Courage, honesty, loyalty, patriotism, law and order—these and other elements of the divine nature are no longer revered as virtues.

Source: Elder Marion G. Romney
General Conference, April 1969

Topics: Virtue

If America is destroyed, it may be by Americans who salute the flag, sing the national anthem, march in patriotic parades, cheer Fourth of July speakers—normally good Americans, but Americans who fail to comprehend what is required to keep our country strong and free—Americans who have been lulled away into a false security.

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, April 1968

Topics: Freedom, Loss of

Gradual encroachments

The facts are clear. Our problem centers in Washington, D.C. And this applies to the administration of both political parties. In the words of James Madison, “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.” (Elliot’s Debates, Vol. 3, p. 87.)

If America is to withstand these influences and trends, there must be a renewal of the spirit of our forefathers, an appreciation of the American way of life, a strengthening of muscle and sinew and the character of the nation. America needs guts as well as guns. National character is the core of national defense.

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, April 1968

Topics: Freedom, Loss of; Freedom, Restoration of

Appreciation for American system

Could many of our ills today have resulted from our failure to train a strong citizenry from the only source we have—the boys and girls of each community? Have they grown up to believe in politics without principle, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without effort, wealth without work, business without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice?

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, April 1968

Topics: Education

We can never survive unless our young people understand and appreciate our American system, which has given more of the good things of life than any other system in the world—unless they have a dedication that exceeds the dedication of the enemy. Character must become important in this country again. The old essentials of honesty, self-respect, loyalty, and support for law and order must be taught the younger generation.

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, April 1968

Topics: Education; Virtue

Heritage threatened

Our priceless heritage is threatened today as never before in our lifetime: from without by the forces of Godless Communism, and at home by our complacency and by the insidious forces of the Socialist-Communist conspiracy, with the help of those who would abandon the ancient landmarks set by our fathers and take us down the road to destruction. It was Alexander Hamilton who warned that “nothing is more common than for a free people, in times of heat and violence, to gratify momentary passions, by letting into the government, principles and precedents which afterwards prove fatal to themselves.” (Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation, p. 462.)

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, April 1968

Topics: America, Heritage; Freedom, Loss of

Responsibility as parents

We can spend millions in remedial programs aimed at the prevention and cure of crime, but the plain fact remains that until citizens recognize their divine responsibility as parents and are willing to be honest and respected themselves, and to teach their children likewise, crime will continue to increase. The home must ever foster the great and lasting virtues of purity of life, honesty, thrift, benevolence, and patriotism. To do this requires effort from both mother and father. It cannot be relegated to a baby sitter or a nursery school.

Source: Bishop John H. Vandenberg
General Conference, October 1967

Topics: Education; Virtue

Blessings for obedience

Men receive blessings by obedience to God’s laws, and without obedience there is no blessing. Before the final triumphal return of the Lord, the question as to whether we may save our constitutional republic is simply based on two factors: the number of patriots and the extent of their obedience.

That the Lord desires to save this nation that he raised up, there is no doubt. But that he leaves it up to us, with his help, is the awful reality.

There is a time and season for all righteous things, and many of life’s failures arise when men neither take the time nor find the season to perform their eternal duties.

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, April 1967

Topics: Freedom, Loss of

We shall not build love of country by taking away from our youth the principles which made us strong—thrift, initiative, self-reliance, and an overriding sense of duty to God and to man.

A terrible price has been paid by those who have gone before us, this that we might have the blessings of liberty and peace. I stood not long ago at Valley Forge, where George Washington and his ragged army spent the winter of 1776. As I did so, I thought of a scene from Maxwell Anderson’s play in which Washington looks on a little group of his soldiers, shoveling the cold earth over a dead comrade, and says grimly, “This liberty will look easy by and by when nobody dies to get it.”

Source: Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
General Conference, October 1965

Topics: Freedom, Price of; Principles

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