Freedom or Slavery
“IS LIFE SO DEAR OR PEACE SO SWEET
AS TO BE PURCHACED
AT THE PRICE OF CHAINS AND SLAVERY?”
Patrick Henry
There has been an all too important gospel principle that seems to have been largely confused and unheeded by the last couple of generations. A principle that if we do not wake up and heed, we will not be able to effectively follow any other principles as a church – as there will no longer be one. Says D&C 88:81, “It becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” I see a threat; this is my witness and this is my warning to those who will listen. The church will never officially establish a program to perform a task that is reserved for the members to do individually, so we must reach each other on our own, now “Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37) “In God’s name, let us speak while there is time. Now, when the padlocks for our lips are forging – silence is a crime. (J. Greenleaf Whittier quoted by Ezra Taft Benson, Conf. Rep. Apr. 1986)
Freedom, choice, free agency, liberty, independence, these are not only words and expressions; they frame a principle, a lifestyle, a lifestyle that countless patriots have given their lives to establish and secure in this country, and caring about any sort of peace or security more than this freedom is not caring at all about those who have died for a cause greater than life. They did not fight and die for safety and protection, and they did not have the luxury of comfort as they fought for their freedom and that of their children, and though it is true that tranquility may be sought for and attained in an environment of freedom, freedom cannot easily, perhaps not without blood, be regained in a situation where the government dishes out your protection at the cost of your submission. Because I don’t want you to take my word for it and because I don’t expect you to believe me, here are a few quotes from some general authorities:
“He who fears criticism is hopeless. Only those who do things are criticized. To hesitate for fear of criticism is cowardly. To be ashamed of patriotism is to be ashamed of God. There is no excuse that can compensate for the loss of liberty.” (Ezra Taft Benson, An Enemy Hath Done This, Preface)
“The fight for freedom is God’s fight. Freedom is a law of God, a permanent law. Men cannot break it with impunity. They can only break themselves upon it. When a man stands for freedom, he stands for God. As long as he stands for freedom, he stands with God. And were he to stand alone, he would still stand with God. Any man will be eternally vindicated and rewarded for his stand for freedom. The Lord has so endowed this matter of freedom with such everlasting repercussions that it sifted the spirits of men before this world in the Great War in heaven. And it seems today to be the central issue that is sifting those who are left in the world. Life’s failures arise when men neither take the time nor find the season to perform their eternal duties.” (Ibid, Pg. 54-55)
“It is the devil’s desire that the Lord’s priesthood stay asleep while the strings of tyranny gradually and quietly entangle us until, like Gulliver, we awake too late and find that while we could have broken each string separately as it was put upon us, our sleepiness permitted enough strings to bind us – to make a rope that enslaves us.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Oct 1966, BYU)
“If we do our duty we can be preserved, and
if not, then we shall be destroyed. This means that a good deal of the
responsibility lies with the Priesthood of this Church as to what happens to
America, and as to how much tragedy can be avoided if we do act now. The
Prophet Joseph Smith declared it will be the elders of
“If American freedom is lost
– if
“The Prophet Joseph Smith
said the time would come when the Constitution would hang, as it were, by a
thread. Modern-day prophets for the past several decades have been warning us
that we have been rapidly moving in that direction. Fortunately, the Prophet
Joseph Smith saw the part the elders of
“Have we read the Federalist papers? Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it? Are we aware of its principles? Are we abiding by these principles and teaching them to others? Could we defend the Constitution? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound? Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it? …May God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. May we be equally as valiant and as free.” (Ezra Taft Benson, "Our Divine Constitution" 6-7)
“I say to you with all the fervor of my soul,
that we have sown the seeds of our own destruction in
“It is the duty of freedom loving people to oppose and resist this evil with all the strength God has given us. If we do not, we stand to lose all we and our forefathers have gained through the centuries.” (First Presidency Home Teaching Message)
Today, freedom – political, economic, and
individual freedom – lies destroyed or is in the course of being
destroyed over great areas of the globe. And it has been destroyed and is being
destroyed in the name of freedom… a ruthless dialectical battle is being
waged against individual freedom, and it is being waged in the name of Freedom.
Black becomes White; Tyranny becomes Freedom; The Forced Labor Camp stands for
“By a careful perusal of the scriptures, we find that God in ancient days had as much to do with governments, kings, and kingdoms, as he ever had to do with religion.” (John Taylor, Millennial Star, 5:8-9)
“We should, in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, learn the principles of the Constitution and abide by its precepts. We encourage Latter-day Saints throughout the nation to familiarize themselves with the Constitution. They should focus attention on it by reading it and studying it. They should recommit themselves to its principles and be prepared to defend it and the freedom it provides. Citizens of this nation are free to participate in efforts designed to warn of the threat of any force or power, theory or principle, that would deprive them of their freedom or the individual liberties vouchsafed by the Constitution…. Learn more about this divinely inspired charter of our liberty, speak in its defense, and preserve and protect it against evil or destruction. We encourage your participation and involvement in this worthy endeavor.” (First Presidency Message to be read in sacrament meeting, Jan. 1987)
“An ounce of energy in the preservation of freedom is worth a ton of effort to get it back once it is lost. Today you cannot effectively fight for freedom and not be attacked, and those who think they can are deceiving themselves. While I do not believe in stepping out of the path of duty to pick up a cross I do not need, a man is a coward who refuses to pick up a cross that clearly lies within his path. A man must not only stand for the right principles, but he must also fight for them. Those who fight for principle can be proud of the friends they’ve gained and the enemies they’ve earned. We face days ahead that will test the moral and physical sinews of all of us. Those who hesitate to get into this fight because it is controversial fail to realize that life’s decisions should be based on principles, not on polls. The basic purpose of life is to prove ourselves, not to be with the majority when it is wrong. In due time, when each of us has had a chance to prove himself, including whether or not we are going to stand up for freedom, God will interject himself, and the final and eternal victory shall be for free agency, and then shall those weak-willed souls on the sidelines and those who took the popular course lament their decisions. (Anyone) who retreats from this battle jeopardizes his life here and hereafter. Seldom has so much responsibility hung on so few, so heavily; but our number are increasing, and we who have been warned have a responsibility to warn our neighbor. The fight for freedom cannot be divorced from the gospel.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Conf. Rep. Apr. 1967)
“The statement of the Lord, “I have established the Constitution” puts it in the position in which it would be if it were written in this D&C itself. This makes the Constitution the word of the Lord to us.” (J. Rueben Clark, Conf. Rep. Apr. 1935)
“I think it is time for every patriotic
American to join with neighbors to study the Constitution and the conspiracy!
Subscribe to several good patriotic magazines.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Title
of
“To the patriots I say this: Take that long eternal look. Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost. Stand up and be counted. It can help to save your soul – and maybe your country.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra T. Benson, Pg. 592)
“To be on the wrong side of the freedom issue in heaven meant eternal damnation. How then can latter-day Saints expect to be on the wrong side in this life and escape eternal consequences? Will they heed the counsel of the prophet and preserve their freedom? Those who want to lead the quiet, retiring life but still expect to do their full duty can’t have it both ways. This fight for freedom might never become popular in our day, and if you wait until everybody agrees in this Church, you will be waiting through the second coming! The Lord will not protect us unless we do our part.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Conf. Rep. Apr. 1965)
“Next to being one in
worshiping God, there is nothing in this world upon which this Church should be
more united than in upholding and defending the Constitution of the
On this last quote, I would like to remark. There is so much disputation on the subject of politics and government, not just in our churches and neighborhoods but pretty much everywhere. It seems that so few people agree on political issues, and those few that do only agree on certain platforms. When I see this kind of behavior I cannot help but ask why it is so. Why is there so much contention on this subject in the church? It’s to the point that we don’t even discuss it. It’s as if we say, “Here is the church, it deals with everything in life and how to live it, and here is politics… it’s different.” If it holds true that the Gospel holds the answer to all questions in life, and it does, and it holds true that God cares about our freedom under governments, which He does, then it must hold true that we disagree because we either don’t understand or believe parts of the Gospel to the same degree. The Constitution tells us what is politically safe, and it was given a stamp of approval from God Himself. Do we disagree because we don’t understand it, or do we just not believe it? My prayer is that we may all become more acquainted with it and become more united in preserving its political genius.
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