Sunday,12/18/16,7:41am, Good Morning Brandon, Ups and downs and all over the place. Items:1- Scott'77 texted me twice. It has almost been a year. He wants to talk and I am nervous. Maybe he has been offended again by what I have written. I removed a closing paragraph last night from one of my postcards/ blogposts in fear of having offended him. Good news, I gave him my 10 message vmail number so he can call and talk to his heart’s content and I won't have to respond until I am comfortable. [Monday: Update: He called and left a 1:11 minute message. He sounded old. He said he was very tired but told me he loved me 3 different ways. Relief. I wasn’t it trouble.] 2- I took L 3 packages of pork chops last Sunday. He finally smoked them yesterday and brought me some and ate some and distributed the rest around his neighborhood. He said there were 4 families that said thank you. 3- Grace'14 came with L and loved my house full of fish! :) 4- Peacock Mantis Shrimp is beautiful and deadly. We have 3 color cones in our eyes to see all the colors of the rainbow. Dogs have two. PMS has 16 and perhaps because of that it displays a beautiful panoply of patterns. 5- Lake Baikal plays an important role in the Louis L'Amour book I am reading. It is north of Mongolia and is the biggest deepest rift lake in the world. It has the only freshwater seals too. 3rd biggest overall. 6- The trans Siberian Railroad is the most important mode of transportation of goods in Russia. You can imagine with that humongous country that being able to move from one side to the other would be important. Sort of like the US or Canada. It currently takes 9 days to deliver. Versus 20+ days by ocean. 7- I cleaned the front glass of 4 tanks/aquariums with a razor blade yesterday. It has been 6 months for a couple of them. 8- My first day with the FHC closed and I succeeded in getting my 100 II. Little, old, chubby, gregarious Elder Minardi has to look at his fingers as he types. He loves to adventure into all the Italian batches that are available. They posted 2 down at the bottom of the 20 available for Italy last month that are from Rome. One of those is the 5 point birth names I am working on. 9- These have 3 certificates per image and I do about 10 batches a day. So that is about 300 in a month. Now the weird part. In all that time there has only been once when I noticed a batch missing in the sequence that I did not do myself! Each batch is indexed twice and then compared by an arbitrator. Evidently, I am keeping far enough ahead of any other indexers for this new release that they are always the second person to index. Because I am always the first. No one has been getting any of the batches before me because none have been missing in sequence. It is so weird and unexpected. And sort of fun! 10- I got a large oak tag/ad in the mail with 2 Target coupons on it for $5 off of $10 spent. I never go to Target but I figured this was worth it. They are dated so last month I got 3 wall clocks and this week I planned to get Lifesaver candy Books for Christmas. When I went to pick them up they were all sold out! I asked for help twice to find them and finally the helper said, “You might have to go to a lower volume store to find what you want. We have been drained by the Christmas rush.” I am totally unfamiliar with any Christmas rush. Giving $ or Amazon gift cards has kept me out of the competition. 11- Since I couldn't get those LS candy books, I got a couple of pair of headphones instead. I tried the red-violet set and they were nice and loud. I am pleased. 12- I had a near miss on a migraine last night. That means I had eaten some MSG 24 hours before but only enough to affect my eyes for an hour and not get the headache. Relief! The only source where some treats I brought home from BoM class the night before that I saved and ate Friday night. 13- Janice Divine was interested in my studies of 2N 25 to the end. I had called her while on a dog walk Saturday night and left two 4 min vmails. She was intrigued and questioned me even a week later, by email. I expressed my feelings about 2 N 25:29 and then since she really wanted my observations I cut and pasted all the stuff I had written you. Double duty! I love it when I can use something twice without having to repeat all the work. 14- Next Tuesday will be 3 weeks with this cough. It is like there is a little feather in my dry throat that starts waving around twice a day which I can't ignore. So weird. 15- Louis toured the house while he was here with Gracie yesterday, dropping off the smoked pork chops. I am such a terrible housekeeper! What a mess I live in. He offered to string some Christmas lights for me. No thanks. I would just have to take them down afterwards. Silly me. 16- Done. Enough items. Thanks for being patient. @@ Did you know the US decided to copy Mexico in making its silver and gold dollars? And that the dollar sign came from a P written over the S from Peso! $ Spain was minting silver pesos in Mexico City which were the main coin and money in the 16 and 1700's. A peso was a dollar! Check this out! Wiki:The American dollar coin was initially based on the value and look of the Spanish dollar, used widely in Spanish America from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The first dollar coins issued by the United States Mint (founded 1792) were similar in size and composition to the Spanish dollar, minted in Mexico and Peru. The Spanish, U.S. silver dollars, and later, Mexican silver pesos circulated side by side in the United States, and the Spanish dollar and Mexican peso remained legal tender until the Coinage Act of 1857. The coinage of various English colonies also circulated. [Not sure if this interests you but man who would have thought that money has not always been the same? They talk about the decimalization of money. Which means that a dollar equals 100 pennies. Decimal! Before that it was divided into quarters and halves and eighths and sixteenths etc.!!] The lion dollar was popular in the Dutch New Netherland Colony (New York), but the lion dollar also circulated throughout the English colonies during the 17th century and early 18th century. Examples circulating in the colonies were usually worn so that the design was not fully distinguishable, thus they were sometimes referred to as "dog dollars".