The great struggle which now rocks the whole earth more and more takes on the character of a struggle of the individual versus the state.  This gigantic worldwide struggle takes on the form of a war to the death. We shall do well and wisely so to face and so to enter it. And we must all take part. Indeed, we all are taking part in that struggle, whether we will not.  Upon its final issue, liberty lives or dies. The plain and simple issue now facing us in America is freedom or slavery. We have largely lost the conflict so far waged. But there is time to win the final victory, if we sense our danger, and FIGHT.

-- President J. Reuben Clark – Vital Speeches 1938
 again in Church News 1949
 and yet again by Ezra Taft Benson CR Apr 1965
 

“I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now.”

-- President Boyd K. Packer, “The One Pure Defense” (address to CES religious educators, Feb. 6, 2004)

These beautiful photographs are on display in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building until November 8, 2008.

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to  a regional sales convention in Chicago . They had  assured their wives that they would be home in  plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen  inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples.  Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking  back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly-missed boarding.

ALL BUT ONE!!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him,  waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife  when they arrived at their home destination and  explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal  floor.

The following is a statement by President David O. McKay given in 1965 in President McKay's Hotel Utah apartment to a group of brethren working in the physical facilities department of the Church. While engaged in explaining to them the importance of the work they were engaged in, he paused and told them the following:

Let me assure you, Brethren, that some day you will have a personal Priesthood interview with the Savior himself. If you are interested, I will tell you the order in which he will ask you to account for your earthly responsibilities.

First, He will request an accountability report about your relationship with your wife. Have you actively been engaged in making her happy and ensuring that her needs have been met as an individual?

Second, He will want an accountability report about each of your children individually. He will not attempt to have this for simply a family stewardship but will request information about your relationship to each and very child.

Third, He will want to know what you personally have done with the talents you were given in the pre-existence.

Fourth, He will want a summary of your activity in your Church assignments. He will not necessarily be interested in what assignments you have had, for in his eyes the home teacher and mission president are probably equals, but he will request a summary of how you have been of service to your fellow men in your church assignments.

Fifth, He will have no interest in how you earned your living, but if you were honest in all your dealings.

Sixth, He will ask for an accountability on what you have done to contribute in Positive manner to your community, state, country and the world.

- David O McKay

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has published a new website on the prophet President Thomas S. Monson. This site has biographical information about President Monson's life and achievements. It includes a timeline of events from his life, recent talks, and a biographical video.

Here's a cute song someone made for the new Church leadership.

In 1966 David O. McKay encouraged all members of the church to join or start a self education program regarding constitutional principles and threats to our free agency.

"We encourage every person and every group who is sincerely seeking to study constitutional principles and awaken a sleeping and apathetic people to the alarming conditions that are rapidly advancing about us. We wish all of our citizens throughout the land were participating in some type of organized self-education in order that they could better appreciate what is happening and know what they can do about it." (Pres. David O. McKay - CR April 1966)

Researchers who discovered an ancient clay tablet with cuneiform writing in the mid-1800's in Nineveh have recently deciphered the ancient writings. They say that it describes an asteroid wiping out the ancient cities of Sodom and Gamorrah.

I've always loved the church's focus on wheelchairs as part of the humanitarian service. So far the church has donated over 250,000 wheelchairs in 95 different countries. Now the church is also working with local factories to build the wheelchairs locally. This provides employment opportunities for the disabled as well as increasing the availability of part and repair services.

Mikhail Gorbachev acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time while paying a surprise visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi. Ronald Reagan allegedly told his aides that he felt his opponent during the Cold War was a "closet believer".

I found an entertaining blog post about why some Evangelical Christians call The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a cult.

SALT LAKE CITY - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced today the establishment of The Church Historian's Press, a new imprint for publishing works related to the Church's origin and growth.

The initial publishing project of the press will be The Joseph Smith Papers, a documentary series eventually comprising 25-30 volumes. Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Church Historian, has described The Joseph Smith Papers as "the single most significant historical project of our generation."

I found a cool website dedicated to President Hinckley. It has a lot of information about him including a time line of his life and notable quotes and talks. The website is http://www.gordonbhinckley.org/

Some time ago a few ladies met to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse. "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3).

One of the ladies decided to visit a silversmith and report to the others on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly and without telling him the reason for her visit, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver. After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?"

Glenn Beck gave a short tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley on CNN. The video is available to view on his website at http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/ (Sorry Ken, no captions).

The Wall Street Journal has an article entitled "What Iowans Should Know About Mormons" written by Naomi Schaeffer Riley who is a Jew. "Let me offer a brief snapshot, not in the hope that Iowans will vote for Mr. Romney but in the hope that, if they don't vote for him, their decision won't have anything to do with his religion", she says.

BYU has released a searchable online version of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. This is a great reference for gospel topics and doctrinal information.

Driving to work this morning, I was listening the Bob Lonsberry show on 570 KNRS (here is the Deseret Morning News article). Bob, the host, had on a grocery store owner that is part of the Reams family grocery store chain but independantly owned by this guy in Provo. This store owner decided to remove all alcohol and tobacco products from his store because those products do not reflect the values of the community nor his personal values. He said the final decision to remove these products came after his 9 year old daughter asked him if he sold drugs in his store that hurt people...