Author: Chauncey Riddle

(Written about 1960)

Individuality

The key to individuality is a lively sense of personal freedom. This is the recognition that there are many aspects of our personal lives which we can control. To accept the responsibility for these aspects and to make them what we want them to be, is to be an individual.

Individuality is a social, metaphysical, introspective state of affairs. It is a function of the religion of the person. It can be fostered by any influence or agency which promotes personal thought and personal responsibility.

Values

The great value available to children is undoubtedly happiness.

Happiness, as opposed to mere pleasure, stems from the following combinations:

1. Individuality
2. Accomplishment
3. Social Harmony

The principal value conflict would likely be that of undisciplined pleasure vs. happiness. Cultural forces largely tend to promote pleasure as the great good (e.g., most advertising). The forces which promote happiness are basically religious (church and school).

Cultures

Cultures are mythological concepts invented to deal with people as averages (masses). Actually no two people have exactly the same values, ideas and habits. As long as we do not make “cultures” into definite absolutes, they can be useful concepts.

A “culture” is simply other people. The more one is involuntarily like those around him, the less individuality he has. The opportunity to be in a situation of multiple cultures is one factor necessary to free a person from his “mother” culture to become the person he desires to be.

Cultural contrast threaten a person if he has no individuality. If he has none, he desperately needs the group to think and feel for him. Therefore: Since cultural contrast is a real and present reality, we can help people to feel culturally comfortable by encouraging them to be individuals (to think and feel for themselves).

Solution to the problem of youth.

Youth will acquire three things, if fortunate.

1. A lively sense of individuality. This will involve deliberate choosing of a culture to be one’s “own,” but freedom to move from it to others, or to try to change it.
2. Linguistic ability. To be able to speak at least two languages well is critical. One language must be the dialect of the cultural group which the person chooses as his own. The other language must be the national norm; this frees him from his dialect and subculture. Linguistic ability gives a person mobility and educational opportunity.
3. Practical skill. To have at least one marketable skill is essential to the mental and moral (as well as the economic) health of every adult. To let a child grow up without acquiring one is to curse him. Such a skill is the key to accomplishment.

Location: Can be anywhere people are. Fortunately, there are some uninhabited places on earth as yet. But when you go there, such places are no longer uninhabited.

Access: You don’t have to find it; it finds you. Lucky are you if there is some place you can go to get away from it. Even more lucky if you don’t take it with you.

The Gates: Swing in. Anyone can enter. It takes a precise combination of faith in Jesus Christ and the ordinances of the gospel administered by true servants of Christ to open the gates to get anyone out.

Inhabitants: Most anyone you meet.

Exceptions:

• All little children.
• Valiant members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Other people truly seeking to be followers of Christ.
• People born lacking normal mentality.

Polity: Run strictly by force. Lies used as psychological force, backed up by physical force. Government by “deals”: exchanges of power. Ultimately controlled by Satan and his followers in the Spirit world.

Main Sport: To see who can get the most control over the most people for the longest period of time. Great goal: to control everyone on earth. Some have come close to that goal; many have died trying.

Religion: Self-service. Everyone out to see what he can get for himself. A few are eminently successful. Also a few misfits are to be observed doing good for others with no thought of reward.

Culture: Employment of all artistic and cultural modes to promote carnality (dominion of flesh over spirit), sensuality (dominance of physical senses over conscience) and devilishness (spiritual damnation and degradation).

Program for enlarging GHP (gross hellish product): Teaching children lies and encouraging Latter-day Saints to be critical of those who preside over them.

History: Founded by Cain; extremely active and successful until destroyed by a flood. Re-established by descendants of Noah and has flourished in wars, contentions, bloodshed, strife, crime and tyranny ever since.

Future:  Will be destroyed again in a few years. By fire.

Most interesting phenomenon: The chains. The chains of hell are false traditions of men: fathers, priests, professors, doctors, lawyers, historians, economists, presidents, etc. Everyone is tangled in them except babies and a few humble people who refuse to believe or obey anyone except Jesus Christ.

Principal rival: Zion, but it comes and goes, and is always small. Zion is only nibbling at hell so far in this dispensation. Zion lacks power today because many members of the true church are in the chains as yet.

Principle achievements: Has succeeded in preventing the replenishing of the earth. Has kept most humans in slavery ever since its founding. Perpetual source of war, misery, disease and ignorance. Enjoying great prosperity under the names “Socialism” and “Communism” in modern times.

Biggest problems: Babies, and true Latter-day Saints.

Sources of Power: Universities, governments, most churches, armies, navies, and “society.”

Lingua franca:  Money

Traveler’s Warning: Get out before the fire comes.

Tip to missionaries: Look for the misfits.

Warning to missionaries: As soon as you find all the misfits, the roof will fall in.

(P.S. For a more extended description, open your eyes.)

The word sacrifice means to “make holy.” Man cannot become holy through his own efforts alone. Neither can God make men holy if men will not to their part. Man’s part in becoming holy is to use his agency to obey God. Inasmuch as men obey God, they do not do other things which are evil.

In ancient times the token of man’s obedience to God was the sacrifice of animals. Men killed and burned with fire their best animals to show the Lord that they loved him more than their choicest possessions and to show that they looked forward to the Atonement and death of Jesus Christ.

Since the Savior’s death, the token of man’s sacrifice has been to partake of the emblems representing the Savior’s flesh and blood in what we call “the sacrament.” As men partake of the sacrament, they renew their promises at baptism to become holy in obedience to the Lord. If that token is meaningful, men are making the true sacrifice: a broken heart and a contrite spirit. They are broken-hearted in remembering their offenses against their fellow men and against their God who died for them. They are contrite in a humble determination to offend no more by obeying God in all things. As they obey God in all things, they are cleansed from sin through divine power, and become holy men of God: saints.

Our testimony is what we know to be true from our own personal experience.

As we act in faith in Jesus Christ, following the whisperings of the Spirit, we come to know for ourselves what happens when one puts his trust in the Lord. The more obedient to the Lord we are, the more he blesses us. As he blesses us, we come to know for ourselves that the promises of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are true. This knowledge is our testimony of the gospel. It grows in strength as we continue in obedience to the Lord. It decreases as we return to evil ways.

Having a testimony is no guarantee that anyone will continue faithful. Our agency allows us to choose as we wish. But no one can live all of the gospel without a strong testimony. The sacrifices are too great to perform unless we know for ourselves that we are doing the will of the Lord.

The concept of behavioral objectives has been a signal contribution to education. It brings into focus and control the objective measurement of overt effects of teaching inputs.

When considering behavior objectives in a gospel context, however, it must be kept in mind that the context of the idea of behavioral objectives is psychological behaviorism. That theory presupposes that man is a material machine, without a spirit or soul, without independent intelligence or agency. If those presuppositions were true, then indeed all that need concern us would be physical input and output relative to a given human body-machine. Concern with inner mechanisms might be interesting, but would be unnecessary.

But man is not a material machine. He is a dual being. The spirit in man is the person with the physical body, the body being only the tabernacle. Agency in man lies with the spirit, not the body. Therefore it is the spirit of man that must be affected by gospel teaching, and the most important effects will in turn be spiritual: response of the spirit of a man to the Holy Ghost, control by the spirit over the physical body, etc. This is to say that concern with behavior objectives, (overt actions of the physical body) may well miss the point completely.

Indeed there will be physical results from proper spiritual effects. Signs do follow those that believe, and behavior does change upon genuine conversion. The problem is that if the exclusive focus is on behavioral objectives, the spiritual side can easily be short-circuited, and the desired behavioral objectives be attained without a spiritual change. It is well known that increased church attendance, for instance, can be materially programmed; social and psychological pressures can be put in effect to cause more physical bodies to appear in church meetings. But the behavioral objective has been attained without a change of character. When the pressure ceases, so does the effect. To work principally for behavioral objectives is to fall into Satan’s same plan which was rejected in the council in heaven.

The Lord’s way is to teach principles of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit. The desired effect is a hunger of the recipient spirit for the truth and a desire to live by truth sufficient to cause a voluntary striving for a change of personality, or spiritual character. As the character changes, the actions of the body will also change—and perhaps change permanently. Even when the original stimulus is withdrawn, the person will continue in the newly acquired strength in righteousness because he is inner-directed. His own desires furnish a continuing stimulus, and his newly strengthened character provides, with the help of the Lord, the means to continuing desired covert and overt effects.

What if a person does not respond? Does this signal the failure of the Lord’s method? This would be a failure if concern is only for behavior objectives. But the Lord’s program is a program of agency. The measure of its efficiency is to provide guaranteed opportunity, not guaranteed behavior changes. With that opportunity, the recipient person can change his character if he wishes, or he can reject the Lord; that is his God-given choice to make. If the person does not respond, the Lord will usually continue to extend the opportunity: his hand is stretched out all the day long. But there does come a time when he withdraws the opportunity: his Spirit will not always strive with man.

The ideas contrasted above have important ramifications for teaching in the church. Some of them are as follows:

1. The absolute prerequisite for all teaching in the church should be the companionship of the Holy Spirit.
2. Subject matter should be prepared and administered in teaching situations strictly as the teacher is guided in faith and prayer by the Holy Spirit.
3. The principal teaching objective should always be spiritual impact: a kindly, resourceful invitation to know of the truth and to change one’s own character voluntarily, witnessed by the Holy Spirit.
4. The attainment of behavioral objectives should always be measured by spiritual, not statistical means. (Statistics can tell me what is not happening spiritually, but never of themselves do they show what is happening spiritually.)
5. One converted spirit is worth a thousand conforming bodies.
6. If bodies are conforming, for whatever reason, feed the spirits in them!

Chauncey C. Riddle

The Holy Priesthood is power and authority from Jesus Christ to accomplish the work of godliness on this earth. By this power the earth and the world were created. By this power men have been placed on the earth as children of God. Through it men are born again of water and of Spirit to a newness of spiritual life. True happiness and peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come are achieved only through the power of the priesthood. These generalizations come to this point: only when men and women learn to accept the proper role of the Priesthood in their lives can the eternal blessings of God begin to flow unto them. What is that proper role?

The proper role of the Holy Priesthood is to be the power by which our lives are governed and by which we govern. To honor the Holy Priesthood is to honor our Savior. He has ordained every office, calling and stewardship in His Kingdom. To accept that power, either in being governed or in governing, is to accept explicitly Jesus Christ as our Savior.

What does it mean to be governed by the Savior? Paul tells us that the Lord:

gave some , apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–13)

It is the goal of saints to become perfect, to become as the great Exemplar, Jesus Christ. This can be done only as men take upon themselves the divine nature. The same power by which Jesus was perfect is the power of the Holy Priesthood to make men perfect. The Savior overcame the world and extends to every human being the same privilege through the power of his Priesthood:

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:22–23)

But according to Paul what is it that enables men to become perfect or “whole”? It is the guidance of the Lord’s anointed. He sends his prophets to reveal the mind, will and power of God to all who would be edified. As men humble themselves in mighty prayer and repentance before their Father in Heaven, the Holy Spirit teachers them to see the prophets as the personal representatives of the Savior. Such men see no tyranny or threat in the prophets; rather they feel hungry to be instructed by those from whom they feel the Holy Spirit radiating. As they accept that instruction and put it to practice in their lives, the order of love based on truth establishes men in a brotherhood more potent for human happiness than any act of which the world ever dreams.

Every member of the Kingdom of God is blessed to be governed, if he wishes to be, by an authorized servant of Jesus Christ. He enjoys not only one such benefactor, but many. The Lord has set the father of the family, the ministering brothers, the quorum or group leader, the Bishop, the stake president, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First Presidency to be earthly guides to every member of the Church to lead each one in the way of happiness and salvation. And there is no other way. The world has tried for six thousand years to counterfeit the Kingdom of God and to save men by natural means. But no attempt or power of the world ever has or ever will compare with that organization which has an omnipotent, omniscient and perfect being at its head.

The challenge to every Latter-day Saint is simply this: will we look to the Priesthood authorities of the church to order all things?

What does it mean to govern by the power of the Priesthood? It means that we should recognize that all right to govern resides with the Creator of all things. Men have been given the freedom to govern their stewardships as they will, but they have the right to govern only if they receive that right from Him whose right it is, and they maintain that right only as they act under the personal direction of the Lord. All other power and usurpation will come to naught.

If every man could see his opportunity to govern, be it his mind, his body, his conversation, his family, his business, his quorum, his ward, his stake, as God-given, then every man would be better prepared to take the second step, to govern in a godly manner. He would then seek to be worthy and to remain worthy to govern, subduing every sinful and unholy influence in his life, that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, he might govern in pure love, the power of Christ:

      No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, but gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

      By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

      Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

      That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

      Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

      The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.      (D&C 121:41–46)

These sublime words from our Savior give us a precious glimpse of what it means to govern. But that glimpse becomes our condemnation if we do not set about to transform those ideas into a living reality in our own lives. There is much in the world about which we can do little; but we can do something about our own stewardship. We are accountable for how we govern. As we govern wisely, our Savior increases our authority, that our influence might bless an ever-widening circle of His children. So we should see that the governor of our own stewardship (our self), loves the Lord with all his heart, might, mind and strength and stands ready to carry into effect in that stewardship the directions of the living prophets, for we each may know that those directives come from our Savior. We can see that our stewardship is governed by the pure love of Christ, in that no stiff-necked selfishness of the governor prevents the free flow of the blessings of Jesus Christ down through the channels of authority to every individual in our stewardship.

May we learn to govern and be governed in the true order of the Son of God, that we might be faithful and honor Him who gave all for us.

What is revealed truth?

It is ideas implanted in the mind of a man which are a representation of actual states of the universe, past, present, future and distant given in a scope and detail adequate to the needs he has for discharging a responsibility.

How does one obtain revealed truth?

By obedience to the requirements God has set, namely faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.

How does one know revealed ideas are true?

By the tests of rational self-consistency of revealed ideas with each other, by agreement with the empirical universe, by success when acting according to ideas given, and by witness of divine personages. This kind of truth has been known among men from the time of Adam.

Why did other claimants to “truth” come into being?

Because men have with regularity rejected revealed knowledge, various substitutes have appeared to fill the void.

1. Apostate religious “truth” is hypocritical propaganda. It enables men to salve their consciences and to enjoy promises of salvation, but lacks consistency, power and agreement with divine revelation.
2. Poetic truth is an irresponsible sentimentalism which affords an escape from reality. Sometimes quite moral and in no way necessarily bad, it nevertheless it often diverts the attention of men from more important and more efficacious nourishment.
3. Scientific truth is spiritually blind ad hoc rationalization which enables mankind to agree on descriptions and theoretical explanations of the physically observable universe, One of its great strengths is that it enables technical achievement and manufacturing efficiently (that is to learn to deal effectively with recurrent problems having controllable variables). It is limited to extrapolation of the here and now to everything else.

Why is revealed truth superior to these rivals?

Revealed ideas give men

1. an understanding of states of the universe anywhere, anytime, which are pertinent to the problems of their present situation.
2. an understanding of what should be states of the universe here, now, and elsewhere in order for men to obtain a maxim of happiness.
3. an understanding of what to do to turn what “is” into what “could be.”

This is a bald claim to the availability of omniscience, but unfortunately claimed by but few persons and actually possessed by even fewer.

What about the supposed limitations of revealed truth?

1. Authoritarian: it is authoritarian only for those who don’t have it. Every man is supposed to be and can be his own priest and prophet.
2. Private: Everything mental is private, but people with similar experience can communicate about their experiences.
3. Variable: No two persons have exactly the same situations or problems. Revealed truth is given by degrees in tailor-made portions to suit the capabilities and diligence of the recipients, thus giving the appearance of variability. But each person eventually comes to the same understanding as others if he goes far enough.
4. Subjectivity: Revealed ideas are the most stern task-master men know of; but only he who has struggled in the Spirit knows this.

Conclusion

Any person who could compare revealed ideas with other claimants to “truth” would see that as to power, dependability, and availability, revealed ideas have no peer. But men shy away from revealed ideas because one cannot gain nor benefit from them without restructuring his moral life. The burden of repentance causes most men to shrink from the divine light and to heap calumny on those who possess it.

The greatest of all the gifts of God is charity. The principles of the gospel teach us how to love, to have charity. The ordinances of the gospel increase our power to love. Stewardship gives focus to our love.

Family relationships give stewardship pattern to our love:

• To love father and mother we obey.
• To love brother or sister we share.
• To love son or daughter we bless.

