The more I look around me in Utah, I become increasingly more alarmed at how far our Utah culture has strayed from the fundamental principles that President Benson expressed so eloquently throughout his lifetime. I find myself (along with the teachings of President Benson) falling more and more out of step with the mainstream of my church. Latter Day Saints have become silent observers of and participants in the circumstances that we were warned about by President Benson and now repeatedly in the Book of Mormon. A tiny fraction of the members of the Church make the connection and most members, through their actions, now reject the premise outright. The general attitude seems to be, “that was then, this is now.” Church members who advocate that position are not looking very carefully. The Fundamental transformation of America can no longer be dismissed as cold war hysteria. This has quietly infiltrated every aspect of our lives. In short order, our right to worship will be infringed and I suspect, life will become much more difficult for members of our church.

There is now a cultural and even institutional attitude that seems to encourage members to quietly accept these developments. The newsroom of LD.org now states, “As the Church operates in countries around the world, it embraces the richness of pluralism. Thus, the political diversity of Latter-day Saints spans the ideological spectrum. Individual members are free to choose their own political philosophy and affiliation. Moreover, the Church itself is not aligned with any particular political ideology or movement. It defies category. Its moral values may be expressed in a number of parties and ideologies. Furthermore, the Church views with concern the politics of fear and rhetorical extremism that render civil discussion impossible. As the Church begins to rise in prominence and its members achieve a higher public profile, a diversity of voices and opinions naturally follows.” (The Mormon Ethic of Civility – LDS.org) I have had this sent to me from progressive friends to convince me that the Church is now moving in a new direction.

I haven’t been given any formal counsel that the fundamentals of what President Benson taught (below) have been rescinded but it appears that indeed may be the case.

President Benson made this statement in General Conference.

“Basic to this all-important plan is our free agency, the right of choice. Free agency is an eternal principle. We enjoyed freedom of choice in the spirit world as spirit children. In fact, a counter-plan to the gospel of our Lord was presented by Lucifer, a plan of force that would have robbed man of his freedom of choice. Lucifer’s plan was rejected, and the scriptures tell us that he, with one-third of the hosts of heaven, was cast out; and they continue their opposition to God’s plan, which is based on the freedom of the individual… The scriptures make clear that there was a great war in heaven, a struggle over the principle of freedom the right of choice….

Why have prophets of God been commanded to proclaim liberty and lead the battle to preserve freedom? Because freedom is basic to the great plan of the Lord. The gospel can prosper only in an atmosphere of freedom. This fact is confirmed by history, as well as by sacred scriptures. The right of choice—free agency—runs like a golden thread throughout the gospel plan of the Lord for the blessing of his children.
…“Still earlier the First Presidency warned the Saints that ‘Satan is making war against all the wisdom that has come to men through their ages of experience. He is seeking to overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government, and religion rest. He aims to have men adopt theories and practices which he induced their forefathers, over the ages, to adopt and try, only to be discarded by them when found unsound, impractical, and ruinous. He plans to destroy liberty and freedom—economic, political, and religious, and to set up in place thereof the greatest, most widespread, and most complete tyranny that has ever oppressed man. He is working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods.…Without their knowing it, the people are being urged down paths that lead only to destruction. Satan never before had so firm a grip on this generation as he has now.’ (“Message of the First Presidency,” The Improvement Era, Nov. 1942, p. 761.)

In spite of the scriptural evidence and the counsel of modern-day prophets during the past more than 100 years, there are still some who seem to feel we have no responsibility to safeguard and strengthen our precious God-given freedom. There are some who apparently feel that the fight for freedom is separate from the gospel. They express it in several ways but it generally boils down to this: Just live the gospel; there’s no need to get involved in trying to save freedom and the Constitution or to stop Communism. Of course, this is dangerous reasoning, because in reality you cannot fully live the gospel without working to save freedom and the Constitution, and to stop Communism. In the war in heaven, what would have been your reaction if someone had told you just to do what is right—there’s no need to get involved in the fight for freedom? War in Heaven continues on Earth: Of course, the war in heaven over free agency is now being waged here on earth, and there are those today who are saying “Look, don’t get involved in the fight for freedom. Just live the gospel.” That counsel is dangerous, self-contradictory, unsound.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, p.120. October 1966).

In 2010, the average Utahn is watching five hours of recreational TV per day. It will take a major mind-set shift to get the people to understand what is happening around them.

Just today, in Sunday School, across the country (and elsewhere) the same lines were probably repeated at more than a few meeting houses. I’ve already heard of two reports where the same info was presented, discussed, and the main gist of the lesson was that “the Lord wants us to follow ALL the laws of the land”, including (and especially) those against the constitution and those we disagree with. As they say, in so doing we will be blessed for doing so. Another friend also mentioned that if the Lord wanted us to do something about the Constitution, the Prophet would say so, and since he hasn’t said anything on the subject since the 1980s, it’s no longer important to us.

You see where this is going…and it’s not pretty.

Rachel, excellent point referring to the warring “plans.” I have to come to the conclusion that the war is on-going today in mortality. I have likewise concluded that Satan’s plan of slavery was not openly promoted as such, since that would not likely appeal to a third of the hosts of heaven! I am convinced that at least part of his argument was similar to what we hear today encouraging a dismissal of rules and commandments and obedience. “Just believe, and you’re saved!”

Lehi was able to see through that argument: “And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God…” 2 Nephi 2:13 Lehi surely was aware that Satan’s plan was precisely to get rid of the Father, hence the declaration, “wherefore give me thine honor.” (Moses 4:1)

But even as we recognize the adversary’s hand in various political and religious trends, we must recognize that the Father has permitted them all to freely preach their views in this world and if we are to be lovers of liberty, we must permit the same differing arguments. We cannot advocate the removal of that opposition by force or other means outside of following the counsel of this blog post and becoming engaged and stepping without fear into the arena of ideas in defense of the Lord and His plan.

Surely the level of vigilance and engagement required are high, if we are to avoid the deceptions so many other generations have fallen prey to.

Again, I think this post covered those bases. Individual righteousness and honest self-scrutiny will help keep us mindful of our duties as we strive to learn and apply true principles to our lives. If we live lives of ongoing repentance as Abraham, we will be able to add significantly to the ongoing battle of ideas and hopefully preserve our liberties.

It is my feeling that the threats we now face from within are every bit as ominous as those successfully defeated by our fathers. The ideas and principles of socialism, communism and fascism are taking root among us. And if we are engaged and successfully root these out from our midst, we will warrant the same appreciation for our generation’s contribution to the noble history of this great nation and indeed, the world.

Thank you, Mr. Boyack, again, for this excellent piece of work! Best wishes to you and your readers and all of you who have commented here. I hope you’ll forgive a shameless plug for my own blog at http://patrioticbear.blogspot.com!

May the Lord’s choicest blessings be with each of you and continue to be with this great nation.

Agency =/= Liberty.

I agree with the point of not being prideful about being enlightened, however….

Here’s the problem. Political views can’t be separated from our religious views. People try to do that, but in reality, they are not separate. It goes back to the war in heaven and the two plans that were presented there—let us choose for ourselves, or force us to choose. Communism is Satan’s plan, not just some political view.

In this world there are counterfeits for pretty much every gospel teaching. And those things that are often done or promoted in the name of Christlike love are often misguided and actually furthering Satan’s plan.

Jeff T. said, “Sorry, liberty is important, but Christian charity is even more so.”

The scriptures say, “that every man may act . . . 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” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:78) and I will add “that every man may be accountable for his own righteous actions in the day of judgement.” Will it be to our credit in God’s eyes if the government takes our money or property to give to the poor? I don’t think so. We must do it of our own free will. That’s the difference between the law of consecration and the capital redistribution of socialism/communism.

I believe the final judgement will rest partly on what political views we embraced, as illustrated in the following quotes from Ezra Taft Benson: “The scriptures make clear that there was a great war in heaven, a struggle over the principle of freedom the right of choice. In the war in heaven, what would have been your reaction if someone had told you just to do what is right—there’s no need to get involved in the fight for freedom? Of course, the war in heaven over free agency is now being waged here on earth, and there are those today who are saying ‘Look, don’t get involved in the fight for freedom. Just live the gospel.’ That counsel is dangerous, self-contradictory, unsound.”

And: “As important as are all other principles of the gospel, it was the freedom issue which determined whether you received a body. To have been on the wrong side of the freedom issue during the war in heaven meant eternal damnation. How then can Latter-day Saints expect to be on the wrong side in this life and escape the eternal consequences? The war in heaven is raging on earth today. The issues are the same.”

In my opinion, our political views are the measure of our discipleship of Christ and our understanding of His gospel.

If you want something to DO–something that will help more people to become politically active and just might help us elect a new Senator next year who will adhere to the Constitution, please come to a workshop in Sandy on Dec. 5th. Some great speakers and teachers will be there.

Details here: http://www.facebook.com/events.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=167070988033&index=1

It is human nature to look for ways in which we are superior to our fellow human beings. Whilst the world and even much in the church is in darkness & sin when it comes to liberty, we are in sin in other ways. As a friend once said to me, “Don’t judge others who sin differently than you do.”

I only say this because I’ve seen people with precisely accurate political views use those views as an excuse to feel superior to their fellow saints. They’ve sometimes adopted a “I’m going to be saved, but you are not, because I’m politically enlightened while you are not” attitude. Sorry, liberty is important, but Christian charity is even more so. I don’t think the final judgement will rest on what political views we adopted, but rather whether we invited Christ into our hearts and became His servants and His children.

While our temporal salvation hinges on these principles (ignoring them will lead to captivity and, perhaps, physical death), I think God gives more weight to other matters when it comes to spiritual salvation.

Consider: The Willie and Martin handcart companies were warned by priesthood leaders not to embark on their journey so late in the season. They foolishly ignored the warning, and faced dire consequences. However, they are still considered valiant saints, and will have no more trouble than anyone else finding a place in heaven. The warning was for their temporal salvation, and ignoring the warning brought on temporal consequences.

I think that all these principles are important, but it is even more crucial that we adopt them without seeing the world and our fellow saints with an evaluative eye (in the sense that we’re constantly sorting our fellow Christians based upon our criteria for political righteousness).

Thank you!

Even though I’ve previously read most (maybe all) of the quotes you presented, I love the way you brought them all together into what can be used as a great guide for Latter-day Saints regarding their civic duties.

I only have one thing to add from the Book Of Mormon, it is ether chapter 8 where Mormon is warning the people of our day about the secret combonations, in verse 24 he says it is a COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD that we wake up to our awefull situation and in verse 25 it tells us their objective/plan is they want to overthrow the freedoms of the world.

“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 secret combination which shall be among you…

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people,..”

My friend brought this scripture up in the gospel doctrine class a month or so ago and they seemed to just blow it off .
It reminds me of Brigham Youngs version of what Joseph Smith Said (discourses of B.Y. page 360)
“IF the Constitution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people.” (yes I know there are conflicting statements of what Joseph Smith Really said) but it makes me wonder what event will wake up the Elders of the church? sooner would be better. But Connor you are doing your part, good post! (again.)

I shutter to think what holocausts & calamities & consequences are soon going to be unleashed upon this nation, especially 1st, upon most of the members of the Church who had so much knowledge & warning, yet did not heed it.