Doctrinal Library

Obedience Brings Blessings

About this business of abortion: I presume that there will be a million of them in the United States this year; there were a million last year. It is destruction of the Lord’s children at a horrendous rate... No, abortion is not the Lord’s program. His program is to provide opportunities for his children to come to this earth. We need to help him in this.

Rejoice in Christ Jesus, and Have No Confidence in the Flesh

As we learn to be always filled with the Light and Spirit of Christ, we will always be able to see the foolishness and the disaster of the self-centeredness of men. We can then see that selfishness, if not overcome, becomes the root of all diseases of our own lives, and it is the cause for the curse of destruction that is threatening the very existence of all mankind. Selfishness inflicts the bleeding wounds in our homes, as it does in the nations of the world. Selfishness and its false ambitions are a threat to our own security and are the cause of the abuses and the destruction of a livable life. We are being surrounded by the fruits of selfishness in our own environment. The Freemen Digest reports that in America since 1960 there have been:...18 million babies killed by abortion.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, There is Liberty

When a democracy, a state, or a university collapses, it is because the individuals and families are dropping their arms. What are the usual symptoms? First, there is a feeling of fear, then resignation, then we get used to the worst. “To get used to” is a horrible phrase, to say the least—to get used to violence, to degradation, to mediocrity, to oppressions, to humiliation. Too often today, when people are confronted with these threatening situations, they begin to ask themselves if they should try to “understand” the enemy and its representations. We see that as soon as they do, they are condemned to death themselves. You don’t try to understand dictature, terrorism, abortion, homosexuality, crime, or cancer. You need to fight it. History is a great teacher if we are willing to learn. Anarchy and false freedom to believe that permissiveness is a right are always leading directly to the dictation of sin, to the submissiveness of our spirits, to the slavery of our bodies.

A New Emphasis on Priesthood

Wives and mothers do what men cannot do. Men will bow in reverence and in love before mothers who perform this great, this marvelous service.Contrast this view of woman with the current prattle that demeans motherhood and her exalted role, that even condones abortion and its attendant evils, that sets aside the role God gave to her. It would be hard to imagine a more exalted role of woman and her place in the eternal plan than is held and taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And yet there are some within and without the Church who would change it. I admonish you today, both young and old, to read and listen and pray, to know the will of the Lord in this important matter, for it holds the key to your eternal happiness and destiny. The family is a divine institution. The first family unit was organized by our Heavenly Father.

The Unspeakable Gift of the Holy Ghost

Not only does this account emphasize the importance of the Holy Ghost and seeking His influence, it also brought to my mind these principles and truths:...The adversary seeks to disorganize and to destroy (see D&C 10:6–7, 22–27), especially families, as evidenced today by abortion, divorce, and same-gender marriage. I asked myself if the growing practice in your age group of postponing marriage contributes to disorganizing families.

Charity Never Faileth

It really is time that men of charity, women of charity, and a church of charity stood up and reached their full stature. Things exist in our society that are too abominable to be allowed to remain—drugs, abortion, child abuse, and perversions of every kind. And yet, as we put on our beautiful garments and become a charitable people, I tell you that Jacob has come of age, and that we will make a profound impact on this world. But we must do it unitedly. We cannot have just a few members of the Church; we need to move four million people in that direction, and then things will really begin to happen.

Roots and Branches

What do you suppose will happen if, when the Lord comes, he doesn’t find anything but homosexuality and lesbianism and birth control and abortion and sterilization, all of which are rampant upon the earth, as you well know. In other words what will he feel if he finds that we will no longer allow his Father to send his children to this earth? Do you suppose the earth would be wasted as far as he is concerned?

Be 100 Percent Responsible

The Korihor Principle—Separating Agency from Responsibility. One of Satan’s most crafty strategies to gain control of our agency isn’t a frontal attack on our agency but a sneaky backdoor assault on responsibility. Without responsibility, every good gift from God could be misused for evil purposes. For example, freedom of speech without responsibility can be used to create and protect pornography. The rights of a woman can be twisted to justify an unnecessary abortion. When the world separates choice from accountability, it leads to anarchy and a war of wills or survival of the fittest. We could call agency without responsibility the Korihor principle, as we read in the book of Alma “that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime” (Alma 30:17; emphasis added). With negative consequences removed, you now have agency unbridled, as if there were no day of reckoning.

Them That Love Him

On an average day in America... 3,231 women will have an abortion [American Way, July 1980, p. 64–67]” Can you begin to see the need? Oh, how our Father in Heaven is counting on you! There is a great responsibility that goes with the privilege and blessedness of having received the added knowledge that is ours.

You Are My Hands

Love is what inspired our Heavenly Father to create our spirits; it is what led our Savior to the Garden of Gethsemane to make Himself a ransom for our sins. Love is the grand motive of the plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness, the ever-renewing spring of healing, the precious fountain of hope.