We ourselves have gone a long way down this road during the last century. My counsel is that we beware of the doctrine which encourages us to seek government-supported security rather than to put faith in our own industry.
Just as following wrong alternatives restricts free agency and leads to slavery, so pursuing correct alternatives widens the scope of one’s agency and leads to perfect liberty. As a matter of fact, one may, by this process, obtain freedom of the soul while at the same time being denied political, economic, and personal liberty.
I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart.
Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak."
This “baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost” here spoken of by Nephi [2 Nephi 31:6, 7, 12, 13] effects the great change in the hearts of men referred to by Alma. It converts them from carnality to spirituality. It cleanses, heals, and purifies the soul. It is the sealing and sign of forgiveness. It is the spiritual rebirth spoken of by Jesus to Nicodemus. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, and water baptism are all preliminary and prerequisite to it, but it is the consummation. To receive it is to have one's garments washed in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ … This “mighty change” wrought by the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost should and does, if the proselyte is prepared to receive it, occur when he is baptized by immersion for the remission of sins and receives the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost—the two required ordinances for being “born of water and of the spirit.”
God wants men to do good, but he never forces them and does not want them to be forced. He placed in and left with them the power of election. When they do good, he honors them because they could have done evil. When they are coerced, they are entitled to no such honor. God allows men to make their own choices, and he has reserved to himself the judgment as to the correctness of their choices. Free agency has always had rough going, however. Over it the War in Heaven was fought. In the earth it has been abridged by almost all governments, civil and ecclesiastical. Apostate churchmen, kings, and other rulers have from the beginning arrogated judgment unto themselves. They have, contrary to God's law of liberty, preempted man's right, with or without his consent, to determine what would be best for them to do and by every means within their power have undertaken to force men to do their bidding.
I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity — the pure love of Christ — will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy and happiness.
Tithing is one of these tests. Speaking of this, President Stephen L. Richards, former member of the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency, stated: “I feel certain that it is not only the test, the acid test, of true loyalty and devotion, but that it is likewise the greatest of the developers of true spiritual allegiance. It has been said that you can tell what a man thinks of a cause by the way he puts his money into it. Talk is cheap. It has never caused any particular wear and tear upon the jaw and they say that the tongue is the only organ of the body that never gives out, so that all our protestations by word of mouth are easily given, but when a man puts his hand down in his pocket and takes out the hard-earned money that comes from his labor, and devotes that to the establishment of a cause, you know without further evidence that he is sincere”
I do not tell all I know; I have never told my wife all I know, for I found out that if I talked too lightly of sacred things, thereafter the Lord would not trust me.
“Statements in the scriptures such as “the Holy Ghost fell on [him]” (Acts 11:15), “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Luke 1:15), “the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38), “receive … the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22), baptized by “fire and the Holy Ghost” (D&C 20:41) do not always refer to his person, but to his power, influence, and gifts.”
President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had “never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional, or political life” (CR, April 1941, p. 123). This is a hard doctrine, but it is a particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ.
...I was taken back in my thoughts a quarter of a century to an experience I had with President Heber J. Grant. We were discussing some criticism that had been directed against an action taken by him in his official capacity. Putting his arm across my back and resting his hand on my left shoulder, he said, "My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church, and if he tells you to do something wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it."
Personally I am not disheartened. I am concerned, but I do not live in terror. It has been said that the late President J. Golden Kimball once attended a stake conference session in which the speaker who preceded him occupied nearly all the time with a scorching call to repentance and that when Brother J. Golden followed him, he simply said, “Well, brothers and sisters, I suppose the best thing for all of us to do is to go home and commit suicide.”
“Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.”
Statements in the scriptures such as “the Holy Ghost fell on [him]” (Acts 11:15), “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Luke 1:15), “the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38), “receive … the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22), baptized by “fire and the Holy Ghost” (D&C 20:41) do not always refer to his person, but to his power, influence, and gifts.
We know that we kept our first estate because we are here in mortality, and by receiving our bodies we have been added upon. We further know that the gospel teaches us how we must keep this, our second estate, in order that in the next life, the third estate, we may “have glory added upon [our] heads for ever and ever.
You will recall Abraham’s saying that in the spirit world the Lord promised that “they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; … and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.” We know that we kept our first estate because we are here in mortality, and by receiving our bodies we have been added upon. We further know that the gospel teaches us how we must keep this, our second estate, in order that in the next life, the third estate, we may “have glory added upon [our] heads for ever and ever.” Only those of us who are members of the Church know of these great eternal truths relating to who we are. We are fortunate to know who we are, where we came from, why we are here, and where we may go. And of great significance, we know how to get where we desire to go. How fortunate we are to know while in mortality the importance of our earth-life conduct.
“Service isn’t what we endure in life to get to the Celestial Kingdom, it is the very fiber of what makes up a celestial life."
This tremendous truth—that every soul is enlightened by the spirit of Christ and endowed with the ability to respond to its guidance—is perfectly understandable when we remember that mortals are, by inheritance, spirits. They are the natural-born spirit children of God. It is, therefore, natural that there persists in every human soul, form antemortal spirit life, the capacity to instinctively respond to the promptings of the Spirit.
We ourselves have gone a long way down this road during the last century. My counsel is that we beware of the doctrine which encourages us to seek government-supported security rather than to put faith in our own industry.