Gospel topic
Guns
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I am reminded of a remark made by a man who came here and attended the board meeting of the United States Steel Company in 1946. You will remember—some of you in this audience, some of you General Authorities will remember—that they invited us to attend a dinner of that board, and at the conclusion of that entertainment the chairman, the master of ceremonies—I think it was Mr. Irving S. Olds—said: "Now we are not going to have any set speeches, but here is an opportunity if any of you would like to express yourselves." Mr. Nathan L. Miller, general counsel for that board, arose, and in substance said, "I am one of those inquisitive, suspicious New Englanders, and I have been impressed with something in this city that seems to be different from any other city I have ever visited." A radiation! He continued, "I walked up and down Main Street and watched the people. There is something about the city which is different from any other I have been in. I tried to define it and wondered what it was, but during an interview in the President's office today (President George Albert Smith was their host then, and the board had invited him that morning) I think I discovered what it is." President George Albert Smith had called on some of the brethren to speak to the visitors (United States Steel board members), who were sitting and standing around the First Presidency's board room in the Church Administration Building. He said, "I listened to what these men said." One of them had referred to the pioneers and the spirit of the pioneers; that before they started out across the plains under the direction of President Young, they sought divine guidance first. Second, under his direction, they were prepared. Every man would carry a gun and must be prepared for an attack of savages or any other possible emergency that might come to the pioneers that day. And third, every man must take just as much care of his neighbor's cattle as he did of his own. Worship, Preparation, Service! I do not know whether it was that that answered this gentleman's curiosity or not, but he said, "I thought in that meeting in the President's office I detected what there is in the city which is different—it is spirituality," said he. "That's it! It is spirituality! The pioneers had it ! I am wondering if you younger men (he spoke to those around him) can keep that spirituality with the installation of material things coming into your midst." He was referring to that radiation of the group which we all feel. I repeat, every individual has it. Every home radiates it, and every Latter-day Saint home should have it.
President David O. McKay
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The facts are clear: Our problem centers in Washington, D
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
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Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Some members of the Church have said to me, “Why should we keep a store of food on hand? If a real emergency came in this lawless world, a neighbor would simply come with his gun and take it from us. What would you do if a person came and demanded your food?” I replied that I would share whatever I had with him, and he wouldn’t have to use a gun to obtain that assistance either. “I wouldn’t,” replied one man. “I have a gun, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it to defend my family. Anyone would have to kill me first in order to get food away from me! After all, they bring their own misery on themselves by not being prepared!” Well, one way to solve this problem is to convert your neighbors to become obedient Latter-day Saints with their own supply of food. If every family were provided for, our stores would be safe for the use of our families. But not all people have sufficient faith to share with others as did the widow who shared with Elijah. I remember the words of another prophet who loved the poor and the unfortunate. He said: “And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. “Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just— “But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. “For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?” Mosiah 4:16–19 I sincerely believe if we do everything in our power to be obedient to the will of God, we and our families will never lack. If we are obedient as true followers of Christ and share what we have with those less fortunate than we, the Lord will keep his promise to watch over us and care for us. I will then be glad that I have stores of food on hand so I can be of assistance to others. Perhaps like the widow who fed Elijah, the meal will then never fail in our barrels nor the oil ever fail in our cruses until prosperity comes again.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
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