Sunday, November 2, 2008

The Book of Mormon and Democracy

In 1977, then Elder Ezra Taft Benson (later to become the 13th President of the LDS Church) gave a unique speech denouncing Communism as a potential form of government in the United States. In doing so, and with right authority, he momentarily departed from the Church's reticence to engage in discussing political philosophies as a matter of doctrine to issue a stern warning about where our nation would find itself should we continue to tolerate Socialistic and Communistic policies then beginning to take root.

See the video embedded below (on the blog if you're reading this in email).



What does this have to do with the Book of Mormon? Just about everything.

You see, if President Benson could be remembered for anything, it was his denouncement of Communism and his love of the Book of Mormon. When I left on my mission, I did so with his invitation ringing in my ears to share it early and often with as many people as possible. He said it contained the key to righteousness, liberty from sin, and freedom and equality for all. I have always found that to be the case. Undoubtedly, his strong views on the Book of Mormon fueled his strong passion for promoting liberty over tyranny.

From his 1979 Conference talk entitled "A Witness and a Warning", here are a few verses from the Book of Mormon that bear out his teachings.
Ether 2:10,12
10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be aswept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the bfulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are cswept off.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be afree from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but bserve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Ether 13:1-3
1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing.
2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had areceded from off the face of this bland it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should cserve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
3 And that it was the place of the aNew Jerusalem, which should bcome down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.

2 Nephi 10:10-12
1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing.
2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had areceded from off the face of this bland it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should cserve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
3 And that it was the place of the aNew Jerusalem, which should bcome down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
President Benson also taught us that there are three things that we must do to avoid destruction in this land ordained for freedom (links added for additional study):

First: We must return to worship the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. He has promised that the righteous will be preserved by His power (see 1 Ne. 22:17). But we must keep the commandments of God. We must pay our tithes and offerings, keep the Sabbath day a holy day, stay morally clean, be honest in all our dealings, and have our family and personal prayers. We must live the gospel.

Second: We must awaken to “a sense of [our] awful situation, because of this secret combination which [is] among [us]” (Ether 8:24). We must not tolerate accommodation with or appeasement toward the false system of Communism. We must demand of our elected officials that we not only resist Communism, but that we will take every measure to prevent its intrusion into this hemisphere. It is vital that we invoke the Monroe Doctrine.

Then we must put our trust in Him who has promised us His protection—and pray that He will intervene to preserve our freedom just as He intervened in our obtaining it in the first place.

Third: We must do as the Lord commanded us by revelation in 1833: “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil” (D&C 98:10).

Men who are wise, good, and honest, who will uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, must be sought for diligently. This is our hope to restore government to its rightful role.

Last: We must study the inspired Constitution and become involved in the political process ourselves. I quote the First Presidency statement that was read in sacrament meetings on Sunday, 1 July 1979: “We encourage all members, as citizens of the nation, to be actively involved in the political process, and to support those measures which will strengthen the community, state, and nation—morally, economically, and culturally” (Letter from the First Presidency, 29 June 1979).

November 4th is our opportunity to assist in God's will for this land: that it remain free and prosperous based on sound Gospel principles. We will do this by voting in what we hope to be a fair and free election. If it is not free and fair, we must make sure that this and future elections are to the best of our ability. Whether Democrat or Republican, we each have the duty and responsibility to exercise that right to elect our electors and representatives and to maintain the course that God has already expressed for us if we are to remain free.

Please don't forget to vote. Please don't listen to negative voices telling you your vote doesn't count or that your particular cause is lost. This year, more than ever, it does count. Our cause is not lost.

2 comments:

  1. Communism was one of the great cancers of our time (during the Cold War), but it's no secret combination as President Benson tried to argue. It was and is pretty transparent in terms of its goals and ambitions (world domination, etc.). So I ask you, what's more "secret", a political regime that violently and openly strips you of your god-given rights and freedoms, or a regime that does so covertly, right under your nose? Take our debt-based economy. You need to ask yourself, are you really free when democratic governments are forced to bend over backwards to serve colossal, multi-national corporations? A nation-state has no mobility; a corporation can set up shop anywhere. (Look up "race to the bottom" on Wikipedia: It ain't a pretty picture). I ask you, who is at a greater disadvantage? Are you really free when 700 billion dollars of taxpayer's money is necessary to satiate (and rescue) the monster that we call the stock market (and who knows if it'll do any good in the end)? Are you really free when as soon as you walk out the door, you are bombarded with negative, multi-million dollar advertising that objectifies women, deceives the ignorant, and manipulates adults and children alike (the kind of stuff you and your family couldn't possibly hope to compete with)? Gosh, if we want to talk about secret combinations, we need not look overseas; a walk downtown should open our eyes. Communism was small potatoes compared to the beast of Capitalism.

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  2. I'm actually in agreement with you on one point...$700 billion bailouts are not healthy for a free economy. That was a socialist/communist power grab if I ever saw one. And Bush facilitating it makes me very angry. The Bush leaving office is not the same Bush I had voted for (but what politician, except for a notable few, ever leaves office with integrity intact?)

    But, at least under capitalism one is still free to grow one's own potatoes and enjoy the fruits of one's labor. Under communism, everything you do is owned by the state. Large AND small potatoes.

    I don't know if you're old enough to remember watching TV when they showed footage of people waiting in lines three blocks long in Soviet Russia during the Reagan era. People would stand in line just to have a one in a million chance at getting one of the few loaves of bread or turnips available. Why was there a shortage? The comrades of the Central Committee, who were every bit as greedy and hypocritical as the capitalists you criticize, found it more of a priority to fight capitalism than to feed the vast majority of its own people.

    Capitalism won, btw.

    Is capitalism God's answer? As a Mormon, I'd have to definitely say "No". Is it better than communism? You betcha. My vote for capitalism is actually more of a vote against communism. Not because capitalism is perfect, but because communism is a greater threat to human freedom and well-being.

    That said, what about the law of consecration? Wouldn't it be better to abandon the "other devil" of capitalism and go for it?

    For my own part, I'm ready to live the law of consecration. I've seen through my ancestors' journals how effective it can be if people remain faithful to their covenants. I've seen how keeping the law of tithing has benefited my immediate family and am striving to do more.

    Unfortunately, not many people today (including most members) are willing to take that leap, or even know what consecration means. Therefore, those of us who favor consecration over capitalism are caught up in the tides of capitalism until we can figure out how to band together (maybe via the Internet?) and work out a better method of _voluntarily_ sharing our wealth. That's better than being wiped out by the tidal wave of communism, in my mind. Under consecration, instead of only giving 10% of our income to God and keeping the rest, we give 90-100% of it to God and let Him bless us with the eternal prosperity that comes from obedience to His laws, not man's.

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We are happy to discuss any and every topic and question. We will give wide berth to a variety of opinions and ideas. The only thing we ask is that you return the favor by respecting our right to believe as we do and by not issuing lengthy, inflammatory diatribes meant to shock and confuse anyone not familiar with LDS teachings. They can certainly get that elsewhere. :)