POLITICAL GOVERNMENT

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I believe with all my soul in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in the law of God, and I do not think any honest and intelligent man or woman could help but believe in the justice, the righteousness and the purity of the laws that God wrote upon the tablets of stone. These principles that I propose to read to you are the foundation and basic principles of the Constitution of our country, and are eternal, enduring forevermore, and cannot be changed nor ignored with impunity:

"And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

That is what it means now, and what it meant to the Latter-day Saints, and what the Latter-day Saints understood it to mean, when they embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." He is the Father of our spirits, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is our God; and we shall not have any other before him.

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:1-6.) Infidels will say to you: "How unjust, how unmerciful, how un-Godlike it is to visit the iniquities of the parents upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate God." How do you see it? This way: and it is strictly in accordance with God's law. The infidel will impart infidelity to his children if he can. The whoremonger will not raise a pure, righteous posterity. He will impart seeds of disease and misery, if not of death and destruction, upon his offspring, which will continue upon his children and descend to his children's children to the third and fourth generation. It is perfectly natural that the children should inherit from their fathers, and if they sow the seeds of corruption, crime and loathsome disease, their children will reap the fruits thereof. Not in accordance with God's wishes, for his wish is that men will not sin and therefore will not transmit the consequences of their sin to their children, but that they will keep his commandments, and be free from sin and from entailing the effects of sin upon their offspring; but inasmuch as men will not hearken unto the Lord, but will become a law unto themselves, and will commit sin, they will justly reap the consequences of their own iniquity, and will naturally impart its fruits to their children to the third and fourth generation. The laws of nature are the laws of God who is just; it is not God that inflicts these penalties, they are the effects of disobedience to his law. The results of men's own acts follow them.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

This is an eternal principle; it is not one that we may obey today and disobey tomorrow, or that we may espouse today as a part of our faith, and abandon tomorrow with impunity. It is a principle that is inherent in the plan of life and salvation, for the regeneration of mankind.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates," etc.

That is: Thou shalt honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Do we do it? Is it necessary to do it? It is absolutely necessary to do so in order that we may be in harmony with God's law and commandments; and whenever we transgress that law or that commandment we are guilty of transgressing the law of God. And what will be the result, if we continue? Our children will follow in our footsteps; they will dishonor the command of God to keep one day holy in seven; and will lose the spirit of obedience to the laws of God and his requirements, just as the father will lose it if he continues to violate the commandments.

"Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

When will we ever outgrow that command? When can we set it aside? When shall we reach the time that we can dishonor our father and mother? Never! It is an eternal principle, and I am sorry to say—not sorry for the Japs and for the Chinese—these heathen nations, as we have been in the habit of calling them—I am not sorry for them, but for the comparison with them. Those heathen nations set the civilized Christian world an example in the honor they bestow upon their parents, and yet this Christian people and nation and all the Christian nations of the earth, who have the word of the Lord, and the counsels of the Son of God for their guidance, are not leading out in setting an example of obedience, as they should, to this great commandment of the Lord, "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

Again, "Thou shalt not kill." That is a command of God. It is irrevocable, unless he revokes it; you and I can't revoke it; we must not transgress it; it is binding upon us. We should not take away the life we cannot restore or give back. It is an eternal, unchangeable law.

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." Just as unchangeable! just as eternal! for the adulterer hath no place in the kingdom of God, nor can he attain to an exaltation there.

"Thou shalt not steal."

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." (Exodus 20:7-17.)

"Thou shalt not covet." We may say we are thankful that the Lord has blessed our neighbor above that which he has blessed us. We may be thankful that the Lord has given to our neighbor greater wisdom and ability to honestly gather to himself. But we should not covet it. We should not be envious, because we are commanded not to be.

Now, these are the commandments of God, the principles contained in these commandments of the great Eternal are the principles that underly the Constitution of our country, and all just laws. Joseph Smith, the prophet, was inspired to affirm and ratify this truth, and he further predicted that the time would come, when the Constitution of our country would bang as it were by a thread, and that the Latter-day Saints, above all other people in the world, would come to the rescue of that great and glorious palladium of our liberty. We cannot brook the thought of it being torn into shreds, or destroyed, or trampled under foot and ignored by men. We cannot tolerate the sentiment, at one time expressed, by a man high in authority in the nation. He said: "The constitution be damned; the popular sentiment of the people is the constitution!" That is the sentiment of anarchism, and has spread to a certain extent, and is spreading over "the land of liberty and the home of the brave." We do not tolerate it. Latter-day Saints cannot tolerate such a spirit as this. It is anarchy. It means destruction. It is the spirit of mobocracy, and the Lord knows we have suffered enough from mobocracy, and we do not want any more of it. Our people from Mexico are suffering from the effects of that same spirit. We do not want any more of it, and we cannot afford to yield to that spirit or contribute to it in the least degree. We should stand with a front like flint against every spirit or species of contempt or disrespect for the constitution of our country and the constitutional laws of our land.—Oct. C. R., 1912, pp. 8-11.

THE LAWS OF GOD AND THE LAWS OF THE LAND. Nearly all the brethren who have spoken at this conference have referred to the circumstances in which we, as a people, are now placed; and it would seem unnecessary for me to make any further reference to this all-prevailing subject with which the people generally are more or less familiar, and in which we necessarily are considerably interested. But while the brethren who have spoken have merely referred to some of the sayings of the Prophet Joseph, and to items in the revelations through him, to the Church, I feel impressed to read in the hearing of the congregation one or two passages from the revelations previously referred to. I will, therefore, call the attention of the congregation to a verse or two in the revelation given in 1831, which will be found on page 219 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

"Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land:

"Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until He reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet.

"Behold, the laws which ye have received from my hand are the laws of the Church, and in this light ye shall hold them forth. Behold here is wisdom." (Doc. and Cov. 58: 21-23.)

The following I quote from a revelation given in December, 1833, page 357:

"According to the laws and the constitution of the people which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles,

"That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.

"Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.

"And for this purpose have I established the constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood." (Doc. and Cov. 101:77-80.)

Again, in a revelation on page 342:

"And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people shall observe to do all things whatsoever I command them;

"And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me;

"Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my Church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;

"And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than these, cometh of evil.

"I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free;

"Nevertheless, when the wicked rule, the people mourn,

"Wherefore, honest men, and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

"And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God;

"For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith;

"And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal:

"Therefore be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy;

"For if ye will not abide in my covenant, ye are not worthy of me." (Doc. and Cov. 98:4-15.)

This, as I understand it, is the law of God to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world. And the requirements here made of us must be obeyed, and practically carried out in our lives, in order that we may secure the fulfilment of the promises which God has made to the people of Zion. And it is further written, that inasmuch as ye will do the things which I command you, thus saith the Lord, then am I bound; otherwise there is no promise. We can therefore only expect that the promises are made and will apply to us when we do the things which we are commanded. (Doc. and Cov. 82:10; 101:7; 124:47-49.)

We are told here that no man need break the laws of the land who will keep the laws of God. But this is further defined by the passage which I read afterwards—the law of the land, which all have no need to break, is that law which is the constitutional law of the land, and that is as God himself has defined it. And whatsoever is more or less than this cometh of evil. Now, it seems to me that this makes this matter so clear that it is not possible for any man who professes to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make any mistake, or to be in doubt as to the course he should pursue under the command of God in relation to the observance of the laws of the land. I maintain that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has ever been faithful to the constitutional laws of our country. I maintain, also, that I have a right to this opinion, as an American citizen, as one who was not only born on American soil, but who descended from parents who for generations were born in America. I have a right to interpret the law in this manner, and to form my own conclusions and express my opinions thereon, regardless of the opinions of other men.

I ask myself, What law have you broken? What constitutional law have you not observed? I am bound not only by allegiance to the government of the United States but by the actual command of God Almighty, to observe and obey every constitutional law of the land, and without hesitancy I declare to this congregation that I have never violated nor transgressed any law, I am not amenable to any penalties of the law, because I have endeavored from my youth up to be a law-abiding citizen, and not only so, but to be a peacemaker, a preacher of righteousness, and not only to preach righteousness by word, but by example. What, therefore, have I to fear? The Lord Almighty requires this people to observe the laws of the land, to be subject to "the powers that be," so far as they abide by the fundamental principles of good government, but he will hold them responsible if they will pass unconstitutional measures and frame unjust and proscriptive laws, as did Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, in relation to the three Hebrew children and Daniel. If lawmakers have a mind to violate their oath, break their covenants and their faith with the people, and depart from the provisions of the constitution, where is the law, human or divine, which binds me, as an individual, to outwardly and openly proclaim my acceptance of their acts? * * *

I wish to enter here my avowal that the people called Latter-day Saints, as has been often repeated from this stand, are the most law-abiding, the most peaceable, long-suffering and patient people that can today be found within the confines of this republic, and perhaps anywhere else upon the face of the earth; and we intend to continue to be law-abiding so far as the constitutional law of the land is concerned; and we expect to meet the consequences of our obedience to the laws and commandments of God, like men. These are my sentiments briefly expressed, upon this subject.

NO NATIONALITIES IN THE CHURCH. In speaking of nationalities, we all understand or should that in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is neither Scandinavian, nor Swiss, nor German, nor Russian, nor British nor any other nationality. We have become brothers in the household of faith, and we should treat the people from these nations that are at war with each other, with due kindness and consideration. It is nothing but natural that people who are born in a land, though they may have emigrated from it, who have left their kindred there, many of them, that they will naturally have a tender feeling toward their fatherland. But the Latter-day Saints who have come from England and from France and from Germany and Scandinavia and Holland, into this country, no matter what their country may be involved in, it is not our business to distinguish them in any way by criticism or by complaint toward them, or by condemnation, because of the place where they were born. They could not help where they were born, and they have come here to be Latter-day Saints, not to be Germans, nor to be Scandinavians, nor to be English, nor French, nor to belong to any other country in the world. They have come here to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and good and true citizens of the United States, and of the several states in which they live, and of other places throughout the world, where Latter-day Saints are building homes for themselves.—Apr. C. R., 1917, p. 11.

LATTER-DAY SAINTS LOYAL TO THE UNITED STATES. We must always bear in mind that we are not only citizens of the kingdom of God, but we are citizens of the United States and of the states in which we dwell. We have ever been loyal both to our state and nation, as well as to the Church of God, and we defy the world to prove to the contrary. We have been willing to fight our country's battles, to defend her honor, to uphold and sustain her good name, and we propose to continue in this loyalty to our nation and to our people unto the end.—Apr. C. R., 1905, p. 46.

LOYALTY TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. And I hope with all my soul that the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be loyal in their very hearts and souls, to the principles of the constitution of our country. From them we have derived the liberty that we enjoy. They have been the means of guaranteeing to the foreigner that has come within our gates, and to the native born, and to all the citizens of this country, the freedom and liberty that we possess. We cannot go back upon such principles as these. We may go back upon those who fail to execute the law as they should. We may be dissatisfied with the decision of judges and may desire to have them removed out of their places. But the law provides ways and means for all these things to be done under the constitution of our country, and it is better for us to abide the evils that we have than to fly to greater evils that we know not what the results will be.—Apr. C. R., 1912, p. 8.

PROUD OF THE UNITED STATES. I feel proud of the nation of which we are a part, because I am convinced in my own mind that there is not another nation upon the face of the globe where the Lord Almighty could have established his Church with so little difficulty and opposition as he has done here in the United States. This was a free country, and religious toleration was the sentiment of the people of the land. It was the asylum for the oppressed. All the people of the world were invited here to make homes of freedom for themselves, and under these tolerant circumstances the Lord was able to establish his Church, and has been able to maintain it and preserve it up to this time, that it has grown and spread, until it has become respectable—not only by its members, not only by the few years of age that it possesses, but respectable because of its intelligence, respectable because of its honesty, its purity, union and industry, and for all its virtues.—Apr. C. R., 1905, p. 6.

ORIGIN AND DESTINY OF THE UNITED STATES: LOYALTY OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS. This great American nation the Almighty raised up by the power of his omnipotent hand, that it might be possible in the latter days for the kingdom of God to be established in the earth. If the Lord had not prepared the way by laying the foundations of this glorious nation, it would have been impossible (under the stringent laws and bigotry of the monarchical governments of the world) to have laid the foundations for the coming of his great kingdom. The Lord has done this. His hand has been over this nation, and it is his purpose and design to enlarge it, make it glorious above all others, and to give it dominion, and power over the earth, to the end that those who are kept in bondage and serfdom may be brought to the enjoyment of the fullest freedom and liberty of conscience possible for intelligent men to exercise in the earth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be a strong supporter of the nation of which we are a part, in the accomplishment of this grand purpose. There are no more loyal people to their country on God's earth today than are the Latter-day Saints to this country. There are no better, purer or more honorable citizens of the United States to be found than are found within the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I testify to this, and I know whereof I speak. We never have been enemies to our nation. We have always been true to it. Though we have been persecuted, we have said, We will put our trust in thee. We have been driven and maligned, not by the nation, but by insidious, wicked, unprincipled, hypocritical, lying, deceitful goats in sheep's clothing, who are jealous and constantly raising a hue and cry against the covenant people of God. Our government would have befriended us, protected us, preserved our rights and liberties, and would have defended us in the enjoyment of our possessions, if it had not been for these infernal hounds who are enemies to morality and to the truth. If there be anything despicable, if there be anything that can never, no, never, enter into the kingdom of God, it is a wilful liar; and if we have not been lied about, maligned and misrepresented of late, then I do not know what lying is. Well, let the falsifiers go on and lie. Some people are evidently doomed to lie. President Woodruff used to say there were some people in his day who were born to lie, and they were true to their missions. There are some of these born liars still with us and still true to their mission. They cannot, it would seem, tell the truth; they often do not when it would be for their best good. So let them go on and lie as much as they desire. But let us do right, keep the laws of God, and the laws of man, honor our membership in the kingdom of God, our citizenship in the state of Utah, and our broader citizenship in the nation of which we are a part, and then God will sustain and preserve us, and we will continue to grow as we have done from the beginning, only our future growth will be accelerated and be far greater than it has been in the past. These slanders and falsehoods that are circulated abroad with the view of bringing the ire of the nation upon us will, by and by, be swept away, and because of these misrepresentations the truth will be brought out clearer and plainer to the world. Thus the word of the Lord will be verified, that they cannot do anything against, but for, the kingdom of God. This is the Lord's work, it is not man's, and he will make it triumphant. He is spreading it abroad, and giving it deep root in the earth, that its branches may grow and spread, and its fruit be seen throughout the length and breadth of the land.—Apr. C. R., 1903, pp. 73-74.

SAINTS TO SERVE GOD. The Latter-day Saints are in the midst of these mountains for the express purpose of serving Almighty God. We have not come here to serve ourselves, nor to serve the world. We are here because we have believed in the gospel that has been restored in the latter day through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are here because we believe that God Almighty has organized his Church and has restored the fulness of the gospel and holy priesthood. We are here because we have received the testimony of the Spirit of God that the course which we have pursued in this regard is right and acceptable in the sight of the Lord. We are here because we have come in obedience to the command of the Almighty.—Oct. C. R., 1899, p. 43.

GUIDED BY GOD TO THE WEST. On somewhat parallel lines our people might go back in memory to Ohio and to Missouri and to Illinois, and recall incidents and conditions that existed in those early days by which our people were harassed, mobbed, persecuted, hated and driven away from their possessions in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. It was hard for our people in those times, and under the conditions that then existed, to see where God in his providence designed good for his people in permitting these conditions to exist. But who today will dispute the fact that, although we were compelled to leave Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, against our will, our wishes, our interests temporally, as was supposed,—it was for our ultimate good? Who of us will now contend that the overruling Providence which brought us to this place made a mistake? None of us! When we look back to it we see clearly, beyond any possible doubt, that the band of God was in it. And while it was necessary for us to be moved from our footholds on the soil that our fathers had obtained from the government of the United States, and from old settlers, and while we were compelled to do it against our supposed interests—we now see it has resulted in the greatest blessing possible to us and the Church.

What could we have done in Ohio? What room was there for growth and development for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Caldwell county, or in Jackson county, or in Clay county, Missouri? Where was the chance for this Church to spread abroad, grow, and obtain a foothold in the earth, as we possess it today, in the state of Illinois—a populous state, her lands occupied by older inhabitants who were uncongenial and unfriendly? They had no faith in our good intentions, nor in the divinity of our cause. They feared us, because the Saints were progressive. The spirit of growth, development, and of advancement characterized the life and labors and existence of communities of Latter-day Saints, as it has with our people in Mexico.—Oct. C. R., 1912, p. 6.

TRUE PATRIOTISM. Patriotism should be sought for and will be found in right living, not in high sounding phrases or words. True patriotism is part of the solemn obligation that belongs both to the nation and to the individual and to the home. Our nation's reputation should be guarded as sacredly as our family's good name. That reputation should be defended by every citizen, and our children should be taught to defend their country's honor under all circumstances. A truly patriotic spirit in the individual begets a public interest and sympathy which should be commensurate with our nation's greatness. To be a true citizen of a great country takes nothing from, but adds to, individual greatness. While a great and good people necessarily adds greatness and goodness to national life, the nation's greatness reacts upon its citizens and adds honor to them, and insures their welfare and happiness. Loyal citizens will probably be the last to complain of the faults and failures of our national administrators. They would rather conceal those evils which exist, and try to persuade themselves that they are only temporary and may and will in time be corrected. It is none the less a patriotic duty to guard our nation whenever and wherever we can against those changeable and revolutionary tendencies which are destructive of a nation's weal and permanence.—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 47, July, 1912, pp. 388-389.

IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL PATRIOTISM. Our national welfare should always be a theme deeply rooted in our minds and exemplified in our individual lives, and the desire for our nation's good should be stronger than political party adherence. The nation's welfare means the welfare of every one of its citizens. To be a worthy and a prosperous nation, it must possess those qualities which belong to individual virtues. The attitude of our country toward other nations should always be honest and above suspicion, and every good citizen should be jealous of our nation's reputation both at home and abroad. National patriotism is, therefore, something more than mere expression of willingness to fight, if need be.—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 47, July, 1912, p. 389.

THE CHURCH NOT PARTISAN. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is no partisan Church. It is not a sect. It is THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. It is the only one today existing in the world that can and does legitimately bear the name of Jesus Christ and his divine authority. I make this declaration in all simplicity and honesty before you and before all the world, bitter as the truth may seem to those who are opposed and who have no reason for that opposition. It is nevertheless true and will remain true until he who has a right to rule among the nations of the earth and among the individual children of God throughout the world shall come and take the reins of government and receive the bride that shall be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom.—Improvement Era, Vol. 20, May, 1918, p. 639. See also Gospel Doctrine, pp. 169-170.

THE CHURCH LOYAL. All churches claim to be divinely appointed and place God above country, and any man who renders true homage to God can not break the law, for he lives above it. No man can be a good Latter-day Saint and not be true to the best interests and general welfare of his country. After all these years, it is folly to say that the Church is antagonistic to the national government. The part which our people took in the Mexican and Spanish-American wars should be enough to eternally brand such statements false. The allegiance claimed from its members by the Church does not prevent a member from being a loyal citizen of the nation. It rather aids him; fidelity to the Church enables a man better to entertain patriotic allegiance to his nation and country. There is nothing required of a Latter-day Saint that can in any way be construed to militate against loyalty to the nation, and for that reason Senator Smoot is under no obligations to the Church that can come in conflict with his fealty to country. It is plain that the campaign of the ministers is unjustified.—Improvement Era, Vol. 7, March, 1904, p. 382.

LATTER-DAY SAINTS ARE GOOD CITIZENS. A good Latter-day Saint is a good citizen in every way. I desire to say to the young men of our community: be exemplary Latter-day Saints, and let nothing deter you from aspiring to the greatest positions which our nation has to offer. Having secured a place, let your virtue, your integrity, your honesty, your ability, your religious teachings, implanted in your heart at the knees of your devoted "Mormon" mothers, "so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."—Improvement Era, Vol. 6, April, 1903, p. 469.

CHURCH NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR POLITICAL PARTIES. The Church of Christ is not responsible for the actions of either of the political parties, in any sense, or form. If it were, they would stop their quarreling and contending, and the bitterness and animosity they exhibit towards one another would cease. If we had anything to do with them, we would stop their wrangling, and we would have peace in their ranks. The fact that they quarrel as they do is proof positive we have nothing to do with them.—Apr. C. R., 1899, p. 41.

THE CHURCH NOT IN POLITICS. The Church does not engage in politics; its members belong to the political parties at their own pleasure—to the Republicans, the Democrats, or to no party at all. They are not asked, much less required, to vote this way or that—a requirement made by the Protestant ministers of their members against the Saints. But they cannot justly be denied their rights as citizens, and there is no reason why they should be, for, on the average, they are as loyal, as sober, as well educated, as honest, as industrious, as virtuous, as moral, as thrifty, and as worthy in every other respect as any people in the nation or on the earth, for that matter. I think that they are just a little better in these respects than most other communities or individuals.

To the young men who may be disheartened by false attacks upon the Saints, and to the missionaries in the world, who are driven and persecuted, I wish to say: have no fear; slacken not your labors for the truth; live as becometh Saints. You are in the right way, and the Lord will not let your efforts fail. This Church stands in no danger from opposition and persecution from without. There is more to fear in carelessness, sin and indifference, from within; more danger that the individual will fail in doing right and in conforming his life to the revealed doctrines of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we do the right, all will be well, the God of our fathers will sustain us, and every opposition will tend only to the further spread of the knowledge of truth.—Improvement Era, Vol. 6, June, 1903, p. 625.

SHUN THE SPIRIT OF MOB VIOLENCE. Nobody in the world deplores more than do the Latter-day Saints the prevalence and brutality of mob violence. If mob violence in this country did not have its origin in the drivings and persecutions of the Latter-day Saints, it is certain that no class of people in this country have suffered more and longer from the lawlessness of the mob than have the Latter-day Saints. For more than half a century the "Mormons" have been the victims of lawless mob violence against which very little has been said, for the chief reason that the victims had been so long pursued by hatred and prejudice that the world had been taught to withdraw all its sympathy from them. Whipping, driving, and shooting "Mormon" elders in the South called forth no anxiety and little objection upon the part of the press; and the "Mormon" elder, pure and upright in his life, has received less sympathy and protest in his favor than the negro ravisher who deserved, perhaps, the punishment, however inexcusable the method of executing it.

The Latter-day Saints in Utah, and everywhere, are earnestly and prayerfully admonished to shun as a sacred religious duty the spirit of mob violence. It is better to be patient and endure deprivations of human rights than to violate the institutions of our country, and to substitute violence for law and order. If the reign of the mob extends its hideous rule over this country as rapidly in the future as it has done in the past, it may reach communities where the Saints live before they are aware of its presence. It is not only the duty of every Latter-day Saint, therefore, to refrain from the violent and unlawful conduct of bodies of men bent upon human destruction, but to exercise his influence and power to restrain others from imbuing their hands in the blood of their fellow men.—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 38, September, 1903, p. 564.

THE DANGER OF MOBS. One of the greatest menaces to our country is that of the combination of men into irresponsible, reckless mobs, wild with prejudice, hatred and fanaticism, led by men of ambition, or passion, or hatred. There is no other thing in the world that I can conceive of so absolutely obnoxious to God and good men as a combination of men and women filled with the spirit of mobocracy. Men combining together to stop or shut off the food supply from the mouth of the honest laborer to starve the man that is willing to work, and the wife and the children who are dependent upon him, because he is not willing to join a mob, is one of the most infamous perils and menaces to the people of our country today. I do not care who they are, or what name they go by. They are a menace to the peace of the world.—Oct. C. R., 1911, p. 122.

THE BASIS OF LABOR UNIONS. If we are to have labor organizations among us, and there is no good reason why our young men might not be so organized, they should be formed on a sensible basis, and officered by men who have their families and all their interests around them. The spirit of good-will and brotherhood, such as we have in the gospel of Christ, should characterize their conduct and organizations. For be it known, the religious note is and should remain the dominant note of our character and of all our actions.

While there is no reason why workmen should not join together for their own mutual protection and benefit, there is every reason why in so doing they should regard the rights of their fellows, be jealous of the protection of property, and eliminate from their methods of warfare, boycotts, sympathetic strikes, and the walking delegate.—Improvement Era, Vol. 6, August, 1903, p. 182.

LABOR UNIONS. Labor unions will find that the same eternal law of justice applies to unions that applies to individuals, that fair dealing and rational conduct must be maintained if financial misfortunes are averted. Where there are Latter-day Saints in unions they should assume a conservative attitude and never arouse men's prejudices by inflaming their passions. There can be no objections to a firm and persistent contention for the right of labor, if the contention is maintained in the spirit of reason and fairness. Above all things, the Latter-day Saints should hold sacred the life and liberty of their fellow-men, as also their rights of property and maintain inviolate every right to which humanity is entitled.

The unions are forcing our people into an inconsistent and dangerous attitude when they compel Latter-day Saints within the union to make war upon their brethren who are without the union, and thereby denying the most sacred and God-given rights of one class of Saints that another class may gain some advantage over a third person, their employer. Such conduct is destructive of the liberty which every man is entitled to enjoy, and will lead in the end to the spirit of contention and apostasy.

It is not easy to see how the Latter-day Saints can endorse the methods of modern labor unions. As a people we have suffered too much from irrational class prejudice and class hatred to participate in violent and unjust agitations. No one denies the rights of laborers to unite in demanding a just share of the prosperity of our country, provided the union is governed by the same spirit that should actuate men who profess the guidance of a Christian conscience.

In the present status of capital and labor there should be mutual interests; and at the same time workmen should realize that there is a limit to the pressure which capital can endure by the demands made upon it. Competition has always given some measure of relief to the laborer by the demands of capital for human service, and men should not therefore abandon themselves to the supposed power of arbitrary demands which labor unions are now making in many cases upon their employers. The contention for the recognition of unions is often a very indefinite factor, for no one seems to know just what that recognition means now, or what it is to mean in the future. If recognition means the exclusive right of any class of men to gain a livelihood by their work, then recognition should be persistently and forcefully resisted.

The Latter-day Saints, whether in the unions or out of them, know very well whether individual or united demands are arbitrary and unjust, and they will lose nothing by a manly refusal to violate their sense of justice.—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 38, June, 1903, p. 370.

CAUSE OF WAR. The condition of the world today presents a spectacle that is deplorable, so far as it relates to the religious convictions, faith and power of the inhabitants of the earth. Here we have nations arrayed against nations, and yet in every one of these nations are so-called Christian peoples professing to worship the same God, professing to possess belief in the same divine Redeemer, many of them professing to be teachers of God's word, and ministers of life and salvation to the children of men, and yet these nations are divided one against the other, and each is praying to his God for wrath upon and victory over his enemies and for his own preservation. Would it be possible, could it be possible, for this condition to exist if the people of the world possessed really the true knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ? And if they really possessed the Spirit of the living God—could this condition exist? No; it could not exist, but war would cease, and contention and strife would be at an end. And not only the spirit of war would not exist, but the spirit of contention and strife that now exists among the nations of the earth, which is the primal element of war, would cease to be. We know that the spirit of strife and contention exists to an alarming extent among all the people of the world. Why does it exist? Because they are not one with God, nor with Christ. They have not entered into the true fold, and the result is they do not possess the spirit of the true Shepherd sufficiently to govern and control their acts in the ways of peace and righteousness. Thus they contend and strive one against another, and at last nation rises up against nation in fulfilment of the predictions of the prophets of God that war should be poured out upon all nations. I don't want you to think I believe that God has designed or willed that war should come among the people of the world, that the nations of the world should be divided against one another in war, and engaged in the destruction of each? God did not design or cause this. It is deplorable to the heavens that such a condition should exist among men, but the conditions do exist, and men precipitate war and destruction upon themselves because of their wickedness, and that because they will not abide in God's truth, walk in his love, and seek to establish and maintain peace instead of strife and contention in the world.—Oct. C. R., 1914, p. 8.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS WAR. We do not want war. We do not want to see our nation go to war. We would like to see it the arbiter of peace for all nations. We would like to see the government of the United States true to the constitution, an instrument inspired by the spirit of wisdom from God. We want to see the benignity, the honor, the glory and the good name, and the mighty influence for peace of this nation, extended abroad, not only over Hawaii and the Philippines, but over the islands of the sea east and west of us. We want to see the power, the influence for good, for elevating mankind, and for the establishment of righteous principles spread out over these poor, helpless peoples of the world, establishing peace, good will and intelligence among them, that they may grow to be equal, if possible, to the enlightened nations of the world.—Oct. C. R., 1912, p. 7.

WE WANT PEACE. We want peace in the world. We want love and good will to exist throughout the earth, and among all the people of the world; but there never can come to the world that spirit of peace and love that should exist, until mankind will receive God's truth and God's message unto them, and acknowledge his power and authority which is divine, and never found in the wisdom only of men.—Oct. C. R., 1914, p. 7.

WHEN PEACE SHALL COME. We will never have peace until we have truth. We will never be able to establish peace on earth and good will until we have drunk at the fountain of righteousness and eternal truth, as God has revealed it to man.—Oct. C. R., 1914, p. 129.

PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD WILL TO MEN. We certainly live in troublesome times; and, notwithstanding the peace that pervades our own land, we are not without our troubles at home. There is, among us today, I am sorry to say, the germ of the spirit that has prompted, very largely, the conditions that exist in Europe today—internal unrest, dissatisfaction, discontent, internal contention over political, labor and religious matters, and almost every subject that affects society at this time. And the very germ that has prompted the terrible results that we see in the nations of Europe, is at work among us here today. We need not forget it, nor ignore it, either. There is just one power, and one only, that can prevent war among the nations of the earth, and that is true religion and undefiled before God, the Father. Nothing else will accomplish it. It is a very common expression today that there is good in all religions. So there is; but there is not sufficient good in the denominations of the world to prevent war, nor to prevent contention, strife, division and hatred of one another.

And, put all the good doctrines, in all the denominations of the world, together, and they do not constitute sufficient good to prevent the evils that exist in the world. Why? Because the denominations lack the essential knowledge of God's revelation and truth, and the enjoyment of that spirit which comes from God that leadeth unto all truth, and that inspires men to do good and not evil, to love and not to hate, to forgive and not to bear malice, to be kind and generous and not to be unkind and contracted.

So, I repeat, there is but one remedy that can prevent men from going to war, when they feel disposed to do it, and that is the Spirit of God, which inspires to love, and not to hatred, which leads unto all truth, and not unto error, which inclines the children of God to pay deference to him and to his laws and to esteem them as above all other things in the world.

The Lord has told us that these wars would come. We have not been ignorant that they were pending, and that they were likely to burst out upon the nations of the earth at any time. We have been looking for the fulfilment of the words of the Lord that they would come. Why? Because the Lord wanted it? No; not by any means. Was it because the Lord predestined it, or designed it, in any degree? No, not at all. Why? It was for the reason that men did not hearken unto the Lord God, and he foreknew the results that would follow, because of men, and because of the nations of the earth; and therefore he was able to predict what would befall them, and came upon them in consequence of their own acts, and not because he has willed it upon them, for they are but suffering and reaping the results of their own actions.

Well, my sisters, "peace on earth, and good will to men," is our slogan. That is our principle. That is the principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And while I think it is wrong, wickedly wrong, to force war upon any nation, or upon any people, I believe it is righteous and just for every people to defend their own lives and their own liberties, and their own homes, with the last drop of their blood. I believe it is right, and I believe that the Lord will sustain any people in defending their own liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience, any people trying to preserve their wives and their children from the ravages of the war. But we do not want to be brought into the necessity of having to defend ourselves.

If the condition of the world appears to you as it does to me, at the present time it seems to me that you have within your hearts and minds one of the strongest evidences that has ever been brought to your understanding, of the truth of the declaration which God gave to the world through Joseph Smith, 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," and have it not. (History of the Church, Vol. 1, p. 6.) In Germany, at this time, Protestants and Catholics are praying to God for victory over their foes. In France and England and in Russia and in Belgium, and Austria, and in all other countries, that are at war with one another, they are praying. Protestants and Catholics together for victory. The Allies are praying for victory, to the same God, supposed to be, for these are called Christian nations, and they are members of the same churches, worshiping in the same forms of religion and yet they are calling upon God one against another, to defend them against their enemies, and to strengthen their arms to destroy their foes. What does it prove? It proves what God said. They have not his Spirit; they have not his power to guide them. They are not in possession of his truth; and, therefore, the very conditions that exist are the results of this unbelief in the truth; and this worship of men and organizations and powers of men is divested of the power of God.

Now, my sisters, I am speaking from my point of view, and my point of view is that Christ was divinely appointed and sent into the world to relieve mankind of sin through repentance; to relieve mankind from the death which came upon them by the sin of the first man. I believe it with all my soul. I believe that Joseph Smith was raised up by Almighty God to renew the spirit, power and plan of God's Church, of Christ's gospel and holy priesthood. I believe it with all my soul, or I would not be here. I therefore stand upon this principle, that the truth is in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that the power of redemption, the power of peace, the power for good will, love, charity and forgiveness, and the power for fellowship with God, abides in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in obedience to it on the part of the people. I therefore admit, and not only admit but claim, that there is nothing greater on earth, nor in heaven, than the truth of God's gospel which he has devised and restored for the salvation and the redemption of the world. And it is through that that peace will come to the children of men, and it will not come to the world in any other way. The nations cannot possess it without they come to God, from whom they are to receive the spirit of union and the spirit of love. And those organizations in the world, created with a view to combining men, possess in them so many of the elements of self-destruction that they cannot exist long, as they are, and under the influences which hold them together today. I can tell you that there is no combination formed by men that will prosper and continue to endure, unless it is based upon the principles of truth, righteousness, and justice toward all. When a man comes to me and says: "You must be my servant, you must obey me, or conform to my plan, or we will starve you to death," I don't care how many elements of goodness there are in the organization that will exclude me from a right to worship God according to the dictates of my conscience, or that would prevent me from laboring in honest labor to earn my bread, it possesses the elements of decay and destruction, and it cannot last, for it is wrong, absolutely wrong.

In the gospel is the light of freedom. Men worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. We can not compel you to obey the principles of the gospel at all.

That is the principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But these man-made organizations will force you to do as they will, or they will damn you and destroy you; and therein lies the elements of self-destruction in—themselves, because they can only last for a time.—Relief Society Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1914, p. 13.

THE KEY TO PEACE. There is only one thing that can bring peace into the world. It is the adoption of the gospel of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, obeyed and practiced by rulers and people alike. It is being preached in power to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples of the world, by the Latter-day Saints, and the day is not far distant when its message of salvation shall sink deep into the hearts of the common people, who, in sincerity and earnestness, when the time comes, will not only surely register their judgment against a false Christianity, but against war and the makers of war as crimes against the human race. For years it has been held that peace comes only by preparation for war; the present conflict should prove that peace comes only by preparing for peace, through training the people in righteousness and justice, and selecting rulers who respect the righteous will of the people.

Not long hence and the voice of the people shall be obeyed, and the true gospel of peace shall dominate the hearts of the mighty. It will then be impossible for war lords to have power over the life and death of millions of men as they now have, to decree the ruin of commerce, industry, and growing fields, or to cause untold mental agony and human misery like plague and pestilence to prevail over the nations. It looks much as if, after the devastation of wars, as promised in the scriptures, (and who shall say that it may not follow this war?) the self-constituted monarchs must give way to rulers chosen by the people, who shall be guided by the doctrines of love and peace as taught in the gospel of our Lord. There will then be instituted a new social order in which the welfare of all shall be uppermost, and all shall be permitted to live in the utmost liberty and happiness.—Improvement Era, Vol. 17, No. 11, September, 1914, p. 1074.

GOD STRIVES WITH WARRING NATIONS. Would the nations of the earth that are at war with each other be at war as they are, if the Spirit of God Almighty had pervaded their souls and moved and actuated them in their designs? No; not at all. Worldly ambition, pride, and the love of power, determination on the part of rulers to prevail over their competitors in the national games of life, wickedness at heart, desire for power, for worldly greatness, have led the nations of the earth to quarrel with one another and have brought them to war and self-destruction. I presume there is not a nation in the world today that is not tainted with this evil more or less. It may be possible, perhaps to trace the cause of the evil, or the greatest part of it, to some particular nation of the earth; but I do not know. This I do believe, with all my heart, that the hand of God is striving with certain nations of the earth to preserve and protect human liberty, freedom to worship him according to the dictates of conscience, freedom and the inalienable right of men to organize national governments in the earth, to choose for themselves their own leaders; men whom they may select as standards of honor, of virtue and truth, men of wisdom, understanding and integrity; men who have at heart the well being of the people who choose them to govern, to enact and execute the laws in righteousness. I believe that the Lord's hand is over the nations of the world today, to bring about this rule and this reign of liberty and righteousness among the nations of the earth. He has some hard material to work with, too. He is working with men who never prayed, men who have never known God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has sent into the world, and whom to know is life eternal. God is dealing with nations of infidels, men who fear not God, and love not the truth, men who have no respect for virtue or purity of life. God is dealing with men who are full of pride and ambition; and he will find it difficult, I fear, to control them and lead them directly in the course that he would have them pursue to accomplish his purposes; but he is striving to uplift. God is striving to bless, to benefit, to happify, to ameliorate the condition of his children in the world, to give them freedom from ignorance and a knowledge of him, to learn of his ways and to walk in his paths, that they may have his Spirit to be with them always, to lead them into all truth.—Improvement Era, Vol. 20, July, 1917, p. 823.

CONDUCT OF THE BOYS IN THE ARMY. Therefore, when our boys and our maturer men are invited and chosen, selected and called, to go out to help to protect and defend these principles, we hope and pray, and we certainly have some reason to believe, that there will be some, at least, from amidst the great family of mankind in the world, who will have some affinity with the Spirit of God and at least some desire, some inclination, to hearken to the whisperings of the still small voice of the Spirit, that leadeth to peace and happiness, to the well-being and the uplifting of mankind in the world and to life eternal. When a Latter-day Saint, a man born, perhaps, and reared under the bond of the New and Everlasting Covenant of the gospel, enlists in the army of the United States, in the National Guard, which has been recommended here by President Penrose to you—and which I confirm and emphasize, because I think the citizens of the state should be united together, and the cities and the state should stand together and should have sympathy and fellowship for each other, more than they could expect to derive from those of other states and places, who are strangers and foreigners to them—that when our boys, thus born, are called into the army of the United States, I hope and pray that they will carry with them the Spirit of God, not the spirit of bloodshed, of adultery, of wickedness, but the spirit of righteousness, the spirit which leads to do good, to build up, to benefit the world, and not to destroy and shed blood.

Remember the passage of scripture that was quoted here by President Lund, as related in the Book of Mormon, concerning the pure young men that abjured war and the shedding of blood, lived pure and innocent, free from the contaminating thought of strife, of anger, or wickedness in their hearts; but when necessity required, and they were called to go out to defend their lives, and the lives of their fathers and mothers, and their homes, they went—not to destroy but to defend, not to shed blood but rather to save the blood of the innocent and of the unoffending, and the peace-lovers of mankind.

Will those men who go out from Utah, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, forget their prayers? Will they forget God? Will they forget the teachings that they have received from their parents at home? Will they forget the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenants that they have made in the waters of baptism, and in sacred places? Or will they go out as men, in every sense—pure men, high-minded men, honest men, virtuous men, men of God? That is what I am anxious about.

I want to see the hand of God made manifest in the acts of the men that go out from the ranks of the Church of Jesus Christ and from the state of Utah, to help to defend the principles of liberty and sound government for the human family. I want to see them so live that they can be in communion with the Lord, in their camps, and in their secret places, and that in the midst of battle they can say: "Father, my life and my spirit are in thine hand!"

I want to see the boys that go away from here in this cause, go feeling just as our missionaries do when sent out into the world, carrying with them the spirit a good mother feels when she parts with her boy, on the morning of his departure for his mission. She embraces him with all the mother's love in her soul—!

