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XII
Identification of Satan’s Church by Latter-day Prophets
Communism—the Greatest Satanical Threat On The Face Of The Earth
Heretofore, we have concluded that the only organization which fits the description of the Great and Abominable Church of the Devil given by the scriptures is prostituted government. We have shown that Satan’s church and his secret combinations are one and the same in purpose and method; that according to prophecy, this organization will have dominion over all the earth in these last days; that it will wage war against the Lord’s Church and slay His saints and prophets. It now remains to observe that latter-day prophets have confirmed this identity of Satan’s movement thereby fulfilling the Lord’s promise that He would,
bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall here after possess the land (Alma 37:25)
Probably the most direct and forceful statement regarding the identity of Satan’s organizations during these latter days was made by the late President David O. McKay to the priesthood of the Church during the General Conference of April, 1966 when he said:
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. (Era, June 1966, p. 477; CR 4/66:109)
This information was considered of such vital importance that President McKay repeated it in the General Conference Priesthood Session of April 1969.
President McKay had previously identified Communism or “domination by the state,” as Satan’s force in a talk given at Brigham Young University on May 18, 1960. At that time he stated:
i was due here two weeks ago, and had a theme to deliver which i thought was timely and appropriate, but i come with another theme this morning— ‘Two Contending Forces.’
Those forces are known and have been designated by different terms throughout the ages. In the beginning they were known as Satan on the one hand, and Christ on the other…In these days, they are called ‘domination by the state’ on the one hand, ‘personal liberty’ on the other; communism on the one hand, free agency on the other. (McKay, Speeches of the Year, “Two Contending Forces,” B.Y.U., May 18, 1960)
According to these statements, if Satan has a church on earth today it cannot be other than corrupted government or “domination by the state.” If there is a secret combination among us which is seeking “to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries” as Moroni prophesied, then it has to be the great Communist conspiracy and the movement to impose socialism world-wide. The “greatest Satanical threat on the face of the earth” and that “church which is most abominable above all other churches” must be one and the same organization.
Right from the beginning of this last dispensation, the prophets have been warning against socialism, communism and secret combinations. Speaking in 1881, the late President John Taylor said:
I am sorry to see this murderous influence prevailing throughout the world, and perhaps this may be a fitting occasion to refer to some of these matters. The manifestations of turbulence and uneasiness which prevail among the nations of the earth are truly lamentable…These feelings which tend to do away with all right, rule, and government, and correct principles are not from God…This feeling of communism and nihilism, aimed at the overthrow of rulers and men in position and authority, arises from a spirit of diabolism, which is contrary to every principle of the Gospel…
These things are beginning to spread among and permeate the nations of the earth. Do we expect them? Yes. These secret combinations were spoken of by Joseph Smith, years and years ago. I have heard him time and time again tell about them, and he stated that when these things began to take place the liberties of this nation would begin to be bartered away. (JD 22:142-3)
During the depression days of the 1930’s when the United States as well as other nations were undergoing a political and economic crises, the late President Heber J. Grant and his councilors, finding that some Church members were ‘joining, directly or indirectly the Communists and taking part in their activities,” called upon “all Church members completely to eschew Communism.” They went on to say:
The safety of our divinely inspired Constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that Communism shall have no place in America. (Era, Aug. 1936 p. 488)
Such warnings were reiterated by the prophets throughout the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve, whose great wisdom and extensive experience with government qualifies him to speak with deep understanding, is well known for his vigorous and repeated attacks against the devil’s secret combinations. Here is just one of the many which could be quoted:
It is most unthinkable that any people would knowingly and willfully take on themselves the yoke of communist oppression… As a people who have known only liberty, we are inclined to feel, it cannot happen here. We have become lulled away into a false security…I say to you it can happen here. It is happening here. We have retreated from the Monroe Doctrine. Our liberty is in danger. But we go blithely and gullibly on our way. Some of us fall for the Kremlin line as planned by the mass murderer, Kruschev and call patriots ‘extremists ‘and accuse courageous liberty-loving citizens of ‘dividing our people.’ We must be vigilant. Let us unite. Let us join in our fight against the forces of anti-Christ. (CR, Oct. 1962, p.17)
In the April Conference of 1963, Elder Hugh B. Brown of the Council of the Twelve, and a man trained in the law, and familiar with the problems of government added his warning:
The threat of communism is sinister, and its dangers are imminent. Hundreds of millions of our fellow beings are being relentlessly imbued with the satanic ideology that the Father-hood of God, the Saviorhood of Christ, and the brotherhood of man are stupid myths, that religion is nothing but a tranquilizing opiate. They seek to deprive men of physical, mental, and spiritual freedom while endowing the state with monstrous supremacy. This relentless indoctrination is but a continuation of the war that began when Satan’s plan of force was rejected by the Father. We live in the most dangerous period of all history… The Church is the main bulwark against communism. (CR, Apr. 1963, p. 7)
Communism Diametrically Opposed To The Church
But it was in the conference of April, 1966 that Church members were told of Satan’s organization and philosophy in terms so plain and so specific that no one who desired to understand could remain oblivious to the terrible danger which hangs over this nation, the Church, and the entire world. Not only did the living Prophet of God identify Satan’s greatest Satanical threat, but he went on to point out that Communism is the philosophy of Lucifer.
Said he:
The entire concept and philosophy of Communism is diametrically opposed to everything for which the Church stands…Communism destroys man’s God-given free agency. No member of this Church can be true to his faith, nor can any American be loyal to his trust, while lending aid, encouragement, or sympathy to any of these false philosophies; for if he does, they will prove snares to his feet. (Era, June 1966, pp. 477, 580)
In a second talk given at the same priesthood session by Marion G. Romney, socialism and welfare-statism were identified as being part of Satan’s overall plan. Just a month prior to the conference, he had delivered a talk at the Brigham Young University entitled, “Socialism and the United Order Compared.” He repeated that talk in the priesthood session. His excuse for doing so was that “the Brethren” requested it. The “Brethren” are, of course, the Church leadership. They knew what was in the speech. Its contents had their approval, and even though it was available for distribution in printed form, and even though it had been given to a large audience of Church members on March 1, 1966, they wanted the entire Priesthood of the Church to hear it. It contained some vital facts concerning Satan’s plan.
Welfare-Statism, Socialism, Communism
As to the relationship between Communism and Socialism, Elder Romney quoted George Douglas Howard Cole, a noted authority in this field who had prepared a statement on Socialism for the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Part of the quoted material says:
The distinction between socialism, as represented by the various Socialists and Labour parties of Europe and the New World, and Communism, as represented by the Russians, is one of tactics and strategy rather than of objectives. Communism is indeed only socialism pursued by revolutionary means and making its revolutionary method a canon of faith. Communists, like other socialists, (1) believe in the collective control and ownership of the vital means of production and (2) seek to achieve through state action the coordinated control of the economic forces of society. (Era, June 1966, p. 536)
Attention is directed to the fact that “Communism is…only socialism pursued by revolutionary means.” Regarding the relationship between socialism and welfare-statism, Elder Romney said:
We here in the United States, in converting our government into a social welfare state, have ourselves adopted much of socialism. Specifically, we have to an alarming degree adopted the use of the power of the state in the control and distribution of the fruits of industry. We are on notice, according to the words of the President [of the U.S.] that we are going much further, for he is quoted as saying: we’re going to take all the money we think is unnecessarily being spent and take it from the ‘haves’ and give it to the ‘have-nots!’ (1964 Congressional Record, p. 6142) That is the spirit of socialism: We’re going to take. The spirit of the United Order is: We’re going to give.
We have also come a long way on the road to public ownership and management of the vital means of production. In both these areas the free agency of Americans has been greatly abridged (Era, June 1966, p. 536)
The following statement by Elder Romney indicates the extent to which the philosophy of socialism now covers the earth:
However, notwithstanding my abhorrence of it, I am persuaded that socialism is the wave of the present and of the foreseeable future. It has already taken over or is contending for control in most nations. (Ibid)
In support of this assertion he quoted again from the Encyclopedia Brittannica:
At the end of the year [1964] parties affiliated with the [Socialists] International were in control of the governments of Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Israel, and the Malagasy Republic. They had representatives in coalition cabinets in Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Switzerland; constituted the chief opposition in France, India, and West Germany; and were significant political forces in numerous other countries. Many parties dominant in governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America announced that their aim was a socialist society. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1965 Book of the year, p. 736)
A more recent edition of this Encyclopedia has this to say under the heading: “The world-wide spread of socialism:”
The idea of socialism, which until World War I had inspired labour movements almost exclusively in the West, already manifested itself in the interwar period, both as Social Democracy and Communism in some Asian countries, and after World War II spread rapidly all over the globe. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1970, Vol. 20, p. 756 A)
Assuming the truth of the above statements, we must conclude that the time foreseen by Nephi is fast approaching when the Great and Abominable Church of the Devil will have:
dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. (1 Nephi 14:11)
Since “Communism is indeed only Socialism pursued by revolutionary means,” and since the adoption of welfare-state measures has the affect of converting a nation into a socialist state, and furthermore since all nations must today be classed as having one of these three types of government, the devil’s plan either has been, or is in the process of being, adopted in every nation.
President Mckay’s Counsel To Educators
The late President David O. McKay’s views on socialism and welfare-statism were expressed in a letter dated May 25, 1967, written to Ernest L. Wilkinson, President of Brigham Young University. This letter, which gave instructions regarding what should and should not be taught regarding these matters, was regarded of sufficient importance that the entire Board of Trustees unanimously approved it
as the policy of the Board of Trustees for the guidance of the Board, the University Administration, and present and prospective members of the faculty.
Copies of the letter have been sent out to faculty members each year for the past several years along with their teaching appointments. In this letter, President McKay first called attention to
recent disturbing events in our country—such as an alarming increase in nearly all categories of crime, divorce, juvenile and adult delinquency, riots at colleges, strikes of school teachers, civil disorders which go far beyond peaceable assemblies, ‘ the resurrection of a pagan philosophy that God is dead, demoralizing movies, television programs which encourage lewd and lascivious conduct.
Then he traced these evils—in part at least—to the welfare-state:
i cannot help but think that there is a direct relationship between the present evil trends which i have above indicated, and the very marked tendency of the people of our country to pass on to the state the responsibility for their moral and economic welfare. This trend to a welfare state in which people look to and worship government more than their God, is certain to sap the individual ambitions and moral fiber of our youth unless they are warned and rewarned of the consequences. History, of course, is replete with the downfall of nations who, instead of assuming their own responsibility for their religious and economic welfare, mistakenly attempted to shift their individual responsibilities to the government.
After having condemned the welfare-state in those terms, he went on to connect its doctrines with the socialistic state and to warn faculty members to avoid advocating either:
i am aware that a university has the responsibility of acquainting its students with the theories and doctrines which are prevalent in various disciplines, but i hope that no one on the faculty of Brigham Young University will advocate positions which cannot be harmonized with the views of every prophet of the Church, from the Prophet Joseph Smith on down, concerning our belief that we should be strong and self-reliant individuals, not dependent upon the largess of government. None of the doctrines of our Church give any sanction to the concept of a socialistic state.
The above quotes are but a small sample of a great number of similar warnings by the prophets. However, these should be sufficient to demonstrate that the Lord has adequately fulfilled His promise to reveal the nature and identity of Satan’s organizations and works in this dispensation.
Note: Those interested in an excellent compilation of the utterances of latter-day prophets regarding political matters should consult Newquist’s book, Prophets, Principles and National Survival, Joe Ferguson, (801) 756-4452, American Fork, Utah.
The prophets, particularly of the Book of Mormon, saw our day. You will learn more from studying and reading the Book of Mormon (about our current problems) than you will by reading the daily paper or the slick magazines…read it every day and become acquainted with it and gain a knowledge of how the adversary is organized and working, and what his designs are for this Church. (President Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 62)
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