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Chapter XII
Summary
The words of the prophets, ancient and modern, seem to have left us with these alternatives: As a nation we face temporal and spiritual destruction and captivity unless we repent and serve the God of this land, cleanse our governments of those practices of Communism we have adopted, and return to the God-given principles of freedom established by our Founding Fathers. (1 Ne. 14:7; Ether 2:9-12; Ether 8:22-24) As a Church we have been placed under condemnation and it appears that we will lose those blessings and Priesthood Powers infinitely more valuable than any earthly sacrifice, unless we heed the words of the prophets, completely reject the Satan-inspired philosophy of exercising unrighteous dominion through government, and sacrifice our time, means, and life, if necessary, to preserve the freedoms and the religion God has given us. (D&C 84:54-59; D&C 121:34, 40)
In the early days of our Church, many Saints gave up their friends and loved ones, their possessions, and even their lives that the gospel might remain upon the earth. The Church was forced to flee into the wilderness to escape the intense religious bigotry and hate directed against it.
Politically inspired hatred and bigotry can be equally as intense. The time foreseen by Nephi (I Ne. 14:12-13) when the Lamb of God would stand alone against the Mother of Abominations may now be at hand. Satan’s form of Government, Communism, and those political systems which lead to it—Welfare Statism and Socialism—have now spread over the earth. A period of bitter persecution against those who resist these movements is only to be expected. The Prophet Joseph Smith has written:
…the destinies of all people are in the hands of a just God, and He will do no injustice to any one; and this one thing is sure, that they who will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution; and before their robes are made white in the blood of the Lamb, it is to be expected, according to John the Revelator, they will pass through great tribulation. (History of the Church, Vol. 1, p. 449)
President McKay has issued a call to the Saints to sacrifice on behalf of their religious, political, and economic freedoms which are threatened by welfare state practices. Consider his words carefully:
No greater immediate responsibility rests upon members of the Church, upon all citizens of this Republic and of neighboring Republics, than to protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.
Let us, by exercising our privileges under the Constitution—
(1) Preserve our right to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience.
(2) Preserve the right to work when and where we choose. No free man should be compelled to pay tribute in order to realize this God-given privilege.
Read in the Doctrine and Covenants this statement:
…it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. (D&C 101:79)
(3) Feel free to plant and to reap without the handicap of bureaucratic interference.
(4) Devote our time, means, and life if necessary, to hold inviolate those laws which will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life. (David O. McKay, Statements on Communism and the Constitution of the United States, 1966, pp. 11-12)
Perhaps never before in the history of the world has there been a greater need and a greater opportunity for fighting the battle of freedom. The weapon with which this battle must be fought and won—the truth—is in our hands. God has placed it there. He has also provided us with many miraculous devices for wielding this weapon. We have at our disposal a marvelous variety of communication facilities.
Every Latter-day Saint should thoroughly understand the fact that Satan’s great weapon today is political in nature. The religion which he is effectively espousing is the destruction of free agency by destroying the right and control of property; it is robbery by government. We should know from what our prophets have told us that Communism, Socialism, and Welfare Statism are each a part of this satanic doctrine.
Knowing these vital truths, we have an immense and urgent responsibility to share this God-given knowledge with others and to use every means available to combat Satan’s plan for our destruction as a Nation and as a Church.
Should we not assume our immediate responsibility? Should we not give of our time and means, and speak out while this course remains open to us? Shall we wait until it becomes necessary to sacrifice our lives for the preservation of freedom, as our prophet has indicated may become necessary?
The Book of Mormon prophets have been very plain in telling us that the same threat we face today caused their extinction. Satan induced them to use their governments as a tool of self-destruction. The Secret Combinations and Gadianton Robbers had the same objective as Communism does today: to seize control of government and then use it to rob, to murder, and to enslave.
The voices from the dust are pleading with us not to repeat the tragic history of their people. You and I are to face those men at the judgment bar of God where their words will condemn us if we fail to heed their warnings. Listen and you can hear them speaking to you:
And now, beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.
And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day.
For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen. (2 Ne. 33:13-15)
And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth for the time speedily cometh that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust? (Mor. 10:24, 27)
President Thomas S. Monson
Of all the individuals I know, who would like to be here today, it would be Ezra Taft Benson, the Prophet of the Lord, and the President of the Church. For, he loved Verlan Andersen, and he loves all of us....
As I describe my friend Verlan, I would like to say that he was a man of integrity. When he knew he was right, he followed it. There was no discussion. There was no temptation....
Verlan Andersen never endorsed that with which he did not agree, for he wanted to be able to defend his position, and his position was always on the side of the Lord.
He truly was a man of integrity....
(President Thomas S. Monson, speaking at the funeral of Elder H. Verlan Andersen, July 20, 1992)
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