A teacher is like a brother or sister

Teachers share with others:

• Knowledge
• Testimony
• Wonderings
• Joy
• Wealth
• Time
• Concerns
• Griefs
• Sorrows
• Poverty
• Ignorance

The teacher’s role is to share good and absorb evil.

The man who cannot pray can never find peace. The man who will not pray must be his own god. The man who knows not how to pray is lost. The man who forgets to pray is captive.

But the man who righteously and earnestly prays to his God in the worthy name of Jesus Christ, be he at the moment saint or sinner, shall find rest unto his soul. How should we pray? The following five steps are suggestions for seeking the Lord through prayer.

• Believe in Jesus Christ. In a time of educated unbelief such as ours the first challenge of prayer is to believe sincerely in Jesus Christ. If we have truly received the gospel message, we have also received divine witness that Jesus was and is the Son of the living God, that he as a perfect man and merciful God wrought an atonement for our souls, and is an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent being. He is able to help us with every problem and to save us from all of our enemies. But it is one thing to entertain even correct ideas about abstract theological attributes of our God; it is quite another thing to embrace those ideas with a trust that will make such ideas the basis of our decisions and actions. This is not blind faith, but implicit belief through the abundant sufficient evidence which the witness of the Spirit brings as the basis for true prayers. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will love him for all he has done for us, for his suffering, for his sacrifice, for his selflessness.

If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will trust that he is everywhere in his power to bless and save. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will serve him as the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One of Israel. We will honor him as the Lord and Master of all the pure in heart; give him the homage of serving him with all of our mind, might, and strength. And we will gladly give, sorry only that we do not have more to offer.

It is not who we are, it is not where we pray, it is not the words we say that makes for great prayer. It is the strength of our feelings, it is the penetration of our conscious thought, it is the depth of our humility, it is the power of our love, it is the sincerity of our belief that makes our prayers real.

• Pray as you have need. One pitfall we should not fall into in our praying is vain repetition: the saying of the same words and phrases over and over again without really thinking about what we are saying. One good way to avoid this pitfall is to remember to pray as we have need. The situation and circumstance of almost every prayer will be different from all others. If we will consciously think over our needs, then pray exactly as we have need, then our prayers will be neither repetitious nor vain. We will be grateful, praise our maker, share sorrow with him and request his help.

This is not to suppose that our only need is to ask for favors and blessings. These we should indeed ask for; though our Father knows all our needs even before we ask him, yet he desires that we choose good things and desire them through our Savior. But as we have need to give thanks to the One who so richly blesses us, we should thank him. As we have need to rejoice and share the treasured moments of supreme happiness that come to us as we live the gospel, who better could we tell about our happiness than our Father in Heaven? As we sorrow in the manifold tribulations of mortality, who will more willingly share our burden and receive the anguished outpourings of our soul than our Father in Heaven? As we seek understanding to know why things are as they are, our Father will be our companion in the labor of our analysis. As we strive for wisdom, we will seek to pray that we might act in a manner that will solve problems and bless others. He who has overcome all is delighted to hear us and guide us. As we have need that is genuine and righteous, the Lord is glad to bless us spiritually, intellectually and physically.

What is the ultimate need we mortals have? As we progress in spirituality through prayer and righteous living, the time will come when we shall see that of ourselves we do not know what is good for us. Then as little children we will rely on the love, power and knowledge of our God, claiming the promise of the scriptures: “And if ye are cleansed and purified from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask.” (D&C 50:29–30)

Is there any matter too trivial to take to the Lord? The answer is that there is nothing trivial about any human being in the all-encompassing love of the Lord. Not even a hair of our head falls to the ground unnoticed. Let us heed the admonition of Alma: “Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let thy thought be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.” (Alma 37:36)

• Pray always. The life of a true Latter-day Saint becomes more and more a never-ending two-way conversation with the Lord. As each of us takes the covenant of baptism and as we renew that covenant in partaking of the sacrament, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, to remember him always, and to keep his commandments which he has given us. The Lord promises us that if we do these things, we shall always have his spirit to be with us. Always we will have the guidance, the light, the comfort, the gifts, that come from the Savior through the Holy Ghost! Always we may hear the voice of the Lord, to know what is true, what is wise, what is good. Is this not indeed a pearl of great price? For this a man should be willing to give all that he has. And he will do it if he loves righteousness and even begins to understand the worth of this great pearl.

But what is it that we must do to enjoy this great gift? It is simply to keep our promises. As we keep the commandments of God, we become worthy of and able to bear all blessings. But we know the commandments of God only through his spirit. We receive the spirit as we remember him always and honor his name. And what more significant way is there to remember him always than to pray in his name continuously? Note the witness of Amulek: “Yea, cry unto him for mercy, for he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea over all your flocks. Cry unto him when ye are in your houses, yea over all your household, both morning, mid-day and evening. … But this is not all ye must pour out your souls in your closets and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare and also for the welfare of those who are around you.” (Alma 34:18–27)

• Reinforce prayer with fasting. The great damper upon spirituality is lack of self-control, giving way to the bestial impulses that beset all of us. One of the great challenges of this probationary mortality is to see if we, as a rational, intelligent personality, can learn to govern completely the magnificent machine each of us has for a physical tabernacle. The body of itself has many cravings, desires, impulses, passions. It is these passions, physical and social, that the adversary uses to ensnare us in his powerful bonds. But the satisfaction of body needs and the use of our bodies to accomplish good are important parts of receiving a fulness of joy. The matter can be stated simply: If our passions control us, we are minions of the adversary. If we control our passions and allow them satisfaction only within the bounds of righteousness as prescribed by the Lord, then we are children of the Most High.

Fasting, the temporary abstaining of food, drink or other physical satisfaction, is the God-given way of overcoming and subjecting our own physical tabernacles. As we exercise control, we gain power over our bodies. As we use this control to do good works, we gain power in the Holy Spirit, which gives us the possibility of even greater control over the physical body.

Every good thing is available to those who love the Lord. Fasting is not a denial of the flesh but rather a training of the flesh to do the will of God and thereby to receive a fullness. Thus it is that fasting is a special key to help us make our prayers more efficacious through righteousness. To all who would truly serve him the Lord has said: “I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth.” (D&C 88:76) Can we understand and profit by this counsel?

• Heed the Lord and he will heed you. How many persons have said “I don’t think my prayers are getting past the ceiling.” Our Father hears all prayers, but doubtless as far as getting any result goes, many times it is as though the prayer was never uttered. How can we be assured of doing better than that?

We must remember always that it is the purpose and delight of our Father and his Son to bless their children with all good things. But in their mercy they give us only those blessings which we can stand, and we can stand blessings only in direct proportion to how well we have learned to live the gospel. Let us not suppose that when we are obedient to the Lord, we earn a blessing; thought he receiving of blessings is always predicated upon the fulfillment of law, the blessing is almost always a result quite out of proportion to the effort we put forth to fulfill the law. The purpose of the law is then mainly to give us the strength to cope with the blessing when we receive it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of a pattern of life wherein we may be prepared by God to receive a fullness of all blessings.

Is it any wonder then that our prayers are effective only when we are obedient? It is the just reproof of a guilty conscience which makes us doubt the worth of our own prayers. And it is the spiritual witness of worthiness to receive that makes a righteous man mighty in prayer. If we cannot hearken when the Lord entreats and entices us to become worthy and capable of receiving blessings through living his commandments, can the Lord hearken to us? To live by one’s conscience in all things is the key to righteousness, and righteousness is the key to all blessings. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

The light that shineth in darkness commends us to pray, thus to enjoy communion with the Spirit and to prepare to fulfill the end and purpose of our existence when we are reunited with our Maker. Truly, no words can express fully the manner not the rewards of effective prayer. These are known only by our own careful experiment and experience. But we can say that in and through God-given opportunities of prayer lies everything good which eternity can offer. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7)

(Written in the 1960’s)

Why do men organize? Men organize because their collective power is greater than their individual power; sometimes it is greater than their additive individual power.

What does organization necessitate? Organization necessitates leadership: someone to direct and coordinate the members of the group that the pursuit of their collective goal through collective power might be efficient. Were the group not coordinated—that is to say, they would attempt to function as a group but without leadership—it would have the effect only of a mob. It might accomplish destructive but not constructive goals.

What is the usual pitfall of organization? The great pitfall of organization almost always encountered, almost everywhere, almost all the time, it that those who assume positions of leadership begin to subvert the benefits of collective power for their own personal aggrandizement or enrichment. This is the suggestion of D&C Section 121. It says that we have learned by past experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little power and authority, as they suppose, to begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

What can the group do to avoid and restrain the selfishness of leaders? One of the best devices which men have discovered to keep leadership in check is to have short terms of office with the possibility of recall at any time. These provisions make the leader responsive to the will of the people. It is not surprising, however, that many leaders seek to lengthen the time of their office, to destroy the mechanisms of recall, to entrench themselves in power, etc. It is not infrequent that leaders will create crises as an attempt to frighten constituents into keeping them in office under the idea of “not rocking the boat” or “not changing horses in mid-stream.”

The question might be asked, “Is it not inefficient to elect frequently and to subject leaders to recall?” the argument from efficiency is generally used in a deceptive manner in focusing on the short run. But the only efficiency that really counts is long-run efficiency. Righteousness, goodness, expertness, perfection are seldom efficient in the short run. It is only in the long run that anything really good can be vindicated, and the long run always vindicates that which is right. To say this another way, right is that which turns out to be good in the long run. Being eternal beings, it is to the long run of our existence that we must most carefully attend. The Father of Lies would have us judge things only in the immediate perspective and as we succumb to his propaganda, thus he has greater power to destroy our understanding of what is good and right. Satan’s argument in the pre-existence was that of efficiency: he would come down and save everyone, that not one soul should be lost. But this, of course, was only a short-term good because in the long run he would have deprived all of the opportunity for exaltation.

Is there not perhaps a positive way to prevent the abuse of leadership? Indeed there is, and this is to select men and women as our leaders who are strong, moral persons; persons who will not yield to the temptation to subvert the power and opportunity of their office to their own personal ends.

What might be the principle of morality which a leader should have and should follow? There are four principles that are paramount in the morality of leadership.

First, the leader must see himself and consider himself only as a member of the group. That is to say, he should allow the group to benefit him only in the same ways in which every other member of the group is benefited.

Secondly, the leader must see that the group, in fulfilling its potential of producing good, builds the individual members of the group so that each becomes a stronger, better, more capable and more moral person. One theory of leadership is that power should be delegated, but never authority. This theory is seen in operation where the leader makes all decisions, but expects everyone else to do all the work. But only as a person has authority and discretion and must discern for himself the best use of his own power does he grow as an individual. If he grows as an individual, he becomes capable of releasing greater good to the society, and the society can only be great and good if the individual members of the society are good and great. A great society without great individuals at its base is a species of the purest fantasy, completely unrelated to any earthly possibility.

Thirdly, the leader must know that what he is doing is best for the group. The world has no shortage of people who think they know what is right. Every generation, every situation, has its self-appointed savior: people who assert that they have the wisdom and the insight, and if given the reins of power they can solve the problems at hand. A little investigation of epistemology readily shows, however, that human beings, as human beings, have no mental capability that would enable them to know for sure what is right and what is wrong. So far as plans and solutions for our practical problems are concerned, the most intelligent act of any human being as a leader would be to defer to someone who does know all, knows what is best, and who can and will direct him. The only possible source of such omniscience and wisdom is, of course, the Lord. This is why every leader who will not accept Jesus Christ as his head is immoral. That is to say, he does not benefit the group as he could and thus leads them astray.

Fourthly, the leader must have the courage of his convictions. He must be willing to sacrifice himself, his fortune, his life, his property, if necessary, in the execution of what is right and good through his office. If he has not courage, the ubiquitous pressure for privilege, for pride, and for self-interest on the part of both himself and others associated with him will destroy him and his efforts no matter how good his intentions are.

It can be seen from the above that the morality of leadership is inextricably associated with the living of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why the Lord has given his Saints only to be rulers of this earth. All other ruling is immoral at least and is also a usurpation if inflicted upon a group by some power other than their own free choice.

But please do not confuse membership in the Church of Latter-day Saints to be the same as a true saint. A true saint actually lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas some members of the Church do not. In fact, a member who professes faith in Christ but actually serves Satan is one of the most dangerous people in this world.