Prayer and the Solution for World Ills

If Wisdom Is Lacking

A boy, age fourteen, was troubled in his mind about religion ; he was uneasy. At times he was greatly excited. There was tumult everywhere in his neighborhood. In this confusion and distress, although but a lad in years, this wise young man sought the Holy Bible. ¶

The whole world today is likewise in confusion. Men's hearts are failing them. Their lives are filled with despair. Many are unemployed, multitudes discouraged. How many of these, and perhaps it may be well for me to say, how many of us, during these trying conditions, have gone to this great, this good, this Holy Book in search of something that will point the way? ¶

The boy opened the Holy Book to the first chapter of James and read : ¶

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him." ¶

Ask of God

Again and again he reflected upon these divine words. He was certain that if any one ever needed wisdom he needed it then. How to act he did not know. He concluded that unless he could get more light, more wisdom, he would never know. At length came the conclusion that he must either remain in darkness or else do as James suggested, ask of God. This young man therefore retired to the woods to make the effort. It was on a clear day early in the spring of 1820 and it was his first attempt to pray vocally. The result, as you all know, was miraculous. ¶

In the confusion of the world today, no leader or group of leaders seems to have the necessary wisdom, the necessary vision to lead or to point or to find the way out. Ought not all the people, therefore, to turn to the first chapter of James and read, with faith believing, those divine words : ¶

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him." ¶

WHO HAS FORGOTTEN GOD? ¶

Are you praying ? Am I praying? Are the members of the Church as a whole praying? Do all who go upon their knees have in their hearts genuinely the prayerful spirit, the spirit of faith and humility? Are the words they utter a real, a heartfelt prayer, or are they but words thoughtlessly or carelessly spoken? In the language of Lincoln, is it possible that the people of the world, those of our nation, and perhaps some of the members of our own Church, have really forgotten God? ¶

We, as a nation, people of the United States have certainly been "the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven ; we have been preserved these many years in prosperity ; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown." ¶

And during this long period of unusual prosperity have we forgotten the gracious hand that has multiplied and enriched and strengthened us? Have we vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our own hearts, that all of these blessings have been produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own? Have we been intoxicated with unbroken success ? Have we become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace? Are we of America too proud to pray to the God that made us? If these conditions prevail then truly "it behooves us to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and for forgiveness." (Lincoln) ¶

"protect us by thy might" ¶

But speaking to you, my fellow churchmen, looking into your faces, let me ask more specifically, have you been upon your knees this morning ? Did you express gratitude last night before you went to rest for the blessings of yesterday ?! Have we Latter-day Saints earnestly and always sought first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness? (Matt. 6:33) ¶

We are living in a land where we sing, "Protect us by Thy might, great God, our King." Ours is the nation whose motto is, "In God we Trust." Our statesmen and patriots of the past have set us a noble, a worthy example. Washington at V alley Forge went upon his knees and appealed for the help of Divine Providence. It was Lincoln who said, "it behooves us to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness." In those other dark and trying days, he said, the great trouble with our nation is "we have forgotten God." ¶

Our Prayers Heard

. "In the beginning of our contest with Great Britain," said Franklin, "when we were sensible to danger, we had daily prayers for divine protection. Our prayers were heard and they were graciously answered. * * * I have lived a long time; but the longer I live the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men." ¶

Checking now for a moment on our individual selves, I ask again : ¶

"Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray? In the name of Christ our Savior, did you sue for loving favor, as a shield today? When your heart was filled with anger, did you think to pray? Did you plead for grace, my brother, that you might forgive another who had crossed your way?" ¶

Partaking Worthily

Did you attend your Sacrament meeting' last Sunday ? If so, when you partook of the sacrament, did you do it worthily ? How many times have you partaken of these sacred emblems since our General Conference six months ago? How many times have I partaken of the sacrament, and when I have partaken of it, have I done so worthily, with a repentant, a prayerful spirit? ¶

Prayerful Thought and Study

Remember, family prayers simply as a matter of form are not enough. A study of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph convinces me that inspiration, wisdom, revelation and divine guidance come as a result of faith, of fasting and praying and appealing repeatedly to the Lord for knowledge and for blessings. In the Doctrine and Covenants, I have found expressions like the following: ¶

"The Lord responded to the Prophet's supplication by granting this revelation." (Section 8.) "It is not sufficient for one merely to ask for a divine gift, without prayerful thought and study." (Section 9.) "This revelation was received * * * in answer to Joseph's supplication and inquiry." (Section 11.) "The Prophet inquired of the Lord. * * * This revelation and the next two following were given in answer." (Section 14.) "In response to fervent supplication for greater knowledge * * * the Lord gave this revelation." (Section 18.) Etc., etc. ¶

One of the commandments given specifically to us in these days says : ¶

Pray Vocally

"And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private. ¶

"Pray always, and I will pour out my spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing." (D. and C. 19:28, 38.) ¶

Have we obeyed this teaching ? Are we today living in accordance with it ? Are you mothers and fathers in your families praying always ? ¶

The Lord speaking again to us in this our time and dispensation says, "Be diligent in keeping all my commandments, lest judgments come upon you, and your faith fail you, and your enemies triumph over you." (D. and C. 136:42.) "I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth," (D, and C. 88:76) ¶

Crying for Forgiveness

Have we fasted, have we prayed, have we appealed, have we repented, have we cried unto our Heavenly Father for our shortcomings, our imperfections, our weaknesses to be forgiven ? Have we appealed as the Prophet Joseph appealed ? Are we humble as well as prayerful ? For another commandment says: "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and shall give thee answer to thy prayers." (D. and C. 112:10) ¶

Our Lord the Savior said : "Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." (Matt. 26:41) "Pray without ceasing," the Bible tells us. (Thessalonians 5:17) ¶

Morning, evening, every day, in faith believing, let us all pray, lest we enter into temptation. Let us seek the Lord while he may be found. Let us call upon him, and let us call earnestly, while he is near. (Isaiah 55 :6) ¶

Cheer for the Faithful

To all who are devoutly religious, to those who remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, to those who partake of the sacrament of the Lord's supper regularly and partake of it worthily, to those who go to our places of worship frequently and there in their hearts appeal to Providence for a forgiveness of their sins, -for strength to overcome weaknesses, for vision to see the straight and narrow way and for strength to walk therein, to those who close each day's labors with a prayer of thanks to Divine Providence and to those who begin the labors of the day with an appeal for divine help and light, truly, verily to all such "every day is a fresh beginning, every morn is the world made new." (Susan Coolidge) ¶

The Prayerful Spirit

When these prayers of which I have spoken are offered in the family circle, at church, to open a meeting or to close it, and more especially when blessings are asked upon the holy sacrament, upon the bread or upon the water, there should be silence, a real stillness, all eyes ought to be closed, all heads ought to be bowed, all hearts filled with the prayerful spirit. These appeals are not to be made by one individual, they should be the hope, the faith, the united appeal of all who are present. And if in every heart there burns an earnest hope for Providence to hear, and for the united appeal to be answered, then every pair of lips should express the fervent feeling of each and every heart by saying, Amen when the prayer is finished. ¶

Speakers with No Message

There are some who complain that our worshiping assemblies, our sacrament meetings, are dry, that speakers often stand before our audiences "who have no message." Some insist they can learn more by remaining at home and devoting themselves to literature than by attending church, where, they say, certainly at times, uninteresting and unprofitable sermons are preached. ¶

An Unfailing Lesson

I believe the doctrine taught in my presence long ago by one of the General Authorities of the Church to the effect that no human lips can preach, no human lips can teach a more important, a more impressive or a more effective lesson than can be learned by those who attend the humblest sacrament meeting and there partake worthily of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. ¶

Prayerful Reflection

Those impressive moments, and particularly those during which the blessings on the sacrament are asked, should be times of deep and sacred and prayerful reflection. Such occasions are opportunities for wrongdoers to come into' close communion with the spirit and power of our Heavenly Father. With eyes closed, with prayerful hearts, with repentant spirit, genuine worshipers examine their own lives, their own conduct, they review their actions during the week past, they think of the unkind words they have spoken, of their unfair dealings, etc. Thus, with a humble, a repentant, a sorrowful spirit, the man of weakness, the wrong doer, in his heart may say: "Father in Heaven, during the past week I have so far forgotten myself as to be unkind to my wife ; I spoke sharply to my daughter; I lost my temper and struck my son; I dealt unjustly with my neighbor. Father, I am a sinner, forgive me." ¶

Repentant Spirit

He who thus has the sorrowful, the repentant spirit, he who thus humbly forsakes his wrong-doing and sins no more shall have his sins so thoroughly forgiven that they will not only be completely blotted out of the book of remembrance of our Heavenly Father, but they will be so genuinely forgiven that even the sinner himself will forget. The strong, the satisfying teaching of the scripture, one of the fundamentals of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, applies in such a case, for the scripture says, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1 :18.) ¶

Actual Latter-Day Saints

Those who are actually Latter-day Saints, those who are genuine Christians, those who thus pray and fast, those who remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, those who appeal earnestly for divine guidance as did the Prophet Joseph, and as did our early and distinguished statesmen and patriots, will have faith in the Gospel message delivered by Paul in the following words : "Ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) What the nation needs under our present economic conditions is to have the souls of the citizens of the country touched by the divine spark, the divine testimony which brings into the hearts of men a realization of that great fundamental, that unselfish Christian truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The need of the nation and of the world is compliance with the teaching in the impressive, sacred words read by the Prophet in his boyhood : "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1 :5) ¶

Consumer Must Be Able to Purchase

The present unsatisfactory financial conditions can only be eliminated by the application of this fundamental religious truth, by the unselfishness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by getting into the hands of the consumer in some way or other an ample, or at least a reasonable amount of purchasing power. It is not what a nation produces, it is what the nation consumes that brings prosperity. In our mechanical age only approximately half of the laboring people of our nation need to be employed in order to produce all the manufactured and other products the people of the country can reasonably consume. This was demonstrated during the World War when a large percentage of our population was engaged either in the army or in the manufacture of munitions of war. if half of the people working eