Topic: Christianity, Matches 27 quotes.

We cannot close our eyes to the fact that the world is ripening in iniquity. The present-day turmoil and bitter strivings threaten to undermine the basic foundations of Christian relationship. Liberty, freedom of speech, self-government, faith in God, and, particularly, faith in the efficacy of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are facing a bombardment from the ranks of error such as the world has seldom if ever witnessed.

Source: President David O. McKay
General Conference, October 1969

Topics: Christianity; Freedom, Loss of

Law must be sustained

In a republic, the government has the sovereign right as well as the duty to protect the rights of the individual and to settle civil disputes or disorders by peaceful means. Citizens do not have the right to take the law into their own hands or exercise physical force. The sovereign laws of the state must be sustained, and persons living under those laws must obey them for the good of the whole. In this regard The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes a strong position. One of the fundamental tenets of its faith is clearly stated in these words: “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” (Article of Faith 12.)

Those in the world who have a belief in God live under the unusual circumstances of a dual sovereignty. In addition to being subject to the supreme power of the state, they have a fealty to God and a solemn duty to keep the commandments given by him. This idea of divine kingship and a sovereignty runs through all of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament.

Source: Elder Howard W. Hunter
General Conference, April 1968

Topics: Christianity; Law; Republic

Uphold the Constitution

We need not fear invasions from without, so long as we as a nation and as a people understand and uphold the Constitution of the United States, and reject not the God of the land who is Jesus Christ. But if we permit ourselves to forget God, we have no promise!

Moved upon by the Holy Spirit, the Prophet Lehi prophesied this regarding America:

“Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.” (2 Ne. 1:7. Italics added.)

What a simple recipe for peace and safety in this choice land!

Source: Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
General Conference, October 1967

Topics: Christianity; US Constitution

Respect for another’s rights and property is fundamental in good government. It is a mark of refinement in any individual, it is a fundamental Christian virtue.

Source: President David O. McKay
General Conference, April 1964

Topics: Christianity

A Nation Blessed “Whose God Is The Lord”

May a kind Providence give us the vision and courage necessary to stem these dangerous trends. We need, as we need no other thing, a nationwide repentance of our sins. Never before have we needed the blessings of Almighty God more than today. We need his divine favor in the halls of government, in our homes, in the factories and shops, on the farms and on the battlefields of the world.

Source: Elder Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, October 1944

Topics: Christianity

Power In The Priesthood

We have the Priesthood of Almighty God, and if we are righteous and magnify it, and exercise it, there is no limit to what we can accomplish in the way of good, no matter how great are the mere numbers arrayed against us.

I pray that we may magnify the Priesthood, that we may have vision, that we may not be led astray by mere names, that we shall be able intelligently to examine governmental procedures, and that bringing our judgment to the matter of government, we shall have wisdom and unusual discernment in selecting men for office who will stand for government that is compatible with the gospel.

I have not heard of it, but I hope that in some of our international conferences the men who are our leaders are big enough to get down on their knees and ask for divine guidance. I have not heard that it was done at Casablanca; I have not heard that it was done at Washington; I have not heard that it was done in Quebec. It may have been. I hope it was. But when we can have men who realize that the solution to our problems must be in terms of the word of the Lord, then shall we have just government; then can we fight a just battle.

Source: Elder Joseph F. Smith
General Conference, October 1943

Topics: Christianity; Leadership; Responsibility; Voting

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Psalms 33:12) So said the Psalmist. This saying it would be well for the people of America to remember.

Source: Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
General Conference, April 1943

Topics: Christianity

A few days ago, the Christian world celebrated the Easter Day. Churches were filled with worshipers, and for the moment, as on the Christmas day, men’s thoughts were turned to God. The unfortunate thing is that the spirit of the day is soon forgotten, and other hopes and feelings take grip on the soul. People are not happy, for they miss the very things that make for the joy of living. The youth have an aversion for hard work; the mad thirst for pleasure has replaced our sacred home life, and the hate of man for man has brought the nations of the earth to the verge of war.

Yet there are forces and truths in the world that may yet be taken to awaken a finer conscientiousness in the hearts of mankind, and a more sacred belief in the righteousness and justice of the dreams and ideals which the Christian world knelt in honor of last Easter Day. We are told by St. Mark, the Evangelist, in words of exquisite beauty that:

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him.

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

And when they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away; for it was very great.

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted; Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here.

For all the ills of government; for all the ills of humanity, in these words of St. Mark, there is fundamentally the panacea and the hope for humanity. How many millions of the Christian world have rolled away the stone from the sepulchre of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and know that he has risen as the true and living Christ, whose teachings can rejuvenate mankind? The power that rolls away the stone from the sepulchre and allows the risen Christ to come forth is contained in the words of the Master:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy might, mind and strength: and thy neighbor as thyself.

This is the way of mutuality and co-operation in human society. It is the Master’s way of doing away with hate and fear. It is only by the Christian world allowing the Christ to come forth to eternal life, that the civilization of the world can be saved.

Source: Elder Levi Edgar Young
General Conference, April 1937

Topics: Christianity; Society

As a result of this progress in the line of science, and the coming of foreigners to our shores, our civilization has become complex. Lawmaking bodies have created laws by the thousands, until we have come to believe that government is the source of righteousness; that government by external means is the spring of morality and spiritual life. The morale of America has drifted to a very low state; this is also true of all the civilized world. Our moral autonomy has gone, and men and nations have forgotten God. Satan is offering the kingdoms of the world to those who will fall down and worship him. The temptation of Jesus after his baptism has become today the temptation of men. Yet nations are crying for Peace. They have organized leagues of peace; they have made some determined efforts to do away with war; they have all failed for the reason that peace movements have not been founded on a proper comprehension of righteousness and truth.

When our forefathers met in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia in 1774 to draft some system of government by which the colonies could carry on, an old minister, Dr. Jacob Duche, was called in to offer a prayer, and as he prayed, John Adams tells us that tears “gushed into the eyes of all present.” It was a fervent prayer to the Lord and I quote it in full for it carries a message of faith to us:

O Lord, our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of Kings, Lord of Lords, who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers upon the earth, and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all kingdoms, empires and governments, look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, upon these American States who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor, and thrown themselves upon Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only upon Thee.

To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause. To Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care. Give them wisdom in council, and valor in the field. Defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries. Convince them of the unrighteousness of their cause, and if they still persist in their sanguinary purposes, O let the voice of Thine own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop their weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle.

Be Thou present, O Lord of Wisdom, and direct the Council of the honorable Assembly. Enable them to settle things upon the best and surest foundation, that the scene of blood may speedily be closed; that order, harmony and peace may effectually be restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst Thy people.

Preserve the health of their bodies, the vigor of their minds. Shower down upon them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Savior. Amen.

Source: Elder Levi Edgar Young
General Conference, October 1936

Topics: Christianity; Morality

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