In 1830 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormon) was established. It was the same Church which the Lord had established during His ministry in Jerusalem, but which had ceased to exist when evil men perverted the doctrine and killed the Lord’s authorized mouthpieces, the Prophets.
In 1820 the Lord appeared to Joseph Smith to lay the foundation for the re-establishment of His church, the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. Under the Lord’s direction, Joseph Smith and others were ordained as Prophets. Once again men were authorized to speak for the Lord, and thus came additional revelation and scripture.
Today, in addition to the Bible, Latter-day Saints also accept as volumes of scripture the “Book of Mormon,” the “Doctrine and Covenants,” and the “Pearl of Great Price.”
Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord gave to the world the Book of Mormon—a scriptural account of the ancient inhabitants of America. Because of a belief in this book members of the Church were nicknamed ‘:Mormons.” With this book the Lord provided a proof of His work. For in the last chapter, men are exhorted after reading the book, to ask God the Eternal Father in the name of Christ if the Book of Mormon is true. And a promise is given that if a man asks with a sincere heart, with real intent and having faith in Christ, the truth of the Book of Mormon will be manifest unto him by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Of the many distinguishing doctrines of the Latter-day Saints, there is one of overriding significance in the present day struggle against the powers of collectivism. This doctrine called “Free agency,” was clearly defined in a great pre-mortal struggle that all of us were involved in, which the Bible refers to as the “War In Heaven.” (Revelations 12:7) [p. xii]
Mormons believe that men existed as distinct individuals with spirit bodies before they came to earth to receive their additional mortal bodies. In fact, our Father in Heaven realized that His spirit children, which we are, could not have a fulness of joy unless they received a mortal body.
We had progressed far enough in our pre-mortal state that our Heavenly Father felt we were ready for this physical body and the great opportunities of growth and development that mortality provides. Mortality would be a testing ground to see if we would choose to keep the various commandments of our Heavenly Father. And being free to prove ourselves, we could, if we desired, choose God’s way of life and eventually become like Him. The greatest of our Father’s children, Jesus Christ, offered to show His brothers and sisters the pattern we must follow here in mortality if we want to live with God eternally.
There was another spirit of some brilliance. He reasoned that if God’s children were sent to mortality and were free to choose or not to choose God’s type of life, many would not choose it. If this should happen, he properly concluded, they would miss the greatest blessing of all—to become like God, with all of its attendant happiness. Now to prevent this, his proposal was to force all of God’s children to do the right thing, in mortality, in order that not one soul would be lost from enjoying a God-like life. As the author of this program he also asked for great honor and authority that would have rivaled our Heavenly Father. The name of this spirit was Lucifer.
Lucifer’s end desire—that all men should live the God-like life—was commendable. But there was only one tragic means that could guarantee this course—force. Much as our Heavenly Father wanted His children to enjoy the blessings of His type of life, He would not force it upon them. So Lucifer’s plan was rejected by God be cause it violated the basic eternal principle of free agency, the right of men to freely choose the type of life they want to live.
And Lucifer rebelled and there was war in Heaven. One-third of the children of our Father in Heaven sup ported Lucifer and his program of forced righteousness. [p. xiii] (Bible, Revelations 12:4, 7-8) The other two-thirds to a greater or lesser extent supported free agency as advocated by God and Jesus Christ.
Because of their rebellion, Lucifer, whom we also know as Satan or the Devil, and his followers were cast out of Heaven. (Bible, Luke 10:18) They were denied the blessing and advantages of receiving a mortal body. Since then Satan’s hosts have been enticing mortal men to also rebel against God. And men have a choice—and are choosing. (See Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:1-4, Abraham 3:24-28; and Doctrine and Covenants 29:36-39)
When Mormons fully appreciate the significance of the War in Heaven, they immediately realize the similar ity between the forced righteousness program of Lucifer and the program of the collectivists—or government interventionists-whether they are welfare staters, Fabians, socialists, fascists, or communists. For the essence of the collectivist philosophy is that the majority of the people are not intelligent enough to do voluntarily what the collectivists feel should be done. To remedy this, the collectivisits (who feel they are the intelligent ones) seek for the power to force the rest of mankind to follow their so-called “enlightened” programs. And whether the ends of their human programs are intended to be good or bad—and they are often bad—the state planners must, like Lucifer, use the means of force to accomplish their ends. The collectivists do not like to hazard the possibility that if we had a choice we might reject what they, honestly or otherwise, claim is for our best welfare.
But even God, whose plan of happiness for mankind is the greatest program of all, does not compel compliance as does the collectivist. God lets men freely choose if they want to accept the plan of happiness, even though God knows that some of His children will freely choose the path that leads to misery and Hell.
Once one understands the great struggle over free agency that occurred in the War in Heaven, he has the key for understanding the greatest conflict of our age, which is now taking place. It is the struggle of free men against the all encompassing and supposedly all-wise state. This state needs compulsion to enforce its multitudinous [p. xiv] but supposedly all-wise directives—and eventually ends up becoming a dictatorship.
Mormons among all people should be the most dedicated fighters for freedom. They should be able to see that the War in Heaven is continuing to be fought out here on earth for the bodies and souls of men. Can any Mormon be true to his faith and support the coercive programs or the promoters of government collectivism and interventionism or designs leading in that direction?
During the past number of years, as I have studied the Gospel, with emphasis especially on the words of the latter-day Apostles and Prophets, I have been deeply impressed with the consistency of their message, as they have counseled us concerning various responsibilities of our life—religious, family, political, social, professional, etc. It has become more and more apparent to me that the Gospel is intended to be a “guide to conduct, a chart for life’s voyage, a set of ideals by which every proposition may be measured.”
With this thought in mind, for quite sometime I have felt that it would be very useful and helpful to have a compilation that would present, in an organized manner, some of the thoughts of our inspired leaders as they have applied this Gospel standard in their discussions of the so-called civic problems of the day—in other words, the national issues. Surely, “every present-day offering and our every decision must be tested by Gospel standards.” Didn’t the Lord place Apostles and Prophets in His Church to help the Church members apply this standard so that they would no longer be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine [temporal or spiritual]?” (Bible, Ephesians 4:14)
The chapters in the book, except for footnotes, are made up solely of the words of the Prophets. Particularly members of the First Presidency (the top governing body of three men which includes the Prophet President and his two counselors) and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, past and present, are quoted. If the person being quoted was President of the Church at the time the words were spoken or written, his name is preceded by “President;” otherwise, nothing will precede his name. Though in normal [p. xv] usage the Counselors in the First Presidency and the President of the Quorum of the Twelve are also usually referred to as “Presidents,” to avoid confusion on the part of the reader, we are only using that title for the President of the Church. The reason for this will be more thoroughly understood after reading the introduction. Though Joseph Smith was the first President of the restored Church, he has been so frequently referred to as the Prophet Joseph Smith that we have also used that designation when quoting him instead of calling him President.
The name of the person quoted will be followed by the publication source reference and the date or, in the case of an address which has not appeared in a publication, then the date of the speech. The dates of the quotes often reveal their author’s prophetic” insight of future developments. Some of these source references are ab breviated and the key to these abbreviations is given preceding this preface.
All italics used in the book have been supplied by the compiler to give added emphasis to the particular state ment italicized.
Though the subject matter is arranged into chapters, many of the subjects overlap and are discussed in other chapters. Therefore, an extensive index is provided, and the reader is encouraged to use the index for all references to any particular subject.
All footnotes, which include important quotations from the Founding Fathers, J. Edgar Hoover, and other prominent authorities, have been supplied by the compiler. If some may object to the use of footnotes, it should be said that the words of the Prophets speak for themselves, and the book may very well be read without any reference to the footnotes. The footnotes were added to give, in many cases, additional enlightenment or clarification to the subject under discussion. They also show that the words of the Prophets are corroborated by competent non-Church authorities.
The Founding Fathers have been quoted extensively inasmuch as they were, in the words of the Lord, “wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose,” [p. xvi] (Doctrine & Covenants 101:80) to establish the Constitution of the United States. Their words are very authoritative when discussing this chosen land of America and its inspired form of government.
Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is probably quoted more than any other single authority because of his extensive knowledge concerning the International Communist Criminal Conspiracy and his repeated courageous, accurate warnings concerning the seriousness of the threats to our freedom.
Many quotations in the footnotes are from publications distributed by The Foundation for Economic Educa tion. J. Reuben Clark, while a member of The First Presidency, was for many years on the Board of Trustees of this foundation.
Some chapters are more extensively footnoted than others. No biographical information is given on the prom inent authorities quoted in the footnotes, but the reader can check their writings to obtain such information. I have included a selected bibliography of books, pamphlets and other publications quoted from or referred to in the book along with their author, publisher, date and price.
Large as this book may seem, it represents only a fraction of the words of the Prophets, which I have as sembled on these national issues. Space necessitated leaving out many important quotes from numerous Pro phets. At first I considered publishing more than one volume. Then I considered just one volume with an ex tensive reference list at the end of each chapter, showing where one could find additional words of the Prophets on the subject. Finally, because the words of the Prophets have been most consistent on these subjects over the years, I felt I could accomplish the mission without overtaxing the reader, by first quoting from a wide selection of the Prophets, then give the source of their remarks, for those who would like to read their entire message, and finally quote extensively from the words of the most recent and present President of the Church, President David O. McKay. [p. xvii]
In the appendix I have included several basic documents of freedom. They make up the bedrock of our American heritage. I felt it would be enlightening and helpful to most readers, and useful for reference, if these documents could be brought together in one place and made a part of this book. The Ten Commandments have also been included because no free republic can long endure without being rooted to this divine edict. Conclud ing the appendix is Section 134 of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Declaration of Belief regarding Governments and Laws in general.
Though the entire responsibility for this work is mine, I would like to express thanks and appreciation to friends and relatives who have shown their interest, given encouragement, and in some cases, made valuable suggestions. The introduction has been checked carefully by a number of individuals, some prominent in the Church, for thoroughness and soundness concerning the subject matter discussed.
For the benefit of the reader who may not be too familiar with names and dates in Church history, the names of the Presidents of the Church and the dates when they led the Church are listed below: