Chapter XXIII: Political Government (2)

Now, my sisters, I am speaking from my point of view, and my point of view is that Christ was divinely appointed and sent into the world to relieve mankind of sin through repentance; to relieve mankind from the death which came upon them by the sin of the first man. I believe it with all my soul. I believe that Joseph Smith was raised up by Almighty God to renew the spirit, power and plan of God's Church, of Christ's gospel and holy priesthood. I believe it with all my soul, or I would not be here. I therefore stand upon this principle, that the truth is in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that the power of redemption, the power of peace, the power for good will, love, charity and forgiveness, and the power for fellowship with God, abides in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in obedience to it on the part of the people. I therefore admit, and not only admit but claim, that there is nothing greater on earth, nor in heaven, than the truth of God's gospel which he has devised and restored for the salvation and the redemption of the world. And it is through that that peace will come to the children of men, and it will not come to the world in any other way. The nations cannot possess it without they come to God, from whom they are to receive the spirit of union and the spirit of love. And those organizations in the world, created with a view to combining men, possess in them so many of the elements of self-destruction that they cannot exist long, as they are, and under the influences which hold them together today. I can tell you that there is no combination formed by men that will {529} prosper and continue to endure, unless it is based upon the principles of truth, righteousness, and justice toward all. When a man comes to me and says: "You must be my servant, you must obey me, or conform to my plan, or we will starve you to death," I don't care how many elements of goodness there are in the organization that will exclude me from a right to worship God according to the dictates of my conscience, or that would prevent me from laboring in honest labor to earn my bread, it possesses the elements of decay and destruction, and it cannot last, for it is wrong, absolutely wrong.

In the gospel is the light of freedom. Men worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. We can not compel you to obey the principles of the gospel at all.

That is the principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But these man-made organizations will force you to do as they will, or they will damn you and destroy you; and therein lies the elements of self-destruction in--themselves, because they can only last for a time.--_Relief Society Magazine,_ Vol. 2, No. 1, 1914, p. 13.

THE KEY TO PEACE. There is only one thing that can bring peace into the world. It is the adoption of the gospel of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, obeyed and practiced by rulers and people alike. It is being preached in power to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples of the world, by the Latter-day Saints, and the day is not far distant when its message of salvation shall sink deep into the hearts of the common people, who, in sincerity and earnestness, when the time comes, will not only surely register their judgment against a false Christianity, but against war and the makers of war as crimes against the human race. For years it has been held that peace comes only by preparation for war; the present conflict should prove that peace comes only by preparing for peace, through training the people in righteousness {530} and justice, and selecting rulers who respect the righteous will of the people.

Not long hence and the voice of the people shall be obeyed, and the true gospel of peace shall dominate the hearts of the mighty. It will then be impossible for war lords to have power over the life and death of millions of men as they now have, to decree the ruin of commerce, industry, and growing fields, or to cause untold mental agony and human misery like plague and pestilence to prevail over the nations. It looks much as if, after the devastation of wars, as promised in the scriptures, (and who shall say that it may not follow this war?) the self-constituted monarchs must give way to rulers chosen by the people, who shall be guided by the doctrines of love and peace as taught in the gospel of our Lord. There will then be instituted a new social order in which the welfare of all shall be uppermost, and all shall be permitted to live in the utmost liberty and happiness.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 17, No. 11, September, 1914, p. 1074.

GOD STRIVES WITH WARRING NATIONS. Would the nations of the earth that are at war with each other be at war as they are, if the Spirit of God Almighty had pervaded their souls and moved and actuated them in their designs? No; not at all. Worldly ambition, pride, and the love of power, determination on the part of rulers to prevail over their competitors in the national games of life, wickedness at heart, desire for power, for worldly greatness, have led the nations of the earth to quarrel with one another and have brought them to war and self-destruction. I presume there is not a nation in the world today that is not tainted with this evil more or less. It may be possible, perhaps to trace the cause of the evil, or the greatest part of it, to some particular nation of the earth; but I do not know. This I do believe, with all my heart, that the hand of God is striving with certain nations of the earth to preserve and protect {531} human liberty, freedom to worship him according to the dictates of conscience, freedom and the inalienable right of men to organize national governments in the earth, to choose for themselves their own leaders; men whom they may select as standards of honor, of virtue and truth, men of wisdom, understanding and integrity; men who have at heart the well being of the people who choose them to govern, to enact and execute the laws in righteousness. I believe that the Lord's hand is over the nations of the world today, to bring about this rule and this reign of liberty and righteousness among the nations of the earth. He has some hard material to work with, too. He is working with men who never prayed, men who have never known God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent into the world, and whom to know is life eternal. God is dealing with nations of infidels, men who fear not God, and love not the truth, men who have no respect for virtue or purity of life. God is dealing with men who are full of pride and ambition; and he will find it difficult, I fear, to control them and lead them directly in the course that he would have them pursue to accomplish his purposes; but he is striving to uplift. God is striving to bless, to benefit, to happify, to ameliorate the condition of his children in the world, to give them freedom from ignorance and a knowledge of him, to learn of his ways and to walk in his paths, that they may have his Spirit to be with them always, to lead them into all truth.--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 20, July, 1917, p. 823.

