finally, in 1890, his father enrolled him in the LDS College in Salt Lake City, which had a new young principle named James E. Talmage.

James E. Talmage is another one of our favorite people. He was born in Britain, came west, went to college at the Lehi University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, then went to Johns Hopkins. What an individual. He became an expert in a whole series of things. He started out in geology, and then he advanced over to chemistry. Then he went into medicine, and finally he received an honorary degree from one of the Protestant universities back east for his Bible scholarship. Isn’t that something?

James E. Talmage wasn’t much older than J. Reuben Clark, but he had this position over the school in Salt Lake City. He watched this young fellow, J. Reuben Clark. He comes in there with no high school education. He comes into the LDS college, and lo and behold, the very first year he’s the only one of 75 students to get any 100s on his tests.

He had a number of 90s and a number of 80s — nothing below 80, except in one field: penmanship! He flunk it. He never quite learned how to write with a scroll, etc. He gave up on penmanship, and took shorthand, and became an expert in shorthand. Isn’t that interesting?

So, Dr. Talmage hired him as his secretary, and had him earn fifty dollars a month as his assistant and the curator of the new Deseret Museum they were setting up. Dr. Talmage was in charge of that along with the school.

Then his father was called on a mission. You know, it just amazes me when I think of this man now, with a whole brood of children, and his oldest son is over in Salt Lake City, and he’s got to turn that farm over to his wife and all these young children while he fulfills a mission. He did it. Out of that fifty dollars, J. Reuben Clark supported his father for two years, that fifty dollars a month.

Of course we know that fifty dollars bought a lot more in those days, but that just amazes me. That just shows the spirit of that family, and the spirit of Joshua Clark, this former German Baptist, that headed up that marvelous family.

In 1898, J. Reuben Clark had gone to four years at what turned out to be the University of Utah. He graduated first in his class. He was student-body president, and he was the speaker for his class. He’d also been the editor of the Chronicle. There were great qualities of leadership, and intensity of purpose in this J. Reuben Clark from Grantsville.

He had barely gotten out of college, and there was a sweet girl that came along. They spell her name, L-u-a-c-i-n-e, and I’ve always assumed it was pronounced “Lucine” or “Lute” as he called her for short. If I am wrong on that, I hope some of you will correct me. But anyway, he married the daughter of our famous Charles Savage photographer.

They began their married life. He got a job up at Heber, eighty-five dollars a month. Oh, that was luxurious! That was a pretty good wage. He remained there one year when they asked him to go down and preside over the branch of the University of Utah at Cedar City. He loved it down there, but at the end of year, he proposed a budget to make this little school in Cedar City a great school, and he quadrupled the budget petition … and got fired.

So he came back to Salt Lake City, and he began studying business law and sharpening up on his shorthand under the guidance of Joseph Nelson, who owned and ran the Salt Lake business college. It was very apparent to Joseph Nelson that if J. Reuben Clark wasn’t a genius, he made up for whatever he might have lacked with hard work.

He had already gotten into his fourteen-hour-a-day routine. You know, sometimes we say we don’t have time. He took the time. It made a great scholar out of him. So, at age 32, in the year 1903, he was offered an advance by Joseph Nelson. He said, “I’m going to pay for you to go to law school.”

Oh, J. Reuben was so anxious to go to law school, so he’d written to Yale, and he’d written to Harvard. Oh, the cost of going to those two schools, was and still is, outrageous. He didn’t like the spirit of the Harvard dean who wrote him back. He was very high-faluten and snobbish, and so he said, “I won’t go to that school.”

So he decided he wanted to go to Columbia. All of these schools were originally started by various religious organizations. Columbia was started by the Episcopal church. But he decided on going to the law school at Columbia, so he had two little daughters by now, and he packed up and went to New York, on money loaned to him from Brother Nelson.

Right from the beginning, he continued those fourteen hours of study, and everyone was amazed. The only Mormon any of them had met, but what a worker! The next thing you know, he’s on the Columbia Law Review Panel, which was a very rare, special opportunity. A little later on they let him have the Recent Cases Analysis, where they take all the latest cases from the appellate courts, analyze them, decide whether or not the courts had made a correct decision, etc.

One of his favorite professors was Dr. James Scott. It was within a year that James Scott had an assignment to write a couple of texts, and they were mostly written by J. Reuben Clark. Scott took the full credit for it, didn’t say anything in the preface about who had done all the work, and hunted up all the cases, etc. J. Reuben Clark had written two texts in the name of James Scott.

But Scott was then invited to become the solicitor of the United States State Department, and he immediately hired J. Reuben Clark as his assistant. This is the beginning of six years in the State Department in the Solicitors Office. When I was being interviewed to pass the bar in Washington, one of those companions that admired J. Reuben Clark as a great Christian gentleman, worked with him during that period.

It wasn’t very long before J. Reuben Clark had written some of the most notable synopses or background or briefs on various problems that came up. That was a period, you know, when we had the revolution in Mexico. We had American citizens down there: do we have a right to invade that country to protect the rights of our citizens? He wrote the brief that justified it.

So, in the State Department he was becoming a very strong voice for principles. He always justified it with good research, etc. Now he got behind two or three policies that he later repented on. Dollar diplomacy was one of them. Interventionism turned out to be another. He eventually took the position that while we are entitled to go and protect our citizens, we have no business doing what we did in Mexico, where we didn’t like the President. We had manipulated and maneuvered diplomatically and otherwise, and got him kicked out, and put our man in, and he was ten times worse.

J. Reuben Clark used to say, “Don’t try to go in and solve the problems of other countries. You don’t have the right, and you won’t do it as well as they do. Most of the time you’ll make a mess of it. We did in Mexico. I was responsible for it.” That is, he thought, “You know, we got to straight the Mexicans out. We got to give them a good President.”

Kind of like Saul. Samuel was broken hearted because he had been rejected as the priesthood leader. He’d won battles against the Philistines, and everything else. The people said, “But your two sons are very wicked. When you die they’ll come in. We want a king like all the rest of the people.”

He went to the Lord, and the Lord said, “They’re not rejecting you, Samuel. They’re rejecting me. But I’ll give them a king, and he’ll be the best that’s available.”

Great, big, tall fellow from the tribe of Benjamin, head and shoulders above his fellows. He put him in there, and he was great. He was a great warrior, he won battles. But one time when Samuel wasn’t there to start a battle out with a blessing and a sacrifice, Saul put on the priestly robes, and decided to offer the sacrifice in place of Samuel.

When Samuel arrived he said, “I wish you hadn’t done that. I was going to be able to promise you victory. Now, you will not only be defeated, but you’re rejected by God as the king of these people, and a neighbor of yours will rule in your stead.”

“Oh no,” Saul said, “no, no. I’ll do whatever you say.”

“No,” Samuel said, “it’s too late.”

A little later on Samuel was moping because he’d lost this great king. He was so good looking, he was so kingly. The Lord said, “What are you moping around about Saul for? I have someone else to choose. Now you go down into Bethlehem where Jesse lives, and I’ll show you who the new king should be.”

So he went down there, and he said to this Jesse, “Bring in your sons, I want to see them.”

In comes a son, and he was as handsome as Saul. Samuel said, “Boy, the Lord picks them.”

But the Spirit whispered and said, “No, that’s not the man.”

“Well, bring me your next son.” He was good looking too.

The Spirit said, “That’s not the man.” He went through six sons, and the Spirit wouldn’t accept any of them.

So, you remember, then he said to Jesse, “Don’t you have anymore sons?”

“Well, not really. I’ve just got a little boy, a shepherd boy.”

“Well,” Samuel said, “bring him in.”

So as he came through the door, he was a rugged little fellow, you know. The Spirit said, “That’s him.”

“Oh,” Samuel said, “this is dangerous.” But he uncorked the bottle, anointed him king. Corked it up and went home. The Lord wants him to be king, he can put him on the throne. Samuel’s not going to take responsibility for it, and all of you know the circumstances that finally lead up to it.

Saul called David in because he could play the harp and cheer him up. The next thing you know he had killed Goliath, and it wasn’t long after that, that he became the king. Great stories of how the Lord picks people, puts them in the right place, and gives them the circumstances necessary for them to serve. We have this in the life of J. Reuben Clark.

As he got to be practically the Secretary of State, it was amazing how all the solicitors, who are the lawyers for the State Department, kept going away, or being gone. This J. Reuben Clark found himself counseling with the President as though he were Secretary of State.

At the end of six years, there was a change in politics. President Wilson was elected, Republicans went out, and J. Reuben Clark went out with them. He then went into private practice, and he was very successful. He had a great reputation by now. But he didn’t know that he was just about to run head on into one of the most monstrous forces of evil that was being gestated or generated in the United States at that time.

In order to tell you that story, which is out of this book, The History of the World in Our Time, I just have to quote a few things. In what we call a people’s republic, you do not find tranquility. Everybody has his rights, everybody is free to speak his opinion, and they all do. You just have a turmoil of constant bubbling and burblings — everybody’s got their ideas solving problems. It isn’t an atmosphere of tranquility, it isn’t Shangri-la.

But, when you’ve educated people, as they did in the early part of the history of this country, they loved it that way. They’d come out of Europe where they were under somebody’s thumb and heel all the time, and they loved it here where they could speak their opinions and then vote the way they wanted to, etc.

There was one group of people that never liked it. They didn’t like the Constitution, they didn’t like the turmoil, they didn’t like this kind of a republic. You see, this bubbling and burbling and so forth, and everybody putting in their two bits worth, etc. — that produced Washingtons, that produced Jeffersons, John Adams.

I mean, if you’d been at the Constitutional Convention, it wasn’t a nice, sweet, peaceful convention. Those great men with strong opinion hammered and hammered. But when they got through, God says, “I established this Constitution by the hands of wise men that I raised up for this very purpose. Anything that’s more or less that this is evil.” — section 98 and section 101. It all came out of this burbling and gurgling. You got to have fun with it, you’ve got to get used to it.

But these people, who are very rich and very powerful, have always hated it. The reason they hate it is because they operate big industries, where they speak and things happen, where there’s a certain amount of order. If there isn’t, they can change it, just like that.

They said, “Now that’s the way our society should be, that’s the way government should be. We’ve got to change this thing so we’ve got the smartest people in charge, and compel these stupid masses to do what’s good for them.”

In 1908, there was a congregation of these very wealthy people, they represented the greatest powers in the railroad industry, in the oil industry, in the banking industry, in the commercial industry. They were congregated together in the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace. They tried to decide how you could change the whole American system, peacefully if possible, but, if necessary, do it with war.

They worked on that for a year. In time of war, the people will tolerate a collectivization of control: mandate, and people do what they’re told to do. They said, “That should be set up so that it’s the permanent pattern of our society.”

They decided that they’d have to do it through war, “You got to get a war, get them in that mood, where they will tolerate the centralized, dictatorial mandate and authority, and then have another war, if necessary, until it becomes a pattern.” That’s what those men decided to do.

The next question was, “How would we get control of the government under those circumstances, and then maintain it?” The answer was, you’ve got to control the State Department and the Presidency. That’s what they agreed upon.

We have the minutes of those meetings. The man who secured them, almost accidentally, a good friend of mine, was working for one of the Congressional Committees. They got the minutes of 1908, when it was resolved that, “We’re going to use war from now on until we get this nation under control.” So, they’ve got to get their own man for President, and they’ve got to have him appoint a Secretary of State of their vintage or mentality.

Remember this is the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, plotting war! Any of you heard of this before? Yes, some of you have. I didn’t get it in school. I had to dig it out years later when I found that something had gone wrong.

The man they picked out to be their president, to run in the other party — the Republicans were in power — was a man by the name of Woodrow Wilson. He was the head of the department of political science at Princeton. He’d been very critical of the Constitution for a variety of reasons. He liked the British system better.

So they thought, “There’s somebody we could probably mold and weave into what we need.” So they started working on him, and they got him to be governor of New Jersey. They elected him, and this is the book that tells how they did it, how they put the money in, and they used money to manipulate and massage the people of New Jersey until this professor was elected the governor of New Jersey.

Then they started manipulating Woodrow Wilson to agree to this different approach, “Maybe we can get back closer to the British system. Certainly we’ll change the Constitution.”

Right in the middle of that, listen to what Woodrow Wilson says, “Since I’ve entered politics, I’ve chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men the United States in the field in commerce and manufacture are afraid of something. They know that there is a power, somewhere, so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak about their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.”

That’s Woodrow Wilson. He doesn’t know it, but they’re the people that have now taken him in tow. J. P. Morgan and the Rockefellers and the Carnegie money is going in behind him, and getting him set to be President, on condition that he will go for a Federal Reserve system, that will eventually get rid of gold and silver as a money system, establish a credit system with no bottom to it: “Just use the taxing power of the people as a basis for money in the future. It’s necessary that we do get ourselves involved in the affairs of the world, so we can guide the world toward a better structure. It will probably have to be through war.”

That’s an interesting phenomenon, that this book tells all about, Tragedy and Hope. This man believed in this group. He apologizes for them over and over again. He said, “Maybe they were a little clumsy, but their ultimate goal was a good one.” Can’t believe it.

Then he documents all the things that I later put in a book called The Naked Capitalist, that went to a million copies, based on his book, telling people what’s really been going on. For a while it was widely read, but not so much anymore. People have kind of lost touch with who’s running things. It’s the same people.

So we’ve got ourselves a new President, and we got the Federal Reserve. Wasn’t very long before, as you know, we got rid of gold, everybody had to turn it in. All the gold clauses and contracts were wiped out by the Supreme Court. J. Reuben Clark knew all this was unconstitutional — the whole fabric was unconstitutional.

But meanwhile, he had been trapped just like Woodrow Wilson had. It all came about in 1916, when a man — who was one of the wealthiest men, one of the top men in the country, whose name was Willard Strait, he was part of the J. P. Morgan people — came to him and asked if he wouldn’t like to have a junior partner. To have Mr. Strait, you know, as your partner, for a boy from Grantsville, way out in Utah, I mean, he’s gone clear up on the top level.

“Well,” he said, “where would we have our office?”

“Oh, in New York.”

“Where in New York?”

“Well, we have a skyscraper there, and we’ll be on the lower floor. Everything above you will be our client.”

“Just one client?”

“Yes, just one client.”

“What’s it called?”

“The American International Corporation, the first international conglomerate of industrial power that was ever organized in the United States.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Well, we’re going to use our money that all our people have, and we’re going to start buying up the industries and get things kind of organized together.”

What J. Reuben Clark didn’t know, they were going to have a war within about eighteen months, and they wanted to all of the copper and the steel and the boats and the railroads and everything to make the money from it. Clever. American International Corporation, and guess who was its attorney? J. Reuben Clark.

At first it seemed great, because they were buying up these great industries in Central America, the big fruit companies, all the boats they could get their hands on, the wharfs, steel, copper — I have them all listed here.

At the head of this international association, listen to who was on their board: Stone of the Webster Engineering Company, Percy Rockefeller of Standard Oil, J. Ogden of the Armor Company, Charles Kaufman of General Electric, James Hill of the Great Northern Railway, Oliver Kahn of Kunelob and Company, Robert Lovell of the Union Pacific, and so it goes on. I mean, you’re talking with the richest, the most powerful, and the strongest. He’s buying up millions and millions of dollar’s worth in all these companies.

So in 1916, Woodrow Wilson was elected on the basis that he would keep us out of the war. After he was inaugurated, we were in the war within six weeks. It’s all in this book. At that time, I was about five years old. I was getting on the scene now, gradually here, so I could watch what J. Reuben was doing.

But anyway, J. Reuben Clark didn’t awake to what was happening until about 1923. He began to fuss at them, and make their lives so miserable, as he saw what they were doing. One time, he considered dishonestly, they fired him. 1923.

Guess what he did? He came back on Constitution Day and spoke in the Tabernacle about the great United States Constitution. “I’ll tell you,” he said, “it is in jeopardy. I see forces rising all around us today that have as their goal and objective, the destruction of the very thing that made the United States the greatest nation in the world!”

Well, I’m not sure they paid much attention to him. He quotes from his 1923 speech the rest of his life. I finally got a copy of it. It’s great. He took the whole strength, the golden threads of the Constitution, to stress to the people here in Utah what a great responsibility they had to preserve that institution.

Already the foundations are being very badly eroded. So the State Department called him back as Assistant Secretary of State. He was puzzled about just what he should be doing. In Utah we wanted him to run as Senator. Someone was talking about putting him on the Supreme Court. By this time he had such a tremendous reputation he could almost named what he would have liked to run for. In this state, he would have been supported wholeheartedly, and it didn’t work out.

Instead of that, he became ambassador to Mexico. He did a great job down there. He taught the Mexican people to trust him, and to love him. He did a lot to help our Mormon colonies in Mexico during that difficult period where I went to school a couple of years.

Then in 1933, right in the midst of his getting all of this thing straightened out for Mexico, here comes a letter from the First Presidency calling him to be a counselor to Heber J. Grant. You’ve got to know a little bit about the background of J. Reuben Clark at that time as far as the church was concerned, to appreciate what a shock this was.

He hadn’t been where he could be active in the church for 20 to 25 years. He’d never been a Bishop, never been a Stake President. He paid his tithing, but there wasn’t any church, very often, to go to. In Washington you could go to a little Sunday evening affair that Senator Smoot held, but J. Reuben didn’t get along with Senator Smoot, so that was kind of an ordeal.

And anyway, he worked seven days a week. He was a workaholic. He afterwards said, “I broke the Sabbath for years! The Lord blessed me in spite of it, but certainly not because of it. You people obey the Sabbath day!” My close associate while I was in law school, in fact my mentor, was Ernest Wilkinson. He did the same thing because J. Reuben Clark did it, he worked all day Sunday. He’d take time out for church, but then he was right back at it. He said the same thing, “I broke the Sabbath day trying to become a great lawyer. I paid a price for it. You obey the Sabbath day.” Isn’t that kind of interesting?

So J. Reuben Clark — and I must hurry now just to give you a little final closing scene here. J. Reuben Clark was very disturbed that he would be called to the First Presidency of the Church. He found himself telling Bishops and Stake Presidents how to run their Stakes and their Wards.

Finally he said — and this is an apocryphal story, although it’s hinted at in Michael Quinn’s This is J. Reuben Clark: the Church Years, but I have this apocryphal story in this form, that I picked up from people who claimed they were close to the scene.

J. Reuben Clark said to President Grant, “Don’t you make these choices by inspiration?”

President Grant said, “Yes, we do.”

J. Reuben Clark said, “I can understand why a lawyer of international prominence and so forth, like myself, may add to the prestige of the church. But I don’t know what I an doing here. I am doing things that I never was trained to do. I’m instructing people. I feel very inadequate.”

Well, according to the story that I was told, President Grant said, “That’s not why you were chosen as a counselor.”

“Well, why was I chosen?”

“You were chosen because the Constitution of the United States is in jeopardy. The church needs to be aroused, the country needs to be aroused, and we’ve got to start training our people to defend that Constitution before it’s shredded and lost.”

“Oh, really?!”

“You are the best Constitutionalist in the church.”

All of the sudden you hear him quoting his 1923 speech in Conference. You see, we were a Democratic state, 62 percent Democrats. They began to call that Republican politics in Conference. Oh, he got the Dickens! By the time I got here to Utah, sometime later, J. Reuben Clark was one of the most unpopular people in this state.

They didn’t mind him talking on the gospel, but any time he’d start talking on the Constitution, “that terrible Republican instrument!” Isn’t that something? All through California schools, I was told the Constitution was obsolete. Here’s this man standing up, which everybody knows he’s a Republican, defending the Constitution, and “that’s politics in church.”

President Grant would try to assure the people that we wanted the Saints to hear this. It was not popular. He never did become a popular speaker. Years later when I was here, he spoke at the University of Utah. Here is a member of the First Presidency, and he was a counselor to three Presidents over a period of 28 years. We’ve never had another human being in this church serve as a counselor to Presidents of the church longer than J. Reuben Clark.

So he was so well known, they decided to have him speak at the University of Utah. He stood up before that audience, and they booed him, a member of the First Presidency. Majority of the audience LDS. They booed him. He stood there, by this time he was pretty heavy-set, you know, and he smiled at them.

He said, “Well, I don’t mind you calling me old-fashioned, because I am.” Yeeaahh! “I don’t even mind you calling me antediluvian (which is before the flood!)” Huurraay!! “But,” he said, ” I am a little sensitive about you calling me pre-historic!”

The students all laughed, and immediately they sat back to listen. I’ve got a copy of that speech, and it’s just great. Of course the students had been trained not to believe those things anymore. But he sowed the seeds.

Already the Lord was beginning to build his kingdom preparatory to survive the great destructive forces of Constitutional government. You see, we didn’t realize how badly shredded the Constitution had become. We didn’t realize the whole concept of separation of powers had been shredded. We had Congress delegating to the President the authority to make administrative law.

Most of our laws were not coming out of Congress as required by Article 1 Section 1 of the Constitution, they were coming out of bureau agencies at administrative law. I studied it in school, how it worked. The next thing you knew, if you didn’t like what happened, where’s you appeal? You didn’t really have an appeal, because Congress approved it. They were delegating their legislative authority, and you were having laws that the Congress had never examined, scrutinized or debated. We were covered with them.

So that’s how far we had gone. We had lost our money system based on gold and silver, that was gone. We had lost control of the Supreme Court, beginning with the Butler Case, 1936. The Congress could pass anything that they considered for the welfare of the American people. It was no longer general welfare, it was now private welfare: farmers, schools, etc.

J. Reuben Clark was an educator at heart. He felt the schools were getting a bad deal, and they would be hurt in the process. He tried to defend the importance of maintaining the integrity of our schools. That was interesting. So many things were happening to our society, that from a Constitutional standpoint, we were very seriously at risk.

So this man from Florida that wrote this whole page of newspaper protest the other day, I just went down and checked off the items, “J. Reuben, did you say amen? Yes, he said amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.” You know: going on to four trillion dollars worth of debt, 62 percent of all your income taxes going to pay interest to banks on that debt. We give ourselves a trillion dollar budget, and then we overspend even that much. You know that we are way off balance.

I want to say just this little bit about the Butler case. In 1936, the Supreme Court handed down a decision, and while it held against the appellant, it set forth the proposition that Congress can appropriate money and legislate for private welfare. The general welfare clause went right out the window.

The original idea was, if you tax all the people, then you can’t pass a law except for all the people. You can not pass a law that will favor this little group, and that little group. You can’t do that, because these are general taxes. States can handle those problems, the federal government can not. That was all wiped out, 1936, in the Butler case.

Our budget in 1936, in spite of World War I, and already numerous, expensive programs for agriculture, etc. that had been coming up; our budget was 8 billion dollars. We had gone to 800 billion dollars by about 1980. Now you know where it is, trillions. There’s no stop, they will not stop. You couldn’t stop that train, no matter who you elected right now. So, there’s a remedy. J. Reuben Clark knew what it was. I’m going to close now by sharing it with you.

But I just want to tell you how I learned to love that man, and have him stand up in the face of a very antagonistic, not altogether, but the majority of our people of our state did not like J. Reuben Clark. His biographies all admit that. He wasn’t appreciated until they had a symposium after he was dead, and decided he was great man. Who do I read telling that he was a great man? Some of those who fought him the worst when he was trying to help us.

But in those 28 years, he served three Presidents, and part of the time he was all alone. Brother Grant had a stroke and lived another five years, couldn’t hardly do anything. David O. McKay, the other counselor, he was very sickly and weak, until he became President of the church. Isn’t that interesting? All of the sudden, his health improved tremendously, so he did pretty good, and he just went on and on for a long time.

J. Reuben Clark, of course, died in 1961, but by that time, President McKay had already given us the great announcement of hope. Beginning in 1950, he said, “God is now pouring out into the families of those that he has treasured up from the beginning, the youth that can take it in the days that lie ahead. You’re getting some of the choicest spirits out of heaven.” He announced that about 1950.

By 1960, he said, “Now I can tell you the new era has begun for this great kingdom. We’ll began to become an influence for good, much more impressive and much more productive than in the past.” 1960. You see, we had worked thirty years to get ten thousand converts in Latin America. Thirty years to get ten thousand. We got the next ten thousand in two years. We got the next ten thousand in one year. Now we get ten thousand every few months.

This is a new era, and you’re in it. All of the buildings that began. During the last ten years of David O. McKay’s life, he felt so helpless. He asked me to do an errand for him one day, and I came in and found that he couldn’t even stand up. He had a couple of strokes. Here were needles and oxygen tanks, and one thing and another. He could see, as I looked around his office, the amazement in my eyes.

He said, “Don’t feel sorry for me, Brother Skousen. Nobody expects me to do anything. All I have to do is stay close to the Lord and make the decisions.” Which he did, and we doubled the membership of the church in the next ten years, when he was an invalid. We doubled the number of temples, I tell you, we just went forward. So when these prophets become very elderly, indisposed, the work goes on, magnificently.

In his day, J. Reuben Clark did that. Now President Hinckley and President Monson carry it on. Oh, what great leaders they are. I love them. Great leaders.

So I come to my conclusion, and it’s J. Reuben Clark’s conclusion. He could see that the powers that existed were so well entrenched, so voluminous, had such a grip on the media, both the parties, the money, that that was going to have to run its course, like an express train going hell-bent to destruction.

But the Lord isn’t going to allow this government to be destroyed. Although administrations may destroy themselves, systems may destroy themselves, this country’s going to survive. J. Reuben Clark knew how it would survive: build track two. Don’t get in front of that train on track one, it will just run over you. You quietly build track two.

Sometimes people say, “Dr. Skousen, you spent your whole life studying these things that have gone wrong, with the attack on the Constitution and everything. Why are you so optimistic?”

I say to them, “I read the book, and in the end, we win.” Now, it’s on track two that we win. J. Reuben Clark never lost confidence in having a generation finally become alert, and finally doing its homework, and getting into a position where they would do what God and the Founding Fathers intended that we should have been doing all the time.

So, I bless his memory. I bless his integrity. I bless his tenacity. I’m so grateful for that man. He’s been my inspiration, I’ve learned to love him. I knew him, but not well. I received counsel from him two or three times. One of my books became a national best seller, and he gave me a little bit of counsel about what God was doing, and what to expect, and I was very grateful for that.

Oh, what vision, what insight he had. So I close now. On other occasions, you’ll tell more about him. I’ve only touched the highlights. Because during the 28 years that he served in the kingdom, he filled several volumes with teachings and instructions and insights and warnings. You will have other speakers, I’m sure, come and analyze various phases of that in detail, so that you become authorities on the beliefs of J. Reuben Clark, which are identical with the original Founding Fathers.

In the beginning, he said he made some mistakes. But he learned from experience. In the end, when he finally became a counselor to the First Presidency, he told the saints what to expect. I should have told you that in 1937 he gave one of his most famous speeches. I consider 1923, 1937, and 1952 among his greatest talks.

In 1937 he said, “The power people are now planning another war for you. They have made this depression last many more years than it would have ordinarily lasted. They got stock down to 14 cents on a dollar. They just bought up everything at 14 cents on a dollar, and they’re now ready to make additional billions as they put you through another world war.

“They’re going to have you pay for it. You’re going to be involved in it. You don’t think you’ll get involved, but they’ll say that for the peace of the world, you must come in, and you’ll feel so soft-hearted about it, you’ll come in. It will be just as big a mistake as World War I,” which I thought was just great when we went in, and I now know, could have been handled differently, and we could have saved ourselves a lot of problems.

So, he gave the prophecy. Then in 1941, after we were in the war, he said, “May I quote from my 1923 speech, and my 1937 speech….” That’s what he did the rest of his life, quoting his former speeches, where he predicted what would happen, and it did. He truly was a prophet of God, counseling a prophet of God. I bless his memory in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

“Is there a cure for America’s cultural crisis?”

There certainly is if the patient wants to be cured. After all, the trauma of the present is merely a shock wave of the past which has finally caught up with us.

In some ways a sick society is like an alcoholic or a drug addict. It has to choose between the excruciating withdrawal pains on the one hand or the seductive euphoria of its own death-wish on the other.

Some of us are old enough to remember the last cultural crisis — the one that hit during the roaring twenties. The iconoclastic climate of that period was one of sex, booze, speculation, cynicism and crime. Washington became riddled with scandals. Bombs were sent to top officials through the mails. Wild speculation in stocks, real estate and get-rich-quick schemes was rampant. The wild college kids took on life as though it were some extravagant orchestration of gin, raccoon coats, rumble scats and whoopee parties. Divorce rates skyrocketed. So did crime. Organized hoodlumism became a national industry. In New York and Chicago fraternizing with big-time gangsters was a social status symbol.

How We Learned Our Lesson the Last Time

Then came the crash, the depression and the war. Americans found themselves on their knees. First, there were the bankruptcies and forced sales. Then there were the bread lines, the empty stores, the rusting rails and the smokeless smokestacks. After that came Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo. At first there was frustration, a feeling of defeat and bitter hopelessness, then people hit rock bottom and came smack up against the stark reality of the need to survive.

America’s worst depression and the threat of an apocalyptic war soon began having a purging effect. Hedonism began subsiding as a way of life. Many people (not all to be sure, but many) got down to the gut realities of personal responsibility, hard work, acquiring earned self-confidence, and acknowledging the desperate need for a revitalized moral discipline. Slowly, things began to shape up.

After Pearl Harbor the trend seemed to surge upward sharply, and during the next four years, a struggling, sweating nation of angry Americans invented, designed and out-produced the rest of the world in food, tanks, guns, ships, planes, bombs and all the other paraphernalia of war. It brought about a large part of what became the final victory. It was a great chapter in human history.

The Old Cultural Sickness Returns

But that was the peak. Nearly twenty-five years later we find the country once more slipping back down to a new low. Riding on a bubble of synthetic prosperity, America finds herself more deeply in debt than all the other nations of the earth combined. Much of that debt resulted from generous gifts to needy nations, but in the United Nations, America is boisterously voted down by some of those she helped the most. Her once proud American dollar which was the paragon of fiscal stability for three decades finds itself sinking into an abyss of “floating” commodity market value with neither gold nor silver to support it.

American diplomatic leadership finds itself shattered on the reef-rocks of a new policy of political capitulation which requires the President to go hat in hand to plead for peace and understanding with some of the most vicious mentalities of the Communist world hierarchy.

Government documents from the Pentagon are stolen and published to disclose the fact that politicians have been secretly plotting wars while publicly promising peace.

In a time of prosperity and military withdrawal, the American people suddenly find their President declaring a national emergency and invoking powers ordinarily reserved for times of war. Federal controls on wages and prices are imposed with rationing and restrictions on profits waiting close behind. This is done, it is said, to curb inflation, but only a year earlier the head of the nation had confessed that inflation was really caused by governmental deficit spending which dumps billions of dollars of new printing-press money into the channels of commerce. The bloated money market pushes up prices and these pull up wages.

Still, the head of the nation admits that he is not going to balance budgets as he promised in 1968 but expects his deficit spending for the years 1971 and 1972 to total 40 billion. He also admits that he is a disciple of Keynesian economics which means that the latest governmental edicts are not to control inflation but to control people.

Most Americans don’t yet realize it, but they are in a whole new ball game.

What About the People?

Of course, the hope of America has never been its politicians, but the common sense of the people. How serious is the cultural sickness on that level?

