Our nation was founded on prayer, it was preserved by prayer, and we need prayer again.  I plead with you this evening to pray for this country, for our leaders, for our people and for the families that live in this great nation founded by God.  Remember, this country was established and preserved by our founding fathers who repeatedly acknowledged the hand of God through prayer.

-Pres. M. Russell Ballard

     "The apostasy of the Gentiles is a subject, that I believe, is no where disputed in all the professing world - It is acknowledged by all, that the present generation of religious Gentiles is in a state of confusion and distraction:  the cry of heresy, delusion, false prophet, and false christ, which is every where sounded in our land, is testimony to the point, and not only to the point, but is conclusive also, that this generation have departed from the principles of the true faith, and are led by false spirits, and teach one another doctrines which are not according to godliness."

-Messenger and Advocate

     "Every contraceptive act is necessarily contralife.  A couple...in choosing contraception as a means to further a good...necessarily reject a new life.  They imagine that a new person will come to be, and they effectively will that he or she never be.  That will is a contralife will.  Therefore, each and every contraceptive act is necessarily contralife.  The contraceptive acts seeks to impede the beginning of the life of a possible person."

-Anthony McCarthy

     "There is a record in the Talmud of a heretical sect of Jews, called Melchizedekians, who frequented Hebron to worship the body (consult the spirit?) of Adam which was buried in the cave of Machpelah.  In fact, these Melchizedekians, though considered heretics, may have been adherents of a purer undistorted form of worship."

     Man was created to dress the earth, and to cultivate his mind, and glorify God.  It, therefore, cannot be amis for us, at this early period, to urge the disciples of our Lord, to study to shew themselves approved in all things.  For, when a disciple, educated, ever as Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, is guided by the Holy Spirit, he not only edifies his fellow beings correctly, but he improves his faculties agreeable to the will of God.

-The Evening and Morning Star

     As every instrument and every bodily member subserves some partial end, that is to say, some special action, so the whole body must be destined to minister to some plenary sphere of action.  Thus the saw is made for sawing, for sawing is a function, and not sawing for the saw.  Similarly, the body too must somehow or other be made for the soul, and each part of it for some subordinate function, to which it is adapted.

-Aristotle

     Occasionally we extract some of the signs of the times, that those that watch for such appearances, as one evidence that the hour of redemption is near, may not look in vain.  With a confidence unshaken in the promises of the Lord, they can look, forward to the time of their redemption, notwithstanding every nation will have its calamities, and every year its troubles, until the consumption decreed shall make a full end of the wicked.  Although calamity shall cover the mocker, and the scorner be consumed; though the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; though the voice of the Lord goes forth in the whirlwind, in the earthquake, in the tempest, in the thunder, and in the lightning, unto the nations, to warn them to repent, until in his wrath, they are cut off, happy will that man be, who has obeyed the gospel, and put his trust in God, and walked by faith and held out unto the end.

-The Evening and Morning Star

     For wickedness burneth as the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forests, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.  Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire.

2 Nephi 19:18-19

     The incomparable excellency which is in the sacred Scriptures, will fully appear, if we consider the matters contained in them under this threefold capacity.  1. As matters of divine revelation.  2. As a rule of life.  3. As containing that covenant of grace which relates to man's eternal happiness.

     "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:  but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see Him as He is."

     God, then, the God of the Bible, ...the person who manifested Himself to Israel...is an individual, a personality, and He made man in His image and His likeness.  Now, if we are the children of God, and if Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we can upon that reasoning understand something about what God is like, for there is an eternal principle in heaven and on earth, that every seed begets of its kind, every seed brings forth in its own likeness and character.  The seed of an apple, when it is reproduced, brings forth an apple, and so with a pear, and so with a plum, and so with all the varieties of the vegetable kingdom.  It is the same with all the varieties of the animal kingdom. 
     We do not find any radical change from one species to another.  It is an eternal principle that every seed produces its own kind, not another kind.  And as we are the children of God, we can follow out the idea and perceive what God our Father is, the Being who is the progenitor of our spiritual existence, the being from whom we have sprang.  We being the seed of God, that Being is a personality, an individual, a being in some respects like us, or rather we are made in His image.
     "Man also is spirit," we are told in the revelations of God...Man, the real man, is a spirit, an individual that dwells in a body, a spiritual person clothed upon with earth; a being who will live when the earth goes back to mother dust.  Man's spirit, then, is an individual, a personality, and the spirit is in the likeness and shape of the body which it inhabits.  When the spirit goes out of the body which we now see with our natural eyes.  Spirits living in the flesh, unless operated upon abnormally by some spiritual beings.  A spirit can see spirit.  Spirit ministers to spirit; and when the spirit goes out of the body that spirit can see other spirits, beings of the same character and nature, and we shall find when we have emerged from this body, that we will be in the company of a great many persons like ourselves; and if we should have the experience that the Prophet Joseph had when the mob took him and tore his flesh with their nails, and tried to poison him with a vial of some corrosive substance, if our spirits should be separated from our bodies as his was, we, like him, could look at our bodies and see that they are in form like our living spiritual realities.

-Charles W. Penrose
    

     There are not a few honest enquiring persons, who wish to learn the truth of the Book of Mormon.  To put them in possession of such testimony as may lead to truth, is our duty, and, after stating that this Book contains a record of that branch of the tribe of Joseph which was separated from his brethren, according to the 49th chapter of Genesis, we say read the 37th chapter of Ezekiel and if the Stick of Ephraim, therein mentioned does not mean the Book of Mormon what does it mean?  Isaiah has information, which, if rightly understood, ought to wake the world; the Lord says he will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder, and who dare dispute the Lord?
     Independent of Bible proof on the subject before us, we have the remains of towns, cities, forts etc., which silently declare to the beholder:  We were built by a civilized people.
     As man cannot trust in man, we request all that wish the truth on this great subject, to enquire of the Lord, who will always answer the pure in heart.

-The Evening and the Morning Star

     The purchasing power of earned wages of the worker is greatly diminished by deficit spending, taxation, and the Federal Reserve flooding the market with bills.  The freedom of the worker only stems from a sound currency that provides the greatest purchasing power for their earned money.  A strong dollar promotes liberty.  A weak dollar takes away the liberty of the people and oppresses them.

     "Manifestly nothing is more vital to our supremacy as a nation and to the beneficent purpose of our Government than a sound and stable currency.  Its exposure to degradation should at once arouse to activity the most enlightened statesmanship, and the danger of depreciation in the purchasing power of the wages paid to toil should furnish the strongest incentive to prompt and conservative precaution."

-President Grover Cleveland

     The holders of God's priesthood who are faithful share in the fellowship of foreordination, being called, Alma said, "according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works."  (Alma 13:3.)  You, youth and young adults of the Church, come to this life not only trailing traits and talents from your premortal experience, but you also come having manifested good works in that same earlier experience - from which there is a carry-over commitment.
     You have come to blend capacity and opportunity.  You have come to see fulfilled and to help fulfill certain prophecies.  All of you who have been called to holy callings, according to Alma, are called on account of your faith, here and before.  The special daughters of Zion share in this same unfolding drama, for we can neither succeed without them nor go anywhere in the world to come -  anywhere that really matters - without them.  Believe, therefore, not only in the promises concerning the Church, but in the promises concerning you, individually.

-Neal A. Maxwell

     There is a theory put forth by Mr. Darwin, and others, that is the school of modern philosophers, which is termed in late years, the theory of Evolution, that man in our present state upon the earth, is but the sequence and outgrowth of steady advancement from the lowest order of creation, till the present type of man, and that we have advanced step by step from the lowest order of creation till at last man has been formed upon the earth in our present sphere of action; in short, that our great-grandfathers were apes and monkeys.  And how much satisfaction these philosophers have in the contemplation of their grandfather monkeys, we are left to conjecture; but such are the theories put forth by some of our modern philosophers.  But we find nothing on the earth, or in the earth, nor under the earth, that indicates that any of these monkeys or apes, or any other orders of creation below man have ever accomplished any great exploits.  So far as the history of this earth is known, whether written or unwritten, or whether written in volumes of books, whether engraven upon metallic plates, or whether found impressed in rocks, neither geologists, nor any other scientists have ever been able to show us any great exploits of any of these inferior grades of being to indicate that there was any such vitality in them, as to develop in their future progress, the present order of beings we call man.  But if there is any truth in the history given us by Moses this being we call man, is only God in embryo.  And Moses tells us that the Creator conversed with this man whom he called Adam, consisting of male and female.  He conversed with them, showed himself to them, spoke with them at different times, gave them instructions, gave them his law, visited them repeatedly in their new home, in the place we call the Garden of Eden, the garden that the Lord planted for man- eastward in Eden.  And after he was driven out from the face of his Creator, from the Garden, and the vail was drawn between him and his Creator, yet from time to time God was wont to draw aside that vail and show himself, and we not only find that Adam and Eve had frequent intercourse with their Creator and talked with him personally as we talk with our children and they with us; but we find many of Adam's descendants obtained like privileges of seeing their Creator, and speaking with him, receiving instruction from him.  Enoch, the seventh from Adam, it was said walked with God, and enjoyed this privilege for three hundred years.  From time to time the vail was drawn aside, and whenever he desired, and it was expedient to receive instructions and counsels from his Father and Creator he enjoyed this privilege, and the Father came and showed himself to him and spoke with him.  The same may be said of Noah and of Abraham, who conversed with him, and the Scriptures tell us, furthermore, that Abraham killed the fatted calf, and prepared savory meat for a meal, and set before him and he ate with him.

-Erastus Snow

     "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

     "Modern communism, fascism, nazism, socialism, and other related systems, are all the same in essential theory.  They oppose religion, except as they themselves claim to be revelations, and they reject christian morality.  They prohibit free speech and action; eliminate private ownership and initiative; hold without exception the state above the individual; regiment the people; allow the strong to dominate the weak; they take government out of the hands of the governed, and place it in the hands of a self-appointed, selfish, self-styled, super-group, and they culminate in dictatorships. The free agent has no place in their systems.  Their claim that they believe in human equality, as shown by their tyrannical behavior, is false.  Force and terrorism are their weapons.  All that makes for human security and happiness is destroyed."

-John A. Widtsoe

     "Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
     Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 
     A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
     Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

-Matthew 7:16-19

     "Be not deceived; God is not mocked:  for whatsoever" [Hollywood] "soweth, that shall [they] also reap" (Galatians 6:7).
     Hollywood producers and executives are peddlers and poisoners of the minds of America.  "The spilling over of violence and sex from fictitious dramas into real life" is fully realized.  "By making carnality legitimate" in American culture Hollywood has become as fruit that has rotted upon the vine.  Their televised system of delivery pumps into everyday lives of Americans "characters" that "perform acts we would abhor in real life.  The pornographic images our media depict - the licentious manner of the characters, their distorted standard of values, their predisposition to murder and violence - all subvert and pollute the minds of America.  Once there, they become a part of us.  By indulging such images, we do the contrary of "stopping our ears at the mention of murder, shutting our eyes at the sight of wickedness" (Isaiah 33:15).   
     "Wherefore, fear and tremble O ye people....for verily [those that control Hollywood] are sealed up "unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure.  Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to his measure which he has measured to his fellow man."  For the "anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon" those that peddle images of filth and violence and those that give it consent.

     Church members are at perfect liberty to act according to their own consciences in the matter of safeguarding our way of life.  They are, of course, encouraged to honor the highest standards of the gospel and to work to preserve their own freedoms.  They are free to participate in non-church meetings that are held to warn people of the threat of Communism or any other theory or principle that will deprive us of our free agency or individual liberties vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.
     The position of this Church on the subject of Communism has never changed.  We consider it the greatest satanical threat to peace, prosperity, and the spread of God's work among men that exists on the face of the earth.
     We therefore commend and encourage every person and every group who is sincerely seeking to study Constitutional principles and awaken a sleeping and apathetic people to the alarming conditions that are rapidly advancing about us.
     The entire concept and philosophy of Communism is diametrically opposed to everything for which the Church stand's - belief in Deity, belief in the dignity and eternal nature of man, and the application of the gospel to efforts for peace in the world.  Communism is militantly atheistic and is committed to the destruction of faith wherever it may be found.
     Communism debases the individual and makes him the enslaved tool of the state, to which he must look for sustenance and religion.  Communism destroys man's God-given free agency.
     No member of this Church can be true to his faith, nor can any American be loyal to his trust, while lending aid, encouragement, or sympathy to any of these philosophies; for if he does, they will prove snares to his feet.

Read full statement by Pres. McKay here.

-David O. McKay

     "Enlighten the people generally and tyranny and oppressions of both mind and body will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of the day."

-Thomas Jefferson

      Recent studies...amply document the abnormal effects of watching television.  The images our eyes see are stored permanently in our minds.  There they mingle with images of the real world, confusing our perception of reality and affecting behavior.  Watching television accustoms people to the sensational, the artificial, the novel, so that they begin to require a regular diet of these things to maintain their interest.  This requirement is filled by watching more television, until its addictive effect on people captivates them.  Because their minds and hearts dull toward quiet, normal, everyday happenings, reality appears drab and uninteresting.  Television advertising in part compensates for this dullness by creating unnatural wants or needs in people.  People satisfy these wants by indulging in consumer goods.
     More than that, much of television teaches a false social code, enculturating people, especially children, into norms of divorce, disrupted family life, the supremacy of the peer group, affluence, sex stereotypes, alcohol consumption, fast food or junk food habits, coercive health practices, and so forth.  Closely linked to this chaotic social structure is television's false morality.  Because so much television defines no clear-cut standard of right and wrong, it portrays immorality as normal.  Because the finer human emotions are not portrayed well in this medium, television inculcates a national taste for what is depraved, coarse, and unintelligent.  It not only vulgarizes the use of language but stunts its development, discouraging reading and intellectual growth.

-The Last Days

     It is the implantation of this illusory picture of the world into our minds.  A process of widespread indeed virtually universal hallucination emerging from extremely circumscribed and elusive sources that forms the major activity of the hidden powers.


-William Grimstad

    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.

-D&C 58:27-28

    "Henry Thoreau, an early American philosopher, once said that we should thank God every day of our lives for the privilege of having been born.  And then he went on to speculate on the rather unique supposition of what it might have been like if we had not been born.  Just suppose that you had never been born or that your parents had never been born.  Think of all of the excitement and opportunities you would have missed as a consequence.  What Mr. Thoreau may not have known was that one-third of all of the children of God never were born and never can be born because they failed to pass the requirements of their first estate.  And yet, every spirit child of God hungers for a body.  We remember the unembodied spirits who appeared to Jesus in his day who preferred to have the bodies of swine rather than not to have any bodies at all.  In my own case, I didn't find out that I had been born until quite a long time after it happened.  And I am still finding out many important things about the good fortunes of my birth.  I eventually discovered that I had inherited two parents who were very interested in my welfare.  And I am very glad that they were not members of this modern breed of abortionist who are followers of King Herod in his program of slaughtering the innocents.  My parents were pretty poor in material things, but I have discovered that even a little adversity can have many advantages."

-Sterling W. Sill