CONDUCT OF THE BOYS IN THE ARMY. Therefore, when our boys and our maturer men are invited and chosen, selected and called, to go out to help to protect and defend these principles, we hope and pray, and we certainly have some reason to believe, that there will be some, at least, from amidst the great family of mankind in the world, who will have some affinity with the Spirit of God and at least some desire, some inclination, to hearken to the whisperings of the {532} still small voice of the Spirit, that leadeth to peace and happiness, to the well-being and the uplifting of mankind in the world and to life eternal. When a Latter-day Saint, a man born, perhaps, and reared under the bond of the New and Everlasting Covenant of the gospel, enlists in the army of the United States, in the National Guard, which has been recommended here by President Penrose to you--and which I confirm and emphasize, because I think the citizens of the state should be united together, and the cities and the state should stand together and should have sympathy and fellowship for each other, more than they could expect to derive from those of other states and places, who are strangers and foreigners to them--that when our boys, thus born, are called into the army of the United States, I hope and pray that they will carry with them the Spirit of God, not the spirit of bloodshed, of adultery, of wickedness, but the spirit of righteousness, the spirit which leads to do good, to build up, to benefit the world, and not to destroy and shed blood.

Remember the passage of scripture that was quoted here by President Lund, as related in the Book of Mormon, concerning the pure young men that abjured war and the shedding of blood, lived pure and innocent, free from the contaminating thought of strife, of anger, or wickedness in their hearts; but when necessity required, and they were called to go out to defend their lives, and the lives of their fathers and mothers, and their homes, they went--not to destroy but to defend, not to shed blood but rather to save the blood of the innocent and of the unoffending, and the peace-lovers of mankind.

Will those men who go out from Utah, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, forget their prayers? Will they forget God? Will they forget the teachings that they have received from their parents at home? Will they forget the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenants that they have made in the waters of baptism, and {533} in sacred places? Or will they go out as men, in every sense--pure men, high-minded men, honest men, virtuous men, men of God? That is what I am anxious about.

I want to see the hand of God made manifest in the acts of the men that go out from the ranks of the Church of Jesus Christ and from the state of Utah, to help to defend the principles of liberty and sound government for the human family. I want to see them so live that they can be in communion with the Lord, in their camps, and in their secret places, and that in the midst of battle they can say: "Father, my life and my spirit are in thine hand!"

I want to see the boys that go away from here in this cause, go feeling just as our missionaries do when sent out into the world, carrying with them the spirit a good mother feels when she parts with her boy, on the morning of his departure for his mission. She embraces him with all the mother's love in her soul--!

I know how the mother feels for her boy when he goes away from home on a mission, where he will be in the midst of strangers, without friends, trying to preach the gospel to the world. She says to him: "My boy, I have taught you the principles of the gospel. I have taught you to pray to God, at my knees, from the time you were a child until you have reached manhood. I have taught you virtue. I have taught you honor. I have taught you to stand for the Truth, and to honor your father and your mother in the world, and by so doing honor the fathers and the mothers, and the daughters of all men, wherever you go. Never in your life think of defiling any man's wife, or daughter, any more than you would think of defiling your mother or your sister! Go out into the world from your home clean. Keep yourself pure and unspotted from the world, and you will be immune from sin, and God will protect you. You will be in his hands. Then, if anything should happen that would cost you your life, you will lay it down in the service of humanity, and of {534} God. You would lay down your life pure and undefiled. Your spirit would ascend from that tenement of clay inhabited in this world, into the glorious presence of God, undefiled, uncontaminated, pure and clean as the spirit of a child just born into the world. Thus you would be acceptable to God, ready to receive your crown of glory and everlasting reward."

So I would say, "My boy, my son, and your son, when you go out to face the disasters that are now afflicting the world, go out as you do on a mission, be just as good and pure and true in the army of the United States as you are in the army of the elders of Israel who are preaching the gospel of love and peace to the world. Then, if you unavoidably fall prey to the bullet of the enemy you will go pure as you have lived; you will be worthy of your reward; you will have proved yourself a hero, and not only a hero, but a valiant servant of the living God, worthy of his acceptation and of admission into the loving presence of the Father!"

It is in such things as this that we can see the hand of God. If our boys will only go out into the world this way, carrying with them the spirit of the gospel and the behavior of true Latter-day Saints, no matter what may befall them in life, they will endure with the best. They will be able to endure as much as anybody else can possibly endure of fatigue or of suffering, if necessary, and when they are brought to the test they will stand it! Because they have no fear of death! They will be free from fear of the consequences of their own lives. They will have no need to dread death, for they have done their work; they have kept the faith, they are pure in heart, and they are worthy to see God!

I have some feelings in these matters, for I have boys of my own, and I love my sons. They have grown up with me. They are mine! The Lord gave them to me. I expect to claim them, in the relationship of father and sons that exists {535} between us, throughout all eternities that will come. I would rather see my sons shot down by the enemies of God and humanity, by those who are inimical to the freedom of the children of men, while defending the cause of Righteousness and Truth, a thousand times rather, than to see them die the vile death of sinners and of transgressors of the laws of God. While death in battle might be instantaneous, or it might linger, perhaps, to one whose cause is just it would be honorable; but the death that is caused by the transgression of the laws of God, by the poison and sting of sin, is to be dreaded worse, a thousand times, than to die sinless in defending the cause of Truth.

I don't want to see one of my boys lose the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't want to see one of them deny Christ, the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world. I do not want one of them to turn his back upon the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith whose blood courses in their veins. I would rather see them perish in defending a cause of righteousness, a thousand times, while they are firm in the faith, than I would see them live to deny that faith and the God that gave them life! That is where I stand with reference to the matters that are facing us at this moment!--_Improvement Era,_ Vol. 20, July, 1917, p. 824, _June C. R._

MESSAGE TO THE BOYS IN WAR SERVICE. Our country is at war. This regrettable condition has been forced upon us by enemies of representative government and individual freedom. Despotism is endeavoring to gain the ascendency and to establish its might in the earth. Many of our young men who have been reared in the Church, and taught the principles of the gospel in the Sabbath Schools and other organizations of the Church, have been called to the colors in defense of our liberties and the liberty and freedom of the world. In all probability they will be sent to the front before many months have passed, to take their places in the trenches in the European battlefields and engage {536} in this appalling conflict, the like of which the world has never seen until this day.

We most sincerely hope that our young men will prove loyal to their country and stand honorably in its defense and prove themselves worthy in every respect as defenders of those principles for which our government was born and for which it still exists.

In going forth to war these young men are liable to be confronted with danger far greater than that which they might expect from the bullets of the enemy. There are many evils that usually follow in the wake of marshaled armies equipped for and engaged in war, far worse than honorable death which may come in the conflict of battle. It matters not so much when our young men are called, or where they may go, but it does matter much to their parents, friends and associates in the truth, and above all to themselves, how they go. They have been trained all their lives as members of the Church to keep themselves pure and unspotted from the sins of the world, to respect the rights of others, to be obedient to righteous principles, to remember that virtue is one of the greatest gifts from God. Moreover, that they should respect the virtue of others and rather die a thousand times than defile themselves by committing deadly sin. We want them to go forth clean, both in thought and action, with faith in the principles of the gospel and the redeeming grace of our Lord and Savior. We would have them remember that only by living clean and faithful lives can they hope to attain the salvation promised through the shedding of the blood of our Redeemer.

If they will go forth in this manner, fit companions for the Spirit of the Lord, free from sin, and trusting in the Lord, then whatever befalls them they will know that they have found favor in the sight of God. Should death overtake them while thus engaged in the discharge of duty in defense of their country, they need have no fear, for their {537} salvation is assured. Moreover, under conditions such as these they will have a better claim to the blessings of the Almighty and, like the two thousand young men of Helaman's army, they will be more likely to receive the protecting care of the Lord.

Let them go in the spirit of truth and righteousness; the spirit which will direct them to save rather than destroy; which leads to do good rather than to commit evil; with love in their hearts for their fellow men, prepared to teach all mankind the saving principles of the gospel. And, should they be required, in the defense of the principles for which they go, to shed the blood of any among the contending forces, it shall not be a sin, and the blood of their enemies shall not be required at their hands.

We will have no fear for those who will be true to the covenants they have made in the waters of baptism and observe to keep the commandments of God. If they die, they shall die unto the Lord and shall stand before him spotless and void of offense. And should they return unharmed, we will give to our Father in heaven the credit for his protecting care over them while in the discharge of perilous duty. While they are away the prayers of the Saints will ascend in their behalf for their protection, and we sincerely hope their prayers will not be without avail, and surely they will avail if our boys will continue to be worthy of the mercies of the Lord.--_Juvenile Instructor,_ August, 1917, p. 404, Vol. 52.

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