Tag: Love

  • Monogamy

    Monogamy

    Discourse by Apostle Orson Pratt, ‘Celestial Marriage’, Salt Lake City, October 7, 1869, JOD Vol. 3 Pg. 195: 1

    It was announced at the close of the forenoon meeting that I would address the congregation this afternoon upon the subject of Celestial Marriage; I do so with the greatest pleasure.

    In the first place, let us inquire whether it is lawful and right, according to the Constitution of our country, to examine and practice this Bible doctrine? Our fathers, who framed the Constitution of our country devised it so as to give freedom of religious worship of the Almighty God; so that all people under our Government should have the inalienable right—a right by virtue of the Constitution—to believe in any Bible principle which the Almighty has revealed in any age of the world to the human family. I do not think, however, that our forefathers, in framing that instrument, intended to embrace all the religions of the world. I mean the idolatrous and Pagan religions. They say nothing about those religions in the Constitution; but they give the express privilege in that instrument to all people dwelling under this Government and under the institutions of our country, to believe in all things which the Almighty has revealed to the human family. There is no restriction nor limitation so far as Bible religion is concerned, or any principle or form of religion believed to have emanated from the Almighty; yet they would not admit idolatrous nations to come here and practice their religion, because it is not included in the Bible; it is not the religion of the Almighty. Those people worship idols, the work of their own hands, they have instituted rights and ceremonies pertaining to those idols, in the observance of which they, no doubt, suppose they are worshipping correctly and sincerely, yet some of them are of the most revolting and barbarous character. Such, for instance, as the offering up of a widow on a funeral pile, as a burnt sacrifice, in order to follow her husband into the eternal worlds.

    That is no part of the religion mentioned in the Constitution of our country, it is no part of the religion of Almighty God.

    But confining ourselves within the limits of the Constitution, and coming back to the religion of the Bible, we have the privilege to believe in the Patriarchal, in the Mosaic, or in the Christian order of things; for the God of the patriarchs, and the God of Moses is also the Christians’ God.

    It is true that many laws were given under the Patriarchal or Mosaic dispensations, against certain crimes, the penalties for violating which, religious bodies, under our Constitution, have not the right to inflict. The Government has reserved, in its own hands, the power, so far as affixing the penalties of certain crimes is concerned.

    In ancient times there was a law strictly enforcing the observance of the Sabbath day, and the man or woman who violated that law was subjected to the punishment of death. Ecclesiastical bodies have the right, under our Government and Constitution, to observe the Sabbath day or to disregard it, but they have not the right to inflict corporeal punishment for its nonobservance.

    The subject proposed to be investigated this afternoon is that of Celestial Marriage, as believed in by the Latter-day Saints, and which they claim is strictly a Bible doctrine and part of the revealed religion of the Almighty. It is well known by all the Latter-day Saints that we have not derived all our knowledge concerning God, heaven, angels, this life and the life to come entirely from the books of the Bible; yet we believe that all of our religious principles and notions are in accordance with and are sustained by the Bible; consequently, though we believe in new revelation, and believe that Godhas revealed many things pertaining to our religion, we also believe that He has revealed none that are inconsistent with the worship of Almighty God, a sacred right guaranteed to all religious denominations by the Constitution of our country.

    God created man, male and female. He is the Author of our existence He placed us on this creation. He ordained laws to govern us. He gave to man, whom He created, a helpmeet—a woman, a wife to be one with him, to be a joy and a comfort to him; and also for another very great and wise purpose—namely, that the human species might be propagated on this creation, that the earth might teem with population according to the decree of God before the foundation of the world, that the intelligent spirits whom He had formed and created, before this world was rolled into existence, might have their probation, might have an existence in fleshly bodies on this planet, and be governed by laws emanating from their great Creator. In the breast of male and female He established certain qualities and attributes that never will be eradicated—namely, love towards each other. Love comes from God. The love which man possesses for the opposite sex came from God. The same God who created the two sexes implanted in the hearts of each love towards the other. What was the object of placing this passion or affection within the hearts of male and female? It was in order to carry out, so far as this world was concerned, His great and eternal purposes pertaining to the future. But He not only did establish this principle in the heart of man and woman, but gave divine laws to regulate them in relation to this passion or affection, that they might be limited and prescribed in the exercise of it towards each other.

    He therefore ordained the Marriage Institution. The marriage that was instituted in the first place was between two immortal beings, hence it was marriage for eternity in the very first case which we have recorded for an example. Marriage for eternity was the order God instituted on our globe; as early as the Garden of Eden; as early as the day when our first parents were placed in the garden to keep it and till it, they, as two immortal beings, were united in the bonds of the new and everlasting covenant. This was before man fell, before the forbidden fruit was eaten, and before the penalty of death was pronounced upon the heads of our first parents and all their posterity, hence, when God gave to Adam his wife Eve, He gave her to him as an immortal wife, and there was no end contemplated of the relation they held to each other as husband and wife.

    By and by, after this marriage had taken place, they transgressed the law of God, and by reason of that transgression the penalty of death came, not only upon them, but also upon all their posterity. Death, in its operations, tore asunder, as it were, these two beings who had hitherto been immortal, and if God had not, before the foundation of the world, provided a plan of redemption, they would, perhaps, have been torn asunder forever; but inasmuch as a plan of redemption had been provided, by which man could be rescued from the effects of the fall, Adam and Eve were restored to that condition of union, in respect to immortality, from which they had been separated for a short season of time by death. The Atonement reached after them and brought forth their bodies from the dust, and restored them as husband and wife, to all the privileges that were pronounced upon them before the Fall.

    That was eternal marriage; that was lawful marriage ordained by God. That was the divine institution which was revealed and practiced in the early period of our globe. How has it been since that day? Mankind have strayed from that order of things, or, at least, they have done so in latter times. We hear nothing among the religious societies of the world which profess to believe in the Bible about this marriage for eternity. It is among the things that are obsolete. Now all marriages are consummated until death only; they do not believe in that great pattern and prototype established in the beginning; hence we never hear of their official characters, whether civil or religious, uniting men and women in the capacity of husband and wife as immortal beings. No, they marry as mortal beings only, and until death does them part.

    What is to become of them after death? What will take place among all those nations who have been marrying for centuries for time only? Do both men and women receive a resurrection? Do they come forth with all the various affections, attributes and passions that God gave them in the beginning? Does the male come forth from the grave with all the attributes of a man? Does the female come forth from her grave with all the attributes of a woman? If so, what is their future destiny? Is there no object or purpose in this new creation, save to give them life, a state of existence? Or is there a more important object in view, in the mind of God, in thus creating them anew? Will that principle of love which exists now, and which has existed from the beginning, exist after the resurrection? I mean this sexual love. If that existed before the Fall, and if it has existed since then, will it exist in the eternal worlds after the resurrection? This is a very important question to be decided.

    We read in the revelations of God that there are various classes of beings in the eternal worlds. There are some who are kings, priests, and Gods, others that are angels; and also among them are the orders denominated celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. God, however, according to the faith of the Latter-day Saints, has ordained that the highest order and class of beings that should exist in the eternal worlds should exist in the capacity of husbands and wives, and that they alone should have the privilege of propagating their species—intelligent immortal beings. Now it is wise, no doubt, in the Great Creator to thus limit this great and heavenly principle to those who have arrived or come to the highest state of exaltation, excellency, wisdom, knowledge, power, glory, and faithfulness, to dwell in His presence, that they by this means shall be prepared to bring up their spirit offspring in all pure and holy principles in the eternal worlds, in order that they may be made happy. Consequently, He does not entrust this privilege of multiplying spirits with the terrestrial or telestial, or the lower order of beings there, nor with angels. But why not? Because they have not proved themselves worthy of this great privilege. We might reason, of the eternal worlds, as some of the enemies of polygamy may reason of this state of existence, and say that there are just as many males as females there, some celestial, some terrestrial, and some telestial; and why not have all these paired off, two by two? Because God administers His gifts and His blessings to those who are most faithful, giving them more bountifully to the faithful, and taking away from the unfaithful that with which they had been entrusted, and which they had not improved upon. That is the order of God in the eternal worlds, and if such an order exists there, it may in a degree exist here.

    When the sons and daughters of the Most High God come forth in the morning of the resurrection, this principle of love will exist in their bosoms just as it exists here, only intensified according to the increased knowledge and understanding which they possess; hence they will be capacitated to enjoy the relationships of husband and wife, of parents and children, in a hundred fold degree greater than they could in mortality. We are not capable, while surrounded with the weaknesses of our flesh, to enjoy these eternal principles in the same degree that will then exist. Shall these principles of conjugal and parental love and affection be thwarted in the eternal worlds? Shall they be rooted out and overcome? No, most decidedly not. According to the religious notions of the world these principles will not exist after the resurrection; but our religion teaches the fallacy of such notions. It is true that we read in the New Testament that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. These are the words of our Savior when he was addressing himself to a very wicked class of people, the Sadducees, a portion of the Jewish nation, who rejected Jesus, and the counsel of God against their own souls. They had not attained to the blessings and privileges of their fathers, but had apostatized; and Jesus, in speaking to them, says that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.

    Now, how are the angels of God

    after the resurrection? According to the revelations which God has given, there are different classes of angels. Some angels are Gods, and still possess the lower office called angels. Adam is called an Archangel, yet he is a God. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, no doubt, have the right to officiate in the capacity of angels if they choose, but still they have ascended to their exaltation, to a higher state than that of angels—namely, to thrones, kingdoms, principalities and powers, to reign over kingdoms and to hold the everlasting Priesthood. Then there is another order of angels who never have ascended to these powers and dignities, to this greatness and exaltation in the presence of God. Who are they? Those who never received the everlasting covenant of marriage for eternity; those who have not continued in nor received that law with all their hearts, or who, perhaps, have fought against it. They become angels. They have no power to increase and extend forth to kingdoms. They have no wives, no husbands, and they are servants to those that sit upon thrones and rule over kingdoms, and are counted worthy of a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. These, no doubt, were the kind of angels Jesus had reference to when speaking to those ungodly classes of beings called Sadducees and Pharisees, one of which denied the doctrine of the resurrection altogether.

    There is a difference between the classes of angels called celestial, terrestrial and telestial. The celestial angels have not attained to all of the power and greatness and exaltation of kings and priests in the presence of God; they are blessed with glory, happiness, peace and joy; but they are not blessed with the privilege of increasing their posterity to all ages of eternity, neither have they thrones and kingdoms, but they are servants to those of the highest order. The angels of the terrestrial and telestial orders, while possessing a degree of happiness and glory, are lower than those of the celestial order. We might inquire, have angels not also these affections which belong to the higher class of beings, inasmuch as they are resurrected beings? Yes, but herein they have lost, through disobedience, the privilege of attaining to the higher glory and exaltation. They have affections and desires that never can be gratified, and in this respect their glory is not full.

    I am talking, today, to Latter-day Saints; I am not reasoning with unbelievers. If I were, I should appeal more fully to the Old Testament Scriptures to bring in arguments and testimonies to prove the divine authenticity of polygamic marriages. Perhaps I may touch upon this for a few moments, for the benefit of strangers, should there be any in our midst. Let me say, then, that God’s people, under every dispensation since the creation of the world, have, generally, been polygamists. I say this for the benefit of strangers. According to the good old book called the Bible, when God saw proper to call out Abraham from all the heathen nations, and made him a great man in the world, He saw proper, also, to make him a polygamist, and approbated him in taking unto himself more wives than one. Was it wrong in Abraham to do this thing? If it were, when did God reprove him for so doing? When did He ever reproach Jacob for doing the same thing? Who can find the record in the lids of the Bible of God reproving Abraham, as being a sinner, and having committed a crime, in taking to himself two living wives? No such thing is recorded.

    He was just as much blessed after doing this thing as before, and more so, for God promised blessings upon the issue of Abraham by his second wife the same as that of the first wife, providing he was equally faithful. This was a proviso in every case.

    When we come down to Jacob, the Lord permitted him to take four wives. They are so called in Holy Writ. They are not denominated prostitutes, neither are they called concubines, but they are called wives, legal wives; and to show that God approved of the course of Jacob in taking these wives, He blessed them abundantly, and hearkened to the prayer of the second wife just the same as the first. Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, and our great mother; for you know that many of the Latter-day Saints by revelation know themselves to be the descendants of Joseph, and he was the son of Rachel, the second wife of Jacob. God in a peculiar manner blessed the posterity of this second wife. Instead of condemning the old patriarch, He ordained that Joseph, the firstborn of this second wife, should be considered the firstborn of all the twelve tribes, and into his hands was given the double birthright, according to the laws of the ancients. And yet he was the offspring of plurality—of the second wife of Jacob. Of course, if Reuben, who was indeed the firstborn unto Jacob, had conducted himself properly, he might have retained the birthright and the greater inheritance; but he lost that through his transgression, and it was given to a polygamic child, who had the privilege of inheriting the blessing to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills—the great continent of North and South America was conferred upon him. Another proof that God did not disapprove of a man having more wives than one, is to be found in the fact that Rachel, after she had been a long time barren, prayed to the Lord to give her seed. The Lord hearkened to her cry and granted her prayer; and when she received seed from the Lord by her polygamic husband, she exclaimed, “The Lord hath hearkened unto me and hath answered my prayer.” Now do you think the Lord would have done this if he had considered polygamy a crime? Would He have hearkened to the prayer of this woman if Jacob had been living with her in adultery? And he certainly was doing so if the ideas of this generation are correct.

    Again, what says the Lord in the days of Moses, under another dispensation? We have seen that in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He approved of polygamy and blessed His servants who practiced it, and also their wives and children. Now, let us come down to the days of Moses. We read that, on a certain occasion the sister of Moses, Miriam, and certain others in the great congregation of Israel, got very jealous. What were they jealous about? About the Ethiopian woman that Moses had taken to wife, in addition to the daughter of Jethro, whom he had taken before in the land of Midian. How dare the great lawgiver, after having committed, according to the ideas of the present generation, a great crime, show his face on Mount Sinai when it was clothed with the glory of the God of Israel? But what did the Lord do in the case of Miriam, for finding fault with her brother Moses? Instead of saying, “You are right, Miriam, he has committed a great crime, and no matter how much you speak against him,” He smote her with a leprosy the very moment she began to complain, and she was considered unclean for a certain number of days. Here the

    Lord manifested by the display of a signal judgment, that He disapproved of anyone speaking against His servants for taking more wives than one, because it may not happen to suit their notions of things.

    I make these remarks and wish to apply them to faultfinders against plural marriages in our day. Are there any Miriams in our congregation today, any of those who, professing to belong to the Israel of the latter days, sometimes find fault with the man of God standing at their head, because he not only believes in but practices this divine institution of the ancients? If there be such in our midst, I say, remember Miriam the very next time you begin to talk with your neighboring women, or anybody else against this holy principle. Remember the awful curse and judgment that fell on the sister of Moses when she did the same thing, and then fear and tremble before God, lest He, in His wrath, may swear that you shall not enjoy the blessings ordained for those who inherit the highest degree of glory.

    Let us pass along to another instance under the dispensation of Moses. The Lord says, on a certain occasion, if a man have married two wives, and he should happen to hate one and love the other, is he to be punished—cast out and stoned to death as an adulterer? No; instead of the Lord denouncing him as an adulterer because of having two wives, He gave a commandment regulating the matter, so that this principle of hate in the mind of the man towards one of his wives should not control him in the important question of the division of his inheritance among his children, compelling him to give just as much to the son of the hated wife as to the son of the one beloved; and, if the son of the hated woman happened to be the firstborn, he should actually inherit the double portion.

    Consequently, the Lord approved, not only the two wives, but their posterity also. Now, if the women had not been considered wives by the Lord, their children would have been bastards, and you know that He has said that bastards shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord, until the tenth generation, hence you see there is a great distinction between those whom the Lord calls legitimate or legal, and those who were bastards—begotten in adultery and whoredom. The latter, with their posterity, were shut out of the congregation of the Lord until the tenth generation, while the former were exalted to all the privileges of legitimate birthright.

    Again, under that same law and dispensation, we find that the law provided for another contingency among the hosts of Israel. In order that the inheritances of the families of Israel might not run into the hands of strangers, the Lord, in the book of Deuteronomy, gives a command that if a man die, leaving a wife, but no issue, his brother shall marry his widow and take possession of the inheritance; and to prevent this inheritance going out of the family a strict command was given that the widow should marry the brother or nearest living kinsman of her deceased husband. The law was in full force at the time of the introduction of Christianity—a great many centuries after it was given. The reasoning of the Sadducees on one occasion when conversing with Jesus proves that the law was then observed. Said they, “There were seven brethren who took a certain woman, each one taking her in succession after the death of the other,” and they inquired of Jesus which of the seven would have her for a wife in the resurrection. The Sadducees, no doubt, used this figure to prove, as they thought, the fallacy of the doctrine of the resurrection, but it also proves that this law, given by the Creator while Israel walked acceptably before Him, was acknowledged by their wicked descendants in the days of the Savior. I merely quote the passage to show that the law was not considered obsolete at that time. A case like this, when six of the brethren had died, leaving the widow without issue, the seventh, whether married or unmarried, must fulfill this law and take the widow to wife, or lay himself liable to a severe penalty. What was that penalty? According to the testimony of the law of Moses he would be cursed, for Moses says, “Cursed be he that doth not all things according as it is written in this book of the law, and let all the people say Amen.” There can be no doubt that many men in those days were compelled to be polygamists in the fulfillment of this law, for any man who would not take the childless wife of a deceased brother and marry her, would come under the tremendous curse recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, and all the people would be obliged to sanction the curse, because he would not obey the law of God and become a polygamist. They were not all Congressmen in those days, nor Presidents, nor Presbyterians, nor Methodists, nor Roman Catholics; but they were the people of God, governed by divine law, and were commanded to be polygamists; not merely suffered to be so, but actually commanded to be.

    There are some Latter-day Saints who, perhaps, have not searched these things as they ought, hence we occasionally find some who will say that God suffered these things to be. I will go further, and say that He commanded them, and He pronounced a curse, to which all the people had to say amen, if they did not fulfill the commandment.

    Coming down to the days of the prophets we find that they were polygamists; also to the days of the kings of Israel, whom God appointed Himself, and approbated and blessed. This was especially the case with one of them, named David, who, the Lord said, was a man after His own heart. David was called when yet a youth to reign over the whole twelve tribes of Israel; but Saul, the reigning king of Israel, persecuted him, and sought to take away his life. David fled from city to city throughout all the coasts of Judea in order to get beyond the reach of the relentless persecutions of Saul. While thus fleeing, the Lord was with him, hearing his prayers, answering his petitions, giving him line upon line, precept upon precept; permitting him to look into the Urim and Thummim and receive revelations, which enabled him to escape from his enemies.

    In addition to all these blessings that God bestowed upon him in his youth, before he was exalted to the throne, the Lord gave him eight wives; and after exalting him to the throne, instead of denouncing him for having many wives, and pronouncing him worthy of fourteen or twenty-one years of imprisonment, the Lord was with His servant David, and, thinking he had not wives enough He gave to him all the wives of his master Saul, in addition to the eight he had previously given him. Was the Lord to be considered a criminal, and worthy of being tried in a court of justice and sent to prison for thus increasing the polygamic relations of David? No, certainly not; it was in accordance with His own righteous laws, and He was with His servant,

    David the King, and blessed him. By and by, when David transgressed, not in taking other wives, but in taking the wife of another man, the anger of the Lord was kindled against him and He chastened him and took away all the blessings He had given him. All the wives David had received from the hand of God were taken from him. Why? Because he had committed adultery. Here then is a great distinction between adultery and plurality of wives. One brings honor and blessing to those who engage in it, the other degradation and death.

    After David had repented with all his heart of his crime with the wife of Uriah, he, notwithstanding the number of wives he had previously taken, took Bathsheba legally, and by that legal marriage Solomon was born; the child born of her unto David, begotten illegally, being a bastard, displeased the Lord and He struck it with death; but with Solomon, a legal issue from the same woman, the Lord was so pleased that He ordained Solomon and set him on the throne of his father David. This shows the difference between the two classes of posterity, the one begotten illegally, the other in the order of marriage. If Solomon had been a bastard, as this pious generation would have us suppose, instead of being blessed of the Lord and raised to the throne of his father, he would have been banished from the congregation of Israel and his seed after him for ten generations. But, notwithstanding that he was so highly blessed and honored of the Lord, there was room for him to transgress and fall, and in the end he did so. For a long time the Lord blessed Solomon, but eventually he violated that law which the Lord had given forbidding Israel to take wives from the idolatrous nations, and some of these wives succeeded in turning his heart from the Lord, and induced him to worship the heathen gods, and the Lord was angry with him and, as it is recorded in the Book of Mormon, considered the acts of Solomon an abomination in His sight.

    Let us now come to the record in the Book of Mormon, when the Lord led forth Lehi and Nephi, and Ishmael and his two sons and five daughters out of the land of Jerusalem to the land of America, the males and females were about equal in number. There were Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel, the four sons of Lehi, and Zoram, brought out of Jerusalem. How many daughters of Ishmael were unmarried? Just five. Would it have been just under these circumstances to ordain plurality among them? No. Why? Because the males and females were equal in number and they were all under the guidance of the Almighty, hence it would have been unjust, and the Lord gave a revelation—the only one on record I believe—in which a command was ever given to any branch of Israel to be confined to the monogamic system. In this case the Lord through His servant Lehi, gave a command that they should have but one wife. The Lord had a perfect right to vary His commands in this respect according to circumstances as He did in others, as recorded in the Bible. There we find that the domestic relations were governed according to the mind and will of God, and were varied according to circumstances, as he thought proper.

    By and by, after the death of Lehi, some of his posterity began to disregard the strict law that God had given to their father, and took more wives than one, and the Lord put them in mind, through His servant Jacob, one of the sons of Lehi, of

    this law, and told them that they were transgressing it, and then referred to David and Solomon, as having committed abomination in His sight. The Bible also tells us that they sinned in the sight of God; not in taking wives legally, but only in those they took illegally, in doing which they brought wrath and condemnation upon their heads.

    But because the Lord dealt thus with the small branch of the House of Israel that came to America, under their peculiar circumstances, there are those at the present day who will appeal to this passage in the Book of Mormon as something universally applicable in regard to man’s domestic relations. The same God that commanded one branch of the House of Israel in America, to take but one wife when the numbers of the two sexes were about equal, gave a different command to the hosts of Israel in Palestine. But let us see the qualifying clause given in the Book of Mormon on this subject. After having reminded the people of the commandment delivered by Lehi in regard to monogamy, the Lord says, “For if I will raise up seed unto me I will command my people, otherwise they shall hearken unto these things;” that is, if I will raise up seed among my people of the House of Israel, according to the law that exists among the tribes of Israel I will give them a commandment on the subject, but if I do not give this commandment they shall hearken to the law which I gave unto their father Lehi. That is the meaning of the passage, and this very passage goes to prove that plurality was a principle God did approve under circumstances when it was authorized by Him.

    In the early rise of this Church, February, 1831, God gave a commandment to its members, recorded in the Book of Covenants, wherein He says, “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and to none else;” and then He gives a strict law against adultery. This you have, no doubt, all read; but let me ask whether the Lord had the privilege and the right to vary from this law. It was given in 1831, when the one-wife system alone prevailed among this people. I will tell you what the Prophet Joseph said in relation to this matter in 1831, also in 1832, the year in which the law commanding the members of this Church to cleave to one wife only was given. Joseph was then living in Portage County, in the town of Hiram, at the house of Father John Johnson. Joseph was very intimate with that family, and they were good people at that time, and enjoyed much of the Spirit of the Lord. In the forepart of the year 1832, Joseph told individuals, then in the Church, that he had inquired of the Lord concerning the principle of plurality of wives, and he received for answer that the principle of taking more wives than one is a true principle, but the time had not yet come for it to be practiced. That was before the Church was two years old. The Lord has His own time to do all things pertaining to His purposes in the last dispensation; His own time for restoring all things that have been predicted by the ancient prophets. If they have predicted that the day would come when seven women would take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach;” and that, in that day the branch of the Lord should be beautiful and glorious and the fruits of the earth should be excellent and comely, the Lord has the right to say when that time shall be.

    Now supposing the members of this Church had undertaken to vary from that law given in 1831, to love their one wife with all their hearts and to cleave to none other, they would have come under the curse and condemnation of God’s holy law. Some twelve years after that time the revelation on Celestial Marriage was revealed. This is just republished at the Deseret News office, in a pamphlet entitled, “Answers to Questions,” by President George A. Smith, and heretofore has been published in pamphlet form and in the Millennial Star, and sent throughout the length and breadth of our country, being included in our works and published in the works of our enemies. Then came the Lord’s time for this holy and ennobling principle to be practiced again among His people.

    We have not time to read the revelation this afternoon; suffice it to say that God revealed the principle through His servant Joseph in 1843. It was known by many individuals while the Church was yet in Illinois; and though it was not then printed, it was a familiar thing through all the streets of Nauvoo, and indeed throughout all Hancock County. Did I hear about it? I verily did. Did my brethren of the Twelve know about it? They certainly did. Were there any females who knew about it? There certainly were, for some received the revelation and entered into the practice of the principle. Some may say, “Why was it not printed, and made known to the people generally, if it was of such importance?” I reply by asking another question. Why did not the revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants come to us in print years before they did? Why were they shut up in Joseph’s cupboard years and years without being suffered to be printed and sent broadcast throughout the land? Because the Lord had His own time again to accomplish His purposes, and He suffered the revelations to be printed just when He saw proper. He did not suffer the revelation on the great American war to be published until some time after it was given. So in regard to the revelation on plurality; it was only a short time after Joseph’s death that we published it, having a copy thereof. But what became of the original? An apostate destroyed it; you have heard her name. That same woman, in destroying the original, thought she had destroyed the revelation from the face of the earth. She was embittered against Joseph, her husband, and at times fought against him with all her heart; and then again she would break down in her feelings, and humble herself before God and call upon His holy name, and would then lead forth ladies and place their hands in the hands of Joseph, and they were married to him according to the law of God. That same woman has brought up her children to believe that no such thing as plurality of wives existed in the days of Joseph, and has instilled the bitterest principles of apostasy into their minds, to fight against the Church that has come to these mountains according to the predictions of Joseph.

    In the year 1854, before his death, a large company was organized to come and search out a location, west of the Rocky Mountains. We have been fulfilling and carrying out his predictions in coming here and since our arrival. The course pursued by this woman shows what apostates can do, and how wicked they can become in their hearts. When they apostatize from the truth they can come out and swear before God and the heavens that such and such things never existed, when they

    know, as well as they know they exist themselves, that they are swearing falsely. Why do they do this? Because they have no fear of God before their eyes; because they have apostatized from the truth; because they have taken it upon themselves to destroy the revelations of the Most High, and to banish them from the face of the earth, and the Spirit of God withdraws from them. We have come here to these mountains, and have continued to practice the principle of Celestial Marriage from the day the revelation was given until the present time; and we are a polygamic people, and a great people, comparatively speaking, considering the difficult circumstances under which we came to this land.

    Let us speak for a few moments upon another point connected with this subject—that is, the reason why God has established polygamy under the present circumstances among this people. If all the inhabitants of the earth, at the present time, were righteous before God, and both males and females were faithful in keeping His commandments, and the numbers of the sexes of a marriageable age were exactly equal, there would be no necessity for any such institution. Every righteous man could have his wife and there would be no overplus of females. But what are the facts in relation to this matter? Since old Pagan Rome and Greece—worshippers of idols—passed a law confining man to one wife, there has been a great surplus of females who have had no possible chance of getting married. You may think this a strange statement, but it is a fact that those nations were the founders of what is termed monogamy. All other nations, with few exceptions, had followed the Scriptural plan of having more wives than one. These nations, however, were very powerful and when Christianity came to them, especially the Roman nation, it had to bow to their mandates and customs, hence the Christians gradually adopted the monogamic system. The consequence was that a great many marriageable ladies of those days, and of all generations from that time to the present, have not had the privilege of husbands, as the one-wife system has been established by law among the nations descended from the great Roman empire—namely, the nations of modern Europe and the American States. This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans, for as God has implanted, for a wise purpose, certain feelings in the breasts of females as well as males, the gratification of which is necessary to health and happiness, and which can only be accomplished legitimately in the married state, myriads of those who have been deprived of the privilege of entering that state, rather than be deprived of the gratification of those feelings altogether, have, in despair, given way to wickedness and licentiousness; hence the whoredoms and prostitution among the nations of the earth, where the “Mother of Harlots” has her seat.

    When the religious Reformers came out, some two or three centuries ago, they neglected to reform the marriage system—a subject demanding their urgent attention. But leaving these Reformers and their doings, let us come down to our own times and see whether, as has been often said by many, the numbers of the sexes are equal; and let us take as a basis for our investigations on this part of our subject the censuses taken by several of the States in the American Union.

    Many will tell us that the number of males and the number of females born are just about equal, and because they are so it is not reasonable to suppose that God ever intended the nations to practice plurality of wives. Let me say a few words on that. Supposing we should admit, for the sake of argument, that the sexes are born in equal numbers, does that prove that the same equality exists when they come to a marriageable age? By no means. There may be about equal numbers born, but what do the statistics of our country show in regard to the deaths? Do as many females as males die during the first year of their existence? If you go to the published statistics you will find, almost without exception, that in every State a greater number of males die the first year of their existence than females. The same holds good from one year to five years, from five years to ten, from ten to fifteen, and from fifteen to twenty. This shows that the number of females is greatly in excess of the males when they come to a marriageable age. Let us elucidate still further, in proof of the position here assumed. Let us take, for instance, the census of the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1860, and we shall find that there were 17,588 more females than males between the ages of twenty and thirty years, which may strictly be termed a marriageable age. Says one, “Probably the great war made that difference.” No, this was before the war. Now let us go to the statistics of the State of New York, before the war, and we find according to the official tables of the census taken in 1860, that there were 45,104 more females than males in that one State, between the ages of twenty and thirty years—a marriageable age, recollect! Now let us go to the State of Massachusetts, and look at the statistics there. In the year 1865, there were 33,452 more females than males between the age of twenty and thirty. We might go on from State to State and then to the census taken by the United States, and a vast surplus would be shown of females over males of a marriageable age. What is to be done with them? I will tell you what Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York say. They say, virtually, “We will pass a law so strict, that if these females undertake to marry a man who has another wife, both they and the men they marry shall be subject to a term of imprisonment in the penitentiary.” Indeed! Then what are you going to do with these hundreds of thousands of females of a marriageable age? “We are going to make them either old maids or prostitutes, and we would a little rather have them prostitutes, then we men would have no need to marry.” That is the conclusion many of these marriageable males, between twenty and thirty years of age, have come to. They will not marry because the laws of the land have a tendency to make prostitutes, and they can purchase all the animal gratification they desire without being bound to any woman; hence many of them have mistresses, by whom they raise children, and, when they get tired of them, turn both mother and children into the street, with nothing to support them, the law allowing them to do so, because the women are not wives. Thus the poor creatures are plunged into the depths of misery, wretchedness and degradation, because at all risks they have followed the instincts implanted within them by their Creator, and not having the opportunity to do so legally have done so unlawfully. There are hundreds and thousands of [unmarried] females in this boasted land of liberty, through the narrow, contracted, bigoted State laws, preventing them from ever getting husbands. That is what the Lord is fighting against; we, also, are fighting against it, and for the reestablishment of the Bible religion and the celestial or patriarchal order of marriage.

    It is no matter according to the Constitution whether we believe in the patriarchal part of the Bible, in the Mosaic or in the Christian part; whether we believe in one-half, two-thirds, or in the whole of it; that is nobody’s business. The Constitution never granted power to Congress to prescribe what part of the Bible any people should believe in or reject; it never intended any such thing.

    Much more might be said, but the congregation is large, and a speaker, of course, will weary. Though my voice is tolerably good, I feel weary in attempting to make a congregation of from eight to ten thousand people hear me, I have tried to do so. May God bless you, and may He pour out His Spirit upon the rising generation among us, and upon the missionaries who are about to be sent to the United States and elsewhere, that the great principles, political, religious and domestic, that God has ordained and established, may be made known to all people.

    In this land of liberty in religious worship, let us boldly proclaim our rights to believe in and practice any Bible precept, command or doctrine, whether in the Old or New Testament, whether relating to ceremonies, ordinances, domestic relations, or anything else, not incompatible with the rights of others, and the great revelations of Almighty God manifested in ancient and modern times. Amen.

    References

    References
    1 Journal of Discourses, v. 13, p. 195. – http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/4948
  • Talk of Love

    Talk of Love

    A January 5, 1965 address at BYU by Spencer W. Kimball, ‘Love vs. Lust’: 1

    “My beloved young people:

    While this is a grave responsibility, and not an easy one, I am eager to discuss with you some matters of grave importance.

    I love youth. I rejoice when they grow up clean and stalwart and tall. I sorrow with them when they have misfortunes and remorse and troubles.

    Numerous disasters have occurred in mid-ocean by collisions of ships and sometimes with icebergs, and numerous people have gone to watery graves.

    Soon, such a thing will not be possible, for ships will be equipped with radar equipment which will alert ships’ officers should a collision be imminent. A tape will be played automatically, booming from the darkened bridge: “This is an alert. This ship is approaching an object. This is an alert. This ship is approaching an object.” And the voice will not be stilled until the mate comes to the radarscope and turns the recorder off. This will enable ships to alter their courses and save lives.

    I believe our young people are wholesome and basically good and sound; but they, too, are traveling oceans which to them are at least partially uncharted, where there are shoals and rocks and icebergs and other vessels, and where great disasters can come unless warnings are heeded.

    Yesterday as my jet plane soared in the air gaining altitude, the voice of the stewardess came clearly over the loud-speaker: “We are moving into a storm area. We shall skirt the danger, but there may be some turbulence. Be sure your seat belts are securely fastened.”

    And, as a leader of the Church and in a measure being responsible for youth and their well-being, I raise my voice to say to the youth: “You are in a hazardous area and period. Tighten your belts, hold on, and you can survive the turbulence.”

    I interview thousands of young people and many seem to flounder. Some give excuses for their errors and indulge in unwarranted rationalizations. Today I hope I may be able to clarify, at least in some areas, the stand of the God of Heaven and His Church on some vital issues.

    May I speak first of words and relate them to my theme? There is magic in words properly used. Some people use them accurately, while others sloppily.

    Words are means of communication, and faulty signals give wrong impressions. Disorder and misunderstandings are the results. Words underlie our whole life and are the tools of our business, the expressions of our affections, and the records of our progress. Words cause hearts to throb and tears to flow in sympathy. Words can be sincere or hypocritical. Many of us are destitute of words and, consequently, clumsy with our speech, which sometimes becomes but babble. Paul said:

    Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. (1 Cor. 14:9.)

    And then Peter speaks of Paul and says of his epistles:

    “. . . in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Pet. 3:16.)

    Touring foreign lands, one comes to realize his utter helplessness without understandable words and symbols.

    The workmen engaged in building the Tower of Babel were craftsmen, skilled in their trades. Take away their tools: they will replace them. Take away their skills: they will learn anew. But take away their means of communication with one another and the building of the tower has to be abandoned. (Royal Bank of Canada Letter.)

    Words which confuse the hearer or reader are worse than valueless. A reasonable vocabulary of well-chosen words provides us with shadings of meaning and enables us to speak finely instead of coarsely.

    Words which are synonyms have much in common but still have peculiar application, such as “child and urchin,” “hand and fist,” “misstatement and lie.” Now, note the difference in the four-word sentences: “John looked at Mary”; “John glanced at Mary”; “John gazed at Mary”; “John glared at Mary.”

    A true definition of style is, “Proper words in proper places with thoughts in proper order.”

    The plain way of writing conceals great art. As you avoid pomposity, ambiguity and complexity, you attain simplicity, which is the greatest cunning. It conveys proper meaning into the minds of others straight away, without effort for them. They get a feeling of sincerity and integrity, for who can be suspicious of the motives of one who speaks plainly? “Sour notes do not become sweet because the musician is in white tie and black tails.”

    Words should be kind and gentle or firm and bold, according to the need of the moment. Words which betray are unkind and words which befuddle are frustrating.

    Some people have excellent ideas, but their thoughts either beat about aimlessly in their heads, finding no communication package in which to emerge, or they come out distorted and in fragments.

    Every person should say what he means, speaking clearly and distinctly. The politician particularly should pay attention to the niceties of language so as to address the voters meaningfully and not deceitfully. The deforming of meaning for political ends has become too commonplace. In our lives, we should express clearly what we have in mind, just as a purchaser would say: “I wish to buy three rolls of Kodak Ektachrome X Color Film, Daylight Ex. 127.” And the clerk knows exactly what is wanted.

    So in social life, and certainly in morals, there should be a careful selection of the right word to express the thought.

    It is reported that a Russian child has a primer of 2,000 words in the first grade and of 10,000 words in the fourth, while his opposite number in the United States has a primer of 1,800 words; and that the Russian child is reading Tolstoy while the same aged child in the United States is working his way through a book entitled, A Funny Sled. This charge is made in an article in Horizon of July, 1963.

    Even examinations now in many cases do not require expressions by students. They may place an “X” in an appropriate square and avoid intellectual effort in marshalling thoughts and expressing them coherently, and have about a fifty percent chance of being right even in a guess.

    Without discipline, language declines into flabby permissiveness, into formlessness and mindlessness. It deteriorates into what the late James Thurber called “our oral culture of pure babble.”

    Now, you may wonder why I have introduced my talk with the subject of words. May I lead you out with a few four-letter words to think about: fine, fire; good and grow; home, hide, hell, help; and tire, tide, tell and toll; wilt, wish, weak, worn, and weep. Then, there are these: limp, life, live, lurk, love and lust.

    Ah! Here I have finally found the two words on which I wish to dwell: love and lust-words strong and powerful-words which are life and death words-love and lust.

    Let me begin with a story. Across the desk sat a handsome, young nineteen-year-old and a beautiful, shy, but charming eighteen-year-old. They appeared embarrassed, apprehensive, near-terrified. He was defensive and bordering on belligerency and rebellion. There had been sexual violations throughout the summer and intermittently since school began, and as late as last week. I was not so much surprised. I have had these kinds of visits many times; but what did disturb me was that they seemed little, if any, remorseful. They admitted they had gone contrary to some social standards, but quoted magazines and papers and speakers approving pre-marital sex and emphasizing that sex was a fulfillment of human existence.

    Finally, the boy said, “Yes, we yielded to each other, but we do not think it wrong because we love each other.” I thought I had misunderstood him. Since the world began, there have been countless immoralities, but to hear them justified by Latter-day Saint youth shocked me. He repeated, “No, it is not wrong because we love each other.” Here was one of those misused four-letter words.

    They had repeated this abominable heresy so often that they had convinced themselves, and a wall of resistance had been built, and behind this wall they stubbornly stood almost defiantly. If there had been blushes of shame at first, such had been neutralized with their logic. Deeply entrenched were they in this rationalization. Had they not read in some university papers of the new freedom where pre-marital sex was sanctioned, at least not forbidden? Did they not see the looseness in every show, on every stage, on TV screens and magazines? Had they not discussed this in the locker room and in private conversation? Had it not been fairly well established, then, in their world, that sex before marriage was not so wrong? Did there not need to be a trial period? How else could they know if they would be sexually compatible for marriage ? Had they not, like numerous others, come to regard sex as the basis for living ?

    And a proverb came to my mind:

    Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. (Prov. 30:20.)

    In their rationalization they have had much cooperation, for, as Peter said:

    “… there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways. . .” (2 Pet. 2:1-2.)

    And Peter says further:

    “. . . they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, . . . the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Pet. 3:16.)

    And here they are, false teachers everywhere, using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, TV, street talk-spreading damnable heresies which break down moral standards, and this to gratify the lusts of the flesh.

    Lucifer in his diabolical scheming deceives the unwary and uses every tool at his command. Seldom does one go to a convention, a club meeting, a party or social gathering without hearing vulgarity, obscenity and suggestive stories.

    Peter again cautioned us:

    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Pet. 5:8.)

    And the Savior said that the very elect would be deceived by Lucifer if it were possible. He will use his logic to confuse, and his rationalizations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black.

    Young people are confused by the arch deceiver who uses every device to deceive them.

    This young couple looked up rather startled when I postulated firmly and with positiveness, “No, my beloved young people, you did not love each other. Rather, you lusted for each other.” And here was the other misused word.

    Paul told Titus:

    Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

    They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Titus 1:15-16.)

    I am sure that Peter and James and Paul found it unpleasant business to constantly be calling people to repentance and warning them of dangers, but they continued unflinchingly. So we, your leaders, must be everlastingly at it; if young people do not understand, then the fault may be partly ours. But, if we make the true way clear to you, then we are blameless.

    If when he [the watchman] seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

    Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

    He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

    But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. (Ezek. 33:3-6.)

    So, I wish today to help define meanings of words and acts for you young people, to fortify you against error, anguish, pain and sorrow.

    The boy and girl sat still and respectfully. I was not sure if they were comprehending. Apparently, their wrong concepts had been bolstered so long and firmly it was hard for them to change immediately.

    Now we talked again about words-short words like lift and lean, hide and lurk, flee and stay, lose and gain, fall and rise, open and shut, lure and save, lose and gain, live and dead, hell and home and again, love and lust. The beautiful and holy word of love they had defiled until it had degenerated to become a bedfellow with lust, its antithesis.

    As far back as Isaiah, deceivers and rationalizers were condemned:

    Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

    Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isa. 5:20-21.)

    And, we might add: Woe unto those who wrest the scriptures to interpret them to cover their weaknesses. The young couple had excused and justified their transgression on the grounds that they loved each other. Is there a word in the dictionary more misused and prostituted than the word “love”?

    Many of the modern terms for sin were not used in the scriptures and in olden days, and some people, therefore, excuse their contaminations because the age-old transgressions were not identified with modern terms. But, if one reads the scriptures carefully, all sins are denounced there in every shade of error. Again, the great Peter said:

    Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. (I Peter 2: 11.)

    Surely, every soul who has reached the age of accountability, and especially those who have received the Holy Ghost after baptism, knows the difference; but so often we hear what we want to hear and we see what we want to see. There is a definite war against the soul when evil is perpetrated. And I challenge any normal baptized person who says he did not know he was doing wrong. There is no compatibility between sin and righteousness, between guilt and peace.

    Paul charged the Corinthians:

    Flee fornication …. He that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Cor. 6:18.)

    And in order to avoid the disasters, Paul cautioned: “Do not company with fornicators.” And he urged people to keep good company and not eat with the evil ones who would tempt them, and then concludes: “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (See 1 Cor. 5:9-13.)

    Oh, if our young people could learn this basic lesson to always keep good company, to never be found with those who tend to lower our standards! Let every youth select associates who will keep him on tiptoes, trying to reach the heights attained. Let him never choose associates who encourage him to relax in carelessness.

    We must repeat what we have said many times: Fornication with all its big and little brothers and sisters was evil and wholly condemned by the Lord in Adam’s day, in Moses’ day, in Paul’s day, and in our own day. The Church has no tolerance for any kind of perversions. The Lord has indicated His lack of tolerance, stating:

    For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (D&C 1:31.)

    Yet, He loves the repentant one. Paul said that even the converted Gentiles should be taught to “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication,” and other deviations. (Acts 15:20.) He wrote the Romans that corrupt practices called fornication were extant among them. He exhorted the Galatians, lashing out against the “works of the flesh . . adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,” and then he added “that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21.)

    They are like the:

    Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 13.)

    These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. (Jude 16.)

    Let it be known positively that the Church is not softening its standards, nor abandoning its Godgiven practices. Those who interpret the scriptures to justify their own pernicious ways are spoken of in the Book of Mormon:

    . . . They are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they. (Mormon 5:18.)

    My young couple who had so seriously sinned were listening, and I reminded them of the statement of Mormon, where the Nephites, guilty of fiendish, abominable acts, had taken prisoners the daughters of the Lamanites, and:

    After depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue-(Moroni 9:9).

    They tortured and murdered them.

    When the scriptures are so plain, how can anyone justify immoralities and call them love? Is black white? Is evil good? Is purity filthiness?

    As I looked the boy in the eye, I said, “No, my boy, you were not expressing love when you took her virtue.” And to her, I said, “There was no real love in your heart when you robbed him of his chastity. It was lust that brought you together in this most serious of all practices short of murder. Paul said, ‘Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.’ (Rom. 13:10.)”

    I continued, “If one really loves another, one would rather die for that person than injure him. At the hour of indulgence, pure love is pushed out one door while lust sneaks in the other. Your affection has been replaced with biological materialism and uncontrolled passion. You have accepted the doctrine which the devil is so eager to establish-that sex relations are justified on the grounds that it is a pleasurable experience in itself and is beyond moral consideration.

    “When the unmarried yield to the lust which induces intimacies and indulgence, they have permitted the body to dominate and have placed the spirit in chains. It is unthinkable that anyone could call this love. You have ignored the fact that all situations or conditions or actions whose pleasures or satisfactions end with the termination of the act will never produce great peoples nor build great kingdoms.

    “In order to live with themselves, people who transgress must follow one path or the other of two alternatives. The one is to sear the conscience and dull the sensitivity with mental tranquilizers so that the transgression may be continued; the other is to permit remorse to lead to total conviction, repentance and eventual forgiveness.”

    This conviction is the element of which my two young visitors were quite devoid. They were somewhat like the unrepentant of whom Isaiah spoke:

    And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive him not.(2 Ne. 12:9.)

    No one can ever be forgiven of any transgression until there is repentance, and one has not repented until he has bared his soul and admitted his intentions and weaknesses without excuses or rationalizations. He must admit to himself that he has grievously sinned. When he has confessed to himself without the slightest minimizing of the offense, or rationalizing its seriousness, or soft-pedaling its gravity, and admits it is as big as it really is, then he is ready to begin his repentance; and any other elements of repentance are of reduced value, until the conviction is established totally, and then repentance may mature and forgiveness may eventually come.

    Because of this widespread tolerance toward promiscuity, this world is in grave danger. When evil is decried and forbidden and punished, the world still has a chance. But when toleration for sin increases, the outlook is bleak and Sodom and Gomorrah days are certain to return.

    We were in Los Angeles years ago when the news broke of the illicit affair of a certain movie actress, from which she became pregnant. Because of her popularity, it was big news in heavy headlines in every paper in the land. We were not so surprised at her adultery-it was reported to be common in Hollywood as well as in the world generally. But that such dissoluteness should be approved and accepted by society shocked me. The Los Angeles papers took a poll of the people-club women and ministers, employers and employees, stenographers and teachers and housewives-and almost without exception, as though it were a child’s indiscretion, these community leaders found little fault and criticized as “puritanical” and “victorian” those who disapproved. “Let her live her own life,” they said. “And, why should we interfere with people’s personal liberties?” In state and nation and across the seas, toleration for sin is terrifying.

    There is no shame. Isaiah again strikes the sin:

    The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. (Isa. 3:9.)

    That the Church’s stand on morality may be understood, we declare firmly and unalterably it is not an outworn garment, faded, old-fashioned, and threadbare. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His covenants and doctrines are immutable; and when the sun grows cold and the stars no longer shine, the law of chastity will still be basic in God’s world and in the Lord’s Church. Old values are upheld by the Church not because they are old, but rather because through the ages they have proved right. It will always be the rule.

    I continued with the young couple, saying, “The youth of today are seeing too many ‘adults only’ movies which exploit sex. There are too many open dormitories on campus, too many mattress parties for adolescents, too many girls with extreme dresses, tight sweaters, calling attention to sex. And, there are too many young men with tight, suggestive attire. Youth generally have heard too many advertisements over radio and television and seen too many in newspapers and on billboards and in magazines where sex is used as a stimulus in selling. There have been too many parked automobiles. They have read too many novels where sex is the central, dominant theme.”

    “What kind of a world would we have,” I asked these young people, “if this heresy which you have espoused of pre-marital sex looseness and alleged free love were in order?” The world, already ill, would expire.

    We are not speaking of a sex-free world any more than we are speaking of a sexy world, for a sexless civilization would die in one generation if indeed it could be born. A sexy civilization will die of its own rottenness when it is ripe in iniquity. Pure sex life in proper marriage is approved. There is a time and an appropriateness for all things which have value. In ancient days, one city or one civilization could disintegrate without seriously disturbing other parts of the world, but today our communication and transportation facilities make the whole world one community.

    In our mass-production age in recent years, “we have witnessed the reduction of persons to things in a code number, a subscriber, a punched card. Each reduction indicates that the person is expendable, replaceable.. . .” “A person is not a function nor a means nor an instrument, but an end in himself; but the world speaks with a voice amplified by a thousand television stations and a half million printing presses.” It advances the biological materialism that man is a consuming, reproducing function, a collection of skills, or a unit in the labor force. This renders men functionaries and destroys their being and loses for them their self, dwarfed by a gigantic universe out there. This is hauntingly true as people are “used” to gratify physical passions in illegitimacy.

    This repulsive sense of “thinghood” is portrayed well in a few lines from John Pauker in the New Republic, January 5, 1963:

    I looked and looked again. There were no people.

    The people had disappeared. The people were gone.

    But the things they had created were still there.

    A suit of clothes and a gown walked arm in arm.

    With a dog at the end of a leash. The dog was there

    And snarling. In the street, vehicular traffic

    Flowed as usual but without drivers or riders ….

    Electric razors razed and revolvers fired

    As usual. The things went through their paces

    And seemed to be enjoying themselves highly.

    I longed to look in a mirror but did not dare.

    We really do not love things. We use things like doormats, automobiles, clothing, machines; but we love people by serving them and contributing to their permanent good. The Lord seemed to recognize this when He said:

    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:33.)

    And again, the difference was made manifest in His instructions to Peter, when He asked three times of that worthy:

    Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?

    To which Peter responded:

    Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. And the answer came:

    Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. (See John 21:15-17.)

    What were the things, “these things,” which took second place to his love for his Lord and his fellow men? I think they must have been ships and nets and fish and desires and wants and even passions.

    Sexual encounters outside of legalized marriage render the individual a thing to be used, a thing to be exploited, and make him or her exchangeable, exploitable, expendable and throw-awayable.

    And when we come before the great Judge at the bar of justice, shall we stand before Him as a thing or as a person, as a depraved body of flesh and carnal acts, or as a son of God standing straight and tall and worthy? And as we answer the vital questions, will we be able to say, “I builded, I did not tear down; I lifted, I did not pull down; I grew, I did not shrivel; I helped others grow, I did not dwarf them; I helped, I did not hinder; I loved intensely and blessed, I did not lust toward exploitation to injure”?

    My young couple were still rationalizing and excusing themselves, and I said again, “Every kind of sex exploit for the unmarried from the first lustful stirrings of passions relating to self or to others is a sin, and thought habits are perverted and lives are blemished, and God’s laws are broken, and penalties will be paid.”

    Like some high pressure salesmen who claim far more for their product than can possibly be delivered, sex exploitation promises what it can never produce nor deliver. So, outside of marriage, improper sex life can bring only disappointment, disgust, and usually rejection “while it propels its participants down the long corridor of repeated encounters which are destined to fail.”

    Very often the couple-the two people who have been promiscuous, who have been wanton, who have crossed the lines of propriety-become disgusted with each other and discontinue associations altogether. How many come to dislike, if not to hate, the partner in sin.

    Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death. Pre-marital sex promises what it cannot possibly produce or deliver. Rejection is often the fruit as it moves its participants down the long highway of repeated encounters.

    The Eighth of the Ten Commandments says: “Thou shalt not steal.” Yet the immoral act is exploitation and robbery in its worst expression.

    It is taking with or without permission the most priceless, the most unrecoverable, the most unreturnable possession of an individual-chastity and virtue. In one dark, unglorious hour, lives can be taken or shattered; but in a long lifetime, health lost may possibly be regained, wealth lost may someday be accumulated again, freedom lost may be fought for and possibly recovered, but chastity gone is gone forever, and virtue stolen cannot be returned. Is not this one of the prime reasons why this forbidden thing is so heinous like murder, for neither can ever be wholly compensated nor returned nor undone?

    “THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY” (and we add its twin, FORNICATION) and also “THOU SHALT NOT KILL” came ‘ringing down from Mount Sinai. One can take a life easily but he can never restore that life. And so it is that when the pangs of futility and remorse impress the uselessness of the act, there must come the time when the fornicator or adulterer, like the murderer, wishes he could hide-hide from all the world, from all the ghosts and especially from his own-and there is no place to hide. There are dark corners and hidden spots and closed cars in which the transgression can be committed, but to totally conceal is impossible. There are no nights so dark, no rooms so tightly locked, no canyons so closed in, no deserts so uninhabited that one can find a place to hide his sins from himself nor from his Lord. Eventually, one must still face himself and his Great Judge.

    Cain had difficulty hiding. The Lord had asked, “Where is Abel, thy brother?” And Cain had boldly replied, “I know not. Am I my brother’ s keeper?” Did he think he was deceiving the Lord or himself? The next question was no simple inquiry, but an accusation and a condemnation, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground . . . which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. “. . . a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. “And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth.” (Gen. 4:9-14.)

    That was true of murder. In a lesser degree, it is true of illicit sex, which, of course, includes all petting, fornication, adultery, homosexual acts, and all other perversions. The Lord may say to offenders, as He did to Cain, “What hast thou done?” The children thus conceived make damning charges against you; the companions who have been frustrated and violated condemn you; the body that has been defiled cries out against you; the spirit which has been dwarfed convicts you. You will have difficulty throughout the ages in totally forgiving yourself.

    After looking down at the crumpled body at his feet, and especially after the torments of hell began to persecute him and the ghost of his brother began to follow him, Cain must have wished that he could give Abel’ s life back. The Lord did not curse Cain; it was Cain who, breaking eternal law, cursed himself. And every man or woman who is guilty of moral misconduct may look down upon defiled bodies, his own and others; he may recognize frustrated and distorted minds; and as the ghosts begin to follow, he is certain to wish with all his heart that he could give back chastity and restore tranquility and peace in the minds and hearts and lives of those whom he has damaged.

    From the same tablet, from the same Sinai, came the Laws of God. After creating man in His own image, male and female, God then performed the holy marriage ceremony for eternity for His Adam and Eve. And in this beginning, He established a pattern of sex life consistent with all reason and propriety. In that first marriage blessing, the Lord commanded these two beings, who were complementary to each other, to multiply by being fruitful and bringing children into the world. Cain and Abel were only two of their many sons and daughters. This command did not give license to merely satisfy biological urges, for God followed it with the command,

    Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Gen. 2:24.)

    To cleave is to adhere closely, to cling; and the Lord gave as the purpose for their cleaving, the peopling of the earth, the replenishing of the earth, the subduing of the earth, the dominion over the earth. There was high purpose in the creation and in the proper associations of husband and wife, but intimacies could never be defended outside of marriage.

    The pre-marital sex act is a deception. It is a lie. The Lord asked:

    “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he . . . give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11-12.)

    Bread is the staff of life, while a stone is lifeless, indeed, sometimes death dealing. The fish as food builds and sustains the body, as does the egg; but the serpent destroys life and is the symbol of death. Love is promised and is delivered.

    Proper sex functions bring posterity, responsibility, and peace; but pre-marital sex encounters bring pain, the loss of self-esteem, spiritual death, unless there is a total, continuing repentance.

    What are the fruits of immorality? Instead of multiplying and replenishing the earth, every effort is made to avoid conception and the birth of progeny. Since Adam no soul has ever been made happy by transgressing. The Lord said:

    “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:19-20.)

    “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees.” (Matt. 3:10.)

    And the warning is repeated:

    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matt. 7:15.)

    Could there possibly be a single good fruit which comes from pre-marital indulgence?

    Our great accumulated scientific knowledge about our bodies and their functioning, and our minds and their operating, seems not to have been translated into righteousness. As an example, all that we have learned of late from research about the ill effects of tobacco has done little to discourage its use, even as the holy revelations were ignored. And all that has been said from a medical and scientific standpoint about the social diseases seems to have deterred people very little from immorality-in fact, little more if any than the commandments of the Lord. For, in a recent local paper, we read of the great increase in VD in the big cities of our land.

    It is not so much what we know but what we do about what we know. Dr. Jenkins of the Utah State Health Department is quoted as saying that gonorrhea and syphilis epidemics are raging at this very moment in thirty of the nation’s largest cities.

    The Deseret News of December 13, 1964, quotes an Associated Press writer out of Washington as saying: “Some experts see a ‘general decline in morals’ and point to the sharpest rises of V.D. among teenagers.”

    We live in a sterile age, or so it seems-an age when young people turn to sex to escape loneliness, frustration; insecurity and lack of interest. “What can we do?” the youth complain. They are little interested in reading and family associations and youth socials and the community dance. They must have something more exciting. Long ago they ceased making their own entertainment which could be as clean and worthy as they wished to make it. Today, then, they look at television and go to shows in town, and to the so-called “passion pits,” where they are over-stimulated sexually. Oh, for a generation of youth who would move back to simplicity, away from the “canned” programs in most of which are ingredients to stimulate and stir the human passions!

    When we talk of sex, our first thought is adultery or fornication; but our second one, and close on its heels, is the sex stimulation to self and others, sometimes called “petting.” It is a damaging and a damning transgression in its own right, and then, of course, it is also the gateway to the final acts of fornication and adultery.

    And the world will go on dying-destroying itself until people begin to use words in their true meanings, “calling a spade, a spade” and not a spoon; calling “petting” a deep sin and not a harmless diversion– until we rip its disguising mask from its ugly face and strip from its lustful body the sheep’s clothing with which the vicious wolf has concealed his mean self.

    The young man is untrue to his manhood who promises popularity, good times, security, fun, and even love, when all he can give is passion and its diabolical fruits-guilt complexes, disgust, hatred, abhorrence, eventual loathing, and possible pregnancy without legitimacy and honor. He pleads his case in love and all he gives is lust. Likewise, the young lady sells herself cheap. She asks him for a fish; he gives her a serpent. He asks her for bread and she gives him a stone. She reaches for figs, and thorns are pressed into her hand. He would have grapes but gets a bramble bush. She asks for eggs and he stings her with a scorpion. The result is damage to life and canker to the soul.

    Reverend Lawrence Lowell Gruman says: “It is indeed a quaint morality that belittles sex and shrinks human beings to pleasure-seeking dwarfs, for if sex is good, as eating and sleeping are good, then it, too, has specific limits and an appropriate place and that place is within marriage.”

    And still these young people talk of love. What a corruption of the most beautiful term! The word is prostituted also in the realm of homosexuality. Both are in the realm of taking, not giving; killing, not saving; destroying, not building. The fruit is bitter because the tree is corrupt. Their lips say, “I love you.” Their bodies say, “I want you.” Love is kind and wholesome. To love is to give, not to take. To love is to serve, not to exploit.

    We sing of love in popular songs when we really are coveting and wanting and lusting. Why do people deceive themselves and others? Why not call it what it actually is?

    Undoubtedly Potiphar’s wife flattered Joseph and expressed her alleged love for him at first. When this failed, she tried force and intrigue; and, failing there, she tried to cover with blackmail. With such a clear conscience, Joseph’s dark dungeon must have been to him a pleasant prison. At least here he was safe from exploitation and contamination. She said to Joseph, “I love you.” What she wanted was not Joseph but his handsome, appealing body.

    Dr. Gruman says: “The sexual encounter ought to be a full and free affirmation of the other person, …a total commitment to him, and that spells permanence and permanence is spelled out in marriage ….

    If you love another person fully, wholly, unselfishly, then respect the sexual life of that person by surrounding him with marriage. Using and being used, we fail as human beings and sons of God.”

    What is love? Many people think of it as mere physical attraction and they casually speak of “falling in love” and “love at first sight.” This may be Hollywood’s version and the interpretation of those who write love songs and love fiction. True love is not wrapped in such flimsy material. One might become immediately attracted to another individual, but love is far more than physical attraction. It is deep, inclusive and comprehensive. Physical attraction is only one of the many elements, but there must be faith and confidence and understanding and partnership. There must be common ideals and standards. There must be a great devotion and companionship. Love is cleanliness and progress and sacrifice and selflessness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes, but lives through sickness and sorrow, poverty and privation, accomplishment and disappointment, time and eternity. For the love to continue, there must be an increase constantly of confidence and understanding, of frequent and sincere expression of appreciation and affection. There must be a forgetting of self and a constant concern for the other. Interests, hopes, objectives must be constantly focused into a single channel.

    For many years, I saw a strong man carry his tiny, emaciated, arthritic wife to meetings and wherever she could go. There could be no sexual expression. Here was selfless indication of affection. I think that is pure love. I saw a kindly woman wait on her husband for many years as he deteriorated with muscular dystrophy. She waited on him hand and foot, night and day, when all he could do was to blink his eyes in thanks. I believe that was love.

    I knew a woman who carried her little unfortunate child until the body was too heavy to carry, and then she pushed her in a wheel chair for the following years until her death. The deprived child could never express an appreciation. It seems to me that that was love. Another mother visited regularly her son who was in the penitentiary. She could receive nothing from him. She gave much, all she had.

    If anyone feels that petting or other deviations are demonstrations of love, let him ask himself: “If this beautiful body which I have misused suddenly became deformed, or paralyzed, would my reactions be the same ? If this lovely face were scarred by flames, or this body which I have used suddenly became rigid, or this keen mind which I have enjoyed were suddenly to become blank, would I be such an ardent lover? If senility or any of its approaches suddenly fell upon my sweetheart, what would my attitudes be?” Answers to these questions might test one to see if he really is in love or if it is only physical attraction which encouraged the improper physical contacts. The young man who protects his sweetheart against all use or abuse, against insult and infamy from himself or others, could be expressing true love.

    But the young man who uses his companion as a biological toy to give himself temporary satisfaction-that is lust, and is at the other end of the spectrum from love. A young woman conducts herself to be attractive spiritually, mentally and physically but will not by word nor dress nor act stir nor stimulate to physical reactions the companion beside her. That could be true love. That young woman who must touch and stir and fondle and tempt and use knows not love. That is lust and exploitation.

    Sometimes, there are twins, like Jacob and Esau, and the one is hairy and crude and evil; the other is smooth and clean and personable. There were two brothers, the sons of Adam-the one, crude, selfish, evil; the other, good and faithful and worthy. Their names also were four-letter words-Cain and Abel. And such words as love and lust are direct opposites.

    Speaking to my young couple, I said again, “No, it is not love if it manipulates; it is selfishness. It is not love if it neglects the welfare of the other: it is irresponsibility.

    “If sex relations merely become a release or a technique and the partner becomes exchangeable, then sex returns to the compulsive animal level.

    “Immorality brings generally a guilt deep and lasting. And this is a factor certainly not to be overlooked. These unresolved guilt complexes are the stuff of which mental breakdowns come, the building blocks of suicide, the fabric of distorted personalities, the wounds that scar or incapacitate individuals or families.

    “The Revelator, John, gives this: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Rev. 20:12.)

    And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15.)

    “And a question that surely arises when that vital moment comes is, will we stand before the Great Judge and be proud or ashamed, satisfied or frustrated? And no normal youth or adult who has received the Holy Ghost can conscientiously claim that he did not know that these things were transgressions.

    Pre-marital sex affairs are wrong, not because the Church declares against them, but the Church declares against them because they are wrong and because they hurt and destroy people who are God’s children.”

    The young couple still was sitting before me. They mentioned a possible future marriage, apparently thinking to impress me, and were a bit startled when I said with positiveness, “You should be married-and immediately.” And I quoted this scripture:

    “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.” (Ex. 22:16.) and again from Moses: “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; . . . she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.” (Deut. 22:28-29.)

    These two folks were “damaged goods.” They had prostituted each other. They had toyed with each other’s body. But now they were almost horrified at the suggestion of immediate marriage, and he remonstrated: “Why, we couldn’t marry. We are not ready for marriage. We haven’t completed our education. We have no employment. We are not ready to make a home. We are not prepared to buy clothing, pay rent, buy cars, employ physicians, buy groceries, pay hospital bills. We haven’t finished our education. We are not ready to assume the responsibilities of parenthood.”

    And then I asked, as kindly as I could, “Then why did you precipitate yourselves into that situation? Why did you do the act which would make you parents? Why did you engage in the associations that would demand a home, employment, status? Your very irresponsible act identifies you as most immature. You do not know the meaning of responsibility, but you have pushed yourselves prematurely into adulthood. You should now meet the responsibilities as best you can. You are hardly able to walk alone as little children, and yet you are likely now to be parents. You have not passed the tests in the grade school yet, and now you are enrolled in college. You made the choice when you broke the law of chastity and gave up your virtue. That hour, freedom was replaced with tyrannical fetters. You accepted shackles and limitations and sorrows and eternal regrets when you could have had freedom with peace.”

    King Benjamin said:

    And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved —

    I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.

    Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

    And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a a never-ending torment.” (Mosiah 2:36-39.)

    Now, it would be wholly improper to so completely condemn sex sins without explaining to those who may already have yielded to these persuasions and temptations and have defiled themselves that there is eventual forgiveness, providing, of course, that there is commensurate repentance. “The way of the transgressor is hard,” and tough and long and thorny. But the Lord has promised that for all those sins and errors outside of the named unpardonable sins, there is forgiveness. But, many people misunderstand the principle of repentance and have the misconception that the changing of a policy, the breaking of a habit, or a few prayers can bounce them back in moments or hours the long distance that they skidded over months and possibly years.

    The Lord has said, “I will remember their sins no more,” and, “Thou shalt forgive them.” But sometimes it takes as long or longer to climb back up the steep hill than it did to skid down it. And it is often much more difficult.

    We mentioned self-conviction above. One has not begun his repentance until that is complete. But when a total self-conviction is stirred to a new life, and prayers have been multiplied and fasting, through humility, intensified, and weeping has been sanctified, repentance then begins to grow and, eventually, forgiveness may come. The king had said that the unrepentant would have a “lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.” (Mosiah 2:38.)

    And the Prophet Jacob said that those who reject the gospel and resist repentance would “stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God.” (Jacob 6:9).

    A basic thought which none may overlook is the statement of the Prophet Amulek:

    And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins,…and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins. (Alma 11:37.)

    But to those who have broken the law of chastity and who have complied as above, there is the promise of forgiveness, and the Lord charges the leaders of His Church when they have totally repented, “Thou shalt forgive them.”

    And He says:

    “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins –behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” (D&C 58:42-43.)

    Paul called attention to the Corinthian Saints:

    For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle. (1 Cor. 14:8.)

    And I believe the youth of Zion want to hear the clear and unmistakable tones of the trumpet, and it is my hope that I can play the tune with accuracy and precision so that no honest person will ever be confused. I hope fervently that I am making clear the position of the Lord and His Church on these unmentionable practices.

    Masturbation, a rather common indiscretion, is not approved of the Lord nor of His Church regardless of what may have been said by others whose “norms” are lower. Latter-day Saints are urged to avoid this practice.

    A person is the maker of himself. He may control his own destiny, if he is normal. James Allen says:

    “… A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts…. Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits . . . let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astounded at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life…”

    James Allen again says:

    …Man is manacled only by himself: thought and action are the jailers of Fate-they imprison, being base; they are also the angels of Freedom-they liberate, being noble.

    Anyone fettered by this weakness should abandon the habit before he goes on a mission or receives the Holy Priesthood or goes in the temple for his blessings.

    Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sins of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad, good, and black, white.

    This unholy transgression is either rapidly growing or tolerance is giving it wider publicity. If one has such desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to His condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. And the Church will excommunicate as readily any unrepentant addict.

    Again, contrary to the belief and statement of many people, this sin, like fornication, is overcomable and forgivable, but again, only upon a deep and abiding repentance which means total abandonment and complete transformation of thought and act. The fact that some governments and some churches and numerous corrupted individuals have tried to reduce such behavior from criminal offense to personal privilege does not change the nature nor the seriousness of the practice. Good men, wise men, God-fearing men everywhere still denounce the practice as being unworthy of sons of God; and Christ’s Church denounces it and condemns it so long as men have bodies which can be defiled. Earlier in our treatise we quoted Peter as having said, “I beseech you . . . abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” (1 Pet. 2:11.)

    And James says:

    “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways…. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

    “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

    “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

    “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

    “Do not err, my beloved brethren .”(James 1:8, 12-16.)

    This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel’s wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome. In Exodus, the law required death for the culprit who had sex play with animals, the deviate who committed incest, or the depraved one who had homosexual or other vicious practices.

    This is a most unpleasant subject to dwell upon, but I am pressed to speak of it boldly so that no student in this University, nor youth in the Church, will ever have any question in his mind as to the illicit and diabolical nature of this perverse program. Again, Lucifer deceives and prompts logic and rationalization which will destroy men and make them servants of Satan forever.

    Remember, Paul told Timothy:

    For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim. 4:3-4.)

    Let it never be said that the Church has avoided condemning this obnoxious practice nor that it has winked at this abominable sin. And I feel certain that this University will never knowingly enroll an unrepentant person who follows these practices nor tolerate on its campus anyone with these tendencies who fails to repent and put his or her life in order.

    May we return to words? In my Bible concordance, there are 550 listed references pertaining to love. They do not interpret it as carnal, sexual, handling, fondling, petting, perversions, nor fornication. In the same concordance, there are 53 references to adultery, and not one of them seems to connect this condemned sexual act with real affection which is love. I also found 32 references to fornication, but I found none which identified the forbidden act as holy, sacred love.

    Men talk of the love act and making love and the love life when what they mean is something quite different, and there can be no proper love life outside of proper marriage.

    Paul made this clear when he said,

    Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (1 Cor. 6:13.)

    This would apply also to the other detestable sex manifestations named above.

    And Paul further gave to the Corinthians a stinging lashing when he indicated these sins must be overcome:

    Be not deceived: neither fornicators,…nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6:9-10.)

    Again, for clarification, let it be known that fornication is the same act as adultery, except the former pertains to unmarried people and the latter to married people. The words are often interchangeable in the Bible and the penalty of the law was death, as indicated when the Scribes and Pharisees brought to the Savior the woman taken in adultery and they indicated:

    Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? (John 8:5.)

    It is notable that the Redeemer did not negate the law, but He put His enemies to flight by a clever ruse, saying to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (John 8:7.)

    And further, there is no evidence that the Savior granted to her forgiveness. He did send her away to repent.

    I do not find in the Bible the modern terms “petting” nor “homosexuality,” yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term “homosexuality,” but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed.

    And the Lord calls all such to repent. His words are most impressive:

    “Therefore I command you to repent–repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth…”

    And we refer the reader to the balance of that reference in D&C 19:15-18.

    We have stated that even this ugly practice can be overcome and can be forgiven. As one of many who might be considered authority, I quote one from the Medical World News, June 5, 1964:

    The effectiveness of therapy depends on the depth of entrenchment of the perversion, as well as the strength of the patient’s desire to modify it.

    This statement by the Public Health Committee of the New York Academy of Medicine agrees with our philosophy. Man is created in the image of God. He is a god in embryo. He has the seeds of godhood within him and he can, if he is normal, pick himself up by his bootstraps and literally move himself from where he is to where he knows he should be. As stated above, the longer the habit has been fostered, the harder it is to break.

    To clarify the matter for those who are honest, it must be stated that it is a “damnable heresy,” as Paul says, when men claim that “God made them that way,” or that such a life is just another different but acceptable way of life. All nature, reason, scripture and revelation cry out against such a claim. But it can be corrected and overcome. May I quote from a former article of my own: “Men have come dejected, discouraged, embarrassed, near terrified and have gone out later full of confidence and faith in themselves, with self-respect returned, with the confidence of their families, their home ties strengthened and ready to manfully take their part in proper society and even in the Church on an approved cured basis.

    “In some cases, they have been men with families, and we have had wives come in to tearfully thank us for bringing their husbands back to them. Wives have not always known what had been wrong, but they had sensed something serious and realized that they had lost their husbands. We have seen men come first with downward glances and leave months later looking us straight in the eye. We have had them admit after the first interview, ‘I am glad that I was arrested. I have tried and tried to correct my error but knew I would have to have help and had not the courage to ask for it.’ In a few months, some have totally mastered themselves, while others linger on with less power and requiring more time to make the total comeback. We realize that the cure is no more permanent than the individual makes it so, and is like the cure for alcoholism, subject to continued vigilance. To such men, we say, ‘Physician, heal thyself,’ and promise him if he will stay away from the haunts and the temptations and the former associates, he may heal himself, cleanse his mind, and return to his normal pursuits and a happy state. The cure for this malady lies in self-mastery, which is the fundamental basis of the whole gospel program.”

    “God made me that way,” some say, as they rationalize and excuse themselves for their perversions. “I can’t help it,” they add. This is blasphemy. Is he not made in the image of God, and does he think God to be “that way”? Man is responsible for his own sins. It is possible that he may rationalize and excuse himself until the groove is so deep he cannot get out without great difficulty, but this he can do. Temptations come to all people. The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted. It is true that one’s background may make the decision and accomplishment easier or more difficult, but if one is mentally alert, he can still control his future. That is the gospel message-personal responsibility.

    To the person blaming his perversions on his parents-man is punishable for his own sins. He can, if normal, rise above the frustrations of childhood and stand on his own feet and answer roll call.

    And if the yielding person continues to give way numerous times, he may finally reach the point of no return where he does not want to return. And the Lord says, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts .” (D&C 1:33 .)

    The doctors whose report is quoted above state without equivocation, “The homosexual is not a special order of creation.” (For further consideration of this subject, the reader is referred to the address “A Counseling Problem in the Church” by the same author, given to the seminary and institute instructors of the Church, July 16, 1964.) [Available only at the Office of Institutes and Seminaries, Brigham Young University.]

    And then, I found the 550 references to love. They had related generally to pure, holy love. Sometimes it was called charity. Lust and carnal desires were not mentioned. I found where Paul said that to have charity or real love is greater than to be a prophet, to understand mysteries, or to have great knowledge. It is greater than to have much faith, or extended power even to remove mountains. And in following the concordance on this subject of love, Paul contrasted the two four-letter words for Timothy:

    Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22.)

    And Peter said that charity or love would cover a multitude of sins. (See 1 Pet. 4:8.)

    And from the Song of Solomon of Solomon comes this:

    For love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (Song of Solomon 8:6.)

    Jeremiah quotes the Lord: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” (Jer. 31:3.)

    And Ezekiel contrasts these words of love and lust:

    “The people . . . hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” (Ezek. 33:31.)

    As we speak of real love, a new concept comes into our minds: The Lord said:

    By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35.)

    And, He continues:

    This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13.)

    And John said:

    We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (1 Jn. 3:14.)

    And in the Beatitudes, the Lord said:

    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. (Matt. 5:43-44.)

    In none of these quotes is the slightest implication of bodily contact, of lust, of desire, of passion. Certainly, this is the test of love. It is honor and integrity and obedience.

    And Paul, speaking to the Saints, said: “Husbands, love your wives .”

    This is no carnal commandment. There is no sex in this command, for they were already legal partners.

    And then he continues:

    “…even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; . . . So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh …”(Ephesians 5:25, 28-29.).

    And as Paul continues, he says:

    For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (Eph. 5:31.)

    The proper sexual life between husband and wife is only a part of this important commandment. When a man and a woman love the spouse as they love themselves, only rich and wonderful fruits come from such a tree.

    And Paul, speaking to Titus, exhorts:

    “The young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands….” (Titus 2:4-5.)

    Can you see anything vulgar, destructive, earthy, fleshly or carnal in any of these teachings? They loved their husbands and then their children. This real love has no lust involved. And then, we have the great examples:

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16.)

    This was the Savior of the world, who with His supreme love made the supreme sacrifice and gave a life that no one could take from Him, because He loved us so. This is love-sacred, holy love.

    And now, my dear young people, I have spoken frankly and boldly against the sins of the day. Even though I dislike such a subject, I believe it necessary to warn the youth against the onslaught of the arch tempter-who, with his army of emissaries and all the tools at his command, would destroy all the youth of Zion, largely through deception, misrepresentation, and lies.

    My beloved young folks, do not excuse petting and body intimacies. I am positive that if this illicit, illegal, improper, and lustful habit of “petting” could be wiped out, that fornication would soon be gone from our world. Remember what the Lord said:

    Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

    But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28.)

    And if there has been lust, repent of it and keep your minds clean, and convict yourself of serious evil if you permit your minds to dwell upon these forbidden things or your hands or bodies to yield to the call of lust.

    May I close with this scripture from Mormon:

    Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. (Morm. 9:28.)

    In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

    References

    References
    1 Spencer W. Kimball, ‘Love vs. Lust – https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/spencer-w-kimball_love-vs-lust/
  • Death Penalty

    Death Penalty

    A January 5, 1965 address at BYU by Spencer W. Kimball, ‘Love vs. Lust’: 1

    “My beloved young people:

    While this is a grave responsibility, and not an easy one, I am eager to discuss with you some matters of grave importance.

    I love youth. I rejoice when they grow up clean and stalwart and tall. I sorrow with them when they have misfortunes and remorse and troubles.

    Numerous disasters have occurred in mid-ocean by collisions of ships and sometimes with icebergs, and numerous people have gone to watery graves.

    Soon, such a thing will not be possible, for ships will be equipped with radar equipment which will alert ships’ officers should a collision be imminent. A tape will be played automatically, booming from the darkened bridge: “This is an alert. This ship is approaching an object. This is an alert. This ship is approaching an object.” And the voice will not be stilled until the mate comes to the radarscope and turns the recorder off. This will enable ships to alter their courses and save lives.

    I believe our young people are wholesome and basically good and sound; but they, too, are traveling oceans which to them are at least partially uncharted, where there are shoals and rocks and icebergs and other vessels, and where great disasters can come unless warnings are heeded.

    Yesterday as my jet plane soared in the air gaining altitude, the voice of the stewardess came clearly over the loud-speaker: “We are moving into a storm area. We shall skirt the danger, but there may be some turbulence. Be sure your seat belts are securely fastened.”

    And, as a leader of the Church and in a measure being responsible for youth and their well-being, I raise my voice to say to the youth: “You are in a hazardous area and period. Tighten your belts, hold on, and you can survive the turbulence.”

    I interview thousands of young people and many seem to flounder. Some give excuses for their errors and indulge in unwarranted rationalizations. Today I hope I may be able to clarify, at least in some areas, the stand of the God of Heaven and His Church on some vital issues.

    May I speak first of words and relate them to my theme? There is magic in words properly used. Some people use them accurately, while others sloppily.

    Words are means of communication, and faulty signals give wrong impressions. Disorder and misunderstandings are the results. Words underlie our whole life and are the tools of our business, the expressions of our affections, and the records of our progress. Words cause hearts to throb and tears to flow in sympathy. Words can be sincere or hypocritical. Many of us are destitute of words and, consequently, clumsy with our speech, which sometimes becomes but babble. Paul said:

    Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. (1 Cor. 14:9.)

    And then Peter speaks of Paul and says of his epistles:

    “. . . in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Pet. 3:16.)

    Touring foreign lands, one comes to realize his utter helplessness without understandable words and symbols.

    The workmen engaged in building the Tower of Babel were craftsmen, skilled in their trades. Take away their tools: they will replace them. Take away their skills: they will learn anew. But take away their means of communication with one another and the building of the tower has to be abandoned. (Royal Bank of Canada Letter.)

    Words which confuse the hearer or reader are worse than valueless. A reasonable vocabulary of well-chosen words provides us with shadings of meaning and enables us to speak finely instead of coarsely.

    Words which are synonyms have much in common but still have peculiar application, such as “child and urchin,” “hand and fist,” “misstatement and lie.” Now, note the difference in the four-word sentences: “John looked at Mary”; “John glanced at Mary”; “John gazed at Mary”; “John glared at Mary.”

    A true definition of style is, “Proper words in proper places with thoughts in proper order.”

    The plain way of writing conceals great art. As you avoid pomposity, ambiguity and complexity, you attain simplicity, which is the greatest cunning. It conveys proper meaning into the minds of others straight away, without effort for them. They get a feeling of sincerity and integrity, for who can be suspicious of the motives of one who speaks plainly? “Sour notes do not become sweet because the musician is in white tie and black tails.”

    Words should be kind and gentle or firm and bold, according to the need of the moment. Words which betray are unkind and words which befuddle are frustrating.

    Some people have excellent ideas, but their thoughts either beat about aimlessly in their heads, finding no communication package in which to emerge, or they come out distorted and in fragments.

    Every person should say what he means, speaking clearly and distinctly. The politician particularly should pay attention to the niceties of language so as to address the voters meaningfully and not deceitfully. The deforming of meaning for political ends has become too commonplace. In our lives, we should express clearly what we have in mind, just as a purchaser would say: “I wish to buy three rolls of Kodak Ektachrome X Color Film, Daylight Ex. 127.” And the clerk knows exactly what is wanted.

    So in social life, and certainly in morals, there should be a careful selection of the right word to express the thought.

    It is reported that a Russian child has a primer of 2,000 words in the first grade and of 10,000 words in the fourth, while his opposite number in the United States has a primer of 1,800 words; and that the Russian child is reading Tolstoy while the same aged child in the United States is working his way through a book entitled, A Funny Sled. This charge is made in an article in Horizon of July, 1963.

    Even examinations now in many cases do not require expressions by students. They may place an “X” in an appropriate square and avoid intellectual effort in marshalling thoughts and expressing them coherently, and have about a fifty percent chance of being right even in a guess.

    Without discipline, language declines into flabby permissiveness, into formlessness and mindlessness. It deteriorates into what the late James Thurber called “our oral culture of pure babble.”

    Now, you may wonder why I have introduced my talk with the subject of words. May I lead you out with a few four-letter words to think about: fine, fire; good and grow; home, hide, hell, help; and tire, tide, tell and toll; wilt, wish, weak, worn, and weep. Then, there are these: limp, life, live, lurk, love and lust.

    Ah! Here I have finally found the two words on which I wish to dwell: love and lust-words strong and powerful-words which are life and death words-love and lust.

    Let me begin with a story. Across the desk sat a handsome, young nineteen-year-old and a beautiful, shy, but charming eighteen-year-old. They appeared embarrassed, apprehensive, near-terrified. He was defensive and bordering on belligerency and rebellion. There had been sexual violations throughout the summer and intermittently since school began, and as late as last week. I was not so much surprised. I have had these kinds of visits many times; but what did disturb me was that they seemed little, if any, remorseful. They admitted they had gone contrary to some social standards, but quoted magazines and papers and speakers approving pre-marital sex and emphasizing that sex was a fulfillment of human existence.

    Finally, the boy said, “Yes, we yielded to each other, but we do not think it wrong because we love each other.” I thought I had misunderstood him. Since the world began, there have been countless immoralities, but to hear them justified by Latter-day Saint youth shocked me. He repeated, “No, it is not wrong because we love each other.” Here was one of those misused four-letter words.

    They had repeated this abominable heresy so often that they had convinced themselves, and a wall of resistance had been built, and behind this wall they stubbornly stood almost defiantly. If there had been blushes of shame at first, such had been neutralized with their logic. Deeply entrenched were they in this rationalization. Had they not read in some university papers of the new freedom where pre-marital sex was sanctioned, at least not forbidden? Did they not see the looseness in every show, on every stage, on TV screens and magazines? Had they not discussed this in the locker room and in private conversation? Had it not been fairly well established, then, in their world, that sex before marriage was not so wrong? Did there not need to be a trial period? How else could they know if they would be sexually compatible for marriage ? Had they not, like numerous others, come to regard sex as the basis for living ?

    And a proverb came to my mind:

    Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. (Prov. 30:20.)

    In their rationalization they have had much cooperation, for, as Peter said:

    “… there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways. . .” (2 Pet. 2:1-2.)

    And Peter says further:

    “. . . they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, . . . the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Pet. 3:16.)

    And here they are, false teachers everywhere, using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, TV, street talk-spreading damnable heresies which break down moral standards, and this to gratify the lusts of the flesh.

    Lucifer in his diabolical scheming deceives the unwary and uses every tool at his command. Seldom does one go to a convention, a club meeting, a party or social gathering without hearing vulgarity, obscenity and suggestive stories.

    Peter again cautioned us:

    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Pet. 5:8.)

    And the Savior said that the very elect would be deceived by Lucifer if it were possible. He will use his logic to confuse, and his rationalizations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black.

    Young people are confused by the arch deceiver who uses every device to deceive them.

    This young couple looked up rather startled when I postulated firmly and with positiveness, “No, my beloved young people, you did not love each other. Rather, you lusted for each other.” And here was the other misused word.

    Paul told Titus:

    Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

    They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Titus 1:15-16.)

    I am sure that Peter and James and Paul found it unpleasant business to constantly be calling people to repentance and warning them of dangers, but they continued unflinchingly. So we, your leaders, must be everlastingly at it; if young people do not understand, then the fault may be partly ours. But, if we make the true way clear to you, then we are blameless.

    If when he [the watchman] seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

    Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

    He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

    But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. (Ezek. 33:3-6.)

    So, I wish today to help define meanings of words and acts for you young people, to fortify you against error, anguish, pain and sorrow.

    The boy and girl sat still and respectfully. I was not sure if they were comprehending. Apparently, their wrong concepts had been bolstered so long and firmly it was hard for them to change immediately.

    Now we talked again about words-short words like lift and lean, hide and lurk, flee and stay, lose and gain, fall and rise, open and shut, lure and save, lose and gain, live and dead, hell and home and again, love and lust. The beautiful and holy word of love they had defiled until it had degenerated to become a bedfellow with lust, its antithesis.

    As far back as Isaiah, deceivers and rationalizers were condemned:

    Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

    Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isa. 5:20-21.)

    And, we might add: Woe unto those who wrest the scriptures to interpret them to cover their weaknesses. The young couple had excused and justified their transgression on the grounds that they loved each other. Is there a word in the dictionary more misused and prostituted than the word “love”?

    Many of the modern terms for sin were not used in the scriptures and in olden days, and some people, therefore, excuse their contaminations because the age-old transgressions were not identified with modern terms. But, if one reads the scriptures carefully, all sins are denounced there in every shade of error. Again, the great Peter said:

    Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. (I Peter 2: 11.)

    Surely, every soul who has reached the age of accountability, and especially those who have received the Holy Ghost after baptism, knows the difference; but so often we hear what we want to hear and we see what we want to see. There is a definite war against the soul when evil is perpetrated. And I challenge any normal baptized person who says he did not know he was doing wrong. There is no compatibility between sin and righteousness, between guilt and peace.

    Paul charged the Corinthians:

    Flee fornication …. He that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Cor. 6:18.)

    And in order to avoid the disasters, Paul cautioned: “Do not company with fornicators.” And he urged people to keep good company and not eat with the evil ones who would tempt them, and then concludes: “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (See 1 Cor. 5:9-13.)

    Oh, if our young people could learn this basic lesson to always keep good company, to never be found with those who tend to lower our standards! Let every youth select associates who will keep him on tiptoes, trying to reach the heights attained. Let him never choose associates who encourage him to relax in carelessness.

    We must repeat what we have said many times: Fornication with all its big and little brothers and sisters was evil and wholly condemned by the Lord in Adam’s day, in Moses’ day, in Paul’s day, and in our own day. The Church has no tolerance for any kind of perversions. The Lord has indicated His lack of tolerance, stating:

    For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (D&C 1:31.)

    Yet, He loves the repentant one. Paul said that even the converted Gentiles should be taught to “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication,” and other deviations. (Acts 15:20.) He wrote the Romans that corrupt practices called fornication were extant among them. He exhorted the Galatians, lashing out against the “works of the flesh . . adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,” and then he added “that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21.)

    They are like the:

    Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 13.)

    These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. (Jude 16.)

    Let it be known positively that the Church is not softening its standards, nor abandoning its Godgiven practices. Those who interpret the scriptures to justify their own pernicious ways are spoken of in the Book of Mormon:

    . . . They are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they. (Mormon 5:18.)

    My young couple who had so seriously sinned were listening, and I reminded them of the statement of Mormon, where the Nephites, guilty of fiendish, abominable acts, had taken prisoners the daughters of the Lamanites, and:

    After depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue-(Moroni 9:9).

    They tortured and murdered them.

    When the scriptures are so plain, how can anyone justify immoralities and call them love? Is black white? Is evil good? Is purity filthiness?

    As I looked the boy in the eye, I said, “No, my boy, you were not expressing love when you took her virtue.” And to her, I said, “There was no real love in your heart when you robbed him of his chastity. It was lust that brought you together in this most serious of all practices short of murder. Paul said, ‘Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.’ (Rom. 13:10.)”

    I continued, “If one really loves another, one would rather die for that person than injure him. At the hour of indulgence, pure love is pushed out one door while lust sneaks in the other. Your affection has been replaced with biological materialism and uncontrolled passion. You have accepted the doctrine which the devil is so eager to establish-that sex relations are justified on the grounds that it is a pleasurable experience in itself and is beyond moral consideration.

    “When the unmarried yield to the lust which induces intimacies and indulgence, they have permitted the body to dominate and have placed the spirit in chains. It is unthinkable that anyone could call this love. You have ignored the fact that all situations or conditions or actions whose pleasures or satisfactions end with the termination of the act will never produce great peoples nor build great kingdoms.

    “In order to live with themselves, people who transgress must follow one path or the other of two alternatives. The one is to sear the conscience and dull the sensitivity with mental tranquilizers so that the transgression may be continued; the other is to permit remorse to lead to total conviction, repentance and eventual forgiveness.”

    This conviction is the element of which my two young visitors were quite devoid. They were somewhat like the unrepentant of whom Isaiah spoke:

    And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive him not.(2 Ne. 12:9.)

    No one can ever be forgiven of any transgression until there is repentance, and one has not repented until he has bared his soul and admitted his intentions and weaknesses without excuses or rationalizations. He must admit to himself that he has grievously sinned. When he has confessed to himself without the slightest minimizing of the offense, or rationalizing its seriousness, or soft-pedaling its gravity, and admits it is as big as it really is, then he is ready to begin his repentance; and any other elements of repentance are of reduced value, until the conviction is established totally, and then repentance may mature and forgiveness may eventually come.

    Because of this widespread tolerance toward promiscuity, this world is in grave danger. When evil is decried and forbidden and punished, the world still has a chance. But when toleration for sin increases, the outlook is bleak and Sodom and Gomorrah days are certain to return.

    We were in Los Angeles years ago when the news broke of the illicit affair of a certain movie actress, from which she became pregnant. Because of her popularity, it was big news in heavy headlines in every paper in the land. We were not so surprised at her adultery-it was reported to be common in Hollywood as well as in the world generally. But that such dissoluteness should be approved and accepted by society shocked me. The Los Angeles papers took a poll of the people-club women and ministers, employers and employees, stenographers and teachers and housewives-and almost without exception, as though it were a child’s indiscretion, these community leaders found little fault and criticized as “puritanical” and “victorian” those who disapproved. “Let her live her own life,” they said. “And, why should we interfere with people’s personal liberties?” In state and nation and across the seas, toleration for sin is terrifying.

    There is no shame. Isaiah again strikes the sin:

    The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. (Isa. 3:9.)

    That the Church’s stand on morality may be understood, we declare firmly and unalterably it is not an outworn garment, faded, old-fashioned, and threadbare. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His covenants and doctrines are immutable; and when the sun grows cold and the stars no longer shine, the law of chastity will still be basic in God’s world and in the Lord’s Church. Old values are upheld by the Church not because they are old, but rather because through the ages they have proved right. It will always be the rule.

    I continued with the young couple, saying, “The youth of today are seeing too many ‘adults only’ movies which exploit sex. There are too many open dormitories on campus, too many mattress parties for adolescents, too many girls with extreme dresses, tight sweaters, calling attention to sex. And, there are too many young men with tight, suggestive attire. Youth generally have heard too many advertisements over radio and television and seen too many in newspapers and on billboards and in magazines where sex is used as a stimulus in selling. There have been too many parked automobiles. They have read too many novels where sex is the central, dominant theme.”

    “What kind of a world would we have,” I asked these young people, “if this heresy which you have espoused of pre-marital sex looseness and alleged free love were in order?” The world, already ill, would expire.

    We are not speaking of a sex-free world any more than we are speaking of a sexy world, for a sexless civilization would die in one generation if indeed it could be born. A sexy civilization will die of its own rottenness when it is ripe in iniquity. Pure sex life in proper marriage is approved. There is a time and an appropriateness for all things which have value. In ancient days, one city or one civilization could disintegrate without seriously disturbing other parts of the world, but today our communication and transportation facilities make the whole world one community.

    In our mass-production age in recent years, “we have witnessed the reduction of persons to things in a code number, a subscriber, a punched card. Each reduction indicates that the person is expendable, replaceable.. . .” “A person is not a function nor a means nor an instrument, but an end in himself; but the world speaks with a voice amplified by a thousand television stations and a half million printing presses.” It advances the biological materialism that man is a consuming, reproducing function, a collection of skills, or a unit in the labor force. This renders men functionaries and destroys their being and loses for them their self, dwarfed by a gigantic universe out there. This is hauntingly true as people are “used” to gratify physical passions in illegitimacy.

    This repulsive sense of “thinghood” is portrayed well in a few lines from John Pauker in the New Republic, January 5, 1963:

    I looked and looked again. There were no people.

    The people had disappeared. The people were gone.

    But the things they had created were still there.

    A suit of clothes and a gown walked arm in arm.

    With a dog at the end of a leash. The dog was there

    And snarling. In the street, vehicular traffic

    Flowed as usual but without drivers or riders ….

    Electric razors razed and revolvers fired

    As usual. The things went through their paces

    And seemed to be enjoying themselves highly.

    I longed to look in a mirror but did not dare.

    We really do not love things. We use things like doormats, automobiles, clothing, machines; but we love people by serving them and contributing to their permanent good. The Lord seemed to recognize this when He said:

    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:33.)

    And again, the difference was made manifest in His instructions to Peter, when He asked three times of that worthy:

    Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?

    To which Peter responded:

    Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. And the answer came:

    Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. (See John 21:15-17.)

    What were the things, “these things,” which took second place to his love for his Lord and his fellow men? I think they must have been ships and nets and fish and desires and wants and even passions.

    Sexual encounters outside of legalized marriage render the individual a thing to be used, a thing to be exploited, and make him or her exchangeable, exploitable, expendable and throw-awayable.

    And when we come before the great Judge at the bar of justice, shall we stand before Him as a thing or as a person, as a depraved body of flesh and carnal acts, or as a son of God standing straight and tall and worthy? And as we answer the vital questions, will we be able to say, “I builded, I did not tear down; I lifted, I did not pull down; I grew, I did not shrivel; I helped others grow, I did not dwarf them; I helped, I did not hinder; I loved intensely and blessed, I did not lust toward exploitation to injure”?

    My young couple were still rationalizing and excusing themselves, and I said again, “Every kind of sex exploit for the unmarried from the first lustful stirrings of passions relating to self or to others is a sin, and thought habits are perverted and lives are blemished, and God’s laws are broken, and penalties will be paid.”

    Like some high pressure salesmen who claim far more for their product than can possibly be delivered, sex exploitation promises what it can never produce nor deliver. So, outside of marriage, improper sex life can bring only disappointment, disgust, and usually rejection “while it propels its participants down the long corridor of repeated encounters which are destined to fail.”

    Very often the couple-the two people who have been promiscuous, who have been wanton, who have crossed the lines of propriety-become disgusted with each other and discontinue associations altogether. How many come to dislike, if not to hate, the partner in sin.

    Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death. Pre-marital sex promises what it cannot possibly produce or deliver. Rejection is often the fruit as it moves its participants down the long highway of repeated encounters.

    The Eighth of the Ten Commandments says: “Thou shalt not steal.” Yet the immoral act is exploitation and robbery in its worst expression.

    It is taking with or without permission the most priceless, the most unrecoverable, the most unreturnable possession of an individual-chastity and virtue. In one dark, unglorious hour, lives can be taken or shattered; but in a long lifetime, health lost may possibly be regained, wealth lost may someday be accumulated again, freedom lost may be fought for and possibly recovered, but chastity gone is gone forever, and virtue stolen cannot be returned. Is not this one of the prime reasons why this forbidden thing is so heinous like murder, for neither can ever be wholly compensated nor returned nor undone?

    “THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY” (and we add its twin, FORNICATION) and also “THOU SHALT NOT KILL” came ‘ringing down from Mount Sinai. One can take a life easily but he can never restore that life. And so it is that when the pangs of futility and remorse impress the uselessness of the act, there must come the time when the fornicator or adulterer, like the murderer, wishes he could hide-hide from all the world, from all the ghosts and especially from his own-and there is no place to hide. There are dark corners and hidden spots and closed cars in which the transgression can be committed, but to totally conceal is impossible. There are no nights so dark, no rooms so tightly locked, no canyons so closed in, no deserts so uninhabited that one can find a place to hide his sins from himself nor from his Lord. Eventually, one must still face himself and his Great Judge.

    Cain had difficulty hiding. The Lord had asked, “Where is Abel, thy brother?” And Cain had boldly replied, “I know not. Am I my brother’ s keeper?” Did he think he was deceiving the Lord or himself? The next question was no simple inquiry, but an accusation and a condemnation, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground . . . which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. “. . . a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. “And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth.” (Gen. 4:9-14.)

    That was true of murder. In a lesser degree, it is true of illicit sex, which, of course, includes all petting, fornication, adultery, homosexual acts, and all other perversions. The Lord may say to offenders, as He did to Cain, “What hast thou done?” The children thus conceived make damning charges against you; the companions who have been frustrated and violated condemn you; the body that has been defiled cries out against you; the spirit which has been dwarfed convicts you. You will have difficulty throughout the ages in totally forgiving yourself.

    After looking down at the crumpled body at his feet, and especially after the torments of hell began to persecute him and the ghost of his brother began to follow him, Cain must have wished that he could give Abel’ s life back. The Lord did not curse Cain; it was Cain who, breaking eternal law, cursed himself. And every man or woman who is guilty of moral misconduct may look down upon defiled bodies, his own and others; he may recognize frustrated and distorted minds; and as the ghosts begin to follow, he is certain to wish with all his heart that he could give back chastity and restore tranquility and peace in the minds and hearts and lives of those whom he has damaged.

    From the same tablet, from the same Sinai, came the Laws of God. After creating man in His own image, male and female, God then performed the holy marriage ceremony for eternity for His Adam and Eve. And in this beginning, He established a pattern of sex life consistent with all reason and propriety. In that first marriage blessing, the Lord commanded these two beings, who were complementary to each other, to multiply by being fruitful and bringing children into the world. Cain and Abel were only two of their many sons and daughters. This command did not give license to merely satisfy biological urges, for God followed it with the command,

    Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Gen. 2:24.)

    To cleave is to adhere closely, to cling; and the Lord gave as the purpose for their cleaving, the peopling of the earth, the replenishing of the earth, the subduing of the earth, the dominion over the earth. There was high purpose in the creation and in the proper associations of husband and wife, but intimacies could never be defended outside of marriage.

    The pre-marital sex act is a deception. It is a lie. The Lord asked:

    “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he . . . give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11-12.)

    Bread is the staff of life, while a stone is lifeless, indeed, sometimes death dealing. The fish as food builds and sustains the body, as does the egg; but the serpent destroys life and is the symbol of death. Love is promised and is delivered.

    Proper sex functions bring posterity, responsibility, and peace; but pre-marital sex encounters bring pain, the loss of self-esteem, spiritual death, unless there is a total, continuing repentance.

    What are the fruits of immorality? Instead of multiplying and replenishing the earth, every effort is made to avoid conception and the birth of progeny. Since Adam no soul has ever been made happy by transgressing. The Lord said:

    “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:19-20.)

    “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees.” (Matt. 3:10.)

    And the warning is repeated:

    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matt. 7:15.)

    Could there possibly be a single good fruit which comes from pre-marital indulgence?

    Our great accumulated scientific knowledge about our bodies and their functioning, and our minds and their operating, seems not to have been translated into righteousness. As an example, all that we have learned of late from research about the ill effects of tobacco has done little to discourage its use, even as the holy revelations were ignored. And all that has been said from a medical and scientific standpoint about the social diseases seems to have deterred people very little from immorality-in fact, little more if any than the commandments of the Lord. For, in a recent local paper, we read of the great increase in VD in the big cities of our land.

    It is not so much what we know but what we do about what we know. Dr. Jenkins of the Utah State Health Department is quoted as saying that gonorrhea and syphilis epidemics are raging at this very moment in thirty of the nation’s largest cities.

    The Deseret News of December 13, 1964, quotes an Associated Press writer out of Washington as saying: “Some experts see a ‘general decline in morals’ and point to the sharpest rises of V.D. among teenagers.”

    We live in a sterile age, or so it seems-an age when young people turn to sex to escape loneliness, frustration; insecurity and lack of interest. “What can we do?” the youth complain. They are little interested in reading and family associations and youth socials and the community dance. They must have something more exciting. Long ago they ceased making their own entertainment which could be as clean and worthy as they wished to make it. Today, then, they look at television and go to shows in town, and to the so-called “passion pits,” where they are over-stimulated sexually. Oh, for a generation of youth who would move back to simplicity, away from the “canned” programs in most of which are ingredients to stimulate and stir the human passions!

    When we talk of sex, our first thought is adultery or fornication; but our second one, and close on its heels, is the sex stimulation to self and others, sometimes called “petting.” It is a damaging and a damning transgression in its own right, and then, of course, it is also the gateway to the final acts of fornication and adultery.

    And the world will go on dying-destroying itself until people begin to use words in their true meanings, “calling a spade, a spade” and not a spoon; calling “petting” a deep sin and not a harmless diversion– until we rip its disguising mask from its ugly face and strip from its lustful body the sheep’s clothing with which the vicious wolf has concealed his mean self.

    The young man is untrue to his manhood who promises popularity, good times, security, fun, and even love, when all he can give is passion and its diabolical fruits-guilt complexes, disgust, hatred, abhorrence, eventual loathing, and possible pregnancy without legitimacy and honor. He pleads his case in love and all he gives is lust. Likewise, the young lady sells herself cheap. She asks him for a fish; he gives her a serpent. He asks her for bread and she gives him a stone. She reaches for figs, and thorns are pressed into her hand. He would have grapes but gets a bramble bush. She asks for eggs and he stings her with a scorpion. The result is damage to life and canker to the soul.

    Reverend Lawrence Lowell Gruman says: “It is indeed a quaint morality that belittles sex and shrinks human beings to pleasure-seeking dwarfs, for if sex is good, as eating and sleeping are good, then it, too, has specific limits and an appropriate place and that place is within marriage.”

    And still these young people talk of love. What a corruption of the most beautiful term! The word is prostituted also in the realm of homosexuality. Both are in the realm of taking, not giving; killing, not saving; destroying, not building. The fruit is bitter because the tree is corrupt. Their lips say, “I love you.” Their bodies say, “I want you.” Love is kind and wholesome. To love is to give, not to take. To love is to serve, not to exploit.

    We sing of love in popular songs when we really are coveting and wanting and lusting. Why do people deceive themselves and others? Why not call it what it actually is?

    Undoubtedly Potiphar’s wife flattered Joseph and expressed her alleged love for him at first. When this failed, she tried force and intrigue; and, failing there, she tried to cover with blackmail. With such a clear conscience, Joseph’s dark dungeon must have been to him a pleasant prison. At least here he was safe from exploitation and contamination. She said to Joseph, “I love you.” What she wanted was not Joseph but his handsome, appealing body.

    Dr. Gruman says: “The sexual encounter ought to be a full and free affirmation of the other person, …a total commitment to him, and that spells permanence and permanence is spelled out in marriage ….

    If you love another person fully, wholly, unselfishly, then respect the sexual life of that person by surrounding him with marriage. Using and being used, we fail as human beings and sons of God.”

    What is love? Many people think of it as mere physical attraction and they casually speak of “falling in love” and “love at first sight.” This may be Hollywood’s version and the interpretation of those who write love songs and love fiction. True love is not wrapped in such flimsy material. One might become immediately attracted to another individual, but love is far more than physical attraction. It is deep, inclusive and comprehensive. Physical attraction is only one of the many elements, but there must be faith and confidence and understanding and partnership. There must be common ideals and standards. There must be a great devotion and companionship. Love is cleanliness and progress and sacrifice and selflessness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes, but lives through sickness and sorrow, poverty and privation, accomplishment and disappointment, time and eternity. For the love to continue, there must be an increase constantly of confidence and understanding, of frequent and sincere expression of appreciation and affection. There must be a forgetting of self and a constant concern for the other. Interests, hopes, objectives must be constantly focused into a single channel.

    For many years, I saw a strong man carry his tiny, emaciated, arthritic wife to meetings and wherever she could go. There could be no sexual expression. Here was selfless indication of affection. I think that is pure love. I saw a kindly woman wait on her husband for many years as he deteriorated with muscular dystrophy. She waited on him hand and foot, night and day, when all he could do was to blink his eyes in thanks. I believe that was love.

    I knew a woman who carried her little unfortunate child until the body was too heavy to carry, and then she pushed her in a wheel chair for the following years until her death. The deprived child could never express an appreciation. It seems to me that that was love. Another mother visited regularly her son who was in the penitentiary. She could receive nothing from him. She gave much, all she had.

    If anyone feels that petting or other deviations are demonstrations of love, let him ask himself: “If this beautiful body which I have misused suddenly became deformed, or paralyzed, would my reactions be the same ? If this lovely face were scarred by flames, or this body which I have used suddenly became rigid, or this keen mind which I have enjoyed were suddenly to become blank, would I be such an ardent lover? If senility or any of its approaches suddenly fell upon my sweetheart, what would my attitudes be?” Answers to these questions might test one to see if he really is in love or if it is only physical attraction which encouraged the improper physical contacts. The young man who protects his sweetheart against all use or abuse, against insult and infamy from himself or others, could be expressing true love.

    But the young man who uses his companion as a biological toy to give himself temporary satisfaction-that is lust, and is at the other end of the spectrum from love. A young woman conducts herself to be attractive spiritually, mentally and physically but will not by word nor dress nor act stir nor stimulate to physical reactions the companion beside her. That could be true love. That young woman who must touch and stir and fondle and tempt and use knows not love. That is lust and exploitation.

    Sometimes, there are twins, like Jacob and Esau, and the one is hairy and crude and evil; the other is smooth and clean and personable. There were two brothers, the sons of Adam-the one, crude, selfish, evil; the other, good and faithful and worthy. Their names also were four-letter words-Cain and Abel. And such words as love and lust are direct opposites.

    Speaking to my young couple, I said again, “No, it is not love if it manipulates; it is selfishness. It is not love if it neglects the welfare of the other: it is irresponsibility.

    “If sex relations merely become a release or a technique and the partner becomes exchangeable, then sex returns to the compulsive animal level.

    “Immorality brings generally a guilt deep and lasting. And this is a factor certainly not to be overlooked. These unresolved guilt complexes are the stuff of which mental breakdowns come, the building blocks of suicide, the fabric of distorted personalities, the wounds that scar or incapacitate individuals or families.

    “The Revelator, John, gives this: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Rev. 20:12.)

    And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15.)

    “And a question that surely arises when that vital moment comes is, will we stand before the Great Judge and be proud or ashamed, satisfied or frustrated? And no normal youth or adult who has received the Holy Ghost can conscientiously claim that he did not know that these things were transgressions.

    Pre-marital sex affairs are wrong, not because the Church declares against them, but the Church declares against them because they are wrong and because they hurt and destroy people who are God’s children.”

    The young couple still was sitting before me. They mentioned a possible future marriage, apparently thinking to impress me, and were a bit startled when I said with positiveness, “You should be married-and immediately.” And I quoted this scripture:

    “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.” (Ex. 22:16.) and again from Moses: “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; . . . she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.” (Deut. 22:28-29.)

    These two folks were “damaged goods.” They had prostituted each other. They had toyed with each other’s body. But now they were almost horrified at the suggestion of immediate marriage, and he remonstrated: “Why, we couldn’t marry. We are not ready for marriage. We haven’t completed our education. We have no employment. We are not ready to make a home. We are not prepared to buy clothing, pay rent, buy cars, employ physicians, buy groceries, pay hospital bills. We haven’t finished our education. We are not ready to assume the responsibilities of parenthood.”

    And then I asked, as kindly as I could, “Then why did you precipitate yourselves into that situation? Why did you do the act which would make you parents? Why did you engage in the associations that would demand a home, employment, status? Your very irresponsible act identifies you as most immature. You do not know the meaning of responsibility, but you have pushed yourselves prematurely into adulthood. You should now meet the responsibilities as best you can. You are hardly able to walk alone as little children, and yet you are likely now to be parents. You have not passed the tests in the grade school yet, and now you are enrolled in college. You made the choice when you broke the law of chastity and gave up your virtue. That hour, freedom was replaced with tyrannical fetters. You accepted shackles and limitations and sorrows and eternal regrets when you could have had freedom with peace.”

    King Benjamin said:

    And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved —

    I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.

    Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

    And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a a never-ending torment.” (Mosiah 2:36-39.)

    Now, it would be wholly improper to so completely condemn sex sins without explaining to those who may already have yielded to these persuasions and temptations and have defiled themselves that there is eventual forgiveness, providing, of course, that there is commensurate repentance. “The way of the transgressor is hard,” and tough and long and thorny. But the Lord has promised that for all those sins and errors outside of the named unpardonable sins, there is forgiveness. But, many people misunderstand the principle of repentance and have the misconception that the changing of a policy, the breaking of a habit, or a few prayers can bounce them back in moments or hours the long distance that they skidded over months and possibly years.

    The Lord has said, “I will remember their sins no more,” and, “Thou shalt forgive them.” But sometimes it takes as long or longer to climb back up the steep hill than it did to skid down it. And it is often much more difficult.

    We mentioned self-conviction above. One has not begun his repentance until that is complete. But when a total self-conviction is stirred to a new life, and prayers have been multiplied and fasting, through humility, intensified, and weeping has been sanctified, repentance then begins to grow and, eventually, forgiveness may come. The king had said that the unrepentant would have a “lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.” (Mosiah 2:38.)

    And the Prophet Jacob said that those who reject the gospel and resist repentance would “stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God.” (Jacob 6:9).

    A basic thought which none may overlook is the statement of the Prophet Amulek:

    And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins,…and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins. (Alma 11:37.)

    But to those who have broken the law of chastity and who have complied as above, there is the promise of forgiveness, and the Lord charges the leaders of His Church when they have totally repented, “Thou shalt forgive them.”

    And He says:

    “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins –behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” (D&C 58:42-43.)

    Paul called attention to the Corinthian Saints:

    For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle. (1 Cor. 14:8.)

    And I believe the youth of Zion want to hear the clear and unmistakable tones of the trumpet, and it is my hope that I can play the tune with accuracy and precision so that no honest person will ever be confused. I hope fervently that I am making clear the position of the Lord and His Church on these unmentionable practices.

    Masturbation, a rather common indiscretion, is not approved of the Lord nor of His Church regardless of what may have been said by others whose “norms” are lower. Latter-day Saints are urged to avoid this practice.

    A person is the maker of himself. He may control his own destiny, if he is normal. James Allen says:

    “… A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts…. Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits . . . let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astounded at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life…”

    James Allen again says:

    …Man is manacled only by himself: thought and action are the jailers of Fate-they imprison, being base; they are also the angels of Freedom-they liberate, being noble.

    Anyone fettered by this weakness should abandon the habit before he goes on a mission or receives the Holy Priesthood or goes in the temple for his blessings.

    Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sins of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad, good, and black, white.

    This unholy transgression is either rapidly growing or tolerance is giving it wider publicity. If one has such desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to His condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. And the Church will excommunicate as readily any unrepentant addict.

    Again, contrary to the belief and statement of many people, this sin, like fornication, is overcomable and forgivable, but again, only upon a deep and abiding repentance which means total abandonment and complete transformation of thought and act. The fact that some governments and some churches and numerous corrupted individuals have tried to reduce such behavior from criminal offense to personal privilege does not change the nature nor the seriousness of the practice. Good men, wise men, God-fearing men everywhere still denounce the practice as being unworthy of sons of God; and Christ’s Church denounces it and condemns it so long as men have bodies which can be defiled. Earlier in our treatise we quoted Peter as having said, “I beseech you . . . abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” (1 Pet. 2:11.)

    And James says:

    “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways…. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

    “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

    “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

    “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

    “Do not err, my beloved brethren .”(James 1:8, 12-16.)

    This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel’s wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome. In Exodus, the law required death for the culprit who had sex play with animals, the deviate who committed incest, or the depraved one who had homosexual or other vicious practices.

    This is a most unpleasant subject to dwell upon, but I am pressed to speak of it boldly so that no student in this University, nor youth in the Church, will ever have any question in his mind as to the illicit and diabolical nature of this perverse program. Again, Lucifer deceives and prompts logic and rationalization which will destroy men and make them servants of Satan forever.

    Remember, Paul told Timothy:

    For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim. 4:3-4.)

    Let it never be said that the Church has avoided condemning this obnoxious practice nor that it has winked at this abominable sin. And I feel certain that this University will never knowingly enroll an unrepentant person who follows these practices nor tolerate on its campus anyone with these tendencies who fails to repent and put his or her life in order.

    May we return to words? In my Bible concordance, there are 550 listed references pertaining to love. They do not interpret it as carnal, sexual, handling, fondling, petting, perversions, nor fornication. In the same concordance, there are 53 references to adultery, and not one of them seems to connect this condemned sexual act with real affection which is love. I also found 32 references to fornication, but I found none which identified the forbidden act as holy, sacred love.

    Men talk of the love act and making love and the love life when what they mean is something quite different, and there can be no proper love life outside of proper marriage.

    Paul made this clear when he said,

    Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (1 Cor. 6:13.)

    This would apply also to the other detestable sex manifestations named above.

    And Paul further gave to the Corinthians a stinging lashing when he indicated these sins must be overcome:

    Be not deceived: neither fornicators,…nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6:9-10.)

    Again, for clarification, let it be known that fornication is the same act as adultery, except the former pertains to unmarried people and the latter to married people. The words are often interchangeable in the Bible and the penalty of the law was death, as indicated when the Scribes and Pharisees brought to the Savior the woman taken in adultery and they indicated:

    Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? (John 8:5.)

    It is notable that the Redeemer did not negate the law, but He put His enemies to flight by a clever ruse, saying to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (John 8:7.)

    And further, there is no evidence that the Savior granted to her forgiveness. He did send her away to repent.

    I do not find in the Bible the modern terms “petting” nor “homosexuality,” yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term “homosexuality,” but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed.

    And the Lord calls all such to repent. His words are most impressive:

    “Therefore I command you to repent–repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth…”

    And we refer the reader to the balance of that reference in D&C 19:15-18.

    We have stated that even this ugly practice can be overcome and can be forgiven. As one of many who might be considered authority, I quote one from the Medical World News, June 5, 1964:

    The effectiveness of therapy depends on the depth of entrenchment of the perversion, as well as the strength of the patient’s desire to modify it.

    This statement by the Public Health Committee of the New York Academy of Medicine agrees with our philosophy. Man is created in the image of God. He is a god in embryo. He has the seeds of godhood within him and he can, if he is normal, pick himself up by his bootstraps and literally move himself from where he is to where he knows he should be. As stated above, the longer the habit has been fostered, the harder it is to break.

    To clarify the matter for those who are honest, it must be stated that it is a “damnable heresy,” as Paul says, when men claim that “God made them that way,” or that such a life is just another different but acceptable way of life. All nature, reason, scripture and revelation cry out against such a claim. But it can be corrected and overcome. May I quote from a former article of my own: “Men have come dejected, discouraged, embarrassed, near terrified and have gone out later full of confidence and faith in themselves, with self-respect returned, with the confidence of their families, their home ties strengthened and ready to manfully take their part in proper society and even in the Church on an approved cured basis.

    “In some cases, they have been men with families, and we have had wives come in to tearfully thank us for bringing their husbands back to them. Wives have not always known what had been wrong, but they had sensed something serious and realized that they had lost their husbands. We have seen men come first with downward glances and leave months later looking us straight in the eye. We have had them admit after the first interview, ‘I am glad that I was arrested. I have tried and tried to correct my error but knew I would have to have help and had not the courage to ask for it.’ In a few months, some have totally mastered themselves, while others linger on with less power and requiring more time to make the total comeback. We realize that the cure is no more permanent than the individual makes it so, and is like the cure for alcoholism, subject to continued vigilance. To such men, we say, ‘Physician, heal thyself,’ and promise him if he will stay away from the haunts and the temptations and the former associates, he may heal himself, cleanse his mind, and return to his normal pursuits and a happy state. The cure for this malady lies in self-mastery, which is the fundamental basis of the whole gospel program.”

    “God made me that way,” some say, as they rationalize and excuse themselves for their perversions. “I can’t help it,” they add. This is blasphemy. Is he not made in the image of God, and does he think God to be “that way”? Man is responsible for his own sins. It is possible that he may rationalize and excuse himself until the groove is so deep he cannot get out without great difficulty, but this he can do. Temptations come to all people. The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted. It is true that one’s background may make the decision and accomplishment easier or more difficult, but if one is mentally alert, he can still control his future. That is the gospel message-personal responsibility.

    To the person blaming his perversions on his parents-man is punishable for his own sins. He can, if normal, rise above the frustrations of childhood and stand on his own feet and answer roll call.

    And if the yielding person continues to give way numerous times, he may finally reach the point of no return where he does not want to return. And the Lord says, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts .” (D&C 1:33 .)

    The doctors whose report is quoted above state without equivocation, “The homosexual is not a special order of creation.” (For further consideration of this subject, the reader is referred to the address “A Counseling Problem in the Church” by the same author, given to the seminary and institute instructors of the Church, July 16, 1964.) [Available only at the Office of Institutes and Seminaries, Brigham Young University.]

    And then, I found the 550 references to love. They had related generally to pure, holy love. Sometimes it was called charity. Lust and carnal desires were not mentioned. I found where Paul said that to have charity or real love is greater than to be a prophet, to understand mysteries, or to have great knowledge. It is greater than to have much faith, or extended power even to remove mountains. And in following the concordance on this subject of love, Paul contrasted the two four-letter words for Timothy:

    Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22.)

    And Peter said that charity or love would cover a multitude of sins. (See 1 Pet. 4:8.)

    And from the Song of Solomon of Solomon comes this:

    For love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (Song of Solomon 8:6.)

    Jeremiah quotes the Lord: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” (Jer. 31:3.)

    And Ezekiel contrasts these words of love and lust:

    “The people . . . hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” (Ezek. 33:31.)

    As we speak of real love, a new concept comes into our minds: The Lord said:

    By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35.)

    And, He continues:

    This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13.)

    And John said:

    We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (1 Jn. 3:14.)

    And in the Beatitudes, the Lord said:

    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. (Matt. 5:43-44.)

    In none of these quotes is the slightest implication of bodily contact, of lust, of desire, of passion. Certainly, this is the test of love. It is honor and integrity and obedience.

    And Paul, speaking to the Saints, said: “Husbands, love your wives .”

    This is no carnal commandment. There is no sex in this command, for they were already legal partners.

    And then he continues:

    “…even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; . . . So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh …”(Ephesians 5:25, 28-29.).

    And as Paul continues, he says:

    For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (Eph. 5:31.)

    The proper sexual life between husband and wife is only a part of this important commandment. When a man and a woman love the spouse as they love themselves, only rich and wonderful fruits come from such a tree.

    And Paul, speaking to Titus, exhorts:

    “The young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands….” (Titus 2:4-5.)

    Can you see anything vulgar, destructive, earthy, fleshly or carnal in any of these teachings? They loved their husbands and then their children. This real love has no lust involved. And then, we have the great examples:

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16.)

    This was the Savior of the world, who with His supreme love made the supreme sacrifice and gave a life that no one could take from Him, because He loved us so. This is love-sacred, holy love.

    And now, my dear young people, I have spoken frankly and boldly against the sins of the day. Even though I dislike such a subject, I believe it necessary to warn the youth against the onslaught of the arch tempter-who, with his army of emissaries and all the tools at his command, would destroy all the youth of Zion, largely through deception, misrepresentation, and lies.

    My beloved young folks, do not excuse petting and body intimacies. I am positive that if this illicit, illegal, improper, and lustful habit of “petting” could be wiped out, that fornication would soon be gone from our world. Remember what the Lord said:

    Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

    But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28.)

    And if there has been lust, repent of it and keep your minds clean, and convict yourself of serious evil if you permit your minds to dwell upon these forbidden things or your hands or bodies to yield to the call of lust.

    May I close with this scripture from Mormon:

    Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. (Morm. 9:28.)

    In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

    References

    References
    1 Spencer W. Kimball, ‘Love vs. Lust – https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/spencer-w-kimball_love-vs-lust/
  • Masturbation

    Masturbation

    A January 5, 1965 address at BYU by Spencer W. Kimball, ‘Love vs. Lust’: 1

    “My beloved young people:

    While this is a grave responsibility, and not an easy one, I am eager to discuss with you some matters of grave importance.

    I love youth. I rejoice when they grow up clean and stalwart and tall. I sorrow with them when they have misfortunes and remorse and troubles.

    Numerous disasters have occurred in mid-ocean by collisions of ships and sometimes with icebergs, and numerous people have gone to watery graves.

    Soon, such a thing will not be possible, for ships will be equipped with radar equipment which will alert ships’ officers should a collision be imminent. A tape will be played automatically, booming from the darkened bridge: “This is an alert. This ship is approaching an object. This is an alert. This ship is approaching an object.” And the voice will not be stilled until the mate comes to the radarscope and turns the recorder off. This will enable ships to alter their courses and save lives.

    I believe our young people are wholesome and basically good and sound; but they, too, are traveling oceans which to them are at least partially uncharted, where there are shoals and rocks and icebergs and other vessels, and where great disasters can come unless warnings are heeded.

    Yesterday as my jet plane soared in the air gaining altitude, the voice of the stewardess came clearly over the loud-speaker: “We are moving into a storm area. We shall skirt the danger, but there may be some turbulence. Be sure your seat belts are securely fastened.”

    And, as a leader of the Church and in a measure being responsible for youth and their well-being, I raise my voice to say to the youth: “You are in a hazardous area and period. Tighten your belts, hold on, and you can survive the turbulence.”

    I interview thousands of young people and many seem to flounder. Some give excuses for their errors and indulge in unwarranted rationalizations. Today I hope I may be able to clarify, at least in some areas, the stand of the God of Heaven and His Church on some vital issues.

    May I speak first of words and relate them to my theme? There is magic in words properly used. Some people use them accurately, while others sloppily.

    Words are means of communication, and faulty signals give wrong impressions. Disorder and misunderstandings are the results. Words underlie our whole life and are the tools of our business, the expressions of our affections, and the records of our progress. Words cause hearts to throb and tears to flow in sympathy. Words can be sincere or hypocritical. Many of us are destitute of words and, consequently, clumsy with our speech, which sometimes becomes but babble. Paul said:

    Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. (1 Cor. 14:9.)

    And then Peter speaks of Paul and says of his epistles:

    “. . . in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Pet. 3:16.)

    Touring foreign lands, one comes to realize his utter helplessness without understandable words and symbols.

    The workmen engaged in building the Tower of Babel were craftsmen, skilled in their trades. Take away their tools: they will replace them. Take away their skills: they will learn anew. But take away their means of communication with one another and the building of the tower has to be abandoned. (Royal Bank of Canada Letter.)

    Words which confuse the hearer or reader are worse than valueless. A reasonable vocabulary of well-chosen words provides us with shadings of meaning and enables us to speak finely instead of coarsely.

    Words which are synonyms have much in common but still have peculiar application, such as “child and urchin,” “hand and fist,” “misstatement and lie.” Now, note the difference in the four-word sentences: “John looked at Mary”; “John glanced at Mary”; “John gazed at Mary”; “John glared at Mary.”

    A true definition of style is, “Proper words in proper places with thoughts in proper order.”

    The plain way of writing conceals great art. As you avoid pomposity, ambiguity and complexity, you attain simplicity, which is the greatest cunning. It conveys proper meaning into the minds of others straight away, without effort for them. They get a feeling of sincerity and integrity, for who can be suspicious of the motives of one who speaks plainly? “Sour notes do not become sweet because the musician is in white tie and black tails.”

    Words should be kind and gentle or firm and bold, according to the need of the moment. Words which betray are unkind and words which befuddle are frustrating.

    Some people have excellent ideas, but their thoughts either beat about aimlessly in their heads, finding no communication package in which to emerge, or they come out distorted and in fragments.

    Every person should say what he means, speaking clearly and distinctly. The politician particularly should pay attention to the niceties of language so as to address the voters meaningfully and not deceitfully. The deforming of meaning for political ends has become too commonplace. In our lives, we should express clearly what we have in mind, just as a purchaser would say: “I wish to buy three rolls of Kodak Ektachrome X Color Film, Daylight Ex. 127.” And the clerk knows exactly what is wanted.

    So in social life, and certainly in morals, there should be a careful selection of the right word to express the thought.

    It is reported that a Russian child has a primer of 2,000 words in the first grade and of 10,000 words in the fourth, while his opposite number in the United States has a primer of 1,800 words; and that the Russian child is reading Tolstoy while the same aged child in the United States is working his way through a book entitled, A Funny Sled. This charge is made in an article in Horizon of July, 1963.

    Even examinations now in many cases do not require expressions by students. They may place an “X” in an appropriate square and avoid intellectual effort in marshalling thoughts and expressing them coherently, and have about a fifty percent chance of being right even in a guess.

    Without discipline, language declines into flabby permissiveness, into formlessness and mindlessness. It deteriorates into what the late James Thurber called “our oral culture of pure babble.”

    Now, you may wonder why I have introduced my talk with the subject of words. May I lead you out with a few four-letter words to think about: fine, fire; good and grow; home, hide, hell, help; and tire, tide, tell and toll; wilt, wish, weak, worn, and weep. Then, there are these: limp, life, live, lurk, love and lust.

    Ah! Here I have finally found the two words on which I wish to dwell: love and lust-words strong and powerful-words which are life and death words-love and lust.

    Let me begin with a story. Across the desk sat a handsome, young nineteen-year-old and a beautiful, shy, but charming eighteen-year-old. They appeared embarrassed, apprehensive, near-terrified. He was defensive and bordering on belligerency and rebellion. There had been sexual violations throughout the summer and intermittently since school began, and as late as last week. I was not so much surprised. I have had these kinds of visits many times; but what did disturb me was that they seemed little, if any, remorseful. They admitted they had gone contrary to some social standards, but quoted magazines and papers and speakers approving pre-marital sex and emphasizing that sex was a fulfillment of human existence.

    Finally, the boy said, “Yes, we yielded to each other, but we do not think it wrong because we love each other.” I thought I had misunderstood him. Since the world began, there have been countless immoralities, but to hear them justified by Latter-day Saint youth shocked me. He repeated, “No, it is not wrong because we love each other.” Here was one of those misused four-letter words.

    They had repeated this abominable heresy so often that they had convinced themselves, and a wall of resistance had been built, and behind this wall they stubbornly stood almost defiantly. If there had been blushes of shame at first, such had been neutralized with their logic. Deeply entrenched were they in this rationalization. Had they not read in some university papers of the new freedom where pre-marital sex was sanctioned, at least not forbidden? Did they not see the looseness in every show, on every stage, on TV screens and magazines? Had they not discussed this in the locker room and in private conversation? Had it not been fairly well established, then, in their world, that sex before marriage was not so wrong? Did there not need to be a trial period? How else could they know if they would be sexually compatible for marriage ? Had they not, like numerous others, come to regard sex as the basis for living ?

    And a proverb came to my mind:

    Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. (Prov. 30:20.)

    In their rationalization they have had much cooperation, for, as Peter said:

    “… there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways. . .” (2 Pet. 2:1-2.)

    And Peter says further:

    “. . . they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, . . . the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Pet. 3:16.)

    And here they are, false teachers everywhere, using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, TV, street talk-spreading damnable heresies which break down moral standards, and this to gratify the lusts of the flesh.

    Lucifer in his diabolical scheming deceives the unwary and uses every tool at his command. Seldom does one go to a convention, a club meeting, a party or social gathering without hearing vulgarity, obscenity and suggestive stories.

    Peter again cautioned us:

    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Pet. 5:8.)

    And the Savior said that the very elect would be deceived by Lucifer if it were possible. He will use his logic to confuse, and his rationalizations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black.

    Young people are confused by the arch deceiver who uses every device to deceive them.

    This young couple looked up rather startled when I postulated firmly and with positiveness, “No, my beloved young people, you did not love each other. Rather, you lusted for each other.” And here was the other misused word.

    Paul told Titus:

    Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

    They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Titus 1:15-16.)

    I am sure that Peter and James and Paul found it unpleasant business to constantly be calling people to repentance and warning them of dangers, but they continued unflinchingly. So we, your leaders, must be everlastingly at it; if young people do not understand, then the fault may be partly ours. But, if we make the true way clear to you, then we are blameless.

    If when he [the watchman] seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

    Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

    He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

    But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. (Ezek. 33:3-6.)

    So, I wish today to help define meanings of words and acts for you young people, to fortify you against error, anguish, pain and sorrow.

    The boy and girl sat still and respectfully. I was not sure if they were comprehending. Apparently, their wrong concepts had been bolstered so long and firmly it was hard for them to change immediately.

    Now we talked again about words-short words like lift and lean, hide and lurk, flee and stay, lose and gain, fall and rise, open and shut, lure and save, lose and gain, live and dead, hell and home and again, love and lust. The beautiful and holy word of love they had defiled until it had degenerated to become a bedfellow with lust, its antithesis.

    As far back as Isaiah, deceivers and rationalizers were condemned:

    Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

    Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isa. 5:20-21.)

    And, we might add: Woe unto those who wrest the scriptures to interpret them to cover their weaknesses. The young couple had excused and justified their transgression on the grounds that they loved each other. Is there a word in the dictionary more misused and prostituted than the word “love”?

    Many of the modern terms for sin were not used in the scriptures and in olden days, and some people, therefore, excuse their contaminations because the age-old transgressions were not identified with modern terms. But, if one reads the scriptures carefully, all sins are denounced there in every shade of error. Again, the great Peter said:

    Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. (I Peter 2: 11.)

    Surely, every soul who has reached the age of accountability, and especially those who have received the Holy Ghost after baptism, knows the difference; but so often we hear what we want to hear and we see what we want to see. There is a definite war against the soul when evil is perpetrated. And I challenge any normal baptized person who says he did not know he was doing wrong. There is no compatibility between sin and righteousness, between guilt and peace.

    Paul charged the Corinthians:

    Flee fornication …. He that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. (1 Cor. 6:18.)

    And in order to avoid the disasters, Paul cautioned: “Do not company with fornicators.” And he urged people to keep good company and not eat with the evil ones who would tempt them, and then concludes: “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (See 1 Cor. 5:9-13.)

    Oh, if our young people could learn this basic lesson to always keep good company, to never be found with those who tend to lower our standards! Let every youth select associates who will keep him on tiptoes, trying to reach the heights attained. Let him never choose associates who encourage him to relax in carelessness.

    We must repeat what we have said many times: Fornication with all its big and little brothers and sisters was evil and wholly condemned by the Lord in Adam’s day, in Moses’ day, in Paul’s day, and in our own day. The Church has no tolerance for any kind of perversions. The Lord has indicated His lack of tolerance, stating:

    For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. (D&C 1:31.)

    Yet, He loves the repentant one. Paul said that even the converted Gentiles should be taught to “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication,” and other deviations. (Acts 15:20.) He wrote the Romans that corrupt practices called fornication were extant among them. He exhorted the Galatians, lashing out against the “works of the flesh . . adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,” and then he added “that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21.)

    They are like the:

    Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 13.)

    These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. (Jude 16.)

    Let it be known positively that the Church is not softening its standards, nor abandoning its Godgiven practices. Those who interpret the scriptures to justify their own pernicious ways are spoken of in the Book of Mormon:

    . . . They are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they. (Mormon 5:18.)

    My young couple who had so seriously sinned were listening, and I reminded them of the statement of Mormon, where the Nephites, guilty of fiendish, abominable acts, had taken prisoners the daughters of the Lamanites, and:

    After depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue-(Moroni 9:9).

    They tortured and murdered them.

    When the scriptures are so plain, how can anyone justify immoralities and call them love? Is black white? Is evil good? Is purity filthiness?

    As I looked the boy in the eye, I said, “No, my boy, you were not expressing love when you took her virtue.” And to her, I said, “There was no real love in your heart when you robbed him of his chastity. It was lust that brought you together in this most serious of all practices short of murder. Paul said, ‘Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.’ (Rom. 13:10.)”

    I continued, “If one really loves another, one would rather die for that person than injure him. At the hour of indulgence, pure love is pushed out one door while lust sneaks in the other. Your affection has been replaced with biological materialism and uncontrolled passion. You have accepted the doctrine which the devil is so eager to establish-that sex relations are justified on the grounds that it is a pleasurable experience in itself and is beyond moral consideration.

    “When the unmarried yield to the lust which induces intimacies and indulgence, they have permitted the body to dominate and have placed the spirit in chains. It is unthinkable that anyone could call this love. You have ignored the fact that all situations or conditions or actions whose pleasures or satisfactions end with the termination of the act will never produce great peoples nor build great kingdoms.

    “In order to live with themselves, people who transgress must follow one path or the other of two alternatives. The one is to sear the conscience and dull the sensitivity with mental tranquilizers so that the transgression may be continued; the other is to permit remorse to lead to total conviction, repentance and eventual forgiveness.”

    This conviction is the element of which my two young visitors were quite devoid. They were somewhat like the unrepentant of whom Isaiah spoke:

    And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive him not.(2 Ne. 12:9.)

    No one can ever be forgiven of any transgression until there is repentance, and one has not repented until he has bared his soul and admitted his intentions and weaknesses without excuses or rationalizations. He must admit to himself that he has grievously sinned. When he has confessed to himself without the slightest minimizing of the offense, or rationalizing its seriousness, or soft-pedaling its gravity, and admits it is as big as it really is, then he is ready to begin his repentance; and any other elements of repentance are of reduced value, until the conviction is established totally, and then repentance may mature and forgiveness may eventually come.

    Because of this widespread tolerance toward promiscuity, this world is in grave danger. When evil is decried and forbidden and punished, the world still has a chance. But when toleration for sin increases, the outlook is bleak and Sodom and Gomorrah days are certain to return.

    We were in Los Angeles years ago when the news broke of the illicit affair of a certain movie actress, from which she became pregnant. Because of her popularity, it was big news in heavy headlines in every paper in the land. We were not so surprised at her adultery-it was reported to be common in Hollywood as well as in the world generally. But that such dissoluteness should be approved and accepted by society shocked me. The Los Angeles papers took a poll of the people-club women and ministers, employers and employees, stenographers and teachers and housewives-and almost without exception, as though it were a child’s indiscretion, these community leaders found little fault and criticized as “puritanical” and “victorian” those who disapproved. “Let her live her own life,” they said. “And, why should we interfere with people’s personal liberties?” In state and nation and across the seas, toleration for sin is terrifying.

    There is no shame. Isaiah again strikes the sin:

    The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. (Isa. 3:9.)

    That the Church’s stand on morality may be understood, we declare firmly and unalterably it is not an outworn garment, faded, old-fashioned, and threadbare. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His covenants and doctrines are immutable; and when the sun grows cold and the stars no longer shine, the law of chastity will still be basic in God’s world and in the Lord’s Church. Old values are upheld by the Church not because they are old, but rather because through the ages they have proved right. It will always be the rule.

    I continued with the young couple, saying, “The youth of today are seeing too many ‘adults only’ movies which exploit sex. There are too many open dormitories on campus, too many mattress parties for adolescents, too many girls with extreme dresses, tight sweaters, calling attention to sex. And, there are too many young men with tight, suggestive attire. Youth generally have heard too many advertisements over radio and television and seen too many in newspapers and on billboards and in magazines where sex is used as a stimulus in selling. There have been too many parked automobiles. They have read too many novels where sex is the central, dominant theme.”

    “What kind of a world would we have,” I asked these young people, “if this heresy which you have espoused of pre-marital sex looseness and alleged free love were in order?” The world, already ill, would expire.

    We are not speaking of a sex-free world any more than we are speaking of a sexy world, for a sexless civilization would die in one generation if indeed it could be born. A sexy civilization will die of its own rottenness when it is ripe in iniquity. Pure sex life in proper marriage is approved. There is a time and an appropriateness for all things which have value. In ancient days, one city or one civilization could disintegrate without seriously disturbing other parts of the world, but today our communication and transportation facilities make the whole world one community.

    In our mass-production age in recent years, “we have witnessed the reduction of persons to things in a code number, a subscriber, a punched card. Each reduction indicates that the person is expendable, replaceable.. . .” “A person is not a function nor a means nor an instrument, but an end in himself; but the world speaks with a voice amplified by a thousand television stations and a half million printing presses.” It advances the biological materialism that man is a consuming, reproducing function, a collection of skills, or a unit in the labor force. This renders men functionaries and destroys their being and loses for them their self, dwarfed by a gigantic universe out there. This is hauntingly true as people are “used” to gratify physical passions in illegitimacy.

    This repulsive sense of “thinghood” is portrayed well in a few lines from John Pauker in the New Republic, January 5, 1963:

    I looked and looked again. There were no people.

    The people had disappeared. The people were gone.

    But the things they had created were still there.

    A suit of clothes and a gown walked arm in arm.

    With a dog at the end of a leash. The dog was there

    And snarling. In the street, vehicular traffic

    Flowed as usual but without drivers or riders ….

    Electric razors razed and revolvers fired

    As usual. The things went through their paces

    And seemed to be enjoying themselves highly.

    I longed to look in a mirror but did not dare.

    We really do not love things. We use things like doormats, automobiles, clothing, machines; but we love people by serving them and contributing to their permanent good. The Lord seemed to recognize this when He said:

    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:33.)

    And again, the difference was made manifest in His instructions to Peter, when He asked three times of that worthy:

    Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?

    To which Peter responded:

    Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. And the answer came:

    Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. (See John 21:15-17.)

    What were the things, “these things,” which took second place to his love for his Lord and his fellow men? I think they must have been ships and nets and fish and desires and wants and even passions.

    Sexual encounters outside of legalized marriage render the individual a thing to be used, a thing to be exploited, and make him or her exchangeable, exploitable, expendable and throw-awayable.

    And when we come before the great Judge at the bar of justice, shall we stand before Him as a thing or as a person, as a depraved body of flesh and carnal acts, or as a son of God standing straight and tall and worthy? And as we answer the vital questions, will we be able to say, “I builded, I did not tear down; I lifted, I did not pull down; I grew, I did not shrivel; I helped others grow, I did not dwarf them; I helped, I did not hinder; I loved intensely and blessed, I did not lust toward exploitation to injure”?

    My young couple were still rationalizing and excusing themselves, and I said again, “Every kind of sex exploit for the unmarried from the first lustful stirrings of passions relating to self or to others is a sin, and thought habits are perverted and lives are blemished, and God’s laws are broken, and penalties will be paid.”

    Like some high pressure salesmen who claim far more for their product than can possibly be delivered, sex exploitation promises what it can never produce nor deliver. So, outside of marriage, improper sex life can bring only disappointment, disgust, and usually rejection “while it propels its participants down the long corridor of repeated encounters which are destined to fail.”

    Very often the couple-the two people who have been promiscuous, who have been wanton, who have crossed the lines of propriety-become disgusted with each other and discontinue associations altogether. How many come to dislike, if not to hate, the partner in sin.

    Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death. Pre-marital sex promises what it cannot possibly produce or deliver. Rejection is often the fruit as it moves its participants down the long highway of repeated encounters.

    The Eighth of the Ten Commandments says: “Thou shalt not steal.” Yet the immoral act is exploitation and robbery in its worst expression.

    It is taking with or without permission the most priceless, the most unrecoverable, the most unreturnable possession of an individual-chastity and virtue. In one dark, unglorious hour, lives can be taken or shattered; but in a long lifetime, health lost may possibly be regained, wealth lost may someday be accumulated again, freedom lost may be fought for and possibly recovered, but chastity gone is gone forever, and virtue stolen cannot be returned. Is not this one of the prime reasons why this forbidden thing is so heinous like murder, for neither can ever be wholly compensated nor returned nor undone?

    “THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY” (and we add its twin, FORNICATION) and also “THOU SHALT NOT KILL” came ‘ringing down from Mount Sinai. One can take a life easily but he can never restore that life. And so it is that when the pangs of futility and remorse impress the uselessness of the act, there must come the time when the fornicator or adulterer, like the murderer, wishes he could hide-hide from all the world, from all the ghosts and especially from his own-and there is no place to hide. There are dark corners and hidden spots and closed cars in which the transgression can be committed, but to totally conceal is impossible. There are no nights so dark, no rooms so tightly locked, no canyons so closed in, no deserts so uninhabited that one can find a place to hide his sins from himself nor from his Lord. Eventually, one must still face himself and his Great Judge.

    Cain had difficulty hiding. The Lord had asked, “Where is Abel, thy brother?” And Cain had boldly replied, “I know not. Am I my brother’ s keeper?” Did he think he was deceiving the Lord or himself? The next question was no simple inquiry, but an accusation and a condemnation, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground . . . which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. “. . . a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. “And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth.” (Gen. 4:9-14.)

    That was true of murder. In a lesser degree, it is true of illicit sex, which, of course, includes all petting, fornication, adultery, homosexual acts, and all other perversions. The Lord may say to offenders, as He did to Cain, “What hast thou done?” The children thus conceived make damning charges against you; the companions who have been frustrated and violated condemn you; the body that has been defiled cries out against you; the spirit which has been dwarfed convicts you. You will have difficulty throughout the ages in totally forgiving yourself.

    After looking down at the crumpled body at his feet, and especially after the torments of hell began to persecute him and the ghost of his brother began to follow him, Cain must have wished that he could give Abel’ s life back. The Lord did not curse Cain; it was Cain who, breaking eternal law, cursed himself. And every man or woman who is guilty of moral misconduct may look down upon defiled bodies, his own and others; he may recognize frustrated and distorted minds; and as the ghosts begin to follow, he is certain to wish with all his heart that he could give back chastity and restore tranquility and peace in the minds and hearts and lives of those whom he has damaged.

    From the same tablet, from the same Sinai, came the Laws of God. After creating man in His own image, male and female, God then performed the holy marriage ceremony for eternity for His Adam and Eve. And in this beginning, He established a pattern of sex life consistent with all reason and propriety. In that first marriage blessing, the Lord commanded these two beings, who were complementary to each other, to multiply by being fruitful and bringing children into the world. Cain and Abel were only two of their many sons and daughters. This command did not give license to merely satisfy biological urges, for God followed it with the command,

    Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Gen. 2:24.)

    To cleave is to adhere closely, to cling; and the Lord gave as the purpose for their cleaving, the peopling of the earth, the replenishing of the earth, the subduing of the earth, the dominion over the earth. There was high purpose in the creation and in the proper associations of husband and wife, but intimacies could never be defended outside of marriage.

    The pre-marital sex act is a deception. It is a lie. The Lord asked:

    “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he . . . give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11-12.)

    Bread is the staff of life, while a stone is lifeless, indeed, sometimes death dealing. The fish as food builds and sustains the body, as does the egg; but the serpent destroys life and is the symbol of death. Love is promised and is delivered.

    Proper sex functions bring posterity, responsibility, and peace; but pre-marital sex encounters bring pain, the loss of self-esteem, spiritual death, unless there is a total, continuing repentance.

    What are the fruits of immorality? Instead of multiplying and replenishing the earth, every effort is made to avoid conception and the birth of progeny. Since Adam no soul has ever been made happy by transgressing. The Lord said:

    “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:19-20.)

    “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees.” (Matt. 3:10.)

    And the warning is repeated:

    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matt. 7:15.)

    Could there possibly be a single good fruit which comes from pre-marital indulgence?

    Our great accumulated scientific knowledge about our bodies and their functioning, and our minds and their operating, seems not to have been translated into righteousness. As an example, all that we have learned of late from research about the ill effects of tobacco has done little to discourage its use, even as the holy revelations were ignored. And all that has been said from a medical and scientific standpoint about the social diseases seems to have deterred people very little from immorality-in fact, little more if any than the commandments of the Lord. For, in a recent local paper, we read of the great increase in VD in the big cities of our land.

    It is not so much what we know but what we do about what we know. Dr. Jenkins of the Utah State Health Department is quoted as saying that gonorrhea and syphilis epidemics are raging at this very moment in thirty of the nation’s largest cities.

    The Deseret News of December 13, 1964, quotes an Associated Press writer out of Washington as saying: “Some experts see a ‘general decline in morals’ and point to the sharpest rises of V.D. among teenagers.”

    We live in a sterile age, or so it seems-an age when young people turn to sex to escape loneliness, frustration; insecurity and lack of interest. “What can we do?” the youth complain. They are little interested in reading and family associations and youth socials and the community dance. They must have something more exciting. Long ago they ceased making their own entertainment which could be as clean and worthy as they wished to make it. Today, then, they look at television and go to shows in town, and to the so-called “passion pits,” where they are over-stimulated sexually. Oh, for a generation of youth who would move back to simplicity, away from the “canned” programs in most of which are ingredients to stimulate and stir the human passions!

    When we talk of sex, our first thought is adultery or fornication; but our second one, and close on its heels, is the sex stimulation to self and others, sometimes called “petting.” It is a damaging and a damning transgression in its own right, and then, of course, it is also the gateway to the final acts of fornication and adultery.

    And the world will go on dying-destroying itself until people begin to use words in their true meanings, “calling a spade, a spade” and not a spoon; calling “petting” a deep sin and not a harmless diversion– until we rip its disguising mask from its ugly face and strip from its lustful body the sheep’s clothing with which the vicious wolf has concealed his mean self.

    The young man is untrue to his manhood who promises popularity, good times, security, fun, and even love, when all he can give is passion and its diabolical fruits-guilt complexes, disgust, hatred, abhorrence, eventual loathing, and possible pregnancy without legitimacy and honor. He pleads his case in love and all he gives is lust. Likewise, the young lady sells herself cheap. She asks him for a fish; he gives her a serpent. He asks her for bread and she gives him a stone. She reaches for figs, and thorns are pressed into her hand. He would have grapes but gets a bramble bush. She asks for eggs and he stings her with a scorpion. The result is damage to life and canker to the soul.

    Reverend Lawrence Lowell Gruman says: “It is indeed a quaint morality that belittles sex and shrinks human beings to pleasure-seeking dwarfs, for if sex is good, as eating and sleeping are good, then it, too, has specific limits and an appropriate place and that place is within marriage.”

    And still these young people talk of love. What a corruption of the most beautiful term! The word is prostituted also in the realm of homosexuality. Both are in the realm of taking, not giving; killing, not saving; destroying, not building. The fruit is bitter because the tree is corrupt. Their lips say, “I love you.” Their bodies say, “I want you.” Love is kind and wholesome. To love is to give, not to take. To love is to serve, not to exploit.

    We sing of love in popular songs when we really are coveting and wanting and lusting. Why do people deceive themselves and others? Why not call it what it actually is?

    Undoubtedly Potiphar’s wife flattered Joseph and expressed her alleged love for him at first. When this failed, she tried force and intrigue; and, failing there, she tried to cover with blackmail. With such a clear conscience, Joseph’s dark dungeon must have been to him a pleasant prison. At least here he was safe from exploitation and contamination. She said to Joseph, “I love you.” What she wanted was not Joseph but his handsome, appealing body.

    Dr. Gruman says: “The sexual encounter ought to be a full and free affirmation of the other person, …a total commitment to him, and that spells permanence and permanence is spelled out in marriage ….

    If you love another person fully, wholly, unselfishly, then respect the sexual life of that person by surrounding him with marriage. Using and being used, we fail as human beings and sons of God.”

    What is love? Many people think of it as mere physical attraction and they casually speak of “falling in love” and “love at first sight.” This may be Hollywood’s version and the interpretation of those who write love songs and love fiction. True love is not wrapped in such flimsy material. One might become immediately attracted to another individual, but love is far more than physical attraction. It is deep, inclusive and comprehensive. Physical attraction is only one of the many elements, but there must be faith and confidence and understanding and partnership. There must be common ideals and standards. There must be a great devotion and companionship. Love is cleanliness and progress and sacrifice and selflessness. This kind of love never tires nor wanes, but lives through sickness and sorrow, poverty and privation, accomplishment and disappointment, time and eternity. For the love to continue, there must be an increase constantly of confidence and understanding, of frequent and sincere expression of appreciation and affection. There must be a forgetting of self and a constant concern for the other. Interests, hopes, objectives must be constantly focused into a single channel.

    For many years, I saw a strong man carry his tiny, emaciated, arthritic wife to meetings and wherever she could go. There could be no sexual expression. Here was selfless indication of affection. I think that is pure love. I saw a kindly woman wait on her husband for many years as he deteriorated with muscular dystrophy. She waited on him hand and foot, night and day, when all he could do was to blink his eyes in thanks. I believe that was love.

    I knew a woman who carried her little unfortunate child until the body was too heavy to carry, and then she pushed her in a wheel chair for the following years until her death. The deprived child could never express an appreciation. It seems to me that that was love. Another mother visited regularly her son who was in the penitentiary. She could receive nothing from him. She gave much, all she had.

    If anyone feels that petting or other deviations are demonstrations of love, let him ask himself: “If this beautiful body which I have misused suddenly became deformed, or paralyzed, would my reactions be the same ? If this lovely face were scarred by flames, or this body which I have used suddenly became rigid, or this keen mind which I have enjoyed were suddenly to become blank, would I be such an ardent lover? If senility or any of its approaches suddenly fell upon my sweetheart, what would my attitudes be?” Answers to these questions might test one to see if he really is in love or if it is only physical attraction which encouraged the improper physical contacts. The young man who protects his sweetheart against all use or abuse, against insult and infamy from himself or others, could be expressing true love.

    But the young man who uses his companion as a biological toy to give himself temporary satisfaction-that is lust, and is at the other end of the spectrum from love. A young woman conducts herself to be attractive spiritually, mentally and physically but will not by word nor dress nor act stir nor stimulate to physical reactions the companion beside her. That could be true love. That young woman who must touch and stir and fondle and tempt and use knows not love. That is lust and exploitation.

    Sometimes, there are twins, like Jacob and Esau, and the one is hairy and crude and evil; the other is smooth and clean and personable. There were two brothers, the sons of Adam-the one, crude, selfish, evil; the other, good and faithful and worthy. Their names also were four-letter words-Cain and Abel. And such words as love and lust are direct opposites.

    Speaking to my young couple, I said again, “No, it is not love if it manipulates; it is selfishness. It is not love if it neglects the welfare of the other: it is irresponsibility.

    “If sex relations merely become a release or a technique and the partner becomes exchangeable, then sex returns to the compulsive animal level.

    “Immorality brings generally a guilt deep and lasting. And this is a factor certainly not to be overlooked. These unresolved guilt complexes are the stuff of which mental breakdowns come, the building blocks of suicide, the fabric of distorted personalities, the wounds that scar or incapacitate individuals or families.

    “The Revelator, John, gives this: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Rev. 20:12.)

    And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:15.)

    “And a question that surely arises when that vital moment comes is, will we stand before the Great Judge and be proud or ashamed, satisfied or frustrated? And no normal youth or adult who has received the Holy Ghost can conscientiously claim that he did not know that these things were transgressions.

    Pre-marital sex affairs are wrong, not because the Church declares against them, but the Church declares against them because they are wrong and because they hurt and destroy people who are God’s children.”

    The young couple still was sitting before me. They mentioned a possible future marriage, apparently thinking to impress me, and were a bit startled when I said with positiveness, “You should be married-and immediately.” And I quoted this scripture:

    “And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.” (Ex. 22:16.) and again from Moses: “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; . . . she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.” (Deut. 22:28-29.)

    These two folks were “damaged goods.” They had prostituted each other. They had toyed with each other’s body. But now they were almost horrified at the suggestion of immediate marriage, and he remonstrated: “Why, we couldn’t marry. We are not ready for marriage. We haven’t completed our education. We have no employment. We are not ready to make a home. We are not prepared to buy clothing, pay rent, buy cars, employ physicians, buy groceries, pay hospital bills. We haven’t finished our education. We are not ready to assume the responsibilities of parenthood.”

    And then I asked, as kindly as I could, “Then why did you precipitate yourselves into that situation? Why did you do the act which would make you parents? Why did you engage in the associations that would demand a home, employment, status? Your very irresponsible act identifies you as most immature. You do not know the meaning of responsibility, but you have pushed yourselves prematurely into adulthood. You should now meet the responsibilities as best you can. You are hardly able to walk alone as little children, and yet you are likely now to be parents. You have not passed the tests in the grade school yet, and now you are enrolled in college. You made the choice when you broke the law of chastity and gave up your virtue. That hour, freedom was replaced with tyrannical fetters. You accepted shackles and limitations and sorrows and eternal regrets when you could have had freedom with peace.”

    King Benjamin said:

    And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved —

    I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.

    Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

    And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a a never-ending torment.” (Mosiah 2:36-39.)

    Now, it would be wholly improper to so completely condemn sex sins without explaining to those who may already have yielded to these persuasions and temptations and have defiled themselves that there is eventual forgiveness, providing, of course, that there is commensurate repentance. “The way of the transgressor is hard,” and tough and long and thorny. But the Lord has promised that for all those sins and errors outside of the named unpardonable sins, there is forgiveness. But, many people misunderstand the principle of repentance and have the misconception that the changing of a policy, the breaking of a habit, or a few prayers can bounce them back in moments or hours the long distance that they skidded over months and possibly years.

    The Lord has said, “I will remember their sins no more,” and, “Thou shalt forgive them.” But sometimes it takes as long or longer to climb back up the steep hill than it did to skid down it. And it is often much more difficult.

    We mentioned self-conviction above. One has not begun his repentance until that is complete. But when a total self-conviction is stirred to a new life, and prayers have been multiplied and fasting, through humility, intensified, and weeping has been sanctified, repentance then begins to grow and, eventually, forgiveness may come. The king had said that the unrepentant would have a “lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.” (Mosiah 2:38.)

    And the Prophet Jacob said that those who reject the gospel and resist repentance would “stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God.” (Jacob 6:9).

    A basic thought which none may overlook is the statement of the Prophet Amulek:

    And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins,…and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins. (Alma 11:37.)

    But to those who have broken the law of chastity and who have complied as above, there is the promise of forgiveness, and the Lord charges the leaders of His Church when they have totally repented, “Thou shalt forgive them.”

    And He says:

    “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins –behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” (D&C 58:42-43.)

    Paul called attention to the Corinthian Saints:

    For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle. (1 Cor. 14:8.)

    And I believe the youth of Zion want to hear the clear and unmistakable tones of the trumpet, and it is my hope that I can play the tune with accuracy and precision so that no honest person will ever be confused. I hope fervently that I am making clear the position of the Lord and His Church on these unmentionable practices.

    Masturbation, a rather common indiscretion, is not approved of the Lord nor of His Church regardless of what may have been said by others whose “norms” are lower. Latter-day Saints are urged to avoid this practice.

    A person is the maker of himself. He may control his own destiny, if he is normal. James Allen says:

    “… A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts…. Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits . . . let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astounded at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life…”

    James Allen again says:

    …Man is manacled only by himself: thought and action are the jailers of Fate-they imprison, being base; they are also the angels of Freedom-they liberate, being noble.

    Anyone fettered by this weakness should abandon the habit before he goes on a mission or receives the Holy Priesthood or goes in the temple for his blessings.

    Sometimes masturbation is the introduction to the more serious sins of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality. We would avoid mentioning these unholy terms and these reprehensible practices were it not for the fact that we have a responsibility to the youth of Zion that they be not deceived by those who would call bad, good, and black, white.

    This unholy transgression is either rapidly growing or tolerance is giving it wider publicity. If one has such desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to His condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. And the Church will excommunicate as readily any unrepentant addict.

    Again, contrary to the belief and statement of many people, this sin, like fornication, is overcomable and forgivable, but again, only upon a deep and abiding repentance which means total abandonment and complete transformation of thought and act. The fact that some governments and some churches and numerous corrupted individuals have tried to reduce such behavior from criminal offense to personal privilege does not change the nature nor the seriousness of the practice. Good men, wise men, God-fearing men everywhere still denounce the practice as being unworthy of sons of God; and Christ’s Church denounces it and condemns it so long as men have bodies which can be defiled. Earlier in our treatise we quoted Peter as having said, “I beseech you . . . abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” (1 Pet. 2:11.)

    And James says:

    “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways…. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

    “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

    “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

    “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

    “Do not err, my beloved brethren .”(James 1:8, 12-16.)

    This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it. It was present in Israel’s wandering days, tolerated by the Greeks, and found in the baths of corrupt Rome. In Exodus, the law required death for the culprit who had sex play with animals, the deviate who committed incest, or the depraved one who had homosexual or other vicious practices.

    This is a most unpleasant subject to dwell upon, but I am pressed to speak of it boldly so that no student in this University, nor youth in the Church, will ever have any question in his mind as to the illicit and diabolical nature of this perverse program. Again, Lucifer deceives and prompts logic and rationalization which will destroy men and make them servants of Satan forever.

    Remember, Paul told Timothy:

    For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim. 4:3-4.)

    Let it never be said that the Church has avoided condemning this obnoxious practice nor that it has winked at this abominable sin. And I feel certain that this University will never knowingly enroll an unrepentant person who follows these practices nor tolerate on its campus anyone with these tendencies who fails to repent and put his or her life in order.

    May we return to words? In my Bible concordance, there are 550 listed references pertaining to love. They do not interpret it as carnal, sexual, handling, fondling, petting, perversions, nor fornication. In the same concordance, there are 53 references to adultery, and not one of them seems to connect this condemned sexual act with real affection which is love. I also found 32 references to fornication, but I found none which identified the forbidden act as holy, sacred love.

    Men talk of the love act and making love and the love life when what they mean is something quite different, and there can be no proper love life outside of proper marriage.

    Paul made this clear when he said,

    Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (1 Cor. 6:13.)

    This would apply also to the other detestable sex manifestations named above.

    And Paul further gave to the Corinthians a stinging lashing when he indicated these sins must be overcome:

    Be not deceived: neither fornicators,…nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6:9-10.)

    Again, for clarification, let it be known that fornication is the same act as adultery, except the former pertains to unmarried people and the latter to married people. The words are often interchangeable in the Bible and the penalty of the law was death, as indicated when the Scribes and Pharisees brought to the Savior the woman taken in adultery and they indicated:

    Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? (John 8:5.)

    It is notable that the Redeemer did not negate the law, but He put His enemies to flight by a clever ruse, saying to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (John 8:7.)

    And further, there is no evidence that the Savior granted to her forgiveness. He did send her away to repent.

    I do not find in the Bible the modern terms “petting” nor “homosexuality,” yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term “homosexuality,” but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed.

    And the Lord calls all such to repent. His words are most impressive:

    “Therefore I command you to repent–repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth…”

    And we refer the reader to the balance of that reference in D&C 19:15-18.

    We have stated that even this ugly practice can be overcome and can be forgiven. As one of many who might be considered authority, I quote one from the Medical World News, June 5, 1964:

    The effectiveness of therapy depends on the depth of entrenchment of the perversion, as well as the strength of the patient’s desire to modify it.

    This statement by the Public Health Committee of the New York Academy of Medicine agrees with our philosophy. Man is created in the image of God. He is a god in embryo. He has the seeds of godhood within him and he can, if he is normal, pick himself up by his bootstraps and literally move himself from where he is to where he knows he should be. As stated above, the longer the habit has been fostered, the harder it is to break.

    To clarify the matter for those who are honest, it must be stated that it is a “damnable heresy,” as Paul says, when men claim that “God made them that way,” or that such a life is just another different but acceptable way of life. All nature, reason, scripture and revelation cry out against such a claim. But it can be corrected and overcome. May I quote from a former article of my own: “Men have come dejected, discouraged, embarrassed, near terrified and have gone out later full of confidence and faith in themselves, with self-respect returned, with the confidence of their families, their home ties strengthened and ready to manfully take their part in proper society and even in the Church on an approved cured basis.

    “In some cases, they have been men with families, and we have had wives come in to tearfully thank us for bringing their husbands back to them. Wives have not always known what had been wrong, but they had sensed something serious and realized that they had lost their husbands. We have seen men come first with downward glances and leave months later looking us straight in the eye. We have had them admit after the first interview, ‘I am glad that I was arrested. I have tried and tried to correct my error but knew I would have to have help and had not the courage to ask for it.’ In a few months, some have totally mastered themselves, while others linger on with less power and requiring more time to make the total comeback. We realize that the cure is no more permanent than the individual makes it so, and is like the cure for alcoholism, subject to continued vigilance. To such men, we say, ‘Physician, heal thyself,’ and promise him if he will stay away from the haunts and the temptations and the former associates, he may heal himself, cleanse his mind, and return to his normal pursuits and a happy state. The cure for this malady lies in self-mastery, which is the fundamental basis of the whole gospel program.”

    “God made me that way,” some say, as they rationalize and excuse themselves for their perversions. “I can’t help it,” they add. This is blasphemy. Is he not made in the image of God, and does he think God to be “that way”? Man is responsible for his own sins. It is possible that he may rationalize and excuse himself until the groove is so deep he cannot get out without great difficulty, but this he can do. Temptations come to all people. The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted. It is true that one’s background may make the decision and accomplishment easier or more difficult, but if one is mentally alert, he can still control his future. That is the gospel message-personal responsibility.

    To the person blaming his perversions on his parents-man is punishable for his own sins. He can, if normal, rise above the frustrations of childhood and stand on his own feet and answer roll call.

    And if the yielding person continues to give way numerous times, he may finally reach the point of no return where he does not want to return. And the Lord says, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts .” (D&C 1:33 .)

    The doctors whose report is quoted above state without equivocation, “The homosexual is not a special order of creation.” (For further consideration of this subject, the reader is referred to the address “A Counseling Problem in the Church” by the same author, given to the seminary and institute instructors of the Church, July 16, 1964.) [Available only at the Office of Institutes and Seminaries, Brigham Young University.]

    And then, I found the 550 references to love. They had related generally to pure, holy love. Sometimes it was called charity. Lust and carnal desires were not mentioned. I found where Paul said that to have charity or real love is greater than to be a prophet, to understand mysteries, or to have great knowledge. It is greater than to have much faith, or extended power even to remove mountains. And in following the concordance on this subject of love, Paul contrasted the two four-letter words for Timothy:

    Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim. 2:22.)

    And Peter said that charity or love would cover a multitude of sins. (See 1 Pet. 4:8.)

    And from the Song of Solomon of Solomon comes this:

    For love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (Song of Solomon 8:6.)

    Jeremiah quotes the Lord: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” (Jer. 31:3.)

    And Ezekiel contrasts these words of love and lust:

    “The people . . . hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” (Ezek. 33:31.)

    As we speak of real love, a new concept comes into our minds: The Lord said:

    By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35.)

    And, He continues:

    This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13.)

    And John said:

    We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (1 Jn. 3:14.)

    And in the Beatitudes, the Lord said:

    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. (Matt. 5:43-44.)

    In none of these quotes is the slightest implication of bodily contact, of lust, of desire, of passion. Certainly, this is the test of love. It is honor and integrity and obedience.

    And Paul, speaking to the Saints, said: “Husbands, love your wives .”

    This is no carnal commandment. There is no sex in this command, for they were already legal partners.

    And then he continues:

    “…even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; . . . So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh …”(Ephesians 5:25, 28-29.).

    And as Paul continues, he says:

    For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. (Eph. 5:31.)

    The proper sexual life between husband and wife is only a part of this important commandment. When a man and a woman love the spouse as they love themselves, only rich and wonderful fruits come from such a tree.

    And Paul, speaking to Titus, exhorts:

    “The young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands….” (Titus 2:4-5.)

    Can you see anything vulgar, destructive, earthy, fleshly or carnal in any of these teachings? They loved their husbands and then their children. This real love has no lust involved. And then, we have the great examples:

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16.)

    This was the Savior of the world, who with His supreme love made the supreme sacrifice and gave a life that no one could take from Him, because He loved us so. This is love-sacred, holy love.

    And now, my dear young people, I have spoken frankly and boldly against the sins of the day. Even though I dislike such a subject, I believe it necessary to warn the youth against the onslaught of the arch tempter-who, with his army of emissaries and all the tools at his command, would destroy all the youth of Zion, largely through deception, misrepresentation, and lies.

    My beloved young folks, do not excuse petting and body intimacies. I am positive that if this illicit, illegal, improper, and lustful habit of “petting” could be wiped out, that fornication would soon be gone from our world. Remember what the Lord said:

    Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

    But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28.)

    And if there has been lust, repent of it and keep your minds clean, and convict yourself of serious evil if you permit your minds to dwell upon these forbidden things or your hands or bodies to yield to the call of lust.

    May I close with this scripture from Mormon:

    Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. (Morm. 9:28.)

    In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

    References

    References
    1 Spencer W. Kimball, ‘Love vs. Lust – https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/spencer-w-kimball_love-vs-lust/
  • King James Bible

    King James Bible

    King James Bible passages in the Book of Mormon: 1

    Note: Isaiah chapters 40+2, Malachi, and the verses from the New Testament were written after Lehi left Jerusalem in the Book of Mormon narrative.

    When entire verses are verbatim or near verbatim copies (as is often the case), only the references to the corresponding scriptures are provided.

    1 Nephi (600-570 BC)
    1 Nephi 1:14 
    “…Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!”
    Revelation 15:3
    “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty”
    1 Nephi 2:16 “…the mysteries of God…” 1 Cor. 4:1 “…the mysteries of God…”
    1 Nephi 2:24 “…to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance…”
    1 Nephi 3:2 “…Behold I have dreamed a dream…” Judges 7:13 “Behold, I dreamed a dream…”
    1 Nephi 3:20 “…spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets… since the world began…” Acts 3:21 “…spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”
    1 Nephi 4:13 “…It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.” John 11:50 “…it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.”
    1 Nephi 5:8 “…Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath…” Acts 12:11 “…Now I know of a surety, that the LORD hath…”
    1 Nephi 5:18, 11:36, 14:11, 19:17, 22:28 “…all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people…” Revelation 14:6 “…to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people…”
    1 Nephi 6:5 “…those who are not of the world.” John 17:14 “…they are not of the world…”
    1 Nephi 7:8, 15:4 “…being grieved for the hardness of their hearts…” Mark 3:5 “…being grieved for the hardness of their hearts…”
    1 Nephi 10:8 “…go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight…” John 1:23 “…I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord…”
    1 Nephi 10:8 “…there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” John 1:26-27 “…there standeth one among you, whom ye know not…whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.”
    1 Nephi 10:9 “…in Bethabara, beyond Jordan…” John 1:28 “…in Bethabara beyond Jordan…”
    1 Nephi 10:10 “…the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world.” John 1:29 “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
    1 Nephi 10:18 “…he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever…” Hebrews 13:8 “…Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    1 Nephi 10:18 “…the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world…” Matthew 25:34 “…the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…”
    1 Nephi 11:7 “…bear record that it is the Son of God.” John 1:34 “…bare record that this is the Son of God.”
    1 Nephi 11:22 “…it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts…” Romans 5:5 “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts…”
    1 Nephi 11:35, 12:9, 13:41, 14:20, 24, 25, 27 “…the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:14 “…the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
    1 Nephi 12:2, 12:21, 14:15 “…wars, and rumors of wars…” Matthew 24:6 “…wars and rumours of wars…”
    1 Nephi 12:10 “…their garments are made white in his blood.” Revelation 7:14 “…their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
    1 Nephi 13:27 “…pervert the right ways of the Lord…” Acts 13:10 “…pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
    1 Nephi 13:42 “…the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” Matthew 19:30 “…first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”
    1 Nephi 14:10 “…the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” Revelation 17:5 “…THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
    1 Nephi 14:11 “…the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters…” Revelation 17:1 “…the great whore that sitteth upon many waters…”
    1 Nephi 15:15 “…the true vine…” John 15:1 “…I am the true vine…”
    1 Nephi 15:24 “…the fiery darts of the adversary…” Ephesians 6:16 “…the fiery darts of the wicked.”
    1 Nephi 15:30 “…ascendeth up unto God forever and ever…” Revelation 14:11 “…the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…”
    1 Nephi 16:2 “…lifted up at the last day…” John 6:40 “…I will raise him up at the last day.”
    1 Nephi 17:39 “He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.” Isaiah 66:1 “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…”
    1 Nephi 17:55 “…honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.” Exodus 20:12 “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
    1 Nephi 20:20, 21 Isaiah 48:20, 21
    1 Nephi 22:15 “For behold…the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.” Malachi 4:1 “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up…”
    1 Nephi 22:17 “…they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:15 “…but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
    1 Nephi 22:18 “…blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke…” Acts 2:19 “…blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke…”
    1 Nephi 22:20 “…A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.” Acts 3:22-23 “…A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”
    1 Nephi 22:25 “…there shall be one fold and one shepherd…” John 10:16 “…there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
    1 Nephi 22:31 “…endure to the end, ye shall be saved…” Matthew 24:13 “…endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
    2 Nephi (588-545 BC)
    2 Nephi 2:4 “…the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 “…the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    2 Nephi 2:6 “…full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 “…full of grace and truth.”
    2 Nephi 2:9 “…the first-fruits unto God…” Revelation 14:4 “…the firstfruits unto God…”
    2 Nephi 4:17 “…O wretched man that I am!” Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am!”
    2 Nephi 4:18 “I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.” Hebrews 12:1 “…seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…”
    2 Nephi 5:25 “…to stir them up in remembrance of me…” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance…”
    2 Nephi 6:6, 16-18 Isaiah 49:22, 24-26
    2 Nephi 6:9 “…manifest himself unto them in the flesh…” 1 Timothy 3:16 “…God was manifest in the flesh…”
    2 Nephi 7 Isaiah 50
    2 Nephi 8 Isaiah 51-52
    2 Nephi 9:6 “…death hath passed upon all men…” Romans 5:12 “…death passed upon all men…”
    2 Nephi 9:7 “…this corruption could not put on incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:53 “…this corruptible must put on incorruption…”
    2 Nephi 9:12 “…death and hell must deliver up their dead…” Revelation 20:13“…death and hell delivered up the dead…”
    2 Nephi 9:15 “…must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel…” 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”
    2 Nephi 9:16 “…they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still…” Revelation 22:11 “…he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still…”
    2 Nephi 9:18 “…endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame…” Hebrews 12:2 “…endured the cross, despising the shame…”
    2 Nephi 9:18 “…inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world…” Matthew 25:34 “…inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…”
    2 Nephi 9:18 “…their joy shall be full…” John 15:11 “…that your joy might be full.”
    2 Nephi 9:30 “But wo unto the rich…” Luke 6:24 “But woe unto you that are rich!”
    2 Nephi 9:33 “Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart…” Acts 7:51 “…uncircumcised in heart…”
    2 Nephi 9:34, 36 “…shall be thrust down to hell.” Luke 10:15 “…shalt be thrust down to hell.”
    2 Nephi 9:39 “…to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life…” Romans 8:6 “…to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life…”
    2 Nephi 9:42 “…whoso knocketh, to him will he open…” Matthew 7:8 “…to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
    2 Nephi 9:50, 51 Isaiah 55:1, 2
    2 Nephi 10:9 Isaiah 49:23
    2 Nephi 10:16 “…both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female…” Galatians 3:28 “…neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female…”
    2 Nephi 10:16 “…they who are not for me are against me…” Matthew 12:30 “He that is not with me is against me…”
    2 Nephi 12 Isaiah 2
    2 Nephi 13 Isaiah 3
    2 Nephi 14 Isaiah 4
    2 Nephi 15 Isaiah 5
    2 Nephi 16 Isaiah 6
    2 Nephi 17 Isaiah 7
    2 Nephi 18 Isaiah 8
    2 Nephi 19 Isaiah 9
    2 Nephi 20 Isaiah 10
    2 Nephi 21 Isaiah 11
    2 Nephi 22 Isaiah 12
    2 Nephi 23 Isaiah 13
    2 Nephi 24 Isaiah 14
    2 Nephi 25:12 “…wars, and rumors of wars…” Matthew 24:6 “…wars and rumours of wars…”
    2 Nephi 25:12 “…the Only Begotten of the Father…” John 1:14 “…the only begotten of the Father…”
    2 Nephi 25:13 “…rise from the dead, with healing in his wings…” Malachi 4:2 “…arise with healing in his wings…”
    2 Nephi 25:20 “…there is none other name given under heaven…whereby man can be saved.” Acts 4:12 “…there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
    2 Nephi 25:29 “..shall in nowise be cast out.” John 6:37 “…I will in no wise cast out.”
    2 Nephi 26:9 “…the Son of righteousness shall appear…” Malachi 4:2 “…shall the Sun of righteousness arise…”
    2 Nephi 26:11 “…the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3 “…My spirit shall not always strive with man…”
    2 Nephi 26:12 “…Jesus is the very Christ…” John 7:26 “…that this is the very Christ?”
    2 Nephi 26:13, 30:8 “…every nation, kindred, tongue, and people…” Revelation 14:6 “…to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people…”
    2 Nephi 26:16 “…shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit…that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.” Isaiah 29:4 “And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.”
    2 Nephi 26:25 “…buy milk and honey, without money and without price.” Isaiah 55:1 “…buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
    2 Nephi 26:30 “…except they should have charity they were nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2 “…and have not charity, I am nothing.”
    2 Nephi 26:33 “…bond and free, male and female…both Jew and Gentile.” Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female…”
    2 Nephi 27:2 “…they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.” Isaiah 29:6 “Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.”
    2 Nephi 27:4 “…stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.” Isaiah 29:9 “Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.”
    2 Nephi 27:5 “For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered…” Isaiah 29:10 “For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.”
    2 Nephi 27:15, 17 “…Read this, I pray thee…And the man shall say: I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.” Isaiah 29:11 “…Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed…”
    2 Nephi 27:19 “…deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.” Isaiah 29:12 “And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.”
    2 Nephi 27:23 “…the same yesterday, today, and forever…” Hebrews 13:8 “…the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    2 Nephi 27:25-34  Isaiah 29:13-23
    2 Nephi 28:15 “…pervert the right way of the Lord…” Acts 13:10 “…wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
    2 Nephi 28:15 “…they shall be thrust down to hell!” Luke 10:15 “And thou…shalt be thrust down to hell.”
    2 Nephi 28:23 “…even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.” Revelation 20:10 “…into the lake of fire and brimstone…tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
    2 Nephi 28:30 “…line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little…” Isaiah 28:10 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”
    2 Nephi 28:30 “…unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.” Matthew 13:12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”
    2 Nephi 29:9 “…the same yesterday, today, and forever…” Hebrews 13:8 “…the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    2 Nephi 29:11 “…out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works…” Revelation 20:12 “…the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
    2 Nephi 30:9 Isaiah 11:4
    2 Nephi 30:11-15 Isaiah 11:5-9
    2 Nephi 31:4 “…the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.” John 1:29 “…the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
    2 Nephi 31:5 “…to fulfil all righteousness…” Matthew 3:15 “…to fulfil all righteousness…”
    2 Nephi 31:9 “…the straightness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate…” Matthew 7:14 “…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way…”
    2 Nephi 31:10 “…Follow thou me.” John 21:22 “…follow thou me.”
    2 Nephi 31:11 “…repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.” Acts 2:38 “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…”
    2 Nephi 31:13 “…speak with the tongue of angels…” 1 Corinthians 13:1 “…I speak with the tongues of men and of angels…”
    2 Nephi 31:14 “…can speak with a new tongue…” Mark 16:17 “…they shall speak with new tongues…”
    2 Nephi 31:15 “…He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13 “…he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
    2 Nephi 31:18 “…strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life…” Matthew 7:14 “…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life…”
    2 Nephi 31:21 “…there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved…” Acts 4:12 “…for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
    2 Nephi 32:2 “…speak with the tongue of angels…” 1 Corinthians 13:1 “…speak with the tongues of men and of angels…”
    2 Nephi 32:9 “…pray always, and not faint…” Luke 18:1 “…always to pray, and not to faint…”
    2 Nephi 33:9 “…enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life…” Matthew 7:13, 14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate…Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life…”
    Jacob (544-421 BC)
    Jacob 3:11 “…that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8 “…in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
    Jacob 5:42 “…these which have once brought forth good fruit…are good for nothing save it be to be hewn down and cast into the fire.” Matthew 3:10 “…every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
    Jacob 5:47 “…what could I have done more in my vineyard?” Isaiah 5:4 “What could have been done more to my vineyard…”
    Jacob 5:47 “…I have digged about it… and I have dunged it…” Luke 13:8 “…I shall dig about it, and dung it:”
    Jacob 5:49 “…they shall not cumber the ground…” Luke 13:7 “…why cumbereth it the ground?”
    Jacob 5:63 “…the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last…” Matthew 19:30 “…first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”
    Jacob 6:4 “…he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people;” Romans 10:21 “…All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”
    Jacob 6:6 “…today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts…” Hebrews 3:7, 8 “…To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts…”
    Jacob 6:10 “…whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever…endless torment.” Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…”
    Jacob 6:11 “…enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life.” Matthew 7:13, 14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate…narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life…”
    Enos (544-420 BC)
    Enos 1:1 “…in the nurture and admonition of the Lord…” Ephesians 6:4 “…in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
    Enos 1:8 “…thy faith hath made thee whole.” Matthew 9:22 “…thy faith hath made thee whole.”
    Enos 1:15 “…Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.” Matthew 21:22 “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
    Enos 1:27 “…my mortal shall put on immortality…” 1 Corinthians 15:53 “…this mortal must put on immortality.”
    Enos 1:27 “…Come unto me, ye blessed…of my Father.” Matthew 25:34 “…Come, ye blessed of my Father…”
    Enos 1:27 “…there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father.” John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you.”
    Omni (361-130 BC)
    Omni 1:26 “…endure to the end…ye will be saved.” Matthew 24:13 “…endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
    Mosiah (130-91 BC)
    Mosiah 1:12 “…name that never shall be blotted out…” Revelation 3:5 “…I will not blot out his name out of the book of life…”
    Mosiah 1:17 “…to stir them up in remembrance…” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;”
    Mosiah 3:5 “…the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth…” Revelation 19:6 “…the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
    Mosiah 3:13 “…to every kindred, nation, and tongue…” Revelation 14:6 “…to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people…”
    Mosiah 3:17 “…there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come…” Acts 4:12 “…salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
    Mosiah 3:18 “…become as little children…” Matthew 18:3 “…become as little children…”
    Mosiah 3:27 “…their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever.” Revelation 14:10, 11 “…he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels…And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…”
    Mosiah 4:6 “…prepared from the foundation of the world…” Matthew 25:34 “…prepared for you from the foundation of the world…”
    Mosiah 4:9 “…believe that he is…” Hebrews 11:6 “…believe that he is…”
    Mosiah 5:8 “…There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh;” Acts 4:12 “…there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
    Mosiah 5:13 “…the thoughts and intents of his heart…” Hebrews 4:12 “…the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
    Mosiah 5:15 “…ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works…” 1 Corinthians 15:58 “…be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”
    Mosiah 5:15 “…the Lord God Omnipotent…” Revelation 19:6 “…the Lord God omnipotent…”
    Mosiah 6:3 “…to stir them up in remembrance…” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;”
    Mosiah 7:30 “…they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind…” Hosea 8:7 “…they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…”
    Mosiah 10:8 “…a leathern girdle about their loins.” Matthew 3:4 “…a leathern girdle about his loins…”
    Mosiah 12:21-24 Isaiah 52:7-10
    Mosiah 12:34-36 Exodus 20:2-4
    Mosiah 13:12-24 Exodus 20:4-17
    Mosiah 14:1-12 Isaiah 53:1-12
    Mosiah 15:14 “…who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!” Isaiah 52:7 “…him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”
    Mosiah 15:29-31 Isaiah 52:8-10
    Mosiah 16:2 “…the wicked be cast out…and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth…” Matthew 22:13 “…cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
    Mosiah 16:3 “…that old serpent…” Revelation 20:2 “…that old serpent…”
    Mosiah 16:3 “…serpent that did beguile our first parents…” 2 Corinthians 11:3 “…the serpent beguiled Eve…”
    Mosiah 16:3 “…carnal, sensual, devilish…” James 3:15 “…earthly, sensual, devilish.”
    Mosiah 16:7 “…that death should have no sting…” 1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting?”
    Mosiah 16:8 “…death is swallowed up in Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:54 “…Death is swallowed up in victory.”
    Mosiah 16:9 “He is the light and the life of the world…” John 8:12 “…I am the light of the world…”
    Mosiah 16:10 “…this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption…” 1 Corinthians 15:53 “…this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
    Mosiah 16:11 “If they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of endless damnation…” John 5:29 “And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
    Mosiah 16:14 “…it is a shadow of those things which are to come…” Colossians 2:17 “Which are a shadow of things to come…”
    Mosiah 18:13 “…prepared from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34 “…the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”
    Mosiah 18:21 “…one faith and one baptism…” Ephesians 4:5 “…one faith, one baptism,”
    Mosiah 18:21 “…their hearts knit together in unity and in love…” Colossians 2:2 “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love…”
    Mosiah 23:13 “…stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free…” Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free…”
    Mosiah 26:27 “And then I will confess unto them that I never knew them…” Matthew 7:23 “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you…”
    Mosiah 26:27 “…depart into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41 “…Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
    Mosiah 26:37 “…walking circumspectly…” Ephesians 5:15 “…walk circumspectly…”
    Mosiah 26:39 “…pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all things.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18 “Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks…”
    Mosiah 27:29 “…the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity.” Acts 8:23 “…in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”
    Mosiah 27:31 “…every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess…” Philippians 2:10, 11 “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…And that every tongue should confess…”
    Alma (91-53 BC)
    Alma 1:25 “…stand fast in the faith…” 1 Corinthians 16:13 “…stand fast in the faith…”
    Alma 1:25 “…they were steadfast and immovable…” 1 Corinthians 15:58 “…be ye stedfast, unmoveable…”
    Alma 4:19 “…to stir them up in remembrance…” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;”
    Alma 5:15 “…this corruption raised in incorruption…” 1 Corinthians 15:42 “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:”
    Alma 5:24 “…sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob…” Matthew 8:11 “…sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
    Alma 5:27 “…garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ…” Revelation 7:14 “…have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
    Alma 5:50 “…Repent…for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand…” Matthew 3:2 “…Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
    Alma 5:35 “…hewn down and cast into the fire…” Matthew 3:10 “…hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
    Alma 5:48 “…the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth.” John 1:14 “…the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
    Alma 9:26 “…the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth…” John 1:14 “…the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
    Alma 5:48 “…it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world…” John 1:29 “…the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
    Alma 5:48 “…believeth on his name.” John 1:12 “…believe on his name:”
    Alma 5:54 “…bring forth works which are meet for repentance—“ Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”
    Alma 12:15 “…bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.” Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”
    Alma 5:57 “…come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things…” 2 Corinthians 6:17 “…come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”
    Alma 7:9 “…Repent ye…the kingdom of heaven is at hand…” Matthew 3:2 “…Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
    Alma 7:14 “…if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven…” John 3:3 “…Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
    Alma 7:14 “…the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world…” John 1:29 “…the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
    Alma 7:14 “…to cleanse from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 “…to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
    Alma 7:15 “…lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you…” Hebrews 12:1 “…let us lay aside…the sin which doth so easily beset us…”
    Alma 7:20 “…neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning…” James 1:17 “…the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
    Alma 7:21 “…he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.” Revelation 22:11 “…he which is filthy, let him be filthy still…”
    Alma 7:24 “…see that ye have faith, hope, and charity…” 1 Corinthians 13:13 “…now abideth faith, hope, charity…”
    Alma 7:24 “…ye will always abound in good works.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 “…ye… may abound to every good work:”
    Alma 7:25 “…sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…in the kingdom of heaven…” Matthew 8:11 “…sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
    Alma 9:20 “…every other nation, kindred, tongue, or people…” Revelation 14:6 “…every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”
    Alma 37:4 “…every nation, kindred, tongue, and people…” Revelation 14:6 “…every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”
    Alma 9:25 “…Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;” Matthew 4:17 “…Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
    Alma 10:20 “…repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 “…Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
    Alma 9:26 “…his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth…” John 1:14 “…(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
    Alma 10:17 “…O ye wicked and perverse generation…” Matthew 17:17 “…O faithless and perverse generation…”
    Alma 11:39 “…he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last;” Revelation 22:13 “…the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
    Alma 12:8 “…resurrection of the dead…both the just and the unjust…” Acts 24:15 “…resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”
    Alma 12:16 “…a second death…” Revelation 20:14 “…the second death.”
    Alma 12:17 “…their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever…” Revelation 14:10, 11 “…he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone…And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…”
    Alma 12:27 “…it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment…” Hebrews 9:27 “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
    Alma 12:35 “…I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.” Hebrews 3:11 “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)”
    Alma 13:9 “…priests forever, after the order of the Son…” Hebrews 5:6 “…Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
    Alma 13:9 “…full of grace, equity, and truth…” John 1:14 “…full of grace and truth.”
    Alma 13:13 “…bring forth fruit meet for repentance…” Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”
    Alma 13:15 “…this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes…” Hebrews 7:1, 2 “…this Melchisedec…To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all…”
    Alma 13:20 “…the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:16 “…they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
    Alma 13:22 “…glad tidings of great joy…among all his people…” Luke 2:10 “…good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
    Alma 13:28 “…watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted…” Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation…”
    Alma 13:28 “…tempted above that which ye can bear…” 1 Corinthians 10:13 “…tempted above that ye are able…to bear…”
    Alma 18:13 “…said unto him, Rabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king…” John 1:38 “…said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master…”
    Alma 18:32 “…the thoughts and intents of the heart…” Hebrews 4:12 “…the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
    Alma 19:9 “…Believest thou this?…” John 11:26 “…Believest thou this?”
    Alma 19:10 “…there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.” Luke 7:9 “…I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”
    Alma 21:6 “…except we repent we shall perish…” Luke 13:3 “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
    Alma 25:6 “…to be stirred up in remembrance…” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;”
    Alma 26:5 “…thrust in the sickle, and did reap…” Revelation 14:15 “…Thrust in thy sickle, and reap…”
    Alma 26:7 “…he will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:40 “…I will raise him up at the last day.”
    Alma 30:46 “…grieved because of the hardness of your heart…” Mark 3:5 “…being grieved for the hardness of their hearts…”
    Alma 31:11 “…they did pervert the ways of the Lord…” Acts 13:10 “…cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
    Alma 31:17 “…the same yesterday, today, and forever…” Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    Alma 31:37 “…taking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on.” Matthew 6:25 “…Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on…”
    Alma 32:13 “…he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13 “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
    Alma 32:21 “…if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen…” Hebrews 11:1 “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
    Alma 32:38 “…and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away…” Matthew 13:6 “And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”
    Alma 32:41 “…springing up unto everlasting life.” John 4:14 “…springing up into everlasting life.”
    Alma 34:13 “…yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle…” Matthew 5:18 “…one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
    Alma 34:29 “…cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.” Matthew 5:13 “…good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
    Alma 34:38 “…worship God…in spirit and in truth…” John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
    Alma 36:18 “…who am in the gall of bitterness…” Acts 8:23 “…thou art in the gall of bitterness…”
    Alma 37:15 “…delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind.” Luke 22:31 “…Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:”
    Alma 37:34 “…be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.” Matthew 11:29 “…I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
    Alma 38:9 “…he is the life and the light of the world…” John 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
    Alma 39:9 “…the lusts of your eyes…” 1 John 2:16 “…the lust of the eyes…”
    Alma 40:2 “…this mortal does not put on immortality, this corruption does not put on incorruption…” 1 Corinthians 15:53 “…this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
    Alma 41:4 “…mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption…” 1 Corinthians 15:53 “…this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
    Alma 40:13 “…cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth…” Matthew 22:13 “…cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
    Alma 40:14 “…fearful looking for the fiery indignation…” Hebrews 10:27 “…fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation…”
    Alma 40:25 “…then shall the righteous shine forth…” Matthew 13:43 “Then shall the righteous shine forth…”
    Alma 41:11 “…are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity…” Acts 8:23 “…art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”
    Alma 41:11 “…without God in the world…” Ephesians 2:12 “…without God in the world:”
    Alma 42:2 Genesis 3:23, 24
    Alma 42:27 “…whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely…” Revelation 22:17 “…whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
    Alma 43:10 “…worship God in spirit and in truth…” John 4:24 “…worship him in spirit and in truth.”
    Alma 58:40 “…stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free…” Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free…”
    Helaman (52-1 BC)
    Helaman 3:29 “…the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder…” Hebrews 4:12 “…the word of God is quick, and powerful…even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit…”
    Helaman 3:30 “…at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob…” Matthew 8:11 “…shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”
    Helaman 5:8 “…lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven…” Matthew 6:20 “…lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
    Helaman 5:32 “…Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…” Matthew 3:2 “…Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
    Helaman 5:44 “…that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:8 “…with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”
    Helaman 7:28 “…except ye repent ye shall perish…” Luke 13:3 “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
    Helaman 8:14 “…as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.” John 3:14 “…as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:”
    Helaman 8:25 “…laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where nothing doth corrupt…” Matthew 6:20 “…lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt…”
    Helaman 9:21 “…ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people…” Acts 7:51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears…”
    Helaman 10:7 “…whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven…” Matthew 16:19 “…whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
    Helaman 10:8 “…say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain…” Matthew 27:51 “…the veil of the temple was rent in twain…”
    Helaman 10:9 “…ye shall say unto this mountain…” Matthew 17:20 “…ye shall say unto this mountain…”
    Helaman 11:4 “…to stir them up in remembrance…” 2 Peter 1:13 “…to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;”
    Helaman 12:26 “…They that have done good shall have everlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation…” John 5:29 “…they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
    Helaman 13:25 “…If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets…” Matthew 23:30 “…If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”
    Helaman 13:29 “O ye wicked and ye perverse generation…” Matthew 17:17 “…O faithless and perverse generation…”
    Helaman 13:29 “…foolish and blind guides…” Matthew 23:16 “…ye blind guides…”
    Helaman 13:29 “…ye choose darkness rather than light?” John 3:19 “…men loved darkness rather than light…”
    Helaman 14:25 “And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many.” Matthew 27:52, 53 “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
    Helaman 15:1 “…your houses shall be left unto you desolate.” Matthew 23:38 “…your house is left unto you desolate.”
    Helaman 15:2 “…wo unto them which are with child…” Matthew 24:19 “…woe unto them that are with child…”
    Helaman 15:5 “…and they do walk circumspectly…” Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly…”
    Helaman 16:14 “And angels did appear unto men, wise men, and did declare unto them glad tidings of great joy…” Luke 2:10 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…”
    3 Nephi (1-35 AD)
    3 Nephi 1:13 “…the time is at hand…” Revelation 22:10 “…the time is at hand.”
    3 Nephi 1:25 “…that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it should all be fulfilled…” Matthew 5:18 “…one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
    3 Nephi 6:14 “…and steadfast, and immovable…” 1 Corinthians 15:58 “…be ye stedfast, unmoveable…”
    3 Nephi 7:8 “…like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow to her wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:22 “…The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
    3 Nephi 9:13 “…be converted, that I may heal you?” John 12:40 “…be converted, and I should heal them.”
    3 Nephi 9:15 “…I am in the Father, and the Father in me…” John 14:11 “…I am in the Father, and the Father in me…”
    3 Nephi 9:16 “I came unto my own, and my own received me not…” John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
    3 Nephi 9:17 “And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name…” John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
    3 Nephi 9:18 “I am the light and the life of the world…” John 8:12 “…I am the light of the world…”
    3 Nephi 9:18 “…I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
    3 Nephi 10:4 “…how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…” Matthew 23:37 “…how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…”
    3 Nephi 10:5 “…how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens…” Matthew 23:37 “…how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…”
    3 Nephi 11:7 “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…hear ye him.” Matthew 17:5 “…This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”
    3 Nephi 11:11 “…I am the light and the life of the world…” John 8:12 “…I am the light of the world…”
    3 Nephi 11:25 “…baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” Matthew 28:19 “…baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
    3 Nephi 11:27 “…the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one…” 1 John 5:7 “…the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.:”
    3 Nephi 11:27 “…I am in the Father, and the Father in me…” John 14:11 “…I am in the Father, and the Father in me…”
    3 Nephi 11:27 “…the Father and I are one.” John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
    3 Nephi 11:32 “…the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent…” Acts 17:30 “…God…commandeth all men every where to repent:”
    3 Nephi 11:33 “…whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved…” Mark 16:16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…”
    3 Nephi 11:34 “…whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.” Mark 16:16 “…but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
    3 Nephi 11:36 “…the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.” 1 John 5:7 “…the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.:”
    3 Nephi 11:39 “…whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” Matthew 16:18 “…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
    3 Nephi 12:1 “…baptize you with water…baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” Matthew 3:11 “…baptize you with water…baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”
    3 Nephi 12:3-45 Matthew 5:3-45
    3 Nephi 12:47 “Old things are done away, and all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 “…old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
    3 Nephi 12:48 Matthew 5:48
    3 Nephi 13:1-34 Matthew 6:1-34
    3 Nephi 14:1-27 Matthew 7:1-27
    3 Nephi 15:1 “…him will I raise up at the last day.” John 6:44 “…I will raise him up at the last day.”
    3 Nephi 15:2 “…old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 “…old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
    3 Nephi 15:9 “…endure to the end, and ye shall live…” Matthew 24:13 “…endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
    3 Nephi 15:17 “That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:16 “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
    3 Nephi 16:15 “…salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot…” Matthew 5:13 “…the salt have lost his savour…it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”
    3 Nephi 16:18-20 Isaiah 52:8-10
    3 Nephi 18:13 “…built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall…” Matthew 7:27 “…built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell…”
    3 Nephi 18:15 “…watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted…” Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation…”
    3 Nephi 18:18 “…watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation…” Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation…”
    3 Nephi 18:18 “…Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” Luke 22:31 “…Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:”
    3 Nephi 18:29 “…whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul…” 1 Corinthians 11:29 “…he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself…”
    3 Nephi 18:35 “…it is expedient that I should go…” John 16:7 “…It is expedient for you that I go…”
    3 Nephi 19:23 “…I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.” John 17:20-21 “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us…”
    3 Nephi 19:29 “…I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me…that I may be glorified in them.” John 17:9, 10 “…I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me…and I am glorified in them.”
    3 Nephi 20:16, 17 Micah 5:8, 9
    3 Nephi 20:18, 19 Micah 4:12
    3 Nephi 20:23-26 Acts 3:22-26
    3 Nephi 21:8 “…kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.” Isaiah 52:15 “…kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”
    3 Nephi 21:9 “…the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them…” Isaiah 29:14 “…I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder…”
    3 Nephi 21:12-18 Micah 5:8-14
    3 Nephi 21:29 “…they  shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.” Isaiah 52:12 “…ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.”
    3 Nephi 22:1-17 Isaiah 54:1-17
    3 Nephi 24:1-18 Malachi 3:1-18
    3 Nephi 25:1-6 Malachi 4:1-6
    3 Nephi 26:3 “…the elements should melt with fervent heat…” 2 Peter 3:12 “…the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”
    3 Nephi 26:3 “…and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll…” Revelation 6:14 “…the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together…”
    3 Nephi 26:3 “…the heavens and the earth should pass away;” Revelation 21:1 “…the first heaven and the first earth were passed away…”
    3 Nephi 26:4 “…all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues…” Revelation 11:9 “…the people and kindreds and tongues and nations…”
    3 Nephi 26:4 “…stand before God, to be judged of their works…” Revelation 20:12 “…stand before God…judged…according to their works.”
    3 Nephi 26:5 “If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation…” John 5:29 “…they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
    3 Nephi 26:18 “…and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.” 2 Corinthians 12:4 “…and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
    3 Nephi 26:19 “…they had all things common…” Acts 4:32 “…they had all things common.”
    3 Nephi 27:6 “…whoso…endureth to the end, the same shall be saved…” Matthew 24:13 “…he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
    3 Nephi 27:14 “…I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me…” John 12:32 “…I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
    3 Nephi 27:29 “…ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
    3 Nephi 27:33 “…Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein…” Matthew 7:13, 14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
    3 Nephi 27:33 “…the night cometh, wherein no man can work.” John 9:4 “…the night cometh, when no man can work.”
    3 Nephi 28:8 “…ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality…” 1 Corinthians 15:52-53 “…in the twinkling of an eye…we shall be changed…this mortal must put on immortality.”
    3 Nephi 28:10 “…the Father and I are one;” John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
    3 Nephi 28:13 “…caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.” 2 Corinthians 12:2,4 “…caught up to the third heaven…and heard unspeakable words…”
    3 Nephi 28:15 “…whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell…” 2 Corinthians 12:3 “…whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell…”
    3 Nephi 28:29 “…all nations, kindreds, tongues and people…” Revelation 14:6 “…every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”
    3 Nephi 28:31 “…all people must surely stand before the judgment-seat of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 5:10 “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;”
    4 Nephi (36-321 AD)
    4 Nephi 1:3 “…they had all things common…” Acts 2:44 “…and had all things common;”
    4 Nephi 1:3 “…bond and free…” Galatians 3:28 “…neither bond nor free…”
    4 Nephi 1:3 “…partakers of the heavenly gift.” Hebrews 6:4 “…tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers…”
    4 Nephi 1:30 “…were rent in twain…” Matthew 27:51 “…was rent in twain…”
    Mormon (322-421 AD)
    Mormon 3:15 “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay…” Romans 12:19 “…Vengeance is mine; I will repay…”
    Mormon 3:20 “…ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ…and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;” 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
    Mormon 6:21 “…mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible…” 1 Corinthians 15:53 “…this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
    Mormon 6:21 “…ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 5:10 “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”
    Mormon 7:5 “…gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.” 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55 “…Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?”
    Mormon 7:8 “…repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus…” Acts 2:38 “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…”
    Mormon 7:9 “…this is written for the intent that ye may believe that…” John 20:31 “…these are written, that ye might believe…”
    Mormon 8:20 “…saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.” Romans 12:19 “…Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
    Mormon 8:30 “And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.” Matthew 24:6,7 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars… in divers places.”
    Mormon 8:31 “…in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.” Acts 8:23 “…in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”
    Mormon 9:2 “…the elements shall melt with fervent heat…” 2 Peter 3:10 “…the elements shall melt with fervent heat…”
    Mormon 9:9 “…God is the same yesterday, today, and forever…” Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    Mormon 9:9 “…in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?” James 1:17 “…with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
    Mormon 9:14 “…he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still…” Revelation 22:11 “…he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still…”
    Mormon 9:22-24 Mark 16:15-18
    Mormon 9:27 “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…” Philippians 2:12 “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
    Mormon 9:29 “…endure to the end…” Matthew 24:13 “…endure unto the end…”
    Mormon 9:29 “…will in nowise be cast out.” John 6:37 “…will in no wise cast out.
    Ether (2200-600 BC)
    Ether 4:11 “…the manifestations of my Spirit…” 1 Corinthians 12:7 “…the manifestation of the Spirit…”
    Ether 4:18 “…he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned…” Mark 16:16 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
    Ether 4:18 “…and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.” Mark 16:17 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name…”
    Ether 4:19 “…the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34 “…the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…”
    Ether 12:4 “…an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast…” Hebrews 6:19 “…an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast…”
    Ether 12:6 “…faith is things which are hoped for and not seen…” Hebrews 11:1 “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
    Ether 12:8 “…partakers of the heavenly gift…” Hebrews 6:4 “…tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers…”
    Ether 12:11 “…God prepared a more excellent way…” 1 Corinthians 12:31 “…yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”
    Ether 12:35 “…and take away their talent…” Matthew 25:28 “Take therefore the talent from him…”
    Moroni (400-421 AD)
    Moroni 6:1 “…brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy…” Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance…”
    Moroni 6:2 “…a broken heart and a contrite spirit…” Psalms 51:17 “…a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart…”
    Moroni 6:4 “…Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.” Hebrews 12:2 “…Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”
    Moroni 6:7 “…their names were blotted out…” Revelation 3:5 “…I will not blot out his name…”
    Moroni 7:1 “…faith, hope, and charity…” 1 Corinthians 13:13 “…faith, hope, charity…”
    Moroni 7:6 “…it profiteth him nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:3 “…it profiteth me nothing.”
    Moroni 7:7 “…it is not counted unto him for righteousness.” Romans 4:3 “…it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
    Moroni 7:16 “…the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil…” 1 Corinthians 12:7 “…the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”
    Moroni 7:17 “…no man to do good, no, not one…” Romans 3:12 “…none that doeth good, no, not one.”
    Moroni 7:18 “…with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.” Matthew 7:2 “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged…”
    Moroni 7:26 “…Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name…it shall be done unto you.” John 16:23 “…Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”
    Moroni 7:26 “…Whatsoever thing ye shall ask…believing that ye shall receive…” Matthew 21:22 “…all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
    Moroni 7:34 “…Repent…and be baptized in my name…” Acts 2:38 “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…”
    Moroni 7:39 “…I judge better things of you…” Hebrews 6:9 “…we are persuaded better things of you…”
    Moroni 7:43 “…he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.” Matthew 11:29 “…I am meek and lowly in heart…”
    Moroni 7:44 “…if he have not charity he is nothing…” 1 Corinthians 13:2 “…and have not charity, I am nothing.”
    Moroni 7:45 “And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;”
    Moroni 7:46 “…if ye have not charity, ye are nothing…” 1 Corinthians 13:2 “…and have not charity, I am nothing.”
    Moroni 7:46 “…charity never faileth…” 1 Corinthians 13:8 “Charity never faileth…”
    Moroni 7:46 “…charity, which is the greatest of all…” 1 Corinthians 13:13 “…the greatest of these is charity.”
    Moroni 7:48 “…love, which he hath bestowed upon all… that ye may become the sons of God…”” 1 John 3:1 “…what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us… that we should be called the sons of God…”
    Moroni 7:48 “…when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is…” 1 John 3:2 “…when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
    Moroni 7:48 “…that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3 “…every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
    Moroni 8:3 “…the name of his Holy Child, Jesus…” Acts 4:30 “…the name of thy holy child Jesus.”
    Moroni 8:8 “…the whole need no physician, but they that are sick…” Matthew 9:12 “…They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick…”
    Moroni 8:14 “…in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity…” Acts 8:23 “…in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”
    Moroni 8:16 “…them that shall 1pervert the ways of the Lord…” Acts 13:10 “…wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
    Moroni 8:16 “…for they shall perish except they repent…” Luke 13:3 “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
    Moroni 8:16 “…perfect love casteth out all fear.” 1 John 4:18 “…but perfect love casteth out fear…”
    Moroni 9:6 “…the enemy of all righteousness…” Acts 13:10 “…thou enemy of all righteousness…”
    Moroni 9:22 “…they must perish except they repent…” Luke 13:3 “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
    Moroni 10:8 “…deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God…” 1 Corinthians 12:4 “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.”
    Moroni 10:8 “…And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.” 1 Corinthians 12:5-7 “And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”
    Moroni 10:9 “…to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;” 1 Corinthians 12:8 “…to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom…”
    Moroni 10:10 “…to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;” 1 Corinthians 12:8 “…to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;”
    Moroni 10:11 “…to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;” 1 Corinthians 12:9 “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;”
    Moroni 10:12 “…to another, that he may work mighty miracles;” 1 Corinthians 12:10 “To another the working of miracles…”
    Moroni 10:13 “…to another, that he may prophesy…” 1 Corinthians 12:10 “…to another prophecy…”
    Moroni 10:14 “…to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;” 1 Corinthians 12:10 “…to another discerning of spirits…”
    Moroni 10:15 “…to another, all kinds of tongues;” 1 Corinthians 12:10 “…to another divers kinds of tongues…”
    Moroni 10:16 “…to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:10 “…to another the interpretation of tongues.”
    Moroni 10:17 “…all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:11 “…all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
    Moroni 10:19 “…he is the same yesterday, today, and forever…” Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
    Moroni 10:20 “…there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three…”
    Moroni 10:25 “…there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one…” Romans 3:12 “…there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
    Moroni 10:31 “…awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion…” Isaiah 52:1 “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem…”
    Moroni 10:32 “…then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect…” 2 Corinthians 12:9 “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect…”
    Moroni 10:34 “…the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead…” Acts 10:42 “…the Judge of quick and dead.”

    Further Study

    Book of Mormon Origins – https://www.bookofmormonorigins.com/

    References

    References
    1 KJV in the Book of Mormon — Case closed – https://kmabom.wordpress.com/kjv-in-the-book-of-mormon-case-closed/
    2 Book of Isaiah – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Isaiah
  • Intermarriage

    Intermarriage

    Address by J. Reuben Clark, reprinted in the August, 1946 LDS Improvement Era, ‘Plain Talk to Girls’: 1

    Address given to the Executives of the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, in June Conference, Saturday afternoon, June 8, 1946, in Barratt Hall

    When I was in Mexico in the Embassy, there were with me Sister Clark and my youngest daughter, then in her middle teens. Because she was the daughter of an ambassador, she was invited out a great deal, and every time she went out, as she was ready to go, I called her in and said: “Now, Luacine, I want you to remember this evening two things; first, you are a Mormon with certain standards to observe; second, you are the daughter of the American ambassador, and that brings to you certain responsibilities with reference to your conduct. I do not want you to forget that, wherever you go tonight.”
    Well, I had done this a number of times. Finally she said to me one evening: “Daddy, you do not trust me, do you?”
    I said, “No, Daughter. I do not trust myself.”
    And until we are in the grave, we are not beyond the reach of Satan. None of us is safe, and he or she is most unsafe who thinks he or she is beyond the reach of the evil one.
    You young people have been told so often that you are the greatest group that the world ever produced, that you are entitled to believe it, and I think perhaps some of you do. You are the greatest group that the world has ever produced in opportunity. No group of youth in the whole history of the world ever had the advantages that you have in the development of science and of arts. There come into your homes from day to day more of culture and uplift than ever came to us who lived three quarters of a century ago. But there also come into your homes, and by the same route, more of filth, more of moronic alleged entertainment, more influences to break down your morals than we dreamed of, and you must take in this life of yours with all of its opportunities, the bur- den along with the blessing, and you will be perfectly safe in this duality which is yours if all the time you will remember to pray to the Lord and to live righteously.
    You know we are just the same sort of beings today that we started out to be at the very beginning. In one sense —and I hesitate to use this because there is a false doctrine predicated upon the statement that I am going to make—but in one sense we are all Adams and Eves. We all have before us the power to choose the good or to choose the evil, and we can make a mistake at the beginning which will bring to us tears and sorrows and all that go with sin forever afterwards. But we are Adams and Eves in another sense. We have all of the elemental passions which they had, and our modern veneer is very, very thin. Biological man does today whatever he thinks will preserve him biologically, preserve him as a human, mortal being. There have come into our minds and into our very beings, feelings of hate and contempt for human life, revenge and that whole sordid, terrible group of vices. There was a time when I was a boy, and perhaps when you were in school, that you held up your hands in horror, when you read of the terrible massacres in the frontier settlements of this country by the Indians, when men, women, and children were murdered and scalped and the women outraged. Yet today we look complacently upon the fact that our soldiers have destroyed, under orders, hundreds and thousands of women and children, the aged, the infirm, the decrepit, blotted them out in the fraction of a second. Does that spell very much real love for humanity? Let us put those things out of our minds and out of our hearts, and instead of talking glibly about the brotherhood of men, let us actually have it and live it.
    We should hate nobody, and having said that, I wish to urge a word of caution, particularly to you young girls. It is sought today in certain quarters to break down all race prejudice, and at the end of the road, which they who urge this see, is intermarriage. That is what it finally comes to. Now, you should hate nobody; you should give to every man and every woman, no matter what the color of his and her skin may be, full civil rights. You should treat them as brothers and sisters, but do not ever let that wicked virus get into your systems that brotherhood either permits or entitles you to mix races which are inconsistent. Biologically, it is wrong; spiritually, it is wrong.
    The Lord said: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Never go any place where you may not ask the Lord to be with you. So soon as you do, you rob yourselves of the strength and the power of the Spirit of the Lord, and in large measure you cease to be entitled to the protection which you ask. Stay in the places where you may go before the Lord and say, “Lord, help me and bless me,” and where you may do it unblushingly.
    As to companions, you women had better not trifle with men, and particularly with those whom you know only casually. There is a new spirit that has come into the world with this war. The reports you have read of the universality of the immorality among our soldiers in Europe and elsewhere are too largely borne out by the reports which come to us. Too frequently men have ceased to be chivalrous, respectful of womanhood, and have come to regard you as the legitimate prey of their passions—as a prey to be seized either by flattery or by force, and it makes little difference to them which. Please, sisters, you Mutual officers, carry this back to your wards and your stakes and try to warn—and I urge this with all of the energy that I have—try to warn your young girls against this terrible sin of unchastity. This is where you can exercise your love and your patience. This is where you can use all of the Spirit of the Lord that you can get in warning those who are not here of the dangers which beset them on every hand.
    And then I should like to say this: You may remember that after the resurrection of the Lord, he saw the members of his apostles’ quorum on two different occasions, one on the night of his resurrection, when all were present except Thomas, and he called later when all were present, including Thomas. Then, while he was seen here and there by individuals, and on one occasion by over five hundred at one time, he did not appear again to his apostles for some time. Then Peter, he who had been first attracted by the fact that the Lord had told him—he having fished all night without any success —to cast his net on the other side of the boat, which he did and found it filled with fish,—Peter said to some of his associates, Thomas Didymus, James, and John, the two sons of Zebedee, two other apostles, and Nathaniel: “I go fishing.” They said, “We will go with you.” The record states that immediately they went and got into their boat on the Sea of Tiberias, that is, the Lake of Galilee, around which so many of the stirring incidents and miracles performed by the Master had taken place. They fished all night, so when the morning came they were about a hundred yards away from the shore. They had caught no fish. A man stood on the shore and said to them: “Have ye any meat? “When they said, “No,” he said, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship.” And they cast their net, and it was filled. John said to Peter: “It is the Lord,” and Peter, with that impetuosity which marked him through his whole life, girded his coat about him, for he was naked, and then plunged into the sea, and walked to the shore to meet his Master.
    He was naked. The Lord is not pleased with nakedness. I am sure you girls do not appreciate, you young people, and it may be not the older ones, that the nudity which your fashions now sanction and indeed call for, has its origin in those minds which seek so to clothe you that you may appeal to the baser passions of men, and if so clothed you shall be assaulted, take at least part of the blame to yourselves. I know the arguments that are made that go through your minds. “I cannot be a freak. Everybody else dresses this way. I must dress this way. I will be shunned; I will not be attractive; I will not be popular.” And so on down the whole list of alleged reasons, but really excuses. I know all that, and unfortunately there is too much truth in it, but when the man comes who wants honorably to make you his wife, then, many chances to one, he will not wish you to display your person to others. That is the way we men feel about it, and about those whom we love. When you come to us, we wish you to be ours in every whit. We do not wish to share you even by sight with others.
    Sisters, you yourselves, those whom you associate with and guide and direct, for the sake of your posterity and the youth of tomorrow, please resume the modesty that your mothers and your grandmothers had, and if you want to know what that was, talk to them somewhat about what you are doing now, and they will tell you. I say to you that unless we do get modesty back among the Latter-day Saints particularly, and in the world, that we are headed for a catastrophe.
    Now I hope, sisters, that you will pardon my blunt speaking. I have no desire but to help you to help yourselves and to help your posterity, for if they go as far beyond place where their parents and their grandparents were, many will fall below the standards of the beasts who have one mate and cling to it.
    This is a great organization. The Lord loves you. He will help you,—that I promise you with as much certainty as I can promise anything that I can actually hand to you. If you live righteously, he will do whatever you want him to do, that is for your good, and you never ought to ask the Lord for anything that you do not say: “Father, give this to me if it would be for my best good and in accordance with thy will.” Then keep your minds open so that if you do not get what you ask for, you can understand the failure was because the Lord knew better than you. Go back to your work, you officers, filled with the enthusiasm which you are getting in this conference, with the spirit which comes to you from this conference, and go back to it with a determination that you will do your part, each of you, to stem this tide of immorality which threatens to engulf the world. You women can do it. We men will not.
    May the Lord bless you. Again I ask you to be good enough to excuse my blunt speech, but I feel there come times when things must be said even as Jacob of old declared. And I would like you to read when you go home the second chapter, I think it is, of Jacob, in the Book of Mormon, because you stand just where Jacob stood, even as do I, where your duty is to warn the world, and particularly your own sisters of the evils that threaten them. The Lord said on one occasion when he was preaching: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8: 36, 37.) And remember the philosophy of Paul when he spoke to the Romans and said: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Romans 7:21.) You can overcome that evil so present by living the commandments of the Lord, and that you may be able to do so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
    Amen.

     

     

    References

    References
    1 1946 LDS Improvement Era, ‘Plain Talk to Girls’ – https://archive.org/stream/improvementera4908unse#page/n14/mode/1up/search/assaulted
  • Modesty

    Modesty

    Address by J. Reuben Clark, reprinted in the August, 1946 LDS Improvement Era, ‘Plain Talk to Girls’: 1

    Address given to the Executives of the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, in June Conference, Saturday afternoon, June 8, 1946, in Barratt Hall

    When I was in Mexico in the Embassy, there were with me Sister Clark and my youngest daughter, then in her middle teens. Because she was the daughter of an ambassador, she was invited out a great deal, and every time she went out, as she was ready to go, I called her in and said: “Now, Luacine, I want you to remember this evening two things; first, you are a Mormon with certain standards to observe; second, you are the daughter of the American ambassador, and that brings to you certain responsibilities with reference to your conduct. I do not want you to forget that, wherever you go tonight.”
    Well, I had done this a number of times. Finally she said to me one evening: “Daddy, you do not trust me, do you?”
    I said, “No, Daughter. I do not trust myself.”
    And until we are in the grave, we are not beyond the reach of Satan. None of us is safe, and he or she is most unsafe who thinks he or she is beyond the reach of the evil one.
    You young people have been told so often that you are the greatest group that the world ever produced, that you are entitled to believe it, and I think perhaps some of you do. You are the greatest group that the world has ever produced in opportunity. No group of youth in the whole history of the world ever had the advantages that you have in the development of science and of arts. There come into your homes from day to day more of culture and uplift than ever came to us who lived three quarters of a century ago. But there also come into your homes, and by the same route, more of filth, more of moronic alleged entertainment, more influences to break down your morals than we dreamed of, and you must take in this life of yours with all of its opportunities, the bur- den along with the blessing, and you will be perfectly safe in this duality which is yours if all the time you will remember to pray to the Lord and to live righteously.
    You know we are just the same sort of beings today that we started out to be at the very beginning. In one sense —and I hesitate to use this because there is a false doctrine predicated upon the statement that I am going to make—but in one sense we are all Adams and Eves. We all have before us the power to choose the good or to choose the evil, and we can make a mistake at the beginning which will bring to us tears and sorrows and all that go with sin forever afterwards. But we are Adams and Eves in another sense. We have all of the elemental passions which they had, and our modern veneer is very, very thin. Biological man does today whatever he thinks will preserve him biologically, preserve him as a human, mortal being. There have come into our minds and into our very beings, feelings of hate and contempt for human life, revenge and that whole sordid, terrible group of vices. There was a time when I was a boy, and perhaps when you were in school, that you held up your hands in horror, when you read of the terrible massacres in the frontier settlements of this country by the Indians, when men, women, and children were murdered and scalped and the women outraged. Yet today we look complacently upon the fact that our soldiers have destroyed, under orders, hundreds and thousands of women and children, the aged, the infirm, the decrepit, blotted them out in the fraction of a second. Does that spell very much real love for humanity? Let us put those things out of our minds and out of our hearts, and instead of talking glibly about the brotherhood of men, let us actually have it and live it.
    We should hate nobody, and having said that, I wish to urge a word of caution, particularly to you young girls. It is sought today in certain quarters to break down all race prejudice, and at the end of the road, which they who urge this see, is intermarriage. That is what it finally comes to. Now, you should hate nobody; you should give to every man and every woman, no matter what the color of his and her skin may be, full civil rights. You should treat them as brothers and sisters, but do not ever let that wicked virus get into your systems that brotherhood either permits or entitles you to mix races which are inconsistent. Biologically, it is wrong; spiritually, it is wrong.
    The Lord said: “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Never go any place where you may not ask the Lord to be with you. So soon as you do, you rob yourselves of the strength and the power of the Spirit of the Lord, and in large measure you cease to be entitled to the protection which you ask. Stay in the places where you may go before the Lord and say, “Lord, help me and bless me,” and where you may do it unblushingly.
    As to companions, you women had better not trifle with men, and particularly with those whom you know only casually. There is a new spirit that has come into the world with this war. The reports you have read of the universality of the immorality among our soldiers in Europe and elsewhere are too largely borne out by the reports which come to us. Too frequently men have ceased to be chivalrous, respectful of womanhood, and have come to regard you as the legitimate prey of their passions—as a prey to be seized either by flattery or by force, and it makes little difference to them which. Please, sisters, you Mutual officers, carry this back to your wards and your stakes and try to warn—and I urge this with all of the energy that I have—try to warn your young girls against this terrible sin of unchastity. This is where you can exercise your love and your patience. This is where you can use all of the Spirit of the Lord that you can get in warning those who are not here of the dangers which beset them on every hand.
    And then I should like to say this: You may remember that after the resurrection of the Lord, he saw the members of his apostles’ quorum on two different occasions, one on the night of his resurrection, when all were present except Thomas, and he called later when all were present, including Thomas. Then, while he was seen here and there by individuals, and on one occasion by over five hundred at one time, he did not appear again to his apostles for some time. Then Peter, he who had been first attracted by the fact that the Lord had told him—he having fished all night without any success —to cast his net on the other side of the boat, which he did and found it filled with fish,—Peter said to some of his associates, Thomas Didymus, James, and John, the two sons of Zebedee, two other apostles, and Nathaniel: “I go fishing.” They said, “We will go with you.” The record states that immediately they went and got into their boat on the Sea of Tiberias, that is, the Lake of Galilee, around which so many of the stirring incidents and miracles performed by the Master had taken place. They fished all night, so when the morning came they were about a hundred yards away from the shore. They had caught no fish. A man stood on the shore and said to them: “Have ye any meat? “When they said, “No,” he said, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship.” And they cast their net, and it was filled. John said to Peter: “It is the Lord,” and Peter, with that impetuosity which marked him through his whole life, girded his coat about him, for he was naked, and then plunged into the sea, and walked to the shore to meet his Master.
    He was naked. The Lord is not pleased with nakedness. I am sure you girls do not appreciate, you young people, and it may be not the older ones, that the nudity which your fashions now sanction and indeed call for, has its origin in those minds which seek so to clothe you that you may appeal to the baser passions of men, and if so clothed you shall be assaulted, take at least part of the blame to yourselves. I know the arguments that are made that go through your minds. “I cannot be a freak. Everybody else dresses this way. I must dress this way. I will be shunned; I will not be attractive; I will not be popular.” And so on down the whole list of alleged reasons, but really excuses. I know all that, and unfortunately there is too much truth in it, but when the man comes who wants honorably to make you his wife, then, many chances to one, he will not wish you to display your person to others. That is the way we men feel about it, and about those whom we love. When you come to us, we wish you to be ours in every whit. We do not wish to share you even by sight with others.
    Sisters, you yourselves, those whom you associate with and guide and direct, for the sake of your posterity and the youth of tomorrow, please resume the modesty that your mothers and your grandmothers had, and if you want to know what that was, talk to them somewhat about what you are doing now, and they will tell you. I say to you that unless we do get modesty back among the Latter-day Saints particularly, and in the world, that we are headed for a catastrophe.
    Now I hope, sisters, that you will pardon my blunt speaking. I have no desire but to help you to help yourselves and to help your posterity, for if they go as far beyond place where their parents and their grandparents were, many will fall below the standards of the beasts who have one mate and cling to it.
    This is a great organization. The Lord loves you. He will help you,—that I promise you with as much certainty as I can promise anything that I can actually hand to you. If you live righteously, he will do whatever you want him to do, that is for your good, and you never ought to ask the Lord for anything that you do not say: “Father, give this to me if it would be for my best good and in accordance with thy will.” Then keep your minds open so that if you do not get what you ask for, you can understand the failure was because the Lord knew better than you. Go back to your work, you officers, filled with the enthusiasm which you are getting in this conference, with the spirit which comes to you from this conference, and go back to it with a determination that you will do your part, each of you, to stem this tide of immorality which threatens to engulf the world. You women can do it. We men will not.
    May the Lord bless you. Again I ask you to be good enough to excuse my blunt speech, but I feel there come times when things must be said even as Jacob of old declared. And I would like you to read when you go home the second chapter, I think it is, of Jacob, in the Book of Mormon, because you stand just where Jacob stood, even as do I, where your duty is to warn the world, and particularly your own sisters of the evils that threaten them. The Lord said on one occasion when he was preaching: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8: 36, 37.) And remember the philosophy of Paul when he spoke to the Romans and said: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Romans 7:21.) You can overcome that evil so present by living the commandments of the Lord, and that you may be able to do so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
    Amen.

     

     

    References

    References
    1 1946 LDS Improvement Era, ‘Plain Talk to Girls’ – https://archive.org/stream/improvementera4908unse#page/n14/mode/1up/search/assaulted
  • Tree of Life

    Tree of Life

    Excerpt from ‘History of Joseph Smith by his mother’, Lucy Mack Smith, Pub. 1853. Pg. 58, 59: 1

    In 1811, we moved from Royalton Vermont, to the town of Lebanon New Hampshire. Soon after arriving here, my husband [Joseph Smith Sr.] received another very singular vision, which I will relate:

    “I thought,” said he, “I was travelling in an open, desolate field, which appeared to be very barren. As I was thus travelling, the thought suddenly came into my mind that I had better stop and reflect upon what I was doing, before I went any further. So I asked myself, ‘What motive can I have in travelling here, and what place can this be?’ My guide, who was by my side, as before, said, ‘This is the desolate world; but travel on.’ The road was so broad and barren that I wondered why I should travel in it; for, said I to myself, ‘Broad is the road, and wide is the gate that leads to death, and many there be that walk therein; but narrow is the way, and straight is the gate that leads to everlasting life, and few there be that go in thereat.’ Travelling a short distance further, I came to a narrow path. This path I entered, and, when I had travelled a little way in it, I beheld a beautiful stream of water, which ran from the east to the west. Of this stream I could see neither the source nor yet the termination; but as far as my eyes could extend I could see a rope, running along the bank of it, about as high as a man could reach, and beyond me was a low, but very pleasant valley, in which stood a tree such as I, had never seen before. It was exceedingly handsome, insomuch that I looked upon it with wonder and admiration. Its beautiful branches spread themselves somewhat like an umbrella, and it bore a kind of fruit, in shape much like a chestnut bur, and as white as snow, or, if possible, whiter. I gazed upon the same with considerable interest, and as I was doing so, the burs or shells commenced opening and shedding their particles, or the fruit which they contained, which was of dazzling whiteness. I drew near, and began to eat of it, and I found it delicious beyond description. As I was eating, I said in my heart, ‘I cannot eat this alone, I must bring my wife and children, that they may partake with me.’ Accordingly, I went and brought my family, which consisted of a wife and seven children, and we all commenced eating, and praising God for this blessing. We were exceedingly happy, insomuch that our joy could not easily be expressed. While thus engaged, I beheld a spacious building standing opposite the valley which we were in, and it appeared to reach to the very heavens. It was full of doors and windows, and they were all filled with people, who were very finely dressed. When these people observed us in the low valley, under the tree, they pointed the finger of scorn at us, and treated us with all manner of disrespect and contempt. But their contumely we utterly disregarded. I presently turned to my guide, and inquired of him the meaning of the fruit that was so delicious. He told me it was the pure love of God, shed abroad in the hearts of all those who love him, and keep his commandments. He then commanded me to go and bring the rest of my children. I told him that we were all there. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘look yonder, you have two more, and you must bring them also.’ Upon raising my eyes, I saw two small children, standing some distance off. I immediately went to them, and brought them to the tree; upon which they commenced eating with the rest, and we all rejoiced together. The more we eat, the more we seemed to desire, until we even got down upon our knees, and scooped it up, eating it by double handfulls. After feasting in this manner a short time, I asked my guide what was the meaning of the spacious building which I saw. He replied, ‘It is Babylon, it is Babylon, and it must fall. The people in the doors and windows are the inhabitants thereof, who scorn and despise the Saints of God, because of their humility.’ I soon awoke, clapping my hands together for joy.”

    Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 8, 11,12: 2

    Chapter 8
    25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

    26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!

    27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.

    28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

    29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

    30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.

    31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

    32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

    33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

    34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.

    35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

    36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

    Chapter 11
    8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.

    9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.

    21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

    22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

    23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

    25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

    Chapter 12
    17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.

    18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

    Excerpt from a 2007 BYU Devotional, ‘Lehi’s Dream and You’, by Boyd Packer: 3

    “Who wrote this incredible vision? There is nothing like it in the Bible. Did Joseph Smith compose it? Did he write the Book of Mormon? That is harder to believe than the account of angels and golden plates. Joseph Smith was only 24 years old when the Book of Mormon was published”

    See also:

    References

    References
    1 ‘History of Joseph Smith by his mother’ – http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/17401
    2 1 Nephi, the Book of Mormon – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne?lang=eng
    3 Lehi’s Dream and You, Boyd K. Packer – https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/boyd-k-packer_lehis-dream/
  • Reverence to Her Husband

    Reverence to Her Husband

    Address by LDS Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered October 4, 1857 – ‘Preparation of Heart for Divine Blessings—Responsibility—Family Government.’: 1

    ‘I feel like offering a few of my reflections in connection with those remarks we have heard this morning from Elder Hyde. I feel that they are timely and good for the congregation of the Saints to reflect upon and treasure up. I would not say anything to draw the minds and reflections of the people from those sentiments which have been presented by Elder Hyde this morning, but rather to enforce and impress them upon the minds of the congregation, that every person capable of understanding may be able to treasure them up, that these principles may abide in our hearts; for, says the Savior, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, they shall be in you as living water, and ye shall bear much fruit.”

    Now, this people are not perishing for lack of knowledge: they have not a lack of the words of the Lord. But if this people perish for lack of knowledge at all, it is because they do not retain the word of the Lord which is delivered to them: it is not because it is not planted in our hearts, but because our ground is not properly broken up. The ground of our hearts is not prepared, that the word that is sown may bring forth fruit. This is the trouble and the reason why we do not advance and bring forth more fruit, and grow more thrifty in the work of the Lord our God, and increase in faith, in power with God, in unison with him and with those whom he has set over us, and with one another.

    The trouble is not in our God, neither is it in our fellowservants—those whom he has set to be our leaders, our teachers; for God is with them, and he would be with them much more abundantly, if we as a people were more ready to listen to them, and there was place found in us for their words, and their words take effect in our hearts. Then his Spirit and power would increase upon us, and there would be no lack. The lack is in us—in the people, and always has been, and is not in our God. He is waiting and anxious to pour out blessings, and glory, and honor, and exaltation upon his people, far more than we have ever received, and far more than we are capable of receiving; and the only reason we have not received it long ago is because there was no place found for it.

    The great labor of the Lord and of all his servants is to prepare the hearts of the people, to concentrate the feeling of the people, to concentrate their faith, and to make them one, and to prepare their hearts to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom of God. This is the labor of preaching and praying, of exhorting, inviting, and beseeching all the time—to move upon the hearts of the people and convince them of the necessity of union—to impress it upon them, that they may remember all those principles which alone can exalt them. And, as was said by Elder Hyde, the responsibility of our conduct rests upon ourselves, and not upon our leaders. The responsibility that is resting upon our leaders is alone the responsibility of doing what the Lord wants them to.

    The responsibility of what befalls this people is no more upon brother Brigham than it is upon me, and no more upon me than it is upon you; and every individual soul in all Israel has his own responsibility to bear, and he cannot throw it off. Whether it be good or evil—whether it be joy or sorrow—whether it be affliction or blessings, the responsibility thereof rests upon us individually.

    Brothers Brigham, Heber, and Daniel, who are they but our fellowservants—those that the Lord has given us to be our leaders and the mouthpieces of the Lord unto this people—the legitimate channel through which to lead, govern, and control this people? But are they responsible any more than you or I? No, not one whit. When they have discharged their duties, they are as free from responsibility as you or I. When they have done what lies in their power to do, they are exonerated before their God, although they feel as no other men on earth can feel, because there are no others placed in their condition; and it is impossible for any others to feel as they feel and have the same interest they have for the welfare of this people.

    It is God who rules and leads; it is God who controls the destinies of all men. Every man is in his hands, to be used as he will. Whithersoever this people are led, they will be led through that channel he has intended; and whether they go to the east, west, north, or south—whether they burn their dwellings and flee to the mountains, or remain here—whether they fight the Gentiles, or turn their backs upon them—whatsoever they have to do, it will be the Lord Almighty that does it; but he will do it through the channel he has appointed.

    But will the responsibility of thousands be upon those men that are set over us to lead us? No, it will not. I am well aware that there are a great many people who in their childish simplicity feel that any act that they do is nothing to them.

    So far as taking thought or having trouble in our spirits about what is to come or what will be the result of things, it is well that we should set our hearts at rest and be at ease and feel quiet, and our spirits calm as a summer’s morning and resigned, and our feelings prayerful and peaceful. But as far as feeling indifferent and like throwing off the responsibility from our shoulders upon our leaders, this should not be; neither should we claim exemption from the responsibility of anything in Israel. Everyone should have a share of that responsibility, and they cannot throw that responsibility off; for upon my head devolves the responsibility of directing my hands and my feet and other members of my body in their exercises. It is equally the duty of every other member of the body to administer to the head. The hands have to feel the head, and the head has to be properly guarded and shielded, that it may be active and the brain vigorous, that every movement may be wisely directed and every energy of the body directed in proper channels.

    Our God deals with us as a people. He does not deal with brother Brigham, brother Heber, or brother Daniel separately and distinctly from this people, or the people distinct from them. We cannot be separated; we are one. We are the Twelve Apostles, the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, the Priests, the Teachers, the Deacons, the Bishops. Every quorum of the Priesthood, every man in Israel, and every woman in Israel are members of the same body—branches of the same vine, and partake of the same spirit, unless they are branches that are withered and dried up. God will deal with us as a whole all the time.

    How was it with Israel of old, as has been referred to by Elder Hyde? They were led by the hand of God all through the wilderness. God led Moses. Sometimes they were led in one direction, and sometimes in another. They were brought up against the Red Sea; and did not they, in their blindness, chide with Moses because he had led them thus? Looking at things naturally, they could say, “You might have gone round and avoided this snare: we might have taken another road, instead of running right into this canyon, between these two mountains, and against the Red Sea, where there is no chance to dodge; and so we are to perish by the armies of Egypt close in our rear and the sea before us.” These were the feelings of a great many weak in faith and ignorant people among them; and they were ready to pick up stones to stone Moses because he had done it.

    There are a great many instances of the same kind during their forty years’ sojourning in the wilderness. Sometimes they were led into the wilderness when they might have followed some streams of water, had the Lord have led them in that channel. And when they were led into different circumstances there were always some who complained and threw the responsibility upon Moses, exonerating themselves.

    Some wished to turn back unto Egypt, and a great many plans were in view to extricate themselves from difficulties; except fleeing to the Almighty, who had led them into those difficulties; and time and again the Lord rebuked them and manifested his power to deliver them. But who led them? Did Moses lead them?

    No. The Almighty led them. Moses was his servant, and led them as the Almighty directed him.

    Why did not the Almighty direct him to lead them round the Red Sea instead of through it? And why did he not lead them to follow the streams, instead of taking them across the desert? Why did he not lead them a straight course from Egypt to Canaan, instead of keeping them forty years in the wilderness? Who was most to blame for it? Was the responsibility upon him, or was it upon the people? Why was it upon the people? Because they were a stiffnecked people, a hardhearted people, and an ignorant people.

    We read in the Scriptures that they were so stiffnecked as to provoke the Lord, and he came out upon them in his wrath and consumed them from his presence—sometimes by fire that came forth from his presence, at other times by causing the earth to open and swallow them up by thousands, at other times by pestilence, and at other times by fiery flying serpents which came among them and bit them that they died.

    Why was the anger of the Lord kindled against them? Because of the hardness of their hearts and the stiffness of their necks. It was not because of Moses. Only in one instance did Moses offend. That was not in any of his movements in leading and controlling Israel, but because he did not sanctify the Lord God of Israel before their eyes when he smote the rock of Horeb. This was the only instance in which the Lord condemned Moses; but he directed Moses how to lead Israel, and Moses led them in the way he was directed; and they were tried forty years in the wilderness, until most of them were worn out and perished.

    Were they a wicked people above all other people, that their carcasses should thus fall in the wilderness?

    What think you, brethren and sisters—ye that are called Latter-day Saints, were they, as a people, more wicked than the rest of mankind, that God should have dealt with them thus? I answer, No. But of a truth they were the best people upon the face of the earth, and the only people that had the Priesthood of God among them.

    They were the people whom God had delivered from Egyptian bondage with an outstretched arm; and by his power, they were the only people God could make use of. They had faith sufficient that he could govern and control them; and so far from being the worst, they were the best people upon the earth; but upon them rested the responsibility, and they did not improve upon their privileges and appreciate their blessings as they ought to have done; and for this reason were they set forth as examples to all who should live after; and the responsibility of their carcasses falling in the wilderness, the responsibility of their being led into the desert, the responsibility of all their trials and troubles was not upon Moses and their leaders, nor upon their God, but upon themselves; for, had they been pliable, submissive, willing, and obedient, and had their spirits been pliable before the Lord, willing to be molded and fashioned, they could have been led forth conquering and to conquer, and been planted in Canaan just as well in two years as in forty. And if this people were capable of receiving it, the Lord could as well give them the kingdom today as forty years hence. And if the people of the United States would have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, given through the Prophet Joseph, they might have been a more prosperous and powerful nation today.

    The history of all religious generations and dispensations is similar, and shows this fact to us, that human nature is the same in every age of the country, and among every country, and among every people—that all men are subject to like weaknesses and have to be taught gradually.

    Children grow from infancy to manhood; and whether God leads our footsteps in correct paths or not, he is only leading us to school: he is only directing our course in a round of experience by which he trains us, and makes us one, cements our hearts together, and rids our spirits of iniquity and abomination. He wants to teach men and women how to walk together in union and be great—to teach this people how to be bound to him and to those that he sets over them, and to teach his Saints how to reign in the house of Israel as his servants.

    I do feel conscious that if the men of Israel do their duty and live their religion, reformation will go forth from them through their families, and it cannot be stayed; and every branch of every family in Israel will feel the effects of that reformation: every woman and all her children will feel it.

    If a man of God lives his religion and is controlled only by the Spirit of Zion in his family, and if he has a turbulent, disobedient spirit in his family, that spirit will be subject or that individual will be separated from his family, upon the same principle that turbulent persons that repent not are severed from this Church by the vote of this people; and when that turbulent person is severed, he will dry up and wither, and will be gathered and burned with the ungodly.

    It may be that heretofore the fanning-mill has blown out more of the men than it has of the women; but if it has done this, it is because the sieve is not quite fine enough. But as the work of reformation goes forward, it will sift to the very bottom; and every member of every family in Israel will feel the effects of the driving element that will sanctify them for the Lord Almighty or separate them from this people.

    Every man in Israel is responsible in a certain degree for the conduct of his wives and children. He has covenanted that he will assume that responsibility; that is, he will assume the responsibility of the sins of his wives, if he fails to discharge his duties towards them in teaching and leading them in the ways of life and salvation.

    I assume the responsibility of the acts of my wives and children so far as they are obedient to me; and when I discharge my duties to them, reprove them in their transgression, set a godly example before them, live my religion, and show forth the spirit thereof in my course with my family, and they will not drink into the same spirit and receive good at my hands, those consequences shall roll from me upon them; and it becomes my duty to separate myself from those sins and from the rebellious members of my family, that we may not all be cursed because of the transgression of one or two individuals.

    But if I do not discharge my duties towards them, admonish them when they are out of the way, instruct them in their duties, and walk as a man of God before them, the consequences and responsibility of every individual’s transgressions, even those of every wife and every child I have, and of every evil that is done in my house, shall rest upon me. God has laid it upon me.

    Sometimes we may err by being remiss in duty—too lenient in our families, and some of us may be under condemnation by being too careless about transgressors in our families; for if we hold fellowship with transgressors and spirits that are in rebellion against God and that will not repent and humble themselves—if we close our ears to it and go to sleep while wickedness is stalking unrebuked through our habitations, we become partakers in that transgression, and the consequences thereof will stick to us.

    But if the head of a family reproves iniquity and seeks to purge it from his presence—from his family, then his hands are free from stain of guilt; he is not a partaker in the transgression, and by his doings he says he will no longer hug to his bosom that individual—he will no longer eat and drink with him or her as a member of the body of Christ—he will no longer be held responsible for their sins.

    So should every man and every family rid themselves of evil and transgressors in their midst; for God deals with every family as a whole, as he deals with this people as a whole; and every man in Israel is responsible, and that responsibility he assumes when he assumes the responsibility of a family.

    If there is no sieve fine enough yet to separate the dross from the wheat of the female portion of this community, I tell you, in the name of Israel’s God, there is a fine one preparing, and it will separate the chaff from the wheat from every family in Israel, as sure as there is a God in Israel, until the families of Israel shall be sanctified before the Lord—until they shall be one, even all the families in Israel, that the Lord God shall accept and not be ashamed of them.

    There are many ways by which this may be accomplished; but the Lord in his own due time will bring it to pass. We naturally cling to our families, loving and cherishing them; so does every man that feels the weight of his responsibility—that is set over this people to administer in any department thereof: he feels his heart full of compassion, and he desires the salvation of every member thereof. So does our Father desire the salvation of every member of his family.

    Many among us, in their ignorance, manifest a weakness of soul in training up their offspring. Their weakness is such that they cannot administer chastisement unto their children; but they love them with a foolish, blind, ignorant love, that gratifies every desire and allows them to have their own way and pursue the channel of their own inclinations unrebuked, unchastened, until they grow up wild, as it were, without any proper impulse being given to their minds. If I feel satisfied in thus allowing my offspring to follow the bent of their own inclinations, God will hold me responsible for their evil acts.

    If any man have members in his family whom he cannot control by the principles of the Gospel, far better were it for him, if they want to go to the States or to any other country, to give them a good outfit and send them off, get them out of the way, and let them go their own way: far better this than to harbor them where they were like a viper in his bosom, corrupting and corroding in the midst of his family.

    The female portion of this community have to bear their share of this responsibility; and we know they are the best set of women that exist upon the earth; and that all the world will bear witness to, when they talk about plurality.

    Men of some discretion in the Gentile world ask questions about the operations of the plurality of wives among us. “How many wives live in each house? How do they get along in their associations? Are they all the time quarrelling and fighting?” A man said to me once, “My wife would not stand it five minutes, if I should bring a woman into my house to have a share of my company and my affections: I should have a hell upon earth, and no house that I could build would be big enough to hold my wife. It is marvelous to me how you can live, and how it is you are not killed.”

    They cannot understand it, because they are governed by their passions, and not by principles; and it is the hardest thing in the world for them to be convinced that this people are governed by principle. This is the doctrine we have been preaching abroad, and it is the very thing the Gentiles will not receive; and they marvel and wonder that we do not tear each other’s eyes out. They say this would be the case with them: in a little while they would be bald and blind and full of wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores; or, like the Kilkenny cats, use each other up all but the tails, and then the tails would jump at each other. So it would be among them indeed; for there is no law of the Lord that would keep the people together a minute in the peace and order that exist here.

    Existence among this people is of itself one of the greatest privileges. The world of mankind may soon know that God is with us, and that he is at the helm, that he is the founder of this work, and that the women as well as the men are the best upon the earth, and that we are determined to live and be governed by principle and not passion.

    Have we all learned to be altogether thus governed? No, we have not. But we are learning it: the men and women of Israel are learning it; but some of them are very dull scholars, and would a great deal rather go off and play than take a lesson; and they whine and cry over it, and sit on the dunce block rather than study and learn their lessons; and they will be dunces, because nothing but foolishness is bound up in their hearts. But many of us are learning to be governed by principle, not passion, and learning that we must become one—that there is somebody else that has feelings besides them—that there is somebody else worthy of respect and love besides them—that there are some good qualifications in some other being—and some other woman’s children have some claims as well as mine; they are learning to let principle rule them.

    Well, go on: let the good work continue. This is my prayer all the time. Are all the families of Israel and every woman striving herself to play well her part and reverence her husband as her lord; for he is her lord. Will she ever have another? No, never; and if she ever expects to have another, she has not learned “Mormonism” aright. She may tear herself loose from him and attach another, but she may have a worse one: she ought to have a worse one. If she cannot learn to honor him, the next one she gets, if she is permitted to have another, ought to be a worse one. How shall women honor their husbands? Just as we honor brother Brigham in his place, and the authorities of the Wards in their places; because upon him is laid the responsibility of that family, and he cannot get rid of it. He is in duty bound to purge them of their follies, and they are in duty bound to listen to his reproofs and honor him and pray for him, that he may be led aright.

    Do the women, when they pray, remember their husbands? Do you pray for brother Brigham? Yes, you should always pray for him. But when you pray for him, do you pray also for your own husband, that he may have the inspiration of the Almighty to lead and govern his family as the lord? Do you uphold your husband before God as your lord? “What! My husband to be my lord?” I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without him? Have any of you been there? You will remember that you never got into the celestial kingdom without the aid of your husband. If you did, it was because your husband was away, and someone had to act proxy for him. No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not, somebody will receive her as a servant.

    We have one God, the Father of us all, who is graciously kind to us; and those who call upon his name receive his Spirit; but the spirit we have got to be in is for every woman to be one with her husband, and every man to be one with those that are set over him in the Lord. Thus we become as branches of one vine, partaking of the same spirit.

    Does every woman pray for her children and with her children? Does she teach them to reverence their father and honor him ? If she does not teach them thus to honor him in her own words and examples, her children learn disobedience from her. Show me disobedient children, and I will show you disobedient parents, the world over.

    Where there are disobedient and rebellious children in the midst of Israel, tell me who their father and mother are, and I will point out to you disobedient, rebellious, disaffected parents; and if there is a woman in any family whose children dishonor their father, I will show you a woman that dishonors her husband and shows him disrespect, from which the children take their example.

    We do not want such women in Israel: we do not want their offspring, nor anything that pertains to them, except they repent. If they will have their children learn righteousness, let them seek it themselves, and pray to God in their apartments for their little ones. It is the mothers in Israel that have the charge of children; the men of Israel are abroad among the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel and fight the battles of Zion, to go abroad and return once in a few years, perhaps, to visit their family and become acquainted with their children. God wishes the mothers in Israel to assume that responsibility, and assume it by the Holy Ghost, that there may be a generation raised up that shall be fit for the Lord to use.

    Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, ye mothers in Israel, and fast, and hunger and thirst after righteousness. Pray for and with your little children in your apartments. Is it enough for a father to gather together his wives and children when he is at home, and pray with them? That is his duty; and every mother should take pattern by his example, and with their own offspring follow his example and call down the blessings of heaven upon them, and they will learn from her. While they listen to her prayers, they will learn to lisp from her mouth the words of prayer and thanksgiving to God; and faith will rest upon them, and the Holy Ghost will rest upon them, and they will be inspired with faith and power, and draw down blessings upon her and upon their father; and the blessings of God will rest upon them from their mother’s womb, if they pursue this course.

    May the God of heaven help us to pursue this course, one and all, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

    References

    References
    1 Journal of Discourses Vol. 5, Pg. 285-292 – http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/2091
  • Love of Money

    Love of Money

    LDS General Conference, April 2018 –  https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP15GC&lang=eng

    Mormon 8: 37-39, The Book of Mormon: 1

    37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.

    38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?

    39 Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?

     

  • Responsibility

    Responsibility

    April 1992 LDS General Conference address by Apostle Richard G. Scott, ‘Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse’: 1

    The victim must do all in his or her power to stop the abuse. Most often, the victim is innocent because of being disabled by fear or the power or authority of the offender. At some point in time, however, the Lord may prompt a victim to recognize a degree of responsibility for abuse. Your priesthood leader will help assess your responsibility so that, if needed, it can be addressed. Otherwise the seeds of guilt will remain and sprout into bitter fruit. Yet no matter what degree of responsibility, from absolutely none to increasing consent, the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ can provide a complete cure. (See D&C 138:1–4.) Forgiveness can be obtained for all involved in abuse. (See A of F 1:3.) Then comes a restoration of self-respect, self-worth, and a renewal of life.

    As a victim, do not waste effort in revenge or retribution against your aggressor. Focus on your responsibility to do what is in your power to correct. Leave the handling of the offender to civil and Church authorities. Whatever they do, eventually the guilty will face the Perfect Judge. Ultimately the unrepentant abuser will be punished by a just God. The purveyors of filth and harmful substances who knowingly incite others to acts of violence and depravation and those who promote a climate of permissiveness and corruption will be sentenced. Predators who victimize the innocent and justify their own corrupted life by enticing others to adopt their depraved ways will be held accountable.

    Caution
    I caution you not to participate in two improper therapeutic practices that may cause you more harm than good. They are: Excessive probing into every minute detail of your past experiences, particularly when this involves penetrating dialogue in group discussion; and blaming the abuser for every difficulty in your life.

    While some discovery is vital to the healing process, the almost morbid probing into details of past acts, long buried and mercifully forgotten, can be shattering. There is no need to pick at healing wounds to open them and cause them to fester. The Lord and his teachings can help you without destroying self-respect.

    There is another danger. Detailed leading questions that probe your past may unwittingly trigger thoughts that are more imagination or fantasy than reality. They could lead to condemnation of another for acts that were not committed. While likely few in number, I know of cases where such therapy has caused great injustice to the innocent from unwittingly stimulated accusations that were later proven false. Memory, particularly adult memory of childhood experiences, is fallible. Remember, false accusation is also a sin.

    Stated more simply, if someone intentionally poured a bucket of filth on your carpet, would you invite the neighbors to determine each ingredient that contributed to the ugly stain? Of course not. With the help of an expert, you would privately restore its cleanliness.

    Likewise, the repair of damage inflicted by abuse should be done privately, confidentially, with a trusted priesthood leader and, where needed, the qualified professional he recommends. There must be sufficient discussion of the general nature of abuse to allow you to be given appropriate counsel and to prevent the aggressor from committing more violence. Then, with the help of the Lord, bury the past.

    I humbly testify that what I have told you is true. It is based upon eternal principles I have seen the Lord use to give a fulness of life to those scarred by wicked abuse.

    If you feel there is only a thin thread of hope, believe me, it is not a thread. It can be the unbreakable connecting link to the Lord which puts a life preserver around you. He will heal you as you cease to fear and place your trust in him by striving to live his teachings.

    Please, don’t suffer more. Ask now for the Lord to help you. (See Morm. 9:27; Moro. 7:26, 33.) Decide now to talk to your bishop. Don’t view all that you experience in life through lenses darkened by the scars of abuse. There is so much in life that is beautiful. Open the windows of your heart and let the love of the Savior in. And should ugly thoughts of past abuse come back, remember his love and his healing power. Your depression will be converted to peace and assurance. You will close an ugly chapter and open volumes of happiness.

    References

  • Grooming

    Grooming

    Child Sexual Abuse: 6 Stages of Grooming, Dr. Michael Welner: Child Sexual Abuse: 1

    Grooming is the process by which an offender draws a victim into a sexual relationship and maintains that relationship in secrecy. The shrouding of the relationship is an essential feature of grooming. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner explains the six stages that can lead up to sexual molestation. The grooming sex offender works to separate the victim from peers, typically by engendering in the child a sense that they are special to the child and giving a kind of love to the child that the child needs.

    Different law enforcement officers and academics have proposed models of the “stages” of grooming. Since there are a variety of these models, it’s best to think of the grooming by sex offenders as a gradual, calculated process that ensnares children into a world in which they are ultimately a willing part of the sex abuse.

     

    Emily Dow Partridge Young, ‘Incidents in the Life of a Mormon Girl’: 2

    It was about this time [Feb. 1843] that the principles of Celestial marriage were being taught to a few. I and my sister Eliza received it and were married to br. Joseph about the same time, but neither of us knew about the other at the time, everything was so secret. This was March of 1843. Joseph had tried to make these things known to me, several months before – I think, in the spring or summer of 1842, but I had shut him up so quick that he said no more to me until the 28th of Feb. 1843, (my nineteenth birthday) and I was married the 4th of March following.

     

    Emily D. P. Young, Deposition, Temple Lot Transcript, Respondent’s Testimony, part 3:

    He [Joseph Smith] taught it to me with his own lips. … I was living at his house at the time, and had been living there for quite a while after my father’s death, for he died there in Nauvoo. … He came into the room where I was one day, when I was in the room alone, and asked me if I could keep a secret. I was about eighteen years of age then I think, — at any rate, I was quite young. He asked me if I could keep a secret, and I told him I thought I could, and then he told me that he would sometime, if he had an opportunity, — he would tell me something that would be for my benefit, if I would not betray him, and I told him I wouldn’t.

    Well it run along for a good while, — I don’t know just how long, and there was no opportunity of saying anything to me more than he had, and one day he sat in the room alone, and I passed through it and he called to me or spoke to me, and called me to him, and then he said that he had intended to tell me something, but he had no opportunity to do so, and so he would write me a letter, if I would agree to burn it as soon as I read it, and with that I looked frightened, for I thought there was something about it that was not just right, and so I told him that I would rather that he would not write to me, — that he would not write me any letter, and then he asked me if I wanted him to [not] say any more, and I said yes, that I did not want to hear anything more about it at all, for I had got a little frightened about it.

     

    Further Study

    EMILY AND ELIZA PARTRIDGE – http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/2021-EmilyandElizaPartridge.htm

  • Sexual Predator

    Sexual Predator

    Discernment, Gift of: 1

    To understand or know something through the power of the Spirit. The gift of discernment is one of the gifts of the Spirit. It includes perceiving the true character of people and the source and meaning of spiritual manifestations.

    Former Mormon Mission President Admitting to Inappropriate Interactions with Women: 2

    Pg. 16

    “____ was with me for both the MTC and the Argentine mission. After the mission, let’s see now I’m gonna get … Came back from the mission, and then I served at the MTC. After the MTC, I… President Monson called me and said … Back to some of my … President Kimball was special to me because he called me under special circumstances to be a mission president. I knew him well.”

    Pg. 53

    “And I was told … Told is the wrong word. This feeling came over me that he was going to be okay. I know, that the Lord answers prayers. That I know. I know that President Kimball was a prophet because of … And I told him the story of how President Kimball had interviewed me and not said a word. I felt the questions. I felt the answers going out. We were there and he was holding me in his arms. Knowing like a veil came down around us and the people that were in the room were chatting and didn’t know what was happening. Then the following Saturday, he called me on the phone and said, “I just want you to know I’m praying for you and that I love you.” Then the following week I was called. It took me out of the situation I was presently to stand, and I had reorganized the knowledge because it needed to be reorganized. There was a lot of pain.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

    References

    References
    1 Discernment, Guide to the Scriptures – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/discernment-gift-of
    2 MormonLeaks™ Releases Audio of Former Mormon Mission President Admitting to Inappropriate Interactions with Women – https://mormonleaks.io/newsroom/2018/03/19/mormonleaks-releases-of-former-mormon-mission-president-admitting-inappropriate-interactions/
  • Feminine Element

    Feminine Element

    An article in the Juvenile Instructor by George Q. Cannon, ‘The Worship of Female Deities’, May 15 1895 : 1

    In the days of Jeremiah the prophet the worship of “the queen of heaven,” a feminine deity, was very common. The people of Judah attributed great power to this female deity, so much so that when Jeremiah declared the word of the Lord unto them concerning their idolatrous practices and their departure from the true God, they replied to him, both the men and the women, that they still intended

    “To burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then we had plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.” –

    It appears from the record of Jeremiah that it was chiefly the women who worshiped this deity. They esteemed it an honor to their sex, and as a vindictation of the rights of their sex, and had such faith in this worship that they believed prosperity had been the result, and that in departing from the worship of this queen of heaven they had wanted all things, and had been consumed by the sword and by the famine. It was in vain that the prophet of the true God pled with them and endeavored to show them that they were deceived, and that by continuing this course they were sure to bring down the anger and the hot displeasure of the true God.

    There are no predictions so full of threatening recorded in the Bible respecting the fate of women, or wherein women are mentioned so pointedly, as in these predictions of Jeremiah concerning this false worship. Jeremiah said:

    “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her.”

    The prophet continues:

    “Behold, I (the Lord) will watch over them for evil, and not for good.” The Lord also said that they should be consumed by the sword and by the famine, which prediction was literally fulfilled.

    The record concerning this idolatrous worship of a female deity called the queen of heaven, is brought to mind by reading a chapter in a local paper which bears the head “The Woman’s Bible.” lt is written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She aims to give a construction, and perhaps a translation, of the scriptures that will be favorable to woman and to woman’s rights, and to assign her, as she appears to think, her true position in the minds of the people. She quotes from the Bible, and comes to the conclusion from the Biblical account that there was “a simultaneous creation of both sexes, in the image of God,” and that in the “consultation in the Godhead the masculine and feminine elements were equally represented.” She quotes Scott, the commentator, where he says “this consultation of the Gods is the origin of the doctrine of the trinity.” Mrs. Stanton’s conclusion, however, is that “instead of three male personages, as generally represented, a Heavenly Father, Mother, and Son would seem more rational.” She says:

    “The first step in the elevation of woman to her true position, as an equal factor in human progress, is the cultivation of the religious sentiment in regard to her dignity and equality, the recognition by the rising generation of an ideal Heavenly Mother, to whom their prayers should be addressed, as well as to a Father.

    “If language has any meaning, we have in these texts a plain declaration of the existence of the feminine element in the Godhead, equal in power and glory with the masculine.”

    Now, to my mind this is rank idolatry, and is as false as the worship of “the queen of heaven” was by the women of Judah in the days of Jeremiah.

    It is most dangerous doctrine to be taught to the rising generation of our people. If adopted as a belief and persisted in, it would undoubtedly lead to as dreadful consequences in these days as it did to those who pursued a similar course in the days of the prophet Jeremiah.

    That a woman as intelligent and influential among her sex as Elizabeth Cady Stanton should make such a declaration that “instead of three male personages as generally represented (in the Godhead), a Heavenly Father, Mother and Son would seem more rational,” shows how easy it is for gross errors to creep in and to be accepted as truth.

    Such doctrine is flattering to many of the female sex. There is an air of fairness in the idea, especially in these days when there is so much said upon equality of the sexes. There is good reason to believe that the same ideas prevailed among the Israelites at the time they accepted “the queen of heaven” as a goddess to be worshiped.

    It has not been uncommon for different nations to worship female deities. Pele, a female deity, was worshiped by the Sandwich Islanders. In ancient days Isis was the principal goddess worshiped by the Egyptians. She was adored as the goddess of fecundity and as the great benefactress of their country, who instructed their ancestors in the art of agriculture. Perhaps this was the deity whom the Israelite exiles worshiped in Egypt, they living at Pathros, in Egypt, at the time when the interview took place between Jeremiah and them, though Aphrodite is said to have been worshiped by the Israelites in the days of their idolatry. The worship of this goddess was attended with lewd orgies.

    The Greeks and Romans also indulged in the worship of female deities. Juno, a celebrated deity, was worshiped by both Greeks and Romans. Ceres was the goddess of Corn, Clio of History, Diana of the Chase, Erato of Lovers, Hygeia of Health. Minerva was also a noted name in their mythology. She was supposed to represent Wisdom, War, and the Liberal Arts, as Pallas also did Wisdom, and as Vesta did the domestic hearth. These are a few of the feminine deities who were worshiped at one time and another, and who were supposed to confer great benefits upon their worshipers.

    The tendency to attribute God-like powers to members of the female sex is exhibited nowadays in the adoration which is paid to the mother of the Savior, the Virgin Mary. The belief in her influence with her immaculate Son, and the aid which He is supposed to be ready to bestow, calls forth from thousands of worshipers prayers and offerings to her.

    This belief has spread through various lands, and is another illustration of the disposition to ascribe the power of God to a Woman. That great care must be exercised among the Latter-day Saints upon this point there can scarcely be a question. The late Sister Eliza R. Snow com posed a hymn which opens with “O my Father, thou that dwellest.” About a year ago a companion hymn to this invocation of Sister Snow’s, entitled “Our Mother in Heaven,” was published in the JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR. In this hymn there is too much of this inclination to deify “our mother in heaven” manifested to make it such a hymn as ought to be sung and to become a house hold hymn among the Latter-day Saints. There is no ground to think that the author had any design to teach any wrong ideas when he wrote this hymn; neither did the publishers. But if the Editor’s attention had been called to this before it appeared in the columns of the Juvenile INSTRUCTOR, he would have suggested some changes. For instance, in the third and fourth verses the poet says:

    “’Tis recorded in your journal, How you stood by Father’s side When by powers that are eternal Thou wast sealed his goddess bride: How by love and truth and virtue E’en in time thou didst become, Through your high, exalted station, Mother of the souls of men. When of evil I’ve repented, And my work on earth is done, Kindest Father, loving mother, Pray forgive your erring son.”

    This language approaches to worship. Our mother is called a “goddess bride.” But this is not all: she 1s appealed to with the Father to forgive her erring SOI).

    Poetical license may warrant the use of language to an extent that might be considered improper in prose; but, as Latter-day Saints, we cannot be too careful concerning the use of language that may lead to wrong impressions, especially regarding the Being whom we worship. In this poetry the mother is placed side by side and on an equality with the Father.

    One of the great commandments which the Lord gave to Israel after He led them out of Egypt and from the midst of the idolatrous people of Pharaoh, who had many false gods, was:

    “Thou shalt have no other gods be fore me.”

    The Lord also told the children of Israel, “I, the Lord, am a jealous God.”

    The most terrible woes which came upon Israel during their career in the land of Canaan were the result of de parting from the worship of the true God and bowing down to idols and false gods. The worship of the true God has been revealed to us. He has revealed Himself in our day. Mortal men have beheld the Eternal Father and the Redeemer, Jesus. And we know that they live. We know also that our Father in heaven should be the object of our worship. He will not have any divided worship. We are commanded to worship Him, and Him only.

    In the revelation of God the Eternal Father to the Prophet Joseph Smith there was no revelation of the feminine element as part of the Godhead, and no idea was conveyed that any such element “was equal in power and glory with the masculine.”

    Therefore, we are warranted in pronouncing all tendencies to glorify the feminine element and to exalt it as part of the Godhead as wrong and untrue, not only because of the revelation of the Lord in our day, but because it has no warrant in scripture, and any attempt to put such a construction on the word of God is false and erroneous.

  • First Law of Heaven

    First Law of Heaven

    Excerpt from an address by Prophet Thomas S. Monson in the April 2013 General Conference:1

    “Declared President Joseph F. Smith in October 1873, “Obedience is the first law of heaven.”

     

    Matthew 22:37-40: 2

    37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

    38 This is the first and great commandment.

    39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

    40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

     

    References

    References
    1  ‘Obedience Brings Blessings’, April 2013 General Conference – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/obedience-brings-blessings?lang=eng
    2 Matthew 22:37-40 – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/22.37
  • For the Love of God

    For the Love of God

    Excerpt from an October 1967 General Conference address by Ezra Taft Benson, ‘Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh’: 1

    “The world largely ignores the first and great commandment—to love God—but talks a lot about loving their brother. They worship at the altar of man. Would Nephi have slain Laban if he had put the love of neighbor above the love of God? Would Abraham have taken Isaac up for a sacrifice if he had put the second commandment first?”

    “There is no doubt that the so-called civil rights movement as it exists today is used as a Communist program for revolution in America just as agrarian reform was used by the Communists to take over China and Cuba.”

     

    References

    References
    1 October 1967 General Conference address by Ezra Taft Benson – http://scriptures.byu.edu/gettalk.php?ID=1569&era=yes
  • Causes

    Causes

    Excerpt from a 2016 Face to Face with Jeffrey R. Holland: 1

    “We have written, we have publicized, we have talked, we have put articles in Church magazines, about attraction. We do not make a judgment about someone’s attraction. We don’t know why that attraction came that way. And the person doesn’t. The one struggling with it doesn’t. We don’t make any attempt to say why that happened or how it happened.”

     

    Excerpt from a 1981 Booklet Addressing ‘Homosexuality’, published as a guide to be used for local leaders when working with homosexual members: 2

    The Causes of Homosexual Behavior
    Professionals do not agree on the causes of homosexual behavior. How- ever, most professional research supports the view that homosexual behavior is learned, and is influenced by unhealthy emotional development in early childhood. This explanation is most consistent with what the Lord has revealed concerning the eternal nature of man as the offspring of divine parents.

    Although there are probably many factors affecting the development of homosexuality, the following elements appear quite consistently:

    1. Disturbed Family Background
    a) A key factor in the development of both male and female homosexuality seems to be the lack of a warm, supportive, affectionate relationship between the individual and his father. Many times the father is either physically or emotionally uninvolved in his child’s life or is punishing and authoritarian.
    b) The mother usually attempts to fill the physical and emotional void left by the father. Some mothers are overprotective and dominant.
    c) Because of inadequate parental examples in the home, the child does not learn proper masculine and feminine behavior.
    d) The relationship between mother and father is often strained, hostile, and competitive.

    2. Poor Relationship with Peers
    a) The individual sees himself as being different from peers; therefore, he tends to become isolated and lonely.
    b) His peers often see him as different, and they label and reject him.
    c) The individual often uses homosexual behavior as a way to gain acceptance. Because he needs warmth and love, he is attracted by the apparent acceptance of others who engage in homosexual activities. d) Because he is isolated from others, he does not develop fundamental social skills and attitudes.

    3. Unhealthy Sexual Attitudes
    a) The individual’s parents may view sexual expression as something which is improper or even “dirty.” They may pass this attitude on to their children.
    b) The mother may place too much importance on a strong emotional attachment between herself and her son as a result of her efforts to fill the emotional void left by the father.
    c) The mother may discourage her son’s interest in girls.
    d) The father’s passive or negative relationship with the mother can create a negative attitude in the child about the proper relationships between a husband and wife.
    e) Some young people may misinterpret Church emphasis on premarital chastity, completely avoiding heterosexual interests or relationships.

    4. Early homosexual experience
    a) Early homosexual experiences increase the possibility of future homosexual encounters.
    b) Early masturbation experiences introduce the individual to sexual thoughts which may become habit- forming and reinforcing to homosexual interests.
    c) The first homosexual experience often occurs in early childhood for males, and in late teens or in the twenties for females.
    d) The individual is usually introduced to homosexual behavior by someone his own age or a few years older, almost always by someone he knows.

     

    References

    References
    1 Face to Face for Young Single Adults with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (2016) – https://www.lds.org/youth/activities/face-to-face-events/holland?lang=eng
    2 Homosexuality, Second Edition (LDS Manual – 1981) – https://archive.org/details/Homosexuality1981
  • Burn the Letter

    Burn the Letter

    On August 18th, several weeks after his marriage to Sarah Ann Whitney, Joseph Smith wrote a letter to his new bride and her parents. At the time he was hiding from the law at a home on the outskirts of Nauvoo: 1

    “Dear, and Beloved, Brother

    and Sister, Whitney, and &c.–

    I take this oppertunity to communi[c]ate, some of my feelings, privetely at this time, which I want you three Eternaly to keep in your own bosams; for my feelings are so strong for you since what has pased lately between us, that the time of my abscence from you seems so long, and dreary, that it seems, as if I could not live long in this way: and if you three would come and see me in this my lonely retreat, it would afford me great relief, of mind, if those with whom I am alied, do love me, now is the time to afford me succour, in the days of exile, for you know I foretold you of these things. I am now at Carlos Graingers, Just back of Brother Hyrams farm, it is only one mile from town, the nights are very pleasant indeed, all three of you can come and See me in the fore part of the night, let Brother Whitney come a little a head, and nock at the south East corner of the house at the window; it is next to the cornfield, I have a room intirely by myself, the whole matter can be attended to with most perfect safty, I know it is the will of God that you should comfort me now in this time of afiliction, or not at [al]l[;] now is the time or never, but I hav[e] no kneed of saying any such thing, to you, for I know the goodness of your hearts, and that you will do the will of the Lord, when it is made known to you; the only thing to be careful of; is to find out when Emma [Smith] comes then you cannot be safe, but when she is not here, there is the most perfect safty: only be careful to escape observation, as much as possible, I know it is a heroick undertakeing; but so much the greater frendship, and the more Joy, when I see you I will tell you all my plans, I cannot write them on paper, burn this letter as soon as you read it; keep all locked up in your breasts, my life depends upon it. one thing I want to see you for it is to git the fulness of my blessings sealed upon our heads, &c. you will pardon me for my earnestness on this subject when you consider how lonesome I must be, your good feelings know how to make every allowance for me, I close my letter, I think Emma [Smith, his first wife] wont come tonight[,] if she dont dont fail to come to night. I subscribe myself your most obedient, and affectionate, companion, and friend.”

     

    Additional Study

    Episode 16: Sarah Ann Whitney, Year of Polygamy (podcast) – http://www.yearofpolygamy.com/year-of-polygamy/year-of-polygamy-sarah-ann-whitney-episode-16/

    References

    References
    1 Letter to the Whitneys, 18 August 1842, Joseph Smith Papers – http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-to-the-whitneys-18-august-1842/1
  • Unconditional Love

    Unconditional Love

    Excerpt from a 1993 Christmas Devotional address by Gordon B. Hinckley: 1

    “And so at this Christmas season we reach out to all in a spirit of love and reconciliation, even to those who speak evil against us. We sing beautiful carols that tell of the night of His birth, that silent and holy night. In moments of quiet, we reflect upon His matchless life and His unconditional love for each of us. As unworthy recipients of His mercy, we thank Him for His redeeming sacrifice.”

     

    Excerpt from a 2003 Ensign article by Apostle Russell M. Nelson: 2

    “While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional. The word does not appear in the scriptures. On the other hand, many verses affirm that the higher levels of love the Father and the Son feel for each of us—and certain divine blessings stemming from that love—are conditional.”

     

    References

    References
    1 December 11, 1993, Christmas Devotional – http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/23911/Devotional-focuses-on-the-Savior.html
    2 February 2003 Ensign, ‘Divine Love’ – https://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng
  • Disavows Scripture

    Disavows Scripture

    Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, ‘Race and the Priesthood’: 1

    “Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”

     

    Racially charged passages in the Book of Mormon: 2

    23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations. (1 Ne. 12:23)

    14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. 15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain. (1 Ne. 13:14-15)

    21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. 22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities. 23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done. (2 Ne. 5:21-23)

    6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure [white, 1830] and a delightsome people. 7 And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people. (2 Ne. 30:6-7) [Note: The Printer’s Manuscript, the 1830 first published edition, and the second 1837 edition have “white”; the 1840 third edition and the 1981 edition have “pure.”] 3

    5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them. 6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people. 7 Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator? 8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God. 9 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers. (Jacob 3:5-9)

    5 Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked, save it were skin which was girded about their loins, and also their armor, which was girded about them, and their bows, and their arrows, and their stones, and their slings, and so forth. 6 And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men. 7 And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women. 8 And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction. 9 And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed. 10 Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under that head, and there was a mark set upon him…. 14 Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them. 15 And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also. 16 And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed. 17 And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed. (Alma 3:5-10, 14-17)

    14 And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; 15 And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites; 16 And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites. (3 Ne. 2:14-16)

    25 And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof. 26 And Jesus said unto them: Pray on; nevertheless they did not cease to pray. 27 And he turned from them again, and went a little way off and bowed himself to the earth; and he prayed again unto the Father, saying: 28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me. 29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them. 30 And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even as Jesus. (3 Ne. 19:25-30)

    And now, behold, it came to pass that the people of Nephi did wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast, and became an exceedingly fair and delightsome people. (4 Ne. 1:10)

    14 And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant; 15 And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry. (Mormon 5:14-15)

    O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day. (Mormon 9:6)

     

    References

    References
    1 LDS Gospel Topic Essay, ‘Race and the Priesthood’ – https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
    2 The Book of Mormon – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng
    3 The Book of Mormon (1830) – http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/book-of-mormon-1830/1
  • I Have Set by His Side

    I Have Set by His Side

    Footnote 31, ‘Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham’, LDS Gospel Topic Essay: 1

    “31. John Whitmer, History, 1831–ca. 1837, 76, in Karen Lynn Davidson, Richard L. Jensen, and David J. Whittaker, eds., Histories, Volume 2: Assigned Historical Writings, 1831–1847, vol. 2 of the Histories series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2012), 86. “I have set by his side and penned down the translation of the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks as he claimed to receive it by direct inspiration of Heaven,” wrote Warren Parrish, Joseph Smith’s scribe. (Warren Parrish, Feb. 5, 1838, Letter to the editor, Painesville Republican, Feb. 15, 1838, [3].)”

     

    Full ‘Letter to the editor, Painesville Republican, Feb. 15, 1838’, Warren Parrish: 2

    “KIRTLAND, Feb. 5, 1838.

    To the EDITOR of the PAINESVILLE REPUBLICAN:

    SIR: — I have taken the liberty to send you a synopsis of some of the leading features of the characters of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sydney Rigdon, who are styled leaders of the Mormon Church, and if you are disposed, and think it would be of service to the public, you are at liberty to publish it. I have for several years past been a member of the Church of Latter day Saints, commonly called Mormon, belonging to the quorum of seventy High Priests, and an intimate acquaintance of Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sydney Rigdon, the modern Prophets, and have had an opportunity of ascertaining to as great an extent, perhaps the real characters of these men, as any other individual.

    I have been Smith’s private Secretary, called to fill this high and responsible station by revelation which I wrote myself as it dropped from the lips of the Prophet, and although contrary to my natural inclinations, I submitted to it, fearing to disobey or treat lightly the commands of the Almighty. I have kept his Journal, and, like Baram [sic, Baruch?], the ancient scribe, have had the honor of writing the History of one of the Prophets. — I have attended him in the private Councils, in the secret chambers and in public exhibition. — I have performed a pilgrimage with him, (not to Mecca,) but to Missouri, a distance of 1000 miles, for the redemption of Zion, in company with about two hundred others, called the camp of Israel. When we arrived in Clay County adjoining Jackson County, Mo., in which Zion was located by revelation, and from which our brethren had been driven, we were informed through the Prophet that God had revealed to us that we need not cross over and fight as we had expected, but that God had accepted our sacrifice as he did that of Abraham, ours being equal to his when he offered up his Son. Therefore, we were sealed up unto eternal life in the name of Jesus Christ, as a reward for our suffering and obedience.

    I have set by his side and penned down the translation of the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks as he claimed to receive it by direct inspiration of Heaven. I have listened to him with feelings of no ordinary kind, when he declared that the audible voice of God, instructed him to establish a Banking-Anti Banking institution, which like Aaron’s rod should swallow up all other Banks (the Bank of Monroe excepted,) and grow and flourish and spread from the rivers to the ends of the earth, and survive when all others should be laid in ruins.

    I have been astonished to hear him declare that we had 60,000 Dollars in specie in our vaults, and $600,000 at our command, when we had not to exceed $6,000 and could not command any more; also that we had but about ten thousand Dollars of our bills in circulation, when he, as Cashier of the institution, knew that there was at least $150,000. Knowing their extreme poverty when they commenced this speculation, I have been not a little surprised to hear them assert that they were worth from three to four hundred thousand Dollars Cash, and in less than ninety days after, became insolvent without any change in their business affairs. But such has been the audacity of these boasting blasphemers, that they have assumed the authority to curse, or to bless, to damn, or to save, not only this Church but this entire generation, and that they hold their destinies in this world and that which is to come. And such has been their influence over this Church in this place, that they have filched the monies from their pockets and obtained their earthly substance for the purpose of establishing a Bank and various wild speculations, in order that they might aggrandize themselves and families, until they have reduced their followers to wretchedness and want.

    For the year past their lives have been one continued scene of lying, deception, and fraud, and that too, in the name of God. But this I can account for in my own mind, having a knowledge of their private characters and sentiments, I believe them to be confirmed Infidels, who have not the fear of God before their eyes, notwithstanding their high pretensions to holiness, and frequent correspondence with the Angels of Heaven, and the revelations of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost.

    What avails the claims of such men to holiness of heart, when their examples do violence to the system of morality, to say nothing about religion? What more favorable idea, can one entertain who has heard them say that man has no more agency than a wheelbarrow, and consequently is not accountable, and in the final end of all things no such principle will exist as sin.

    This language, independent of many abominations that might be named, such as the Prophet’s fighting four pitched battles at fisticuff, within four years, one with his own natural brother, one with his brother-in-law, one with Ezra Thair, and one with a Baptist priest, speaks volumes.

    Their management in this place has reduced society to a complete wreck. The recent outrage committed here, viz. the burning of the Printing establishment, I have no doubt was nothing more, nor less than carrying into effect Smith and Rigdon’s last revelation that they had before they took their leave of this place between two days — in fact the lying, fighting, stealing, running away, &c., that has carried on among us are only reducing their theory to practice, and in some instances they have not only taught the theory, but have set the example themselves.

    And I am fully convinced that their precepts and examples, both in public and in private, are calculated to corrupt the morals of their votaries and cast a shade over their characters, which like the twilight of evening will soon settle into the gloom of midnight darkness; and had it not been arrested in its mad career, would have transmitted to succeeding generations, a system of hereditary tyranny, and spiritual despotism, unparalleled in the annals of the christian Church, the Church of Rome not excepted. But they have fled in the night; “they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil; the wicked flee when no man pursuth.” — the printing establishment, book bindery, &c., was formerly the property of Smith and Rigdon; it had been sold the day previous to its being set on fire, by virtue of two executions obtained against them of one thousand dollars each, for issuing banking paper contrary to law.

    The establishment had fallen into the hands of those who have of late remonstrated against the wickedness of the above-named individuals; and had it not been sacrificed upon the altar of reckless fanaticism, it would no doubt at this time have been speaking the truth, as an atonement for an ill-spent life; a well grounded conviction of this fact was evidently one reason why Smith and Rigdon obtained a revelation to abscond; and that the press must not at all hazards be suffered to be put in requisition against them; also that God would destroy this place by fire, for its wickedness against his Prophets, and that his servants are swift messengers of destruction, by whose hands he avenges himself upon his enemies; this accounts for the outrage.

    This is but a preface to the catalogue of their iniquities that might be enumerated. But the most astonishing thing after all is, that men of common sense and common abilities, should be so completely blinded as to dispense entirely with the evidence of their senses, and tamely submit to be led by such men, and to contenance such glaring inconsistencies; and at the same time to be made to believe, that they had God for their author, and the happiness and well being of mankind for their end and aim. But the magic charm is broken at last; superstition and bigotry have begun to lose their influence and unclench their iron grasp from this devoted people who have “been led like lambs to the slaughter, and as a sheep is dumb before her shearers,” so have we not dared to open our mouths.

    However justice seems to be in pursuit of the workers of iniquity; and sooner or later will overtake them: they will reap a just and sure retribution for their folly. This then is the conclusion of the whole matter; they lie by revelation, swindle by revelation, cheat and defraud by revelation, run away by revelation, and if they do not mend their ways, I fear that they will at last be damned by revelation.

    M. [sic, W.] PARRISH. “

     

    References

    References
    1 ‘Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham’, LDS Gospel Topic Essay – https://www.lds.org/topics/translation-and-historicity-of-the-book-of-abraham?lang=eng
    2 Letter to the editor, Painesville Republican, Feb. 15, 1838 – https://archive.org/details/PainesvilleRepublican02151838
  • Word of Wisdom

    Word of Wisdom

    Excerpt from a 1977 General Conference address by Gordon B. Hinckley: 1

    “The so-called Mormon code of health, widely praised in these days of cancer and heart research, is in reality a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1833 as a “Word of Wisdom” from the Lord. (D&C 89:1.) In no conceivable way could it have come of the dietary literature of the time, nor from the mind of the man who announced it. Today, in terms of medical research, it is a miracle, whose observance has saved incalculable suffering and premature death for uncounted tens of thousands.”

     

    Wine and Strong Drink

    ???? D&C 89 – 1833 2

    5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

    ???? Means of Preserving Health, and Preventing Diseases – 3

    P. 31 Those who indulge in wine and strong liquors, are, also, often afflicted with that painful and excruciating disorder, the gravel, which rarely yields to the power of any medicine hitherto discovered.”
    P. 31 Means of Preserving Health, and Preventing Diseases… Wine…when drunk frequently and copiously, it generally, sooner or later, injures the constitution, or renders it subject to inflammatory diseases. It is a powerful stimulant, the long continued use of which, rarely fails to induce debility. Hence, great wine-drinkers, somewhat advanced in life, are generally low-spirited, and often afflicted with a long train of hypochondrical symptoms and incurable diseases…
    P. 34 [Concerning distilled spirits] their frequent and excessive use is not only unnecessary, but highly injurious; and has destroyed thousands; perhaps more than either pestilence, famine, or the sword. I need not, therefore, take much pains to show their evil consequences, either in a medical, political, moral, or religious point of view;

    ???? Journal of Health – 1830 4

    P. 38 …strong drinks, which soon leads to intemperance and drunkenness.

     

    Hot Drinks

    ???? D&C 89 – 1833

    9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

    ???? Means of Preserving Health, and Preventing Diseases – 1806

    P. 92 It is supposed, that tea contains a volatile, cordial, or reviving principle; which, if admitted is nothing in favour of its wholesomeness for constant use; for powers of a stimulant nature, when long continued, are sure to be followed by an atonic or debilitated state of the stomach; and, finally, of the whole constitution. Many cheaper and more innocent substitutes may be found in our own country; which, if prepared in a similar manner, should be used rather cool than hot.
    P. 99 It is rare to see great and constant drinkers of strong tea and coffee, somewhat advanced in life, who have not some symptoms of weakness, tremors, or indigestion: wherefore, it is judged, that the great number and increase of paralytic, nervous, and hypochondriac diseases are, in part, to be attributed to the frequent and excessive use of those articles, drunk in a hot and strong state.
    P. 99 Did women know the train of diseases induced by debility, and how disagreeable these diseases render them to the other sex, they would shun tea as the most deadly poison. No man can love a woman eaten up with vapours…Avoid, likewise, the excessive use of hot drinks, such as coffee, chocolate, and tea, particularly the last, in which the inhabitants of this country indulge more than any other beverage

    ???? Journal of Health – 1830

    P. 18 Mrs.___complains of sick headache,—she cannot sleep, she is nervous and unhappy. Advise her to give up drinking coffee and green tea, and to take a walk in the open air everyday.
    P. 211 Even the use of coffee and tea must, in many cases, be discontinued.
    P. 332 I gave up at once the use of tea, coffee, and animal food.
    P. 351 You are better without coffee, tea, or chocolate.

     

     Tobacco

    ???? D&C 89 – 1833

    8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

    ???? Means of Preserving Health, and Preventing Diseases – 1806

    P. 226 In no one view, is it possible to contemplate the creature man in a more absurd and ridiculous light; than in his attachment to tobacco. This weed is of a stimulating nature, whether it be used in smoking, chewing, or in snuff…
    P. 226 The progress of habit in the use of tobacco is exactly the same as in the use of spirituous liquors. The slaves of it begin by using it only after dinner; then during the whole afternoon and evening; afterwards, before dinner; then before breakfast; and, finally, during the whole night.
    P. 226 The oil of tobacco is of so active and virulent a nature, that a few drops of it have proven fatal.
    P. 226 This plant is possessed of narcotic properties, by which it produces, in those who first begin to smoke it, giddiness, cold sweats, vomiting, purging;

    ???? Journal of Health – 1830

    P. 37 Tobacco is, in fact, an absolute poison.
    P. 329 That few substances arecapable of exerting effects so sudden and destructive as this poisonous plant [tobacco].

     

    Meat

    ???? D&C 89 – 1833

    12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
    13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

    ???? Means of Preserving Health, and Preventing Diseases – 1806

    P. 108 A reason for avoiding much animal food, especially in cities, and during the summer season, is, that a great part of the fresh meat brought to market, becomes overheated and feverish by long keeping…and some, perhaps, has already undergone the incipient stage of putrefaction before it is cooked…It is therefore, recommended to all in hot seasons and climates, to abstain from much animal food…
    P. 119 …although animal food may be admissible by the human economy…for the most part, a small portion of it only is necessary; that the very temperate and sparing use of it is the surest means of preserving health, and obtaining long life; whilst the large use of it tends to the production of diseases…
    P. 114 Melted fat, or the drippings of baked and roasted meat, are equally, if not more, pernicious to the stomach than even stale butter, and both ought to be used only for greasing cart-wheels, and not for injuring human organs.

    ???? Journal of Health – 1830

    P. 351 Meat and fish ought to be used sparingly,
    P. 15 …the large majority of mankind do not eatany animal food, or so sparingly, and at such long intervals, that it cannot be said to form their nourishment. Millions in Asia are sustained by rice alone…

     

     

    Additional Study

    A Historical Analysis of the Word of Wisdom, BYU – http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6038&context=etd
    Temperance Movement – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_movement

    References

    References
    1 Joseph the Seer, Gordon B. Hinckley – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1977/04/joseph-the-seer?lang=eng
    2 Doctrine Covenants 89, The Word of Wisdom – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng
    3 1806 Means of preserving health, and preventing diseases, 1806, Ricketson, Shadrach – https://archive.org/details/meansofpreservin00rick
    4 Journal of Health, 1830 – https://archive.org/details/journalofhealth01slsn
  • Brain on God

    Brain on God

    In 2016 researchers at the University of Utah conducted tests with 19 returned missionaries, recording fMRI scans of their brains as they evoked spiritual feelings.

    Excerpt from the UofU article, This is your brain on God: 1

    “Based on fMRI scans, the researchers found that powerful spiritual feelings were reproducibly associated with activation in the nucleus accumbens, a critical brain region for processing reward.”

    “In addition to the brain’s reward circuits, the researchers found that spiritual feelings were associated with the medial prefrontal cortex, which is a complex brain region that is activated by tasks involving valuation, judgment and moral reasoning. Spiritual feelings also activated brain regions associated with focused attention.”

    “Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music…”

    Additional Study

    Reward, salience, and attentional networks are activated by religious experience in devout Mormons – http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17470919.2016.1257437

    References

    References
    1 This is your brain on God, University of Utah – https://unews.utah.edu/this-is-your-brain-on-god/
  • John D. Lee

    John D. Lee

    September 11th marks the anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. A five day siege that culminated in the slaughter of some 120 California-bound immigrants in 1857, at the hands of Mormon militiamen (reinstated Nauvoo Legion) from Parowan, Utah.1

    A month before the emigrants departed Arkansas on their journey west, Parley P. Pratt (LDS Apostle) was shot and stabbed by an estranged husband of his twelfth plural wife in the same state. Additionally there was war hysteria about a possible invasion into the Mormon territory by the U.S. government, placing the Mormon population on edge.

    The wagon train of emigrants were bound for California on a route that passed through the Utah Territory. After arriving in Salt Lake, the Baker-Fancher party made their way south, eventually stopping to rest at Mountain Meadows. While camping at the meadow, nearby Mormon militia leaders, including Isaac C. Haight (LDS Stake President) and John D. Lee (adopted son, sealed to Brigham Young), joined forces to organize an attack on the wagon train.

    Intending to give the appearance of Native American aggression, the militia’s plan was to arm some Southern Paiutes and persuade them to join with a larger party of their own militiamen—disguised as Native Americans—in an attack. During the militia’s first assault on the wagon train the emigrants fought back, and a five-day siege ensued. Eventually fear spread among the militia’s leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men and had likely discovered the identity of their attackers. As a result militia commander William H. Dame ordered his forces to kill the emigrants.

    By this time the emigrants were running low on water and provisions, and allowed some approaching members of the militia—who carried a white flag—to enter their camp. John D. Lee, then local Indian agent, told them the Indians had gone, and if the Arkansans would lay down their arms, he and his men would escort them to safety. They were separated into three groups—the wounded and youngest children, who led the way in two wagons; the women and older children, who walked behind; and then the men, each escorted by an armed member of the militia.

    Lee led his charges three-quarters of a mile from the campground to a southern branch of the California Trail. As they approached the rim of the Great Basin, a single shot rang out, followed by an order: “Do your duty!” The escorts turned and shot down the men, painted “Indians” jumped out of oak brush and cut down the women and children, and Lee directed the murder of the wounded.

    Following the massacre, the perpetrators hastily buried the victims, leaving the bodies vulnerable to wild animals and the climate. Local families took in the surviving 17 children (all under 8 years of age), and many of the victims’ possessions were auctioned off.

    Initially, the LDS Church denied any involvement by Mormons, and was relatively silent on the issue. Though an early investigation was conducted by Brigham Young, who interviewed John D. Lee on September 29th, 1857. Young sent a report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs stating the massacre was the work of Native Americans. The Utah War delayed any investigation by the U.S. government until 1859, when Jacob Forney and Major James Henry Carleton conducted investigations. In Carleton’s investigation, at Mountain Meadows he found women’s hair tangled in sage brush and the bones of children still in their mothers’ arms. Carleton later said it was “a sight which can never be forgotten.” After gathering up the skulls and bones of those who had died, Carleton’s troops buried them and erected a cairn and cross with the inscription “Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord.”

    During a tour of southern Utah, Brigham Young along with some 60 other Saints, visited the massacre site in May 1861. After viewing the inscription on the cross, Wilford Woodruff recorded President Young as saying “it should be vengeance is mine and I have taken a little.” The cross was then torn down and the rocks of the cairn were dismantled, leaving little of the original marker.

    Captain James Lynch, who visited the site of the massacre in 1859, recorded his impressions:2

    The scene of the fearful murder still bears evidence of the atrocious crime, charged by the Mormons and their friends to have been perpetrated by Indians but really by mormons disguised as Indians, who in their headlong zeal, bigotry and fanaticism deemed this a favorable opportunity of at once wreaking their vengeance on the hated people of Arkansas, and of making another of these iniquitious “Blood offerings” to God so often recommended by Brigham Young and their other leaders. For more than two square miles the ground is strewn with the skulls, bones and other remains of the victims. In places water has washed many of these remains together, forming little mounds, raising monuments as it were to the cruelty of man to his fellow man. Here and there may be found the remains of an innocent infant beside those of some devoted mother, ruthlessly slain by men worse than demons; their bones lie bleaching in the noon day sun a mute but eloquent appeal to a just but offended God for vengeance. I have witnessed many harrowing sights on the fields of battle, but never did my heart thrill with such horrible emotions, as when standing on that silent plain contemplating the remains of the innocent victims of Mormon Avarice, fanaticism & cruelty.

    “Blood offerings” perhaps referencing the early mormon teaching of blood atonement that some crimes are so heinous that the atonement of Christ does not apply. Instead, to atone for these sins perpetrators should be killed in a way that would allow their blood to be shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering. Brigham Young taught that a person who…

    …has committed a sin that he knows will deprive him of that exaltation which he desires, and that he cannot attain to it without the shedding of his blood, and also knows that by having his blood shed he will atone for that sin, and be saved and exalted with the Gods, is there a man or woman in this house but what would say, ‘shed my blood that I may be saved and exalted with the Gods?’ All mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by an individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed. That would be loving themselves, even unto an eternal exaltation. Will you love your brothers or sisters likewise, when they have committed a sin that cannot be atoned for without the shedding of their blood? Will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what Jesus Christ meant. 3

    :::

    Excerpt from the last confession and statement of John D. Lee taken shortly before his execution for involvement in the Mountain Meadows massacre:4

    I believed then as I do now, that it was the will of every true Mormon in Utah, at that time, that the enemies of the Church should be killed as fast as possible, and that as this lot of people had men amongst them that were supposed to have helped kill the Prophets in the Carthage jail, the killing of all of them would be keeping our oaths and avenging the blood of the Prophets.

    The oath of vengeance was an addition made to the Nauvoo endowment under the direction of Brigham Young by 1845 in the Nauvoo Temple, soon after the 1844 death of Joseph Smith. Participants agreed to be bound by the following oath:

    You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray and never cease to pray to Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and to your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation.5

     

    References

    References
    1 Mountain Meadows massacre – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Meadows_massacre
    2 Affidavit of Jame Lynch – https://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/james_lynch.htm
    3 Journal of Discourses, vol.4, pp. 215–21. – http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/9596
    4 Last confession and statement of John D. Lee – http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/jdlconfession.htm
    5 Oath of vengeance, Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_vengeance
  • Don’t Expect Us

    Don’t Expect Us

    Excerpt from a 2006 interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Lance B. Wickman: “Same-Gender Attraction”:[footnote]Interview With Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Lance B. Wickman: “Same-Gender Attraction” – LDS Newsroom[/footnote]

    PUBLIC AFFAIRS: At what point does showing that love cross the line into inadvertently endorsing behavior? If the son says, ‘Well, if you love me, can I bring my partner to our home to visit? Can we come for holidays?’ How do you balance that against, for example, concern for other children in the home?’

    ELDER OAKS: That’s a decision that needs to be made individually by the person responsible, calling upon the Lord for inspiration. I can imagine that in most circumstances the parents would say, ‘Please don’t do that. Don’t put us into that position.’ Surely if there are children in the home who would be influenced by this example, the answer would likely be that. There would also be other factors that would make that the likely answer. I can also imagine some circumstances in which it might be possible to say, ‘Yes, come, but don’t expect to stay overnight. Don’t expect to be a lengthy house guest. Don’t expect us to take you out and introduce you to our friends, or to deal with you in a public situation that would imply our approval of your “partnership.”



    Crash Course:

    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths
    Interview With Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Lance B. Wickman: “Same-Gender Attraction” – LDS Newsroom

  • Courage

    Courage

    Image: Video of 12 year old gay Mormon youth sharing her testimony, told to ‘sit down’ after coming out to her congregation (Mormon Leaks). 


    Savannah’s testimony:

    My name is Savannah and I want to share my testimony with you.

    I believe I am a child of heavenly parents. I don’t know if they talk to us, but I feel in my heart that they made me and that they love me. I believe I was made the way I am, all parts of me, by my heavenly parents.

    They did not mess up when they gave me brown eyes, or when I was born bald. They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay. God loves me just this way because I believe that he loves all his creations.

    I do believe he made this way on purpose, not part of me is a mistake.

    I do not choose to be this way, and it is not a fad. I cannot make someone else gay and being around me won’t make anyone else this way. I believe that God wants us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different, especially if they are different. Christ showed us this.

    I believe that we should just love. I believe I am good. I try my best to be nice to each other and stick up for those that are hurting. I know I’m not a horrible sinner for being who I am. I believe God would tell me if I was wrong.

    I hope someday to go on dates, go to school dances, to hold hands and to go off to college. I hope to find a partner and have a great job. I hope to get married and have a family.

    I know these dreams and wishes are good and right. I know I can have all of these things as a lesbian and be happy. I believe that if God is there, he knows I am perfect, just the way I am and would never ask me to live my life alone or with someone I am not attracted to.

    He would want me to be happy. I want to be happy. I want to love myself and not to feel shame for being me. I ask you…

    At this point the first counselor of the stake presidency cut Savannah’s microphone and told her to “sit down



    Crash Course:

    12-year-old girl comes out to her Mormon congregation – CNN
    How one Mormon girl’s brave coming out started a national conversation – Mashable
    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths

  • Joseph Boasts

    Joseph Boasts

    Image: Joseph Smith Jr. 


    ‘Address of the Prophet [Joseph Smith Jr.] — His Testimony Against the Dissenters at Nauvoo.’, History of the Church[footnote]History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 408-409[/footnote]

    President Joseph Smith read the 11th Chap. 2 Corinthians. My object is to let you know that I am right here on the spot where I intend to stay. I, like Paul, have been in perils, and oftener than anyone in this generation. As Paul boasted, I have suffered more than Paul did. I should be like a fish out of water, if I were out of persecutions. Perhaps my brethren think it requires all this to keep me humble. The Lord has constituted me so curiously that I glory in persecution. I am not nearly so humble as if I were not persecuted. If oppression will make a wise man mad, much more a fool. If they want a beardless boy to whip all the world, I will get on the top of a mountain and crow like a rooster; I shall always beat them. When facts are proved, truth and innocence will prevail at last. My enemies are no philosophers: they think that when they have my spoke under, they will keep me down–but for the fools, I will hold on and fly over them.

    God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil–all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last.I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet. You know my daily walk and conversation. I am in the bosom of a virtuous and good people. How I do love to hear the wolves howl! When they can get rid of me, the devil will also go. For the last three years I have a record of all my acts and proceedings, for I have kept several good, faithful, and efficient clerks in constant employ: they have accompanied me everywhere, and carefully kept my history, and they have written down what I have done, where I have been, and what I have said; therefore my enemies cannot charge me with any day, time, or place, but what I have written testimony to prove my actions; and my enemies cannot prove anything against me. They have got wonderful things in the land of Ham. I think the grand jury have strained at a gnat and swallowed the camel.

     


     

    Crash Course:

    History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 408-409 – BYU Studies
    Joseph Smith – WikiPedia
    Arrogance – Mormon Think

  • Justified Evil

    Justified Evil

    Image: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf – April 2017 General Conference


     

    From the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 10-13, 18:[footnote]1 Nephi 10-13, 18 – LDS.org[/footnote]

    10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.

    11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.

    12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;

    13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

    18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

    Excerpt from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s April 2017 General Conference address:[footnote]Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s April 2017 General Conference address – LDS.org[/footnote]

    There may be moments when we are tempted to justify our actions by believing that the end justifies the means. We might even think that to be controlling, manipulative and harsh will be for the good of others. Not so, for the Lord has made it clear, ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness [and] temperance.’ “


     

    Crash Course:

    Mormon leader condemns fear tactics; new Utah temple, four others announced – Salt Lake Tribune
    April 2017 LDS General Conference – LDS.org

  • We Love Our Women

    We Love Our Women

    Image: 2017 April General Conference, view from inside the LDS Conference Center


    A 2015 Time article (citing a ARIS Study) shows for every 100 male members there are 150 female members (in the state of Utah) of the LDS church:[footnote]What Two Religions Tell Us About The Modern Dating Crisis, 2015 – Time[/footnote]

    One of my web searches turned up a study from Trinity College’s American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) on the demographics of Mormons. According to the ARIS study, there are now 150 Mormon women for every 100 Mormon men in the state of Utah—a 50 percent oversupply of women. On a lark, I emailed my friend Cynthia Bowman,* a devout Mormon who grew up in Salt Lake City and returns there often, and asked her whether Mormon sex ratios are as lopsided as the ARIS study claimed.

    Here is a summation of the April 2017 LDS General Conference addresses – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04?lang=eng

    Interesting to note that a woman wasn’t allowed to pray in General Conference till the Spring of 2013. [footnote]First prayer by woman offered at Mormon conference (video) – Salt Lake Tribune[/footnote]


     

    Crash Course:
    April 2017 LDS General Conference – LDS.org
    Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women  – LDS Gospel Topic Essay
    Psychologist’s Response to Women and Priesthood essay – Mormon Transitions
    How the temple is sexist (and the church is, too) – Young Mormon Feminist
    First prayer by woman offered at Mormon conference (video) – Salt Lake Tribune

  • Worth It

    Worth It

    Image: Artists portrayal of Jesus Christ.


    Mae West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian, and sex symbol:[footnote]Misquoting the Savior – Middle Age Mormon Man[/footnote]

    I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it. I never said there wouldn’t be tears, I just promised to be there if there was. I never said it would be true love, I only said you’d know if it was. I never promised it would be forever, I only said to love unconditionally and generously with no recognition of time. I never said to hold on at all costs, I only said one day you’d have to let go and be free. I never said you’d get the rainbow without getting through the rain, I only said the sun is always brighter than the storm. I never said you wouldn’t cry, or feel like your heart had died. I never said you wouldn’t change inside. And if I had, I’d have lied…”


     

    Crash Course:
    Misquoting the Savior – Middle Age Mormon Man

  • Has it a name?

    Has it a name?

    Image: Salt Lake City LDS Temple


    To anyone who has knowledge of both the LDS Temple Ceremony (especially the pre-1990 temple ceremony) and Mason Rites it is very apparent that they have many similarities. Many things are exactly the same. Even knowledgeable Mormons admit that the endowment ceremony (especially in its earlier versions) contains many details that are similar to the Masonic initiation rites of Joseph Smith’s day. The symbols, oaths, handclasps, and terminology resemble the Masonic ritual in hundreds of ways.

    Masonic pass grip of a fellow craft:[footnote]Secret Masonic Handshakes, Passwords, Grips And Signs Of Blue Lodge Masonry [/footnote]

    The hand is taken as in an ordinary hand shake, and the Mason presses the top of his thumb against the space between the first and second knuckle joints of the first two fingers of his fellow Mason; the fellow Mason also presses his thumb on the corresponding part of the first Mason’s hand.
    The name of this grip is “Shibboleth”. When a candidate is imparted with this grip and its usage it is done in this manner:

    First, the Worshipful Master says to the candidate:

    “I now present my right hand in token of the continuance of friendship and brotherly love, and will invest you with the pass-grip, pass-word, real grip and word of a Fellow Craft. As you are uninstructed, he who has hitherto answered for you, will do so at this time. Give me the grip of an Entered Apprentice.”

    As previously explained from the Entered Apprentice degree, he then has this exchange with the Senior Deacon, who is standing next to the candidate, who is still kneeling at the altar, after having assume the obligation of this degree):

    WM: Brother Senior Deacon.
    SD: Worshipful Master.
    WM: Will you be off or from?
    SD: From.
    WM: From what and to what?
    SD: From the grip of an Entered Apprentice to the pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
    (At this time, the candidate is shown the Pass Grip)
    WM: Pass. What is that?
    SD: The pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
    WM: Has it a name?
    SD: It has.
    WM: Will you give it to me?
    SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
    WM: How will you dispose of it?
    SD: Letter or syllable it.
    WM: Syllable it and begin.
    SD: You begin.
    WM: Begin you.
    SD: Shib
    WM: bo
    SD: leth
    WM: Shibboleth, my Brother, is the name of this grip. You should always remember it, for should you be present at the opening or a Fellow Crafts Lodge, this pass-word will be demanded of you by one of the Deacons, and should you be unable to give it, it would cause confusion in the Craft.

    From the LDS endowment ceremony, Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood:[footnote]LDS Endowment Ceremony – Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood[/footnote]

    PETER: The Lord then gives the second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal grip, or Sure Sign of the Nail, and asks:
    LORD: What is that?
    PETER: The second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal grip, or Sure Sign of the Nail.
    LORD: Has it a name?
    PETER: It has.
    LORD: Will you give it to me?
    PETER: I cannot. I have not yet received it. For this purpose I have come to converse with the Lord through the veil.
    LORD: You shall receive it, upon the five points of fellowship, through the veil.
    PETER: The five points of fellowship are: inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear. The Lord then gives the name of this token and asks:
    LORD: What is that?
    PETER: The second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal grip, or Sure Sign of the Nail.
    LORD: Has it a name?
    PETER: It has.
    LORD: Will you give it to me?
    PETER: I will, upon the five points of fellowship, through the veil.The person then repeats back to the Lord the name of this token as he received it, whereupon the Lord says:
    LORD: That is correct.


     

    Crash Course:
    Temple Oaths – Mormon Think
    Secret Masonic Handshakes, Passwords, Grips And Signs Of Blue Lodge Masonry 
    Mormonism and Masonry (Podcast) – Mormon Expressions
    The LDS Endowment – For Latter-day Saints, the endowment serves as a rite of adult initiation.
    Masonic Symbols and the LDS Temple – Sandra Tanner
    Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney (Podcast) – Mormon Stories
    Occultic and Masonic Influence in Early Mormonism – Joel B. Groat

  • First, First Vision the Second

    First, First Vision the Second

    From the first account of the first vision in 1932, 12 years after the experience:

    [footnote]1832 First Vision Account – Joseph Smith Papers [/footnote]

    At about the age of twelve years, my mind become seriously impressed with regard to the all-important concerns for the welfare of my immortal soul, which led me to searching the scriptures—believing, as I was taught, that they contained the word of God and thus applying myself to them. My intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations led me to marvel exceedingly, for I discovered that they did not adorn their profession by a holy walk and godly conversation agreeable to what I found contained in that sacred depository. This was a grief to my soul.

    Thus, from the age of twelve years to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart concerning the situation of the world of mankind, the contentions and divisions, the wickedness and abominations, and the darkness which pervaded the minds of mankind. My mind became exceedingly distressed, for I became convicted of my sins, and by searching the scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatized from the true and living faith, and there was no society or denomination that was built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament. I felt to mourn for my own sins and for the sins of the world, for I learned in the scriptures that God was the same yesterday, today, and forever, that he was no respecter of persons, for he was God.

    For I looked upon the sun, the glorious luminary of the earth, and also the moon, rolling in their majesty through the heavens, and also the stars shining in their courses, and the earth also upon which I stood, and the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and the fish of the waters, and also man walking forth upon the face of the earth in majesty and in the strength of beauty, whose power and intelligence in governing the things which are so exceedingly great and marvelous, even in the likeness of him who created them. And when I considered upon these things, my heart exclaimed, “Well hath the wise man said, ‘It is a fool that saith in his heart, there is no God.’” My heart exclaimed, “All, all these bear testimony and bespeak an omnipotent and omnipresent power, a being who maketh laws and decreeth and bindeth all things in their bounds, who filleth eternity, who was and is and will be from all eternity to eternity.” And I considered all these things and that that being seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth.

    Therefore, I cried unto the Lord for mercy, for there was none else to whom I could go and obtain mercy. And the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness, and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord, in the sixteenth year of my age, a pillar of light above the brightness of the sun at noonday came down from above and rested upon me. I was filled with the spirit of God, and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord.

    And he spake unto me, saying, “Joseph, my son, thy sins are forgiven thee. Go thy way, walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments. Behold, I am the Lord of glory. I was crucified for the world, that all those who believe on my name may have eternal life. Behold, the world lieth in sin at this time, and none doeth good, no, not one. They have turned aside from the gospel and keep not my commandments. They draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me. And mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth, to visit them according to their ungodliness and to bring to pass that which hath been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and apostles. Behold and lo, I come quickly, as it is written of me, in the cloud, clothed in the glory of my Father.”

    My soul was filled with love, and for many days I could rejoice with great joy. The Lord was with me, but I could find none that would believe the heavenly vision. Nevertheless, I pondered these things in my heart.

    This first account of the Joseph’s first vision differs from the canonized 1838 account in a number of key areas. One of those being that Joseph, rather than describing two distinct personages,  described a singular Lord. Additionally, rather than inquiring which of the churches is the ‘most correct’ he seeks a ‘forgiveness of his sins’.


    Crash Course:
    1832 First Vision Account – Joseph Smith Papers
    First Vision Accounts – LDS Gospel Topic Essays
    The First Vision – Mormon Think
    Joseph Smith and “The” “First” “Vision” – wasmormon.org

    See also:

  • First, First Vision

    First, First Vision

    From the first account of the first vision in 1932, 12 years after the experience:

    [footnote]1832 First Vision Account – Joseph Smith Papers [/footnote]

    At about the age of twelve years, my mind become seriously impressed with regard to the all-important concerns for the welfare of my immortal soul, which led me to searching the scriptures—believing, as I was taught, that they contained the word of God and thus applying myself to them. My intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations led me to marvel exceedingly, for I discovered that they did not adorn their profession by a holy walk and godly conversation agreeable to what I found contained in that sacred depository. This was a grief to my soul.

    Thus, from the age of twelve years to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart concerning the situation of the world of mankind, the contentions and divisions, the wickedness and abominations, and the darkness which pervaded the minds of mankind. My mind became exceedingly distressed, for I became convicted of my sins, and by searching the scriptures I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatized from the true and living faith, and there was no society or denomination that was built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament. I felt to mourn for my own sins and for the sins of the world, for I learned in the scriptures that God was the same yesterday, today, and forever, that he was no respecter of persons, for he was God.

    For I looked upon the sun, the glorious luminary of the earth, and also the moon, rolling in their majesty through the heavens, and also the stars shining in their courses, and the earth also upon which I stood, and the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and the fish of the waters, and also man walking forth upon the face of the earth in majesty and in the strength of beauty, whose power and intelligence in governing the things which are so exceedingly great and marvelous, even in the likeness of him who created them. And when I considered upon these things, my heart exclaimed, “Well hath the wise man said, ‘It is a fool that saith in his heart, there is no God.’” My heart exclaimed, “All, all these bear testimony and bespeak an omnipotent and omnipresent power, a being who maketh laws and decreeth and bindeth all things in their bounds, who filleth eternity, who was and is and will be from all eternity to eternity.” And I considered all these things and that that being seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth.

    Therefore, I cried unto the Lord for mercy, for there was none else to whom I could go and obtain mercy. And the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness, and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord, in the sixteenth year of my age, a pillar of light above the brightness of the sun at noonday came down from above and rested upon me. I was filled with the spirit of God, and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord.

    And he spake unto me, saying, “Joseph, my son, thy sins are forgiven thee. Go thy way, walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments. Behold, I am the Lord of glory. I was crucified for the world, that all those who believe on my name may have eternal life. Behold, the world lieth in sin at this time, and none doeth good, no, not one. They have turned aside from the gospel and keep not my commandments. They draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me. And mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth, to visit them according to their ungodliness and to bring to pass that which hath been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and apostles. Behold and lo, I come quickly, as it is written of me, in the cloud, clothed in the glory of my Father.”

    My soul was filled with love, and for many days I could rejoice with great joy. The Lord was with me, but I could find none that would believe the heavenly vision. Nevertheless, I pondered these things in my heart.

    This first account of the Joseph’s first vision differs from the canonized 1838 account in a number of key areas. One of those being how Joseph learned that the other churches were in apostasy. In this first version he learns of this through study of the scriptures. In the 1838 version he is told of the apostasy in the visionary experience:

    [footnote]Joseph Smith History 1:18,19[/footnote]

    18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.

    19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”


    Crash Course:

    Joseph Smith History 1:18,19
    1832 First Vision Account – Joseph Smith Papers
    First Vision Accounts – LDS Gospel Topic Essays
    The First Vision – Mormon Think
    Joseph Smith and “The” “First” “Vision” – wasmormon.org

    See also: