In my research, I found an awesome
article by L. Tom Perry that was adapted from an address he gave at BYU in
1976. Of course 1976 was the Bicentennial celebration of our great nation. So,
even though the talk is 36 years old, it’s very much pertinent to today. If not
more so than in 1976. I’m not going to post the entire article. I took bits and
pieces of my favorite parts out to post on here.
“The general Constitution of our country is
good, and a wholesome government could be framed upon it, for it was dictated
by the invisible operations of the Almighty. …
“Will the Constitution be destroyed?
No; It will be held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, ‘the
time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread;
at that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the
threatened destruction.’ It will be so” (Journal History, July 4, 1854,
Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).- Brigham Young
Adapted from an address delivered on
February 24, 1976, at BYU
I look around me and find some very
definite signs of the decay that is beginning to occur. Corruption, crime,
dishonesty, immorality, pollution, laziness, devotion only to special
interests—these are signs that precede the fall of great civilizations. We see
so much evidence of these signs before our eyes. Yet I realize the promise that
has been given to us in this great land of America. I also remember the
prophecies concerning our great responsibilities to preserve that which we have
been blessed with by God. The Lord has promised to sustain the truth in this
land.
Our commitment to America has been
testified to by many, but I will point out to you special witnesses who have
indicated our responsibilities to this land.
First from Brigham Young, second
president of the Church: “Will the Constitution be destroyed? No: it will be
held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, ‘The time will come when the destiny of this nation
will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will
step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.’ It will be so.” (Journal of Discourses, 7:15.)
Now another witness, John Taylor,
third president of the Church: “When the people shall have torn to shreds the
Constitution of the United States, the elders of Israel will be found holding
it up to the nations of the earth, and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to
all men, and extending the hand of fellowship to the oppressed of all nations.”
(The Gospel Kingdom, Deseret Book Co., 1943, p. 219.) This is part of
the program.
A final witness is from George Q.
Cannon, former member of the First Presidency, who said that “the day will come
when the Constitution and free government under it will be sustained and
preserved by this people.” (JD, 23:104.)
Now, I declare to you that if we are
not in the beginning stages of the fulfillment of this prophecy, we are at least
in the stages where we are preparing for its fulfillment.
Now at this critical stage in our
nation’s history we suddenly find ourselves with a great opportunity to reverse
the trend and help chart the course of this country back toward righteousness.
Today we are fortunate to live in a
choice and promised land. It will remain free and blessed as long as its people
remember the God who gave them life and this free land. We must remember that
the family is the basic unit of a strong society.
We are all part of God’s family; and
as our Father, he expects us to build strong family units. It is in the family
that the basic morality and righteousness should be taught that will keep
America free. Each member of every family plays an important role in America.
For several thousand years throughout this land the great fathers and mothers,
the noble sons, the patriot sons, the choice daughters have forged America into
what we have today.
It is America’s conscience that has
preserved her. America is beautiful only when she is good, when children are
laughing in her streets, and love abounds in her families. Without this
conscience, civilization crumbles, as it has before on this continent. We are
all part of America’s future. Our job is to remember the lessons of the past,
to patch up the mistakes and the sins of everything that has gone before. The
place to start is within our own families; and as we have been counseled, “No
success can compensate for failure in the home.”
The source of America’s greatness is
not a new doctrine to us. The Book of Mormon has declared over and over again
that the blessings of heaven are contingent upon the righteousness of its
people. In fact, this teaching has been proven in almost every age. Remember in
1831 when the famous French historian Alexis de Tocqueville said:
I want to again remind you of your
responsibility to preserve the righteousness of America. I have reviewed
4,000 years of history, declaring this to be a land of promise, chosen of the
Lord for his special purposes. Now we must deal with America’s future. The land
must continue to remain strong and great and good. It is destined to be the
major supplier of human and financial resources, to build the kingdom of God
here in the whole world, and to prepare the world for the return of the Lord
and Savior. The adversary knows all too well that a weak America will literally
stop this building process and thwart the work of God.
I hope I have painted a clear picture
for you to see your role in this great eternal process. The Lord is making his
major investment in you. In my dealings with the Lord, I have found him
to be one who expects performance.
“Suppose a nation in some distant
region should take the Bible as their only law book and every member should
regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. Every member would be
obligated in conscience to temperance and frugality and industry, to justice
and kindness and charity toward his fellowmen, and to piety, love, and
reverence toward Almighty God. In this commonwealth no man would impair his
health with gluttony, drunkenness or lust. No man would sacrifice his precious
time to cards or trifling with other mean amusements. No man would steal or lie
or in any way defraud his neighbor, but would live in peace and good will
toward all men. No man would blaspheme his Maker or profane his worship, but a
rational and manly, a sincere and unaffected devotion would reign in the hearts
of all men. What a utopia, what a paradise this region would be.”
I want to issue you a challenge. I
want you who are the best trained, the best educated, who have been given these
great advantages here in America to literally become the conscience of America
and the molders of its destiny and future. With your knowledge, your training,
your understanding of how God works in the hearts of his children here on
earth, let us obligate ourselves to temperance, to frugality, and to industry.
Let us show justice, kindness, and charity toward our fellowmen. Let us
demonstrate the love and reverence we should exhibit toward our Almighty God.
Let us not trifle with the things that are holy to God.
Will God bless us that we may have
the courage to fulfill our responsibility here? I know by personal experience …that
the heavens are still open, that he still does direct his work here. That
message should ring from the hilltops of this nation…. Will you have the
courage to stand up with me and be counted with those who would preserve this
land of the free through the righteousness of its people?
(end of Elder Perry’s talk)
Ether
8:22-26
24 Wherefore,
the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye
shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this asecret combination
which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who
have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also
upon those who built it up.
25 For it
cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the afreedom of all
lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all
people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even
that same liar who bbeguiled our
first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder
from the beginning; who hath chardened the
hearts of men that they have dmurdered the
prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.
There are
plenty of warnings in The Book of Mormon, and from modern-day Prophets and
Apostles about the destruction of nations, specifically our nation, when the people
are not righteous. But it’s comforting to know, that through righteousness, and
doing all we can by voting, etc., that we can and will save this great nation
of ours from destruction.
That’s my
two cents.