Well, the prognosis is far from hopeless, but the patient is definitely suffering from multiple social sclerosis. For several million Americans, street crime and white collar crime have once more become a way of life. For another several million, the willingness to live permanently on charity-welfare has become their way of life. In yet another large segment of America there is the old sickness of profligate hedonism — perverted sex, pornography, hard-core commercial obscenity, drug addiction, alcoholism, broken homes, broken spirits, abandoned goals. A lot of this taint is reflected in the schools, in the movies, on radio and television. Even in many of the churches.

On top of all this there has developed a tremendous credibility gap between the public and the media so that people aren’t sure what they can believe any more. There is also a widespread feeling of distrust between the people and their elected representatives. This is reflected in the decay of public institutions. The courts are flagrantly insulted by screaming defendants on the inside and marching mobs on the outside. Police officers are brazenly hunted down and murdered with two and three trials sometimes being required before prosecutors can get past all the technicalities imposed by Supreme Court edicts and secure a final conviction.

The Current Rash of Quack Doctors and Phony Cures

The problem is further complicated by the fact that cultural crises are like epidemics — they always produce a flock of quack practitioners anxious to peddle their phony cures.

These are coming from the community of American intellectuals who seem to be suffering from a panic seizure of paranoia and fear. From their ivory towers they broadcast a constant stream of vilification against practically everything which made America great in the past. They advocate abandonment of the Constitution (this has been subtly suggested in several Presidential speeches), the repudiation of America’s built-in code of Judaic-Christian morality (Washington said we couldn’t survive without it), the scrapping of America’s competitive free-enterprise system (which gave us the highest standard of living in the world), and the elimination of private property as a source of security and independence (the newly proposed “Property Act” would make the government owner of all land with private citizens having to lease it!).

Of course, the brainy jet-set claim our society is now too complex for the “luxuries” of fundamental principles which we used in the past. Yet the more these mental giants meddle with our system the more complex and impossible it becomes. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Men With Ambitions To Take Over the Country

One large group of strange American mentalities gravitates around the think tank complex at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Santa Barbara, California. There, a leading proponent for the overthrow of the U.S. Constitution, is a well known luminary, Rexford Guy Tugwell, who wrote back in 1931 that the only hope for Americans is in adopting the pattern of institutions set up by the Soviet Union. Last year he came up with a new “model” constitution written along totalitarian lines. It is being hailed on many university campuses as the future hope of the U.S.A. It is actually the blueprint for a dictatorial police state (as we have already seen in previous chapters).

Another group of intellectual social engineers have branched out from the Center at Santa Barbara and are spending literally millions of dollars trying to promote an organization called, “Common Cause.” This is led by the former president of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation, John W. Gardner. These foundations are the very same centers of the dynastic rich who organized and financed the Council On Foreign Relations and the Institute of Pacific Relations. These, in turn, are the agencies which were exposed by Congressional investigations with having guided American foreign policy into the loss of China, the debacle in Cuba, and the surrender of a dozen free nations in eastern Europe. They are now determined to amalgamate the economy and culture of the United States with that of the Soviet Union (as indicated in the notorious Phoenix Papers). These foundations are also interrelated with other foundations which were discovered financing the Black Panthers, SDS, the Weathermen, and similar revolutionary groups.

Leading intellectuals from several of these groups have already held a number of secret meetings to probe the possibility of creating a new political party for the purpose of taking over the country. The more they get their way and the more complicated our society becomes, the more likely it will be that these strange mentalities may succeed. There is one thing in which they are world-champions — making promises. And uninformed, confused Americans are wide open when it comes to rosy promises. That is the real danger.

But deep down in their hearts the majority of the American people know what is needed. That is why the politicians keep promising it to them. Then, when they get in power, they often do the very opposite.

That is what happened in 1932. The Democratic Party came up with such a fine platform that Americans from both parties got behind it. It contained America’s basic formula for success — eliminating inflationary deficit spending, providing balanced Federal budgets, getting the government out of private business, reducing the weight of unnecessary bureaucracy, reducing wasteful Federal programs, etc. The people bought it. But by 1936, Al Smith (former head of the Democratic Party in 1932 and candidate for president in 1928) told the party rank-and-file that the 1932 Democratic platform had been betrayed by Rexford Guy Tugwell and other brain-trusters who had been advising the President. (If you want a copy of Al Smith’s speech and a comprehensive rundown on how we arrived where we are, see Appendix A of The Naked Capitalist.)

In 1968, the Republican platform contained the same basic formula as the Democratic platform of 1932. Once again the majority of the American people in both parties agreed that this was what was needed and got behind it. Now someone has to tell them that they have been betrayed again. The White House is loaded with men from the top echelon of the Council On Foreign Relations together with academic intellectuals who studied under the brain-trusters of the ’30s. It is the same old routine only more so.

Resurrecting America’s “Lost Formula”

But Americans don’t have to take this.

What Americans have to realize is the fact that they once had a truly great thing going for them and a hodgepodge of political, sociological and economic theorists are trying to rob them of it. What these men are promoting is what many other nations are trying to unload. It just has not worked. And these straitjacket remedies are not easy to unload. As a repentant collectivist in Sweden said, “How do you unscramble an egg?” It took the United States nearly ten generations to demonstrate that the freedom route is the only satisfying, pleasant and prosperous route. Now a few affluent radicals want to wipe it all out in a single generation.

We need to admit that we are morally sick and start teaching and practicing the standards of honesty, morality and integrity, which make us into decent parents, responsible citizens, trusted employees and a people worthy of survival. The founding fathers said an immoral nation would produce a rotting civilization. This is happening. It has to be stopped. Drugs have to be stopped. Drunken drivers weaving down our freeways have to be stopped. Crime, violence and riots must be made totally unprofitable. The deterioration of churches into philosophical brothels must be stopped. The whole degenerate, immoral, profligate and permissive era must come to a halt.

The inevitable question of “how” has to be answered, of course. And the answer is rather simple. We do precisely what circumstances forced us to do the last time we had a cultural crisis. Hopefully, we will do it without waiting for a nuclear war or a cataclysmic depression to force us to our knees. We need to get down to the basic realities of hard work, personal responsibility, purposeful living, and a functioning application of Judaic-Christian moral principles in our individual lives.

This isn’t the first time America has been confronted with drugs, crime, riots, and violence. We have stopped them before. We did it by generating enough moral indignation to start enforcing the law. And educating our citizens to honor and sustain the law. The American culture will get a bright new face lifting just as soon as we develop enough intestinal fortitude to openly declare war on the venal sources of social cancer which have produced these problems.

We also need to admit that we are economically bankrupt and get rid of the policies and politicians which made this bankruptcy inevitable. We start out by compelling our government to live within its means. And do the same ourselves. Already we have borrowed most of the next generations inheritance — at least four hundred billion dollars worth. It’s time we figured out a way to balance our books.

It is also time we recognized that our apathy toward foreign and domestic political problems has allowed a faction of high-powered manipulators to take over both of our major parties and spin us off into a dizzy orbital space journey which is intended to eventually make us merely a province of a one-world socialist state. We need to start developing a breed of men who can fill public office without being totally discredited every time a congressional investigating committee brings to light the manner in which they have been conducting the people’s business.

Finally, we need to recognize that many of our neighborhoods are suffering from an aggravated form of environmental pollution. We need to move in on our schools, our theaters, the newsstands and other places where gutter mentalities have been working night and day to corrupt the young and frustrate the work of dedicated teachers, theater managers, reporters and public officials who have deplored what has been happening but have needed a lot of grassroots support to stem the tide. It can be done and it must be done. We have been living in a fool’s paradise long enough.

This, then, brings us to the conclusion of a series of 23 articles on the American cultural crisis. It was written in the hope that fellow law enforcement officers would recognize that the fantastically difficult period through which we are passing is considerably more than an accident. It was planned, promoted, financed, and carefully implemented. And it will continue to follow the same course unless those in each community who love law and order and the traditional pattern of American life, band themselves together and provide the muscle to resist these debilitating forces on every front where we find them operating.

I recognize, of course, that the vast majority of Americans are almost totally unaware of what is being done to them. A Pearl Harbor would awaken them but in a nuclear age that would be too late. We must rely, therefore, on the sturdy few who have been doing their homework and hope that they can reach enough to turn the tide in time.

Otherwise, articles like those in this series will provide interesting but tragic reading in 1984 and beyond.

“Who would dare to attack the Constitution?”

This is the immediate reaction of most people when they first learn that there is an extremely high-powered, well-financed campaign afoot to abolish the United States Constitution.

Actually, the whole idea has been gestating for a long time. Symptoms of it have been popping up in the speeches of certain Senators, certain State Department officials, certain White House aids, and in the left-wing press for several years. It also has been the regular diet for many students of political science who have been attending some of the major universities.

Senator J. William Fulbright

As an example of what has been going on, here is the way Senator J. William Fulbright launched his attack on the Constitution during a speech before the students and faculty at Stanford University in 1961:

“The President is hobbled in his task of leading the American people to consensus and concerted action by the restrictions of power imposed on him by a constitutional system designed for an 18th century agrarian society far removed from the centers of world power.”

(Of course, restricting the President so he could not become a dictator was the whole idea. But Senator Fulbright seemed to see great virtue in the possibilities of the President as a Benevolent dictator.) Continuing on the same theme, he said:

“He (the President) alone, among elected officials can rise above parochialism and private pressures. He alone, in his role as teacher and moral leader, can hope to overcome the excesses and inadequacies of a public opinion that is all too often ignorant of the needs, the dangers, and the opportunities in our foreign relations.

(The role of kings used to be defended on precisely these same grounds but history has demonstrated that individuals, whether kings or presidents, make more mistakes acting on their own than an aggregate of informed citizens acting in unison.)

Senator Fulbright, former Rhodes Scholar, continued:

“It is imperative that we break out of the intellectual confines of cherished and traditional beliefs and open our minds to the possibility that Basic Changes in Our System may be essential to meet the requirements of the 20th century.”

A Presidential Declaration

It was shortly after this that some speech writer for President Kennedy slipped a passage into a speech delivered August 28, 1962, indicating that the Constitution was not an “automatic light to the future” because “the Constitution was written for an entirely different period in our nation’s history.

By 1963, Walter Lippmann was hammering on this theme that Constitutional processes were proving unworkable because a lot of important legislation presented by the White House had been turned down by the Democratic Congress. He failed to point out that most of this legislation was an exact duplicate of socialist programs in Europe which had proven disastrous. Members of the Democratic Party who controlled Congress had rejected their President’s proposals exactly as the founding fathers had hoped they would. (Unfortunately, after the President’s tragic assassination much of the legislation was passed into law under the emotional plea that it was part of a personal “tribute” to the dead President.)

Walter Lippmann, like Senator Fulbright, was not afraid of risking benevolent dictatorial powers to the President: “Whether the solution is authoritarian, as under Salazar, Franco and deGaulle, or whether it is a coalition which suspends party conflict, the common element is the liberation of the executive from the paralyzing grip of the representative assembly [Congress].” (New York Tribune, Dec. 10, 1963)

Shades of King George!

White House Advisers Walt W. Rostow and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

The whole idea of the United States remaining a sovereign nation and working out its own destiny has been anathema to a number of the top opinion molders in Washington. A book entitled, The United States in the World Arena, by former presidential adviser, Wait Whitman Rostow, states on page 549 that “it is, therefore, an American interest to see an end of nationhood as it has been historically defined.”

Such men visualize the United States as gradually going socialist and then merging into a gigantic world-wide socialist society. As far back as 1947, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., was very bold in presenting his ideas on the subject. Said he: “There seems no inherent obstacle to the gradual advance of socialism in the United States through a series of New Deals.” 1

Based on certain trends in the United States, Dr. Schlesinger concluded that: “Socialism then appears quite practicable within this framework of reference, as a long-term proposition.” 2 He was very critical of our Constitutional democracy and said, “A democracy is politically unreliable at best; the American democracy is notoriously unreliable on all questions of maintaining a continuous foreign policy.” 3 He made no attempt to document this sweeping charge.

A State Department Plan To Amalgamate the United States and the USSR

Although most Americans are not generally aware of it, U.S. foreign policy has been guided for a number of years by a special government study known as the Phoenix Papers. A strategy of developing an “interdependence with the Soviet Union” in space, science, industry, food, arms, economics and culture has been a continuing dream of globalist master planners of the collectivist left.

As a preliminary step in this astonishing plan, it was important to get the American people accustomed to hearing the word, “interdependence.” It was felt desirable to first introduce them to the term in connection with Europe before they felt the shock of an interdependence with the Soviet Union. Thus, even before the publication of the Phoenix Papers by the State Department, some speech writer for the President worked into his 1961 Fourth of July speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a statement which said that the American people, after having enjoyed 186 years of freedom, liberty and independence, were now ready for interdependence. He said that this was to start out with a program of interdependence with Europe and then this American-European alliance would “look outward to cooperation with all nations in meeting their common concerns.” Of course, Americans have always been for cooperation, but not amalgamation.

Later, when the Phoenix Papers were finally, published in June, 1963, the whole story came out. These papers were supposed to be kept highly restricted. However, some State Department officials were so alarmed with what the Phoenix Papers proposed that copies were handed over to members of Congress, and one of those Congressmen was kind enough to forward a copy to this writer.

It was immediately apparent from these documents that the creation of a world socialist society was the ultimate goal of the authors of these papers (which cost the tax-payers of the country $78,600.00. to prepare!). To accomplish their purposes, it was also apparent that the American people would be conditioned to think of “interdependence” as a step forward while at the same time they would be led to think of our traditional Constitutional government (with its checks and balances, “states rights,” etc.) as a threat to progress and a roadblock to peace.

This being the case, it was obvious that eventually these master planners would have to get around to the task of trying to abolish the Constitution of the United States. That moment of reality occurred on January 4, 1971.

Key To Solving Our Problems — Abolish the Constitution!

There was nothing bashful or apologetic about the well-publicized campaign which was launched in January, 1971, to restructure the whole United States System.

The Fund for the Republic with its satellite, The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Santa Barbara, California launched the project with a series of debates by nationally-known personalities. The debate was focussed on the topic: “Crisis in America — Do We Need a New Constitution?”

The debaters include many well-known personalities such as Presidential aspirant, Eugene McCarthy, Robert M. Hutchins (founder of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, Wayne Morse, Harry S. Ashmore, (editor-in-chief of Encyclopaedia Britannica and now president of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions), Frank K. Kelly, (a former presidential speech writer and now a vice-president of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions), Harvey Wheeler, (co-author of Fail Safe and a senior fellow of the center for the Study of Democratic Institutions).

These debates turned out precisely as one would have expected: the present system is unworkable, a radical change must be made. The closest the debaters came to genuine disagreement was on whether this could be achieved by working behind the well-nigh empty shell of the old Constitution or scrapping the whole structure and starting out with a completely new charter. No genuine “Constitutionalists” were invited to speak and so the debate turned out to be a “furious agreement” between tweedledee and tweedledum. The Santa Barbara News Press reported the major debate as “More Contrasts Than Differences in Views of Hutchins and Morse.” 4

Why Collectivists Don’t Like the U.S. Constitution

In the final analysis a collectivist or socialist mentality looks upon the whole basic philosophy of the original American concept of government as frustrating, slow, cumbersome and restrictive. They feel, as did the Tories in Revolutionary days, that somebody like the king just HAS to be in charge and compel the stupid masses to do what is good for them. Self-government is nice “as an idea,” they said, “but impractical.”

Walter Lippmann expressed the contempt which the collectivist mind holds toward the Constitution when he wrote in the New York Tribune, December 10, 1963: “I do not know what will happen if we cannot remedy the paralysis of the executive [doing away with checks and balances!]. But I do know that there is no greater necessity for men who live in communities than that they be governed, self-governed if possible, well-governed if they are fortunate, but in any event, governed.” It was in this same article that Lippmann opined that he was not yet quite certain whether or not we might eventually have to go in the direction of Salazar and France!

With this kind of thinking, you can appreciate why the Constitution represents such a monstrosity of frustration and obstruction to men who would like to seize power and solve our problems their own special way, whether we liked it or not.

Samuel Adams had these specific power-hungry, problem solvers in mind when he said the founding fathers looked upon these collectivist schemes as “arbitrary, despotic, and in our government, unconstitutional.” 5

Obviously, some affairs belong to government, but their administrating has always been characterized by two weaknesses: administrative inefficiency and excessive cost. Therefore, it was intended that the American people be trained to solve the vast majority of their problems on the local level and wherever possible on a personal level. As Benjamin Franklin said, “It is wonderful how preposterously the affairs of this world are managed. Naturally one would imagine, that the interest of a few individuals should give way to general interest; but individuals manage their affairs with so much application, industry, and address, than the public do theirs, that general interests most commonly give way to particular.” 6

The History of Thirty-Five Years of Circumventing the Constitution

There was nothing in the way of “general welfare” and “the pursuit of happiness” which the founding fathers wanted Americans to miss. All they asked us to do was solve our problems in the framework of freedom provided by the Constitution. They knew this would take a bit of genius, but what good is the whole world if one has lost his freedom obtaining it? That is why Benjamin Franklin said what he did at the close of the Constitutional Convention. When a woman asked him what they had provided the people, he said, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” He meant a system of representative government in which the people would remain the masters. It did not mean they could not get their problems solved. It meant they were to be solved by the public servants in terms of the will of the people and not the will of despotic bureaucrats.

In recent years the Constitution of the United States has gone through a period of disrespect and indifference which has brought on a harvest of nightmares which the founding fathers were trying to help us avoid. As emergencies have arisen, the collectivists have panicked the public with the “urgent need” to solve these problems even though their proposed methods of solving them were outside the protection of the Constitution. As a result, we have inherited a whole chain of government fiascos with which the nation has now encumbered itself. We find ourselves in our second “undeclared” and therefore un-Constitutional war. We find ourselves engulfed in an excessive burden of taxation which is being expended largely for un-Constitutional and therefore illegal purposes. We find the “rights” of fifty independent states virtually relegated to the ash-heap. We have always wanted to help other people and the poor among our own people, but now we find our own economy so close to bankruptcy that even the slightest threat of a minor recession creates a near panic on Wall Street. We have courts that ignore the law and follow the whims of the men who sit in the judgment seats. We have administrative law replacing Congressional law. We have fortunes being made or lost as a result of individual interpretations of the law by tax collection agents, so that cheating on taxes is considered ethically justified. We talk about civil rights but get civil riots.

The spirit of the times is reflected in our schools where campuses are being radicalized by students who have lost faith in their country, and, like Walter Lippmann, long for an orderly society even if it is an authoritarian society. The cultural crisis has also spread to our homes, our churches, our theaters and TV screens.

It is time America took a cold, hard look at this cultural crisis. The first thing we need to recognize is the fact that every violation of the Constitution was justified on the grounds that it was for “a good cause,” which it was.

The second thing we need to recognize is the fact the every one of those “good causes” could have been handled without violating the Constitution. We just didn’t take enough time to figure out how. Or those who did figure it out couldn’t get access to the radio, TV and press because the mass media became enamored with some gimmick solution which violated the Constitution but was “filled with the promises of a quick solution.”

The third thing we need to recognize is that the solution to our problems is not more of the same, but a return to fundamentals and common sense. There is a way out. It will take some careful restructuring, but it can be done. It would be infantile for us to assume that the people who created the mess are likely to give us hope for a solution. But that is what they want to do.

The Latest Gimmick Is a New Constitution

With all the fanfare and publicity that the big tax-exempt foundations and other collectivist forces can muster, the American people are now going to be exposed to a flood of propaganda in favor of a new constitution. While the Fund for the Republic and the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions is drumming up support for this new Federal charter, another group (also with the backing of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions) is launching a grass roots movement to demand a prompt and decisive solution to all our problems. This second group is setting up several fronts, the most notable one being called, “Common Cause,” led by John W. Gardner.

Mr. Gardner is a strongly entrenched collectivist of national prominence. He is the former president of the Carnegie Corporation and president of one of its foundations. He is a member of the Council On Foreign Relations (which is working for a Socialist United States and eventually a global government). In 1965, he was chairman of the White House Conference on Education which prepared the foundation for nationalizing American education. Later he became President Johnson’s secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

One needs to have nothing against Mr. Gardner personally in order to be vigorously opposed to what he represents. And what he represents are some passionate demands for “citizen involvement” in a massive drive to make the necessary changes so we can “get our problems solved.” Once again the solution is going to be either un-Constitutional shortcuts or scrapping the Constitution all together.

So that you may see what the new Constitution would do to the United States, we will present its basic structure in our next issue. As we have indicated earlier, this new Constitution has all the ingredients for the one thing American law enforcement abhors — the use of police powers to achieve political ends. The new Constitution would not only nationalize the police but the whole nation.

My beloved brothers and sisters, seen and unseen—and we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same Father in the spirit—humbly and gratefully I stand before you on this anniversary date of the organization of the restored church of Jesus Christ, 142 years ago. I love a general conference of the Church, except this particular part, and yet I rejoice in the opportunity to bear testimony to this, the greatest work in all the world.

Last fall I was invited by Baron von Blomberg, president of the United Religions Organization, to represent the Church as a guest of the king of Persia at the twenty-five hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. Advised by the First Presidency to accept the invitation, I left immediately following the October conference to join with representatives of twenty-seven world religions, some fifty monarchs, and other notables at this historic celebration in Iran.

King Cyrus lived more than five hundred years before Christ and figured in prophecies of the Old Testament mentioned in 2 Chronicles and the book of Ezra, and by the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel. The Bible states how “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia.” (2 Chr. 36:22.) Cyrus restored certain political and social rights to the captive Hebrews, gave them permission to return to Jerusalem, and directed that Jehovah’s temple should be rebuilt.

Parley P. Pratt, in describing the Prophet Joseph Smith, said that he had “the boldness, courage, temperance, perseverance and generosity of a Cyrus.” (Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt [Deseret Book Company, 1938], p. 46.)

President Wilford Woodruff said:

“Now I have thought many times that some of those ancient kings that were raised up, had in some respects more regard for the carrying out of some of these principles and laws, than even the Latter-day Saints have in our day. I will take as an ensample Cyrus. … To trace the life of Cyrus from his birth to his death, whether he knew it or not, it looked as though he lived by inspiration in all his movements. He began with that temperance and virtue which would sustain any Christian country or any Christian king. … Many of these principles followed him, and I have thought many of them were worthy, in many respects, the attention of men who have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 22, p. 207.)

God, the Father of us all, uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes. It has been true in the past, it is true today, it will be true in the future.

“Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of His Church to help it along,” said the late Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve. “They are among its auxiliaries, and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else. … Hence, some are drawn into the fold and receive a testimony of the truth; while others remain unconverted … the beauties and glories of the gospel being veiled temporarily from their view, for a wise purpose. The Lord will open their eyes in His own due time. God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous for any one people. … We have no quarrel with the Gentiles. They are our partners in a certain sense.” (Conference Report, April 1928, p. 59.)

This would certainly have been true of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a true friend of the Saints in their dire need. It was true of General Doniphan, who, when ordered by his superior to shoot Joseph Smith, said: “It is cold blooded murder. I will not obey your order. … and if you execute these men, I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so help me God.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, p. 241.)

We honor these partners because their devotion to correct principles overshadowed their devotion to popularity, party, or personalities.

We honor our founding fathers of this republic for the same reason. God raised up these patriotic partners to perform their mission, and he called them “wise men.” (See D&C 101:80.) The First Presidency acknowledged that wisdom when they gave us the guideline a few years ago of supporting political candidates “who are truly dedicated to the Constitution in the tradition of our Founding Fathers.” (Deseret News, November 2, 1964.) That tradition has been summarized in the book The American Tradition by Clarence Carson.

The Lord said that “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” (Luke 16:8.) Our wise founders seemed to understand, better than most of us, our own scripture, which states that “it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority … they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.” (D&C 121:39.)

To help prevent this, the founders knew that our elected leaders should be bound by certain fixed principles. Said Thomas Jefferson: “In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”

These wise founders, our patriotic partners, seemed to appreciate more than most of us the blessings of the boundaries that the Lord set within the Constitution, for he said, “And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.” (D&C 98:7.)

In God the founders trusted, and in his Constitution—not in the arm of flesh. “O Lord,” said Nephi, “I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; … cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Ne. 4:34.)

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., put it well when he said:

“God provided that in this land of liberty, our political allegiance shall run not to individuals, that is, to government officials, no matter how great or how small they may be. Under His plan our allegiance and the only allegiance we owe as citizens or denizens of the United States, runs to our inspired Constitution which God himself set up. So runs the oath of office of those who participate in government. A certain loyalty we do owe to the office which a man holds, but even here we owe just by reason of our citizenship, no loyalty to the man himself. In other countries it is to the individual that allegiance runs. This principle of allegiance to the Constitution is basic to our freedom. It is one of the great principles that distinguishes this ‘land of liberty’ from other countries.” (Improvement Era, July 1940, p. 444.)

“Patriotism,” said Theodore Roosevelt, “means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. …

“Every man,” said President Roosevelt, “who parrots the cry of ‘stand by the President’ without adding the proviso ‘so far as he serves the Republic’ takes an attitude as essentially unmanly as that of any Stuart royalist who championed the doctrine that the King could do no wrong. No self-respecting and intelligent free man could take such an attitude.” (Theodore Roosevelt, Works, vol. 21, pp. 316, 321.) And yet as Latter-day Saints we should pray for our civic leaders and encourage them in righteousness.

“… to vote for wicked men, it would be sin,” said Hyrum Smith. (Documentary History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 323.)

And the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “… let the people of the whole Union, like the inflexible Romans, whenever they find a promise made by a candidate that is not practiced as an officer, hurl the miserable sycophant from his exaltation. …” (DHC, vol. 6, p. 207.)

Joseph and Hyrum’s trust did not run to the arm of flesh, but to God and correct eternal principles. “I am the greatest advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on the earth,” said the Prophet Joseph Smith. (DHC, vol. 6, p. 56.)

The warning of President Joseph Fielding Smith is most timely: “Now I tell you it is time the people of the United States were waking up with the understanding that if they don’t save the Constitution from the dangers that threaten it, we will have a change of government.” (Conference Report, April 1950, p. 159.)

Another guideline given by the First Presidency was “to support good and conscientious candidates, of either party, who are aware of the great dangers” facing the free world. (Deseret News, November 2, 1964.)

Fortunately we have materials to help us face these threatening dangers in the writings of President David O. McKay and other church leaders. Some other fine sources by LDS authors attempting to awaken and inform us of our duty are: Prophets, Principles, and National Survival (Jerreld L. Newquist), Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen (H. Verlan Andersen), and The Elders of Israel and the Constitution (Jerome Horowitz).

But the greatest handbook for freedom in this fight against evil is the Book of Mormon.

This leads me to the second great civic standard for the Saints. For in addition to our inspired Constitution, we have the scriptures.

Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon was the “keystone of our religion” and the “most correct” book on earth. (DHC, vol. 6, p. 56.) This most correct book on earth states that the downfall of two great American civilizations came as a result of secret conspiracies whose desire was to overthrow the freedom of the people. “And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking,” says Moroni, “and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.” (Ether 8:21.)

Now undoubtedly Moroni could have pointed out many factors that led to the destruction of the people, but notice how he singled out the secret combinations, just as the Church today could point out many threats to peace, prosperity, and the spread of God’s work, but it has singled out the greatest threat as the godless conspiracy. There is no conspiracy theory in the Book of Mormon —it is a conspiracy fact.

And along this line, I would highly recommend to you a new book entitled None Dare Call it Conspiracy, by Gary Allen.

Then Moroni speaks to us in this day and says, “Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you” (Ether 8:14.)

The Book of Mormon further warns that “whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold they shall be destroyed. …” (Ether 8:22.)

This scripture should alert us to what is ahead unless we repent, because there is no question but that as people of the free world, we are increasingly upholding many of the evils of the adversary today. By court edict godless conspirators can run for government office, teach in our schools, hold office in labor unions, work in our defense plants, serve in our merchant marines, etc. As a nation, we are helping to underwrite many evil revolutionaries in our country.

Now we are assured that the Church will remain on the earth until the Lord comes again—but at what price? The Saints in the early days were assured that Zion would be established in Jackson County, but look at what their unfaithfulness cost them in bloodshed and delay.

President Clark warned us that “we stand in danger of losing our liberties, and that once lost, only blood will bring them back; and once lost, we of this church will, in order to keep the Church going forward, have more sacrifices to make and more persecutions to endure than we have yet known. …” (CR, April 1944, p. 116.) And he stated that if the conspiracy “comes here it will probably come in its full vigor and there will be a lot of vacant places among those who guide and direct, not only this government, but also this Church of ours.” (CR, April 1952.)

Now the third great civic standard for the Saints is the inspired word of the prophets—particularly the living president, God’s mouthpiece on the earth today. Keep your eye on the captain and judge the words of all lesser authority by his inspired counsel.

The story is told how Brigham Young, driving through a community, saw a man building a house and simply told him to double the thickness of his walls. Accepting President Young as a prophet, the man changed his plans and doubled the walls. Shortly afterward a flood came through that town, resulting in much destruction, but this man’s walls stood. While putting the roof on his house, he was heard singing, “We thank thee, O God, for a prophet!”

Joseph Smith taught “that a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such.” (DHC, vol. 5, p. 265.)

Suppose a leader of the Church were to tell you that you were supporting the wrong side of a particular issue. Some might immediately resist this leader and his counsel or ignore it, but I would suggest that you first apply the fourth great civic standard for the faithful Saints. That standard is to live for, to get, and then to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Said Brigham Young: “I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. … Let every man and woman know, by the whisperings of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not.” (JD, vol. 9, p. 150.)

A number of years ago, because of a statement that appeared to represent the policy of the Church, a faithful member feared he was supporting the wrong candidate for public office. Humbly he took the matter up with the Lord. Through the Spirit of the Lord he gained the conviction of the course he should follow, and he dropped his support of this particular candidate.

This good brother, by fervent prayer, got the answer that in time proved to be the right course.

We urge all men to read the Book of Mormon and then ask God if it is true. And the promise is sure that they may know of its truthfulness through the Holy Ghost, “and by the power of the Holy Ghost [men] may know the truth of all things.” (Moro. 10:5.)

We need the constant guidance of that Spirit. We live in an age of deceit. “O my people,” said Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, “they who lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths.” (2 Ne. 13:12.) Even within the Church we have been warned that “the ravening wolves are amongst us, from our own membership, and they, more than any others, are clothed in sheep’s clothing, because they wear the habiliments of the priesthood.” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., CR, April 1949, p. 163.)

The Lord holds us accountable if we are not wise and are deceived. “For they that are wise,” he said, “and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.” (D&C 45:57.)

And so four great civic standards for the faithful Saints are, first, the Constitution ordained by God through wise men; second, the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon; third, the inspired counsel of the prophets, especially the living president, and fourth, the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

God bless us all that we may use these standards and by so doing bless ourselves, our families, our community, our nation, and the world, I humbly pray, as I bear my witness to the truth of this great latter-day work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

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

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

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

Fear for free world

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

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

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

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

Insidious evils widespread

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

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

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

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

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

Courageous action needed

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

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

Eternal verities

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

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

Astronauts’ praise of God

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

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

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

War against religion

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

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

Strategy of godless forces

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

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

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

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

Recognition of Russia

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

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

Works of atheism

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

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

America’s belief in God

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

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

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

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

Start working and praying

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

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

Other nations might well follow a similar pattern of concern.

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

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

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