I know how the mother feels for her boy when he goes away from home on a mission, where he will be in the midst of strangers, without friends, trying to preach the gospel to the world. She says to him: "My boy, I have taught you the principles of the gospel. I have taught you to pray to God, at my knees, from the time you were a child until you have reached manhood. I have taught you virtue. I have taught you honor. I have taught you to stand for the Truth, and to honor your father and your mother in the world, and by so doing honor the fathers and the mothers, and the daughters of all men, wherever you go. Never in your life think of defiling any man's wife, or daughter, any more than you would think of defiling your mother or your sister! Go out into the world from your home clean. Keep yourself pure and unspotted from the world, and you will be immune from sin, and God will protect you. You will be in his hands. Then, if anything should happen that would cost you your life, you will lay it down in the service of humanity, and of God. You would lay down your life pure and undefiled. Your spirit would ascend from that tenement of clay inhabited in this world, into the glorious presence of God, undefiled, uncontaminated, pure and clean as the spirit of a child just born into the world. Thus you would be acceptable to God, ready to receive your crown of glory and everlasting reward."

So I would say, "My boy, my son, and your son, when you go out to face the disasters that are now afflicting the world, go out as you do on a mission, be just as good and pure and true in the army of the United States as you are in the army of the elders of Israel who are preaching the gospel of love and peace to the world. Then, if you unavoidably fall prey to the bullet of the enemy you will go pure as you have lived; you will be worthy of your reward; you will have proved yourself a hero, and not only a hero, but a valiant servant of the living God, worthy of his acceptation and of admission into the loving presence of the Father!"

It is in such things as this that we can see the hand of God. If our boys will only go out into the world this way, carrying with them the spirit of the gospel and the behavior of true Latter-day Saints, no matter what may befall them in life, they will endure with the best. They will be able to endure as much as anybody else can possibly endure of fatigue or of suffering, if necessary, and when they are brought to the test they will stand it! Because they have no fear of death! They will be free from fear of the consequences of their own lives. They will have no need to dread death, for they have done their work; they have kept the faith, they are pure in heart, and they are worthy to see God!

I have some feelings in these matters, for I have boys of my own, and I love my sons. They have grown up with me. They are mine! The Lord gave them to me. I expect to claim them, in the relationship of father and sons that exists between us, throughout all eternities that will come. I would rather see my sons shot down by the enemies of God and humanity, by those who are inimical to the freedom of the children of men, while defending the cause of Righteousness and Truth, a thousand times rather, than to see them die the vile death of sinners and of transgressors of the laws of God. While death in battle might be instantaneous, or it might linger, perhaps, to one whose cause is just it would be honorable; but the death that is caused by the transgression of the laws of God, by the poison and sting of sin, is to be dreaded worse, a thousand times, than to die sinless in defending the cause of Truth.

I don't want to see one of my boys lose the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't want to see one of them deny Christ, the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world. I do not want one of them to turn his back upon the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith whose blood courses in their veins. I would rather see them perish in defending a cause of righteousness, a thousand times, while they are firm in the faith, than I would see them live to deny that faith and the God that gave them life! That is where I stand with reference to the matters that are facing us at this moment!—Improvement Era, Vol. 20, July, 1917, p. 824, June C. R.

MESSAGE TO THE BOYS IN WAR SERVICE. Our country is at war. This regrettable condition has been forced upon us by enemies of representative government and individual freedom. Despotism is endeavoring to gain the ascendency and to establish its might in the earth. Many of our young men who have been reared in the Church, and taught the principles of the gospel in the Sabbath Schools and other organizations of the Church, have been called to the colors in defense of our liberties and the liberty and freedom of the world. In all probability they will be sent to the front before many months have passed, to take their places in the trenches in the European battlefields and engage in this appalling conflict, the like of which the world has never seen until this day.

We most sincerely hope that our young men will prove loyal to their country and stand honorably in its defense and prove themselves worthy in every respect as defenders of those principles for which our government was born and for which it still exists.

In going forth to war these young men are liable to be confronted with danger far greater than that which they might expect from the bullets of the enemy. There are many evils that usually follow in the wake of marshaled armies equipped for and engaged in war, far worse than honorable death which may come in the conflict of battle. It matters not so much when our young men are called, or where they may go, but it does matter much to their parents, friends and associates in the truth, and above all to themselves, how they go. They have been trained all their lives as members of the Church to keep themselves pure and unspotted from the sins of the world, to respect the rights of others, to be obedient to righteous principles, to remember that virtue is one of the greatest gifts from God. Moreover, that they should respect the virtue of others and rather die a thousand times than defile themselves by committing deadly sin. We want them to go forth clean, both in thought and action, with faith in the principles of the gospel and the redeeming grace of our Lord and Savior. We would have them remember that only by living clean and faithful lives can they hope to attain the salvation promised through the shedding of the blood of our Redeemer.

If they will go forth in this manner, fit companions for the Spirit of the Lord, free from sin, and trusting in the Lord, then whatever befalls them they will know that they have found favor in the sight of God. Should death overtake them while thus engaged in the discharge of duty in defense of their country, they need have no fear, for their salvation is assured. Moreover, under conditions such as these they will have a better claim to the blessings of the Almighty and, like the two thousand young men of Helaman's army, they will be more likely to receive the protecting care of the Lord.

Let them go in the spirit of truth and righteousness; the spirit which will direct them to save rather than destroy; which leads to do good rather than to commit evil; with love in their hearts for their fellow men, prepared to teach all mankind the saving principles of the gospel. And, should they be required, in the defense of the principles for which they go, to shed the blood of any among the contending forces, it shall not be a sin, and the blood of their enemies shall not be required at their hands.

We will have no fear for those who will be true to the covenants they have made in the waters of baptism and observe to keep the commandments of God. If they die, they shall die unto the Lord and shall stand before him spotless and void of offense. And should they return unharmed, we will give to our Father in heaven the credit for his protecting care over them while in the discharge of perilous duty. While they are away the prayers of the Saints will ascend in their behalf for their protection, and we sincerely hope their prayers will not be without avail, and surely they will avail if our boys will continue to be worthy of the mercies of the Lord.—Juvenile Instructor, August, 1917, p. 404, Vol. 52.