Gordon Hinckley
15th President
1995-
The
United States
Constitution
The
Bill of Rights
Declaration
of
Independence
1.
American Bill of Rights
The
first ten amendments to the Constitution, which became our Bill of Rights,
were ratified and came into effect on December 15, 1791. On December 15,
1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a resolution naming December
15th of each year as "Bill of Rights Day."
We
pay relatively little attention to it. It is not a national holiday. It
scarcely receives notice. And yet it marks one of the most significant
accomplishments in the history of the United States, if not in the history
of all mankind. It represents the codification of the basic, inclusive,
and fundamental law of the liberties of the people which our forefathers
regarded as gifts from God and not as gifts of government. These
amendments prohibit the encroachment of government on these rights. We
must never take them for granted. They are of the very essence of that
freedom which we describe as American. I regard it as a miracle that we
have them. (Sons of American Revolution Dinner, May 4, 1990.)
When
you speak to the average citizen concerning the provisions of the
Constitution he is likely to think of it in terms of the Bill of Rights
rather than the Constitution itself. The Constitution sets up the
machinery of government. The Bill of Rights denies to government those
basic and fundamental elements of freedom which belong to the people as
their divine inheritance and which they refuse to surrender to the whims
of politicians. (Sons of American Revolution Dinner, May 4, 1990.)
I
was in Seoul, Korea, in May of 1961 when a coup occurred. The president of
the nation fled for his life as the military took over the affairs of the
country. I was awakened in my hotel room at 4:30 in the morning by the
sound of cannon fire in the street below. >From my window I watched
shells hit the wall and break the windows of the government building which
stood next to the hotel. I turned on the radio. I discovered it had become
the first target of those taking over the government. The newspapers
followed. Freedom of the press was abridged. Freedom of speech was
muzzled. Freedom of assembly was denied. These were primary targets in
taking control of the nation and its people.
.
. . [Such events] stand as evidence to each of us of the inspired vision
of our forebears two centuries ago in demanding a written Constitutional
prohibition against the enactment of any law concerning an establishment
of religion, the free exercise thereof, freedom of speech, or of the
press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition
the government for a redress of grievances. ("The Bill of
Rights," Bonneville International Corporation "Gathering of
Eagles," June 20, 1991.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 13.)
2.
Courage
This
work requires sacrifice, it requires effort, it means courage to speak out
and faith to try. This cause does not need critics; it does not need
doubters. It needs men and women of solemn purpose. As Paul wrote to
Timothy: " . . . God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of
power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord. . . ." (2 Tim. 1:7-8.)
I
would that every member of this church, and every good man throughout the
world, would put those words where he might see them every morning as he
begins his day. They would give him the courage to speak up, they would
give him the faith to try, they would strengthen his conviction of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
I
believe that miracles would begin to happen over the earth. ("'Be Not
Afraid, Only Believe,'" Improvement Era, December 1969, p.
99.)
There
is no greater courage than the courage of conscience. It is never
boisterous or noisy. It is a quiet tempering of the spirit that builds
hard steel out of soft iron and gives the will to do whatever must be done
to preserve integrity of belief and action. (Utah Mayflower Society
Dinner, November 16, 1994.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 146.)
3.
American Constitution
There
were men whom the God of Heaven had raised up who saw with a greater
vision and dreamed a better and more inspired dream. On May 14, 1787,
fifty-five of them met in Philadelphia. The heat of that summer was
oppressive, the worst in the memory of man. There were differences of
opinion, sharp and deep and bitter. But somehow, under the inspiration of
the Almighty, there was forged the Constitution of the United States. On
September 17, 1787, thirty-nine of the fifty-five signed the document. It
began with these remarkable words:
"We,
the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution
of the United States of America."
Of
it, the great Gladstone said: "As the British Constitution is the
most subtle organism which has proceeded from progressive history, so the
American Constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a
given time by the brain and purpose of man."
It
is the keystone of our nation.
It
is my faith and my conviction that it came not alone of the brain and
purpose of man, but of the inspiration of God, for He Himself has
declared, "I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands
of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, . . . for the rights
and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; that
every man may act in doctrine and principle . . . 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." [D&C 101:80, 77-78.]
America
was born of that miracle. (National Advisory Council of BYU College of
Business, November 2, 1973.)
In
a few months we shall celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the
founding of the nation. Is it not a miracle that through these two
centuries of time our system of government has remained intact, our
Constitution has held while storms have beaten about us from within and
without? ("Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled," BYU Speeches of
the Year, October 29, 1974, p. 267.)
Challenges
to America
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 15.)
4.
We are forgetting God,
whose commandments we have forgotten and obey not. In all too many ways we
have substituted human sophistry for the wisdom of the Almighty. (Freedom
Festival Address, Provo, Utah, June 26, 1988.)
We
who believe in the Book of Mormon accept these great words: "Behold,
this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be
free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under
heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus
Christ." (Ether 2:12.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 18.)
5. I was intrigued with a
statement by Ted Koppel at commencement exercises at Duke University four
or five years ago. Speaking of the entertainment industry of which he has
been a prominent part, he said:
"We
require nothing of you; only that you watch. . . . And gradually, it must
be said, we are beginning to make our mark on the American psyche. We have
actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. 'Shoot up if you
must; but use a clean needle.' 'Enjoy sex whenever and with whomever you
wish; but wear a condom.'
"No!
The answer is 'no!' Not 'no' because it isn't cool . . . or smart . . . or
because you might end up in jail or dying in an AIDS ward—but 'no' . . .
because it's wrong. Because we have spent 5,000 years as a race of
rational human beings trying to drag ourselves out of the primeval slime
by searching for truth . . . and moral absolutes. . . .
"Our
society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its
purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder; it is a howling
reproach.
"What
Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai were not the 'Ten Suggestions' . . .
they are commandments." (Duke University Archives, Commencement
Speech, May 10, 1987.)
Now,
I know that we have always had crime, and that we will always have crime.
We have had and will have pornography, immorality, and other problems. But
we cannot continue the trend that we are presently experiencing without
catastrophe overtaking us. . . .
If
we continue on a diet of pornography and filth and profanity, the mores
that govern civility and respect and reverence will crumble around us.
I
am more concerned about the moral deficit than I am about the budget
deficit. ("Saving the Nation by Changing Our Homes," BYU
Management Society, Washington, D.C., March 5, 1994, pp. 5-6.)
I
have faith in the future of my beloved America. . . . And yet, I am deeply
concerned. . . . There has been going on in this nation for a good while a
process which I call "secularizing America." . . .
A
few months ago Lady Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great
Britain . . . [visited] Utah. She spoke of the goodness and strength of
America, which was settled by people from the British Isles who, as she
said, came with the English Bible and the English common law. Those early
settlers from the British Isles were Christian people who came with the
Judeo-Christian concepts of right and wrong, of truth and error, which
they derived from reading that Bible. They were people who looked to God
for strength and inspiration and expressed their gratitude to Him for
every blessing.
Lady
Thatcher said, "You use the name of Deity in the Declaration of
Independence and in the Constitution of the United States, and yet you
cannot use it in the schoolroom." . . . I heard her make the
statement more than once, and I have not forgotten it. This is symptomatic
of what I refer to as the secularizing of America. Reverence for the
Almighty, gratitude for His beneficent blessings, pleadings for His
guidance, are increasingly being dropped from our public discourse. I take
you back to George Washington's first inaugural address, spoken April 30,
1789, in Federal Hall in New York. Said he on that occasion:
"
. . . It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act,
my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being, who rules over the
universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential
aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to
the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a
government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes. . . . In
tendering this homage to the great Author of every public and private
good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my
own; nor those of my fellow citizens at large. . . . No people can be
bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the
affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step, by
which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems
to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency" (Harvard
Classics, vol. 43, p. 242).
Wonderfully
significant words are these spoken more than 200 years ago by him whom we
idolize as the Father of our country. (Provo City Community Centennial
Service, August 4, 1996.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 21.)
6.
Church and State
We
try to follow a very strict course in political matters. We observe the
principle of the separation of church and state. We do concern ourselves
with matters which we consider of moral consequence and things which might
directly affect the Church or our fellow churches. We try to work unitedly
with other people of other faiths in a constructive way. We hope we can
use our influence for the maintenance and cultivation of the good
environment in which we live as a people in these communities. (Press
Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 13, 1995.)
We
believe in the separation of Church and state. The Church does not endorse
any political party or any political candidate, nor does it permit the use
of its buildings and facilities for political purposes. We believe that
the Church should remain out of politics unless there is a moral question
at issue. In the case of a moral issue we would expect to speak out. But,
in the matter of everyday political considerations, we try to remain aloof
from those as a Church, while at the same time urging our members, as
citizens, to exercise their political franchise as individuals. We
believe, likewise, that it is in the interest of good government to permit
freedom of worship, freedom of religion. Our official statement says,
"We believe in worshiping God according to the dictates of
conscience, and we allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how,
where, or what they may." (Media Luncheon and Press Conference,
Tokyo, Japan, May 18, 1996.)
We
believe very strongly in the separation between church and state. We
become involved in politics only when there is a moral issue at stake. If
it is alcohol, if it is gambling, if it is a thing of that kind, we speak
out, we exercise our influence. If it is a tax increase, if it is a
highway here or there that is before the legislature, we don't bother
about it institutionally. Individuals? Yes. We urge all of our people to
exercise their constitutional right to be good citizens, to be involved in
politics. But, institutionally, the Church moves only when it is a moral
issue. (BBC Interview, February 21, 1997.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 62.)
7.
Can we doubt that there is a sickness in our society?
We cannot build prisons, even here, fast enough to accommodate the need.
We have in this nation more than a million people in prison. The number is
constantly increasing. Why is this happening? I believe that a substantial
factor in all of this is that we as a nation are forsaking the Almighty,
and He is forsaking us. . . . A recent poll indicated that a majority of
Americans believe that the private lives of public officials need not be
considered as a factor in their eligibility for public office. How far we
have come from the time of George Washington, who stated in that first
inaugural address the mandate "that the foundations of our national
policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private
morality." (Provo City Community Centennial Service, August 4, 1996.)
Before
disembarking from the Mayflower, our pilgrim fathers drafted and
signed a compact which was to become the instrument of their governance,
the first such document drafted on this continent. It began with these
words: "In the name of God, amen." It went on to say that the
signers "by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of
God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil
body politic . . ." (Harvard Classics, vol. 43, p. 62). . . .
Once the people of our nation gathered their families together in daily
prayer. They remembered before Deity this nation and its leaders. . . .
That salutary practice of family prayer is largely disappearing from our
society. Are we forgetting the Almighty, who in times of last resort is
our greatest strength? ("Preserving Our Trust in God," American
Legion Patriotic Religious Service, September 1, 1996.)
The
Psalmist wrote, "The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, . . .
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:11-12). It was
said of old by Paul the Apostle: "Where the spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
One
of the stirring pictures of our national heritage is that of General
Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge, pleading with the Almighty
in behalf of his hungry, freezing, dying men of the Continental Army. . .
.
We
sing, "God Bless America." I pray that America will always be
worthy of His blessing. ("Preserving Our Trust in God," American
Legion Patriotic Religious Service, September 1, 1996.)
We
have on our currency and our coinage a national motto: "In God We
Trust." I know of no other nation that has such a motto. Others use
the phrase, "By the Grace of God." But none other categorically
states, "In God We Trust."
When
that statement was adopted, it was believed in. It came of our great
Judeo-Christian inheritance. I think we were then a humbler people than
perhaps we are today. The recognition of God, seeking His help in prayer,
and giving honor and glory to Him, have been characteristic of our
nation's history. . . .
We
repeat the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States and
"to the republic for which it stands." We say, "One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." I pray
that we will never forget that we are in very deed a nation under God and
that with the strength which comes from Him, we will remain
"indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." . . .
In
recent years the Boy Scouts of America have been challenged in the courts
on the language of the Scout Oath: "On my honor, I will do my best,
to do my duty to God, and my country."
Oaths
of office and oaths in other legal procedures have concluded with the
phrase, "So help me God."
Now,
according to the Wall Street Journal, the state of New Jersey has
passed a law banishing the mention of God from state courtroom oaths.
Following this action by the legislature, a county judge decided to ban
the use of Bibles for such oaths "because you-know-who is mentioned
inside" the Bible. (Wall Street Journal, July 31, 1996.)
(National Prayer Breakfast Ceremony, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 25,
1997.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 23 - 24.)
8.
Fear
Who
among us can say that he or she has not felt fear? I know of no one who
has been entirely spared. Some, of course, experience fear to a greater
degree than do others. Some are able to rise above it quickly, but others
are trapped and pulled down by it and even driven to defeat. We suffer
from the fear of ridicule, the fear of failure, the fear of loneliness,
the fear of ignorance. Some fear the present, some the future. Some carry
the burden of sin and would give almost anything to unshackle themselves
from those burdens but fear to change their lives. Let us recognize that
fear comes not of God, but rather that this gnawing, destructive element
comes from the adversary of truth and righteousness. Fear is the
antithesis of faith. It is corrosive in its effects, even deadly.
"For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and
of a sound mind."
These
principles are the great antidotes to the fears that rob us of our
strength and sometimes knock us down to defeat. They give us power.
What
power? The power of the gospel, the power of truth, the power of faith,
the power of the priesthood. ("'God Hath Not Given Us the Spirit of
Fear,'" Ensign, October 1984, p. 2.)
Is
there a missionary who has never felt fear? I know of none. Of
course we feel fear now and again. Some are fearful of tracting. Some are
fearful of their own capacity. Some are fearful of dogs. Some are fearful
of speaking out in declaration of the truth. All of us experience fear now
and again. But God has not given us the spirit of fear. That comes from
the adversary. When we recognize that, then we can tell the adversary to
get behind us, and we can go forward with courage.
God
has given us power, and love, and a sound mind. What do these mean? I
think they mean the power of our calling, the power of the priesthood, the
power of our message; love for the word of the Lord, love for Him whom we
serve, and love for those we teach; and a sound mind—the simple sweet
beauty of the gospel. (Missionary Training Satellite Broadcast, May 11,
1993.)
When
I went on a mission, my father gave me a little card with a verse from the
New Testament, the words of the Lord to the centurion servant who brought
news concerning the little daughter of the centurion. Those words,
"be not afraid, only believe." I commend those words to each of
us, my brothers and sisters. You do not need to fear if you are on the
side of right. (Oahu Hawaii Regional Conference, February 18, 1996.)
We
believe in being true. That means loyal. That means standing up without
fear in the face of the storm of criticism that might come against you.
(Berlin Germany Regional Conference, June 16, 1996.)
You
must be a leader, as a member of this Church, in those causes for which
this Church stands. Do not let fear overcome your efforts. . . . The
adversary of all truth would put into your heart a reluctance to make an
effort. Cast that fear aside and be valiant in the cause of truth and
righteousness and faith. If you now decide that this will become the
pattern of your life, you will not have to make that decision again.
("Stand Up for Truth," BYU Devotional Address, September 17,
1996.)
So
many of us are fearful of what our peers will say, that we will be looked
upon with disdain and criticized if we stand for what is right. But I
remind you that "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).
Evil never was happiness. Sin never was happiness. Happiness lies in the
power and the love and the sweet simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We
need not be [afraid]. We need not slink off in a corner, as it were. We
need not be ashamed. We have the greatest thing in the world, the gospel
of the risen Lord. Paul gives us a mandate: "Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (2 Timothy 1:8).
("Converts and Young Men," Ensign, May 1997, p. 49.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 221.)
9.
Freedom
A
terrible price has been paid by those who have gone before us, this that
we might have the blessings of liberty and peace. I stood not long ago at
Valley Forge, where George Washington and his ragged army spent the winter
of 1776. As I did so, I thought of a scene from Maxwell Anderson's play in
which Washington looks on a little group of his soldiers, shoveling the
cold earth over a dead comrade, and says grimly, "This liberty will
look easy by and by when nobody dies to get it."
How
we need to kindle in the hearts of youth an old-fashioned love of country
and a reverence for the land of their birth. But we shall not do it with
tawdry political maneuvering and enormous handouts for which nothing is
given in return.
Love
of country is born of nobler stuff—of the challenge of struggle that
makes precious the prize that's earned. ("A Charter for Youth,"
Improvement Era, December 1965, pp. 1124-25.)
We
were driven to the Marine base chapel [in DaNang, South Vietnam] where we
met with our brethren. I shall never forget that picture or that meeting.
What a sight they were! What a wonderful group, these young brethren of
ours. We loved them the minute we looked into their eyes. Most of them
looked so young. They were dressed in battle fatigues, with mud on their
boots. They had come down from the Rock Pile and Marble Mountain along the
DMZ, where the fighting has been rough and vicious, and where the smell of
cordite and death are in the air. As they entered the chapel, they stacked
their M-16 automatic rifles along the two back rows and sat down, many of
them with a pistol on the right side and a knife on the left side.
This
was district conference in the Northern District of South Vietnam. The
program of the services contained the names of three who had been recently
killed.
After
the meeting we ate from a chow line and then stood about and talked for
hours. It was an experience both wonderful and depressing to be so close
to these good young men, men who hold and honor the priesthood, men who
are valiantly doing their duty as citizens of this country, but who would
rather be doing something else. I thought as I talked with them that they
ought to be in school, at B.Y.U. or Ricks or at any one of a score of
other good institutions, acquiring creative and challenging skills rather
than walking fearsome patrols in the dark of the Asian jungle where death
comes so quickly and quietly and definitely. These are the boys who ran
and laughed and played ball back home, who drove the highways in old
jalopies, who danced with lovely girls at the Gold and Green balls, who
administered the sacrament on Sunday. These are boys who come from good
homes where the linen is clean and showers are hot, who now sweat night
and day in this troubled land, who are shot at and who shoot back, who
have seen gaping wounds in a buddy's chest and who have killed those who
would have killed them. And I thought of the terrible inequality of
sacrifice involved in the cause of human liberty. ("Asian
Diary," BYU Speeches of the Year, January 10, 1967, pp. 6-7.)
Religion
and the free exercise thereof, the right to worship God according to one's
own conscience—how precious and treasured a boon it is. How necessary
that it be safeguarded. Established religion becomes the guardian of the
conscience of the people, the teacher of moral values, the defender of
belief in the Almighty, the bridge between God and man. No people will
live for long in freedom without it. The history of communism, whose
founding father declared religion to be the opiate of the people, speaks
with harshness and suffering concerning this basic matter.
Congress
shall not abridge "the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances."
The
history of tyrants is a history of the muzzling of free expression and the
denial of assembly. ("The Bill of Rights," Bonneville
International Corporation "Gathering of Eagles," June 20, 1991.)
My
forebears left there [England] in early times, two of them on the Mayflower,
another in 1635, whose son became governor of Plymouth Colony, and
others who fought in the Revolutionary War, which made of America a
separate nation, but still joined together in brotherhood with a common
language, a common culture, a common system of justice, a solemn respect
for the dignity of man, and above all an attitude that human freedom and
liberty are more precious than life itself. (Convocation for Honorary
Degrees, BYU, March 5, 1996.)
We
went this morning, after our arrival here, to the international cemetery.
It's a beautiful place. All of you are familiar with it. I have been there
before. It speaks of the price that has been paid for the liberty which we
enjoy in this good land. How thankful we ought to be for those who gave
their lives for the liberty and freedom which we enjoy. (Pusan Korea
Fireside, May 21, 1996.)
My
eldest brother lies buried in an American military cemetery in France. As
I have stood before the cross that marks his grave, I have thanked the God
of heaven for the cause for which he died, for the great and eternal
concepts of human dignity, for the precious boon of liberty, for freedom
to worship, to speak, to assemble, which, I believe are the gifts of a
beneficent providence, codified in the language of our national charter.
("Preserving Our Trust in God," American Legion Patriotic
Religious Service, September 1, 1996.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 233.)
10.
Loyalty
Stand
up for loyalty, to your associates, to your heritage, to your good name,
to the Church of which you are a part. How marvelous a quality is loyalty.
There is no substitute for it. It comes of an inner strength. . . .
In
this world, almost without exception, we must work together as teams. It
is so obvious to all of us that those on the football field or the
basketball court must work together with loyalty one to another if they
are to win. It is so in life with each of us. We work as teams, and there
must be loyalty among us.
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 320.)
11.
Optimism
I
stand here today as an optimist concerning the work of the Lord. I cannot
believe that God has established his work in the earth to have it fail. I
cannot believe that it is getting weaker. I know that it is getting
stronger. I realize, of course, that we are beset with many tragic
problems. I am a newspaper reader, and I have seen a good deal of this
earth. I have seen its rot and smelled its filth. I have been in areas
where war rages and hate smolders in the hearts of people. I have seen the
appalling poverty that hovers over many lands. I have seen the oppression
of those in bondage and the brutality of their overlords. . . . I have
watched with alarm the crumbling morals of our society.
And
yet I am an optimist. I have a simple and solemn faith that right will
triumph and that truth will prevail. ("'Be Not Afraid, Only
Believe,'" Improvement Era, December 1969, pp. 97-98.)
Of
course there are times of sorrow. Of course there are hours of concern and
anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and
rejoice. I see so many people . . . who seem never to see the sunshine,
but who constantly walk with storms under cloudy skies. Cultivate an
attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith,
rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in
the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.
("'If Thou Art Faithful,'" Ensign, November 1984, p. 92.)
Spare
yourselves from the indulgence of self-pity. It is always self-defeating.
Subdue the negative and emphasize the positive. ("Ten Gifts from the
Lord," Ensign, November 1985, p. 86.)
Looking
at the dark side of things always leads to a spirit of pessimism which so
often leads to defeat. . . .
I
have little doubt that many of us are troubled with fears concerning
ourselves. We are in a period of stress across the world. There are
occasionally hard days for each of us. Do not despair. Do not give up.
Look for the sunlight through the clouds. Opportunities will eventually
open to you. Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities.
("The Continuing Pursuit of Truth," Ensign, April 1986,
p. 4.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 410.)
12.
Politics
Now
a word on politics. This is an election year, and there are many strong
and strident voices incident to political campaigning. It's a wholesome
and wonderful system that we have under which people are free to express
themselves in electing those who shall represent them in the councils of
government. I would hope that those concerned would address themselves to
issues and not to personalities. The issues ought to be discussed freely,
openly, candidly, and forcefully. But, I repeat, I would hope that there
would be an avoidance of demeaning personalities. ("Reach Out in Love
and Kindness," Ensign, November 1982, p. 77.)
I
am confident that so long as we have more politicians than statesmen, we
shall have problems. ("Be Positive," Young Single Adult
Fireside, BYU Marriott Center, March 6, 1994.)
Question:
As you know, some skeptics will say that major changes in Church policy
have come from political pressures, not necessarily as revelations from
God. For example, the business of ending polygamy: the skeptics will say,
it wasn't because it was a revelation, it was because Utah wanted to
become a state and they couldn't become a state unless they banned
polygamy.
President
Hinckley: Well, one of the purposes of a prophet is to seek the wisdom and
the will of the Lord and to teach his people accordingly. It was the case
with Moses when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt. It was the
case for the Old Testament prophets when people were faced with oppression
and trouble and difficulty. That is the purpose of a prophet, to give
answers to people to the dilemmas in which they find themselves. That is
what happens. That is what we see happen. Is it a matter of expediency,
political expediency? No. Inspired guidance. Yes.
Question:
Well, then I think you have already given me the answer. I was going to
ask: To what degree is Church policy dictated or helped along by politics?
President
Hinckley: Well, we believe in honoring, obeying, and sustaining the law.
If we should find ourselves in a situation where we had to make a choice,
we would seek guidance on that matter. That could be a very difficult
thing to handle, what we might construe as a divine pattern of doing
something vis-à-vis some piece of legislation. We would seek the guidance
of the Lord and act accordingly. (Interview with Mike Wallace of 60
Minutes, March 10, 1996.)
Question:
I am sure you have had experiences where politicians try to win your favor
or approval, probably here in the state of Utah, considering 70 percent of
the people in the state are Mormons. Do the politicians here try to win
your approval, knowing that you are the head of the very powerful Mormon
Church?
President
Hinckley: That is the business of politicians, to win, to get approval.
Yes, of course, they want to gain our approval, but we maintain a
hands-off policy in terms of the Church advocating this party or that
party, this candidate or that candidate. (Interview with ABS-CBN
Television, Philippines, April 30, 1996.)
We
are in the midst of a political campaign in this nation. As usual, we are
being saturated with claims and counter claims. Anyone who has lived as
long as I have has heard again and again the sweet talk that leads to
victory but seems never to be realized thereafter. It is imperative that
good people, men and women of principle, be involved in the political
process—otherwise we abdicate power to those whose designs are almost
entirely selfish. ("Stand Up for Truth," BYU Devotional Address,
September 17, 1996.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 456.)
13.
Service
The
Lord declared: "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that
loseth his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt. 10:39.)
These
words have something more than a cold theological meaning. They are a
statement of a law of life—that as we lose ourselves in a great cause we
find ourselves—and there is no greater cause than that of the Master.
(Conference Report, April 1966, p. 87.)
The
cause of Christ does not need your doubts; it needs your strength and time
and talents; and as you exercise these in service, your faith will grow
and your doubts will wane. ("The Miracle That Is Jesus,"
Improvement Era, June 1966, p. 531.)
We
each make our own contribution, and that contribution adds up to the
building of the cause. Your contribution is as acceptable as ours. Jesus
said, "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all,
and servant of all" (Mark 9:35).
Brethren
and sisters, we're all part of one great family. Each has a duty, each has
a mission to perform. And when we pass on, it will be reward enough if we
can say to our beloved Master, "I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). ("Our
Testimony to the World," Ensign, May 1997, p. 84.)
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City:
Deseret Book Co., 1997], 599.)
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