@The U.S. dollar was first defined by the Coinage Act of 1792, which specified a "dollar" to be based in the Spanish milled dollar and of 371 grains and 4 sixteenths part of a grain of pure or 416 grains (27.0 g) of standard silver and an "eagle" to be 247 and 4 eighths of a grain or 270 grains (17 g) of gold (again depending on purity). The choice of the value 371 grains arose from Alexander Hamilton's decision to base the new American unit on the average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. Hamilton got the treasury to weigh a sample of Spanish dollars and the average weight came out to be 371 grains. A new Spanish dollar was usually about 377 grains in weight, and so the new U.S. dollar was at a slight discount in relation to the Spanish dollar. @The same coinage act also set the value of an eagle at 10 dollars, and the dollar at 1⁄10 eagle. It called for 90% silver alloy coins in denominations of 1, 1⁄2, 1⁄4, 1⁄10, and 1⁄20 dollars; it called for 90% gold alloy coins in denominations of 1, 1⁄2, 1⁄4, and 1⁄10 eagles. @The value of gold or silver contained in the dollar was then converted into relative value in the economy for the buying and selling of goods. This allowed the value of things to remain fairly constant over time, except for the influx and outflux of gold and silver in the nation's economy. @The early currency of the United States did not exhibit faces of presidents, as is the custom now; although today, by law, only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency. In fact, the newly formed government was against having portraits of leaders on the currency, a practice compared to the policies of European monarchs. The currency as we know it today did not get the faces they currently have until after the early 20th century; before that "heads" side of coinage used profile faces and striding, seated, and standing figures from Greek and Roman mythology and composite Native Americans. The last coins to be converted to profiles of historic Americans were the dime (1946) and the Dollar (1971).@~@ Did you have fun with that Brandon? Curious huh! Are you wondering what a grain is? I am. @wiki: GRAIN=A grain is a unit of measurement of mass, and, for the troy grain, equal to exactly 64.79891 milligrams. It is nominally based upon the mass of a single seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat and barley grains were part of the legal definitions of units of mass. Rather, expressions such as "thirty-two grains of wheat, taken from the middle of the ear" appear to have been ritualistic formulas. The unit was based on the weight of a single grain of barley, considered equivalent to 1 1⁄3 grains of wheat. @Since the implementation of the international yard and pound agreement of 1 July 1959, the grain or troy grain (Symbol: gr) measure has been defined in terms of units of mass in the International System of Units as precisely 64.79891 milligrams.:1 gram is approximately 15.43236 grains.: The unit formerly used by jewellers to measure pearls, diamonds, or other precious stones, called the jeweller's grain or pearl grain, is equal to 1⁄4 of a carat, or 50 mg. @~@ What? A barley corn? A grain of barley? Which equals 1 1/3 grains of wheat? You have got to be kidding! Grain really meant grain! How many grains of powder in those shells? Might be a question a rifleman might ask. @ Next. So some coins are smooth on the edge like a penny or nickel. Others are textured like a dime or quarter. Guess what that texture is called? Plain versus Reed. A reed is a plant that grows in a swamp. If it falls in the mud it leaves a cylinder imprint. A dime has 118 reeds and a quarter has 119 reeds. A Sacagawea golden dollar has letters on the edge. All this stuff I have just taken for granted. In Guatemala the dollar bills were all different colors like in Canada. They were name after their national bird, Quetzal. Sort of like our Eagles ($10) and Double Eagles ($20) etc.. @ 9:18am see ya later @MONDAY 11:10am Sunday was beautiful. I felt so blessed. Being alone you may be able to understand the value of feeling accepted and appreciated by members of a ward. I had tears come to my eyes a number of times and felt so reassured. And I really wanted and needed it. Three cute stories: A-The teachers use a lacey cover over the sacrament and a solid one underneath. BrittonJ was setting it up and I saw that they used a lacey one under as well as on top. There are 3 total that are in the drawer and available to use. I draped one over the recliner in the mother’s lounge last week so it could dry. I went and looked and brought it in and offered it to Britton. He said no thanks, the one they had was good enough. I folded the now dry, solid one and put it in the drawer. We are finishing choir practice and the bishop come back to my row and asks if I got his text. The 9am ward couldn’t find it and he had heard I had taken it home to wash it and would I please return it ASAP. I walked him up to the drawer and showed it to him and explained that Wyatt Haney and Josh Hoppie had been been dithering with the water cups last week and stacking and spilling them. And after the trays had been removed there was a puddle underneath. Believe it or not I had gone and gathered up the cloth and followed them to the back of the room where they were visiting and had them hold it so they could see it was wet. Josh threw it to Wyatt said, you take it home and wash it. Wyatt threw it back and said, no you! I gathered it back and said, So now you know better than to do that again don’t you. And they agreed. I felt compelled to turn it into a lesson. Discipline comes from disciple which means to follow and advance as you learn. Chastise comes from the word chaste which means to learn and to purify. I hoped I did a little Christlike disciplining last week. AS I concluded my visit with the bishop I congratulated him on his detective work. He smiled and admitted he had some helpers. Now Brandon how do you think I felt about that whole thing? Do you think I was embarrassed I hadn’t returned the cloth in time? Yep. I had left the mother’s lounge door open so someone could see and return it when dry last week but who would have known besides me? Did I wonder if I was “in trouble”? Yep, and I had to keep telling myself I had not sinned. Was I glad I had already gotten it returned. Yep. WAS I sad I had not read the bishop’s text? Not really. If I don’t check my phone on Sunday, no big deal. B-Special Missionary Elder Dallin Ricketts has an extendable silver wand/pointer he has been using to lead the Priesthood music. I invited him about 6 weeks ago. He thought he would be able to do it perfectly and get all that attention from standing up front the very first week. In face he wanted to lead the 3 hymns in sacrament meeting that day. In contrast, Last Sunday after trying to lead #201 Joy to the World 2/4time,he asked how he had done and then admitted the songs go much much quicker than when he plays and practices them in his head. (He usually sits on the 3rd north row in sacrament meeting and practices there while he watches me lead.) I started Joy to the World on a bad note too! If you do not start high enough on that first note you end up in the basement and cellar by the time you hit the low ones. Peter Nielsen, stake presidency counselor, raise his eyebrows as I hit the lowest notes last week with my deep cold. :) As I sat by Elder R to plan our hymn in priesthood I asked if he had noticed the Sacrament meeting hymn, Joy to the World that day. He had, in fact we had smiled and nodded to each other as I was leading! We did #202 Hark the Herald Angels Sing 4/4 time yesterday. Once again he was hopelessly behind in his leading. I had written the words on the board as I have the last 2 years we have been in that room. And I hummed the song to him after writing them so I could start on a good note this time. I showed him how to correct the note, but ER has never been much for singing. Smile. I decided to use the electric piano for the first note but couldn’t get it to turn on. After 5 tries I asked Brigham Gardner17 to help me and he succeeded. Brig had earlier teased me about someone taking over my calling as chorister. Little does he know how much really goes into that job. Yay, now I can turn it on next week! (As I reconsidered my interactions with Elder Dallin Ricketts a few times yesterday and when I prayed last night I had tears come to my eyes. These learning interactions between HF’s children are what life is really all about.) C-So S. Heidi Christensen my organist grabs me and tells me they are doing a duet for the musical number, but she can’t give me a copy of the music because the library is locked. No big deal. Then she tells me the congregation is supposed to join in. Now big deal! But I play it cool and tell her no worries, I will just stand behind her and look at her music if I have to. This next part is so funny. When it comes time for the musical number we three stand and take our positions. The number was missing from the program but because Heidi said I included/posted it on the front chart. I opened my hymn book and showed the congregation and pointed to the chart so they would know we were joining it. They were cooperative and intrigued. We came in late on both of the only two verses. Oh well. I wanted to tell them, that at least we got to listen to the organ and piano together. After the meeting Sister Randalin Hilton played the postlude music. When done Heidi Christensen dropped by. They wanted to share their experience in words! I suggested we perform it again next week if there was time. Randalin was having none of that! She desperately was showing Heidi the mistakes she had made! Heidi energetically shared the mistakes she had made and when things had settled down I shared how I had brought the audience in late both times. (Like I was supposed to do any better than that without ever having practiced!) Once again I suggested we volunteer to do it again next week. This time Randalin enthusiastically replied, Sure. This could count as our practice and that as our performance. Just my thoughts as well. Conclusion:See how fun it was to be involved yesterday, bps! @ @ Here are some quotes from ETB Apr'76: Every Latter-day Saint should love the inspired Constitution of the United States—a nation with a spiritual foundation and a prophetic history—which nation the Lord has declared to be his base of operations in these latter days.
The framers of the Constitution were men raised up by God to establish this foundation of our government, for so the Lord has declared by revelation in these words:
“I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.” (D&C 101:80; italics added.)
Yes, this is a land fertilized by the blood of patriots. During the struggle for independence, nearly 9,000 of the colonist forces were killed. Among those fifty-six patriots who had pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor by signing the Declaration of Independence, at least nine paid that price with their life’s blood.
At the close of the Revolution, the thirteen states found themselves independent but then faced grave internal economic and political problems. The Articles of Confederation had been adopted but proved to be ineffectual. Under this instrument, the nation was without a president, a head. There was a congress, but it was a body destitute of any power. There was no supreme court. The states were merely a confederation.
Washington wrote of the defects of this loose federation in these words: “The fabrick which took nine years, at the expense of much blood and treasure to rear, now totters to the foundation, and without support must soon fall.” (John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., Writings of George Washington, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1939, 29:68.) Because of this crisis, fifty-five of the seventy-four appointed delegates reported to the convention, representing every state except Rhode Island, for the purpose of forming “a more perfect union.” Thirty-nine finally signed the Constitution.
Who were these delegates, those whom the Lord designated “wise men” whom he raised up? They were mostly young men in the prime of their life, their average age being forty-four. Benjamin Franklin was the eldest at eighty-one. George Washington, the presiding officer at the convention, was fifty-five. Alexander Hamilton was only thirty-two; James Madison, who recorded the proceedings of the convention with his remarkable Notes, was only thirty-six. These were young men, but men of exceptional character, “sober, seasoned, distinguished men of affairs, drawn from various walks of life.” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Stand Fast by Our Constitution, Deseret Book Co., 1965, p. 135.)
“They were not backwoodsmen from far-off frontiers, not one of them. … There has not been another such group of men in all [the 200 years of our history] that even challenged the supremacy of this group.” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Reports, April 1957, p. 47.) President Wilford Woodruff said they “were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits. …” (Wilford Woodruff, Cr, April 1898, p. 89; italics added.)
Following the drafting of the Constitution, it awaited ratification by the states. In 1787 three states ratified the Constitution. In the next year eight more followed; and on April 6, 1789, 187 years ago today, the Constitution of the United States went into operation as the basic law of the United States when the electoral college unanimously elected George Washington as the first president of the nation. This date, I believe, was not accidental.
In the final analysis, what the framers did, under the inspiration of God, was to draft a document that merited the approval of God himself, who declared it to “be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh.” (D&C 101:77; italics added.)
The document has been criticized by some as outmoded, and even a recent president of the United States criticized it as a document “written for an entirely different period in our nation’s history.” (U.S. News and World Report, Dec. 17, 1962, p. 104.) The eminent Constitutional authority, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., has answered this argument in these words:
“These were the horse and buggy days as they have been called in derision; these were the men who traveled in the horse drawn buggies and on horseback; but these were the men who carried under their hats, as they rode in the buggies and on their horses, a political wisdom garnered from the ages.” (Stand Fast by Our Constitution, p. 136.)
What those framers did can be better appreciated when it is considered that when the instrument went into operation, it covered only thirteen states with fewer than four million people. Today it adequately covers fifty states and over 200 million people.
The wisdom of these delegates is shown in the genius of the document itself. The founders had a strong distrust for centralized power in a federal government. So they created a government with checks and balances. This was to prevent any branch of the government from becoming too powerful.
When James Russell Lowell was asked, “How long will the American Republic endure?” he replied: “As long as the ideas of the men who founded it continue dominant.” May I comment on one of the most vital ideas and principles.
Constitutional government, as designed by the framers, will survive only with a righteous people. “Our Constitution,” said John Adams, first vice-president and second president, “was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John R. Howe, Jr., The Changing Political Thought of John Adams, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1966, p. 189.)
America, North and South, is a choice land, a land reserved for God’s own purposes. This land and its inhabitants are under an everlasting decree. The Lord revealed this decree to the brother of Jared, an American prophet, in these solemn words:
“And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. …
“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. …” (Ether 2:9, 10, 12.)
The Lord has also decreed that this land should be “the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, … the holy sanctuary of the Lord.” (Ether 13:3.) Here is our nation’s destiny! To serve God’s eternal purposes and to prepare this land and people for America’s eventual destiny, the Lord established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom he raised up to this very purpose. (See D&C 101:80.)
Many Americans have lost sight of the truth that righteousness is the one indispensable ingredient to liberty. Perhaps as never before in our history is our nation collectively deserving of the indictment pronounced by Abraham Lincoln in these words:
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.
“It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the Offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” (“A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America,” March 30, 1863, as cited in Richardson, Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Washington, D.C.: United States Congress, 1897, pp. 164–65.)
Unless we as citizens of this nation forsake our sins, political and otherwise, and return to the fundamental principles of Christianity and of constitutional government, we will lose our political liberties, our free institutions, and will stand in jeopardy before God of losing our exaltation. I am in full agreement with the statement made by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.:
“I say to you that the price of liberty is and always has been blood, human blood, and if our liberties are lost, we shall never regain them except at the price of blood. They must not be lost!” (Stand Fast by Our Constitution, p. 137.)
Yes, I repeat, righteousness is an indispensable ingredient to liberty. Virtuous people elect wise and good representatives. Good representatives make good laws and then wisely administer them. This tends to preserve righteousness. An unvirtuous citizenry tend to elect representatives who will pander to their covetous lustings. The burden of self-government is a great responsibility. It calls for restraint, righteousness, responsibility, and reliance upon God. It is a truism from the Lord that “when the wicked rule the people mourn.” (D&C 98:9.)
As presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, George Washington appealed to the delegates in these words: “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair.” Wise and honorable men raised that glorious standard for this nation. It will also take wise and honorable men to perpetuate what was so nobly established.
A citizen of this republic cannot do his duty and be an idle spectator. How appropriate and vital it is at the time of our nation’s 200th birthday to remember this counsel from the Lord:
“Honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold.” (D&C 98:10.)
Goodness, wisdom, and honesty are the three qualities of statesmanship, qualities this country needs more than ever before. May we be wise—prayerfully wise—in the electing of those who would lead us. May we select only those who understand and will adhere to Constitutional principles. To do so, we need to understand these principles ourselves.
In 1973 the First Presidency of the Church made public this statement:
“We urge members of the Church and all Americans to begin now to reflect more intently on the meaning and importance of the Constitution, and of adherence to its principles.” (Ensign, Nov. 1973, p. 90.)
May I urge every Latter-day Saint and all Americans in North and South America to become familiar with every part of this document. Many of the constitutions of countries in South America have been patterned in large measure after that of the United States. We should understand the Constitution as the founders meant that it should be understood. We can do this by reading their words about it, such as those contained in the Federalist Papers. Such understanding is essential if we are to preserve what God has given us.
I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed his stamp of approval on the Constitution of this land. I testify that the God of heaven selected and sent some of his choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government as a prologue to the restoration of the gospel and the second coming of our Savior.
May God bless us to protect this sacred instrument. In the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, “May those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever.” (D&C 109:54.) For this I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.@~@
OCTOBER 2001 | The Times in Which We Live Gordon B. Hinckley
President of the Church
Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.
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.[wiki George W. Bush's first term as president of the United States began on January 20, 2001 and continued until his second term commenced on January 20, 2005. By far the most memorable event of this first term in office was the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.]
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.
[Eight
million seven hundred thousand (give or take 1.3 million) is the
latest estimated total number of species on Earth and the most
precise calculation ever offered, according to a new study
co-authored by a researcher with the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).] I had to stop and read the whole article published
by UNEP. It was cool for me but I am not sure you would be
interested.
Gary
Pendleton and Mary Corporan
