Helaman’s Army

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I have a love for hidden things and new discoveries that I think may stem from finding the Gospel through a friend and learning so many new teachings in a short span. I was such a sponge in the early days. I remember how attentive I was at Institute, which I started attending shortly before taking the missionary discussions and joining the Church.  I also think my mind was quickened in some ways as I seemed to be able to read the Scriptues including the Old and New Testament faster than I ever have. I think I read the Book of Mormon at a very fast pace then as well. That does not mean I absorbed everything in all of the standard works by any means. I was a special time to look back upon. There were so many teachings that were brand new to me such as living with Heavenly Father before I was born, the thousand year period after the Second Coming marked with peace for all but the end of that period according to my understanding of teachings.  The idea of Zion really caught hold in my heart and that may be a post in itself down the road. I would learn of three degrees of Glory.  Then, there is the Book of Mormon, modern prophets, and temples. There was so much to learn of the Restoration.

I remember the anticipation of going to my first General Conference. I did not know what to expect. I do not think I expected them to be in normal business suits but that may have been from the tradition of my former faith or how I expected them to look like apostles of old.  I have been a member for over twenty years now.  Many themes repeat in General Conference and in Sunday School and Relief Society.  I know that more truths more be revealed in my lifetime according to God’s timing. Although I have heard the basic talks, I do look forward to General Conference to this day.  Jesus taught in simple parables and that is often the way of today with parables or anecdotes to teach me. I know that we learn by repettition as well. When I was in grade school, I remember a priest telling us that we get out of Church what we put into it. I do believe it is my responsibility to prepare my heart for General Conference. When I was more spiritual, I really came away spiritually fed. I do feel blessed in recent years as I have noticed that I often hear thoughts that I have pondered around that time spoken at General Conference. I feel that may means that I am being taught by God what I need to know. Maybe others are given the same emphasis in their hearts and God has us on a teaching program. Although the Gospel can be rather simple, sometimes the most simple concepts can be deep for me to grasp even to this day. I learned from my earliest days in the Church that we need faith, hope, and Charity. President Uchtdorf spoke words about hope and its relationship to faith and charity that I will need to read again and hope to digest further.

I have really come to appreciate hearing the First Presidency and Apostles bear witness of Christ and the truths of the Restored Gospel as I know that they are special witnesses of Christ.  I also need to bask in the comfort and strength that is there for the offering at General Conferences. I am so thankful when the speakers leave us with their blessings. These are scary days and the need for consistency as well as comfort and as needed warnings from those inspired special witnesses is something that I not only look forward to but I long for. I could cast my mind on many things in this cyncial world and also things I read online even on some LDS sites that might drown out the message. Then, it would be my loss. I believe that you need to stay close to the center of the Church for safety. I hope to be true and obedient to all that is repeated over and over as well as the teachings that may come line upon line and precept upon precept.

I know the title is a little bit of a generalization, and it’s probably due to my own lack of finding out, but I still wanted to talk about it.

With the Presidential elections coming up, political climates, and after listening to a few older talks by General Authorities and past Church Presidents, the question arises.

You listen to talks given by Ezra Taft Benson, and realize rather quickly that he had some very poignant words about the proper role of government ¹, the divinity of the constitution ², and various other quotes ³, that there was a different climate in the church.

What happened?

I sometimes lament to my wife that our church has taken a less active role in being proactive in politics. My wife of course who is the smarter of us explained that maybe it has to do with a bigger problem in our church.

By this I mean a listening problem. What were we told 50 years ago about food storage, 30 years ago, 10 years ago? I don’t know either, I would hazard a guess that it started at something like storing as much as possible, then worked it way down to 1 year of food, fuel, essentials to the current level of basically just get something stored, a 72 kit and like 1 month of food storage.

Do you know in the 70’s, Spencer W. Kimball said:

Recognizing that the family is the basic unit of both the Church and society generally, we call upon Latter-day Saints everywhere to strengthen and beautify the home with renewed effort in these specific areas: food production, preservation, storage; the production and storage of nonfood items; fixup and cleanup of homes and surroundings. We wish to say another word about this in the next meeting.

We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden as neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities.⁴

I was listening to a statement on NPR the other week that talked about how much can be saved by just growing tomatoes and other small vegetables over buying them from the store in the course of a year. It said that the average savings was ~$1500. That goes a long way in helping to reduce debt too. But don’t get thinking this was for home owners with large yards, if I remember correctly the woman they interviewed lived in a town home or apartment.

But why have we reached such a low level of storage? I’m sure some of it has to do with smaller living spaces, but I also think as a church, people just aren’t listening, and this is exactly what they [The Church] was running into in the 70’s. Quoting from the same talk by Spencer W. Kimball:

As I listened to their addresses, I kept thinking over and over of something the Savior said,“Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” It rolled over and over and over in my mind: “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” [Luke 6:46] ⁵

So why am I going in such a large circle to explain a point of political dormancy? Well it’s to put it into context. Why do our Prophets and General Authorities continually going over the same principles every conference?

Do we listen?

But back to politics.

I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose[D&C 101:80].

It would seem to me, that the Constitution is a rather important document to our church. I can’t find the article I read that explained the LDS church and the Constitution being intimately connected but suffice it to say - if it [The Constitution] fails the LDS church fails.

But knowing that the Lord brought about the Constitution, why aren’t we as members doing more to uphold it, to stand behind it, to defend it?

Are we caught up in the idea that a member will save it when it hangs by a thread therefore we don’t need to do anything? Are we content in just letting someone else do something to fix it (and how well is that working?)? Are we just too complacent?

I can’t answer the question wholly, and trust me I understand how hard it is to know what to do. But I think there are some basics we can do to start with.

Get to know the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. All three of these documents are the foundation of our country. Teach them to your children, right along with learning the Articles of Faith, help to them to understand our rights and freedoms. I feel the more you know, the more likely you are to take offense when they are violated.

Take some time to listen or read some of the older talks. Especially “The Proper Role of Government” by Ezra Taft Benson. He offers a lot of great talks that are politically charged. There are also some talks given by Cleon Skousen that are part of this subject too.

I’ll leave with one last thing…

Children should learn to work. Parents should not spend their nights and days trying to find something to interest their children. They should find something to occupy them and get them busy doing something that is worthwhile.⁶