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Not
Commanded In All Things! Ezra
Taft Benson, Council Of The Twelve GC
April 6, 1965
In 1831 the Lord said this to his Church:
“For behold, it is not meet that
I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things,
the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no
reward.
“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause,
and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much
righteousness;
“For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto
themselves. And inasmuch as
men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
“But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and
receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with
slothfulness, the same is damned.”
(D&C
58:26-29.)
The purposes of the Lord— the great objectives— continue the
same: the salvation and exaltation of His children.
Usually the Lord gives us the overall objectives to be
accomplished and some guidelines to follow, but he expects us to work
out most of the details and methods.
The methods and procedures are usually developed through study
and prayer and by living so that we can obtain and follow the promptings
of the Spirit. Less
spiritually advanced people, such as those in the days of Moses, had to
be commanded in many things. Today
those spiritually alert look at the objectives, check the guidelines
laid down by the Lord and his prophets, and then prayerfully act—
without having to be commanded “in all things.”
This attitude prepares men for godhood.
The overall objective to be accomplished in missionary work,
temple work, providing for the needy, and bringing up our children in
righteousness has always been the same; only our methods to accomplish
these objectives have varied. Any
faithful member in this dispensation, no matter when he lived, could
have found righteous methods to have carried out these objectives
without having to wait for the latest, specific church-wide program.
Sometimes the lord hopefully waits on his children to act on
their own, and when they do not, they lose the greater prize, and the
Lord will either drop the entire matter and let them suffer the
consequences or else he will have to spell it out in greater detail.
Usually, I fear, the more he has to spell it out, the smaller is
our reward.
Often, because of circumstances, the Lord, through revelation to
his prophets or through inspired programs designed by faithful members
which later become adopted on a church-wide basis, will give to all the
membership a righteous means to help accomplish the objective; for
instance, any member of the Church a century ago who studied church
doctrine would have known that he had the prime responsibility to see
that his children had spiritualized family recreation and were taught in
the home lessons in character building and gospel principles.
But some did not do it.
Then, in 1915 President Joseph F. Smith introduced, church-wide,
the “weekly home evening program” with promised blessings to all who
faithfully adopted it. Many
refused and lost the promised blessings.
(At the October conference, 1947, I referred to that promise in a
talk on the Family Home Evening.) Today
we have the home evening manual and other helps.
Yet some still refuse to bring up their children in
righteousness.
But there are some today who complain that the home evening
manual should have been issued years ago.
If this is true then the Lord will hold his servants accountable;
but no one can say that from the inception of the Church to the present
day the Lord through his Spirit to the individual members and through
his spokesmen, the prophets, has not given us the objectives and plenty
of guidelines and counsel. The
fact that some of us have not done much about it even when it is spelled
out in detail is not the Lord’s fault.
For years we have been counseled to have on hand a year’s
supply of food. Yet there
are some today who will not start storing until the Church comes out
with a detailed monthly home storage program.
Now suppose that never happens.
We still cannot say we have not been told.
Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church— and
the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing— a famine in this
land of one year’s duration could wipe out a large percentage of
slothful members, including some ward and stake officers.
Yet we cannot say we have not been warned.
Another warning: You and I sustain one man on this earth as
God’s mouthpiece--President David O. McKay— one of the greatest
seers who has ever walked this earth.
We do not need a prophet— we have one— what we desperately
need is a listening ear.
Should it be of concern to us when the mouthpiece of the Lord
keeps constantly and consistently raising his voice of warning about the
loss of our freedom as he has over the years?
There are two unrighteous ways to deal with his prophetic words
of warning: you can fight them or you can ignore them.
Either course will bring you disaster in the long run.
Hear his words: “No greater immediate responsibility rests upon members of the Church,
upon all citizens of this Republic and of neighboring Republics than to
protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United
States.” (Cited in
Jerreld L. Newquist, Prophets,
Principles and National Survival [SLC: Publishers Press, 1964] p.
157.) As important as are
all other principles of the gospel, it was the freedom issue which
determined whether you received a body.
To have been on the wrong side of the freedom issue during the
war in heaven meant eternal damnation.
How then can latter-day Saints expect to be on the wrong side in
this life and escape eternal consequences? The war in heaven is raging
on earth today. The issues
are the same: “Shall men be compelled to do what others claim is for
their best welfare” or will they heed the counsel of the prophet and
preserve their freedom?
Satan argued that men given their freedom would not choose
correctly, therefore he would compel them to do right and save us all.
Today Satan argues that men given their freedom do not choose
wisely; therefore a so-called brilliant, benevolent few must establish
the welfare government and force us into a greater socialistic society.
We are assured of being led into the promised land as long as we
let them put a golden ring in our nose.
In the end we lose our freedom and the promised land also.
No matter what you call it— communism, socialism, or the
welfare state— our freedom is sacrificed.
We believe the gospel is the greatest thing in the world; why
then do we not force people to join the Church if they are not smart
enough to see it on their own? Because
this is Satan’s way, not the Lord’s plan.
The Lord uses persuasion and love.
Hear again the words of God’s mouthpiece: “Today
two mighty forces are battling for the supremacy of the world.
The destiny of mankind is in the balance.
It is a question of God and liberty or atheism and slavery....
“Those forces are known and have been designated by Satan on
the one hand and Christ on the other.
“In Joshua’s time, they were called ‘gods of the
Amorites’ for one, and ‘the Lord’ on the other....In these days,
they are called ‘domination by the state’ on one hand, ‘personal
liberty,’ on the other; communism on one, free agency on the other.”
(Ibid.,
pp. 215-216.)
Now the Lord knew that before the gospel could flourish there
must first be an atmosphere of freedom.
This is why he first established the Constitution of this land
through gentiles whom he raised up before he restored gospel.
In how many communist countries today are we doing missionary
work, building chapels, etc.? And
yet practically every one of those countries have been pushed into
communism and kept under communism with the great assistance of evil
forces which have and are operating within our own country and
neighboring lands. Yes, were
it not for the tragic policies of governments— including our own—
tens of millions of people murdered and hundreds of millions enslaved
since World War II would be alive and free today to receive the restored
gospel.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., put it clearly and courageously
when he said:
“Reduced
to its lowest terms, the great struggle wich now rocks the whole earth
more and more takes on the character of a struggle of the individual
versus the state....
“This gigantic world-wide struggle, more and more takes on the
form of a war to the death. We
shall do well and wisely so to face and so to enter it.
And we must all take part. Indeed,
we all are taking part in that struggle, whether we will or not.
Upon its final issue, liberty lives or dies....The plain and
simple issue now facing us in American is freedom or slavery....We have
largely lost the conflict so far waged.
But there is time to win the final victory, if we sense our
danger and fight.”
(Ibid., pp. 318,
327-328.)
Now where do we stand in this struggle, and what are we doing
about it?
The devil knows that if the elders of Israel should ever wake up,
they could step forth and help preserve freedom and extend the gospel.
Therefore the devil has concentrated, and to a large extent
successfully, in neutralizing much of the priesthood.
He has reduced them to sleeping giants.
His arguments are clever.
Here are a few samples:
First: “We really haven’t received much instruction about
freedom,” the devil says. This
is a lie, for we have been warned time and again.
No prophet of the Lord has ever issued more solemn warning than
President David O. McKay. Last
conference I spoke of a book embodying much of the prophets’ warnings
on freedom from Joseph Smith to David O. McKay which I commend to you.
It is entitled Prophets,
Principles and National Survival.
Second: “You’re too involved in other church work,” says
the devil. But freedom is a
weighty matter of the law; the lesser principles of the gospel you
should keep but not leave this one undone.
We may have to balance and manage our time better.
Your other church work will be limited once you lose your freedom
as our Saints have found out in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and many other
nations.
Third: “You want to be loved by everyone,” says the devil,
“and this freedom battle is so controversial you might be accused of
engaging in politics.” Of
course the government has penetrated so much of our lives that one can
hardly speak for freedom without being accused of being political.
Some might even call the war in heaven a political struggle—
certainly it was controversial. Yet
the valiant entered it with Michael.
Those who support only the popular principles of the gospel have
their reward. And those who
want to lead the quiet, retiring life but still expect to do their full
duty can’t have it both ways.
Said Elder John A. Widtsoe:
“The
troubles of the world may largely be laid at the doors of those who are
neither hot nor cold; who always follow the line of least resistance;
whose timid hearts flutter at taking sides for truth.
As in the great Council in the heavens, so in the Church of
Christ on earth, there can be no neutrality.”
(Ibid., p. 440.)
Fourth: “Wait until it becomes popular to do,” says the
devil, “or, at least until everybody in the Church agrees on what
should be done.” But this
fight for freedom might never become popular in our day.
And if you wait until everybody agrees in this Church, you will
be waiting through the second coming of the Lord.
Would you have hesitated to follow the inspired counsel of the
Prophet Joseph Smith simply because some weak men disagreed with him?
God’s living mouthpiece has spoken to us— are we for him or
against him? In spite of the
Prophet’s opposition to increased federal aid and compulsory unionism,
some church members still champion these freedom destroying programs.
Where do you stand?
Fifth: “It might hurt your business or your family, says the
devil, “and besides why not let the gentiles save the country?
They aren’t as busy as you are.”
Well, there were many business men who went along with Hitler
because it supposedly helped their business.
They lost everything. Many
of us are here today because our forefathers loved truth enough that
they fought at Valley Forge or crossed the plains in spite of the price
it cost them or their families. We
had better take our small pain now than our greater loss later.
There were souls who wished afterwards that they had stood and
fought with Washington and the founding fathers, but they waited too
long— they passed up eternal glory.
There has never been a greater time than now to stand up against
entrenched evil. And while
the gentiles established the Constitution, we have a divine mandate to
preserve it. But
unfortunately today in this freedom struggle, many gentiles are showing
greater wisdom in their generation than the children of light.
Sixth: “Don’t worry, says the devil, “the Lord will protect
you, and besides the world is so corrupt and heading toward destruction
at such a pace that you can’t stop it, so why try.”
Well, to begin with, the Lord will not protect us unless we do
our part. This devilish
tactic of persuading people not to get concerned because the Lord will
protect them no matter what they do is exposed by the book of Mormon.
Referring to the devil, it says,
“And
others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, and they
will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well— and
thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully
down to Hell.” (2
Nephi 28:21.)
I like that word “carefully.”
In other words, don’t shake them, you might awake them.
But the Book of Mormon warns us that when we should see these
murderous conspiracies in our midst that we should awake to our awful
situation. Now why should we
awake if the Lord is going to take care of us anyway?
Now let us suppose that it is too late to save freedom.
It is still accounted unto us for righteousness’ sake to stand
up and fight. Some Book of
Mormon prophets knew of the final desolate end of their nations, but
they still fought on, and they saved some souls including their own by
so doing. For, after all,
the purpose of life is to prove ourselves, and the final victory will be
for freedom.
But many of the prophecies referring to America’s preservation
are conditional. That is, if
we do our duty we can be preserved, and if not then we shall be
destroyed. This means that a
good deal of the responsibility lies with the priesthood of this Church
a to what happens to America and as to how much tragedy can be avoided
if we do act now.
And now, as to the last neutralizer that the devil uses most
effectively— it is simply this: “Don’t do anything in the fight
for freedom until the Church sets up its own specific program to save
the Constitution.” This
brings us right back to the scripture I opened with today— to those
slothful servants who will not do anything until the are “compelled in
all things.: Maybe the Lord will never set up a specific church program
for the purpose of saving the Constitution.
Perhaps if he set one up at this time it might split the Church
asunder, and perhaps he does not want that to happen yet for not all the
wheat and tares are fully ripe.
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared it will be the elders of Israel
who will step forward to help save the Constitution, not the Church.
And have we elders been warned?
Yes, we have. And
have we elders been given the guidelines/ Yes, indeed, we have.
And besides, if the Church should ever inaugurate a program who
do you think would be in the forefront to get it moving?
It would not be those who were sitting on the sidelines prior to
that time or those who were appeasing the enemy.
It would be those choice spirits who, not waiting to be
“commanded in all things,” used their own free will, the counsel of
the prophets, and the Spirit of the Lord as guidelines and who entered
the battle “in a good cause” and brought to pass much righteousness
in freedom’s cause.
Years ago Elder Joseph F. Merrill of the Council of the Twelve
encouraged the members of the Church to join right-to-work leagues and
President Heber J. Grant
concurred. For our day
President David O. McKay has called communism the greatest threat to the
Church, and it is certainly the greatest mortal threat this country has
ever faced. What are you
doing to fight it?
Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful, we could
step forward at this time and help save this country.
The fact that most of us are unprepared to do it is an indictment
we will have to bear. The
longer we wait, the heavier the chains, the deeper the blood, the more
the persecution, and the less we can carry out our God-given mandate and
world-wide mission. The war
in heaven is raging on earth today.
Are you being neutralized in the battle?
“Verily
I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many
things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
“For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto
themselves....” (D&C
58:27-28.)
In the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen. NOTE:
The book Prophets, Principles and National Survival referred to above went
out of print, but was reprinted at the specific request of Ezra Taft
Benson. It was reprinted by
Joe Ferguson, P.O. Box 526, American Fork, UT 84003; Phone:
801-756-4452; Email: joeferg@lgcy.com.
As of this writing, he still has copies available.
For price and shipping costs, please contact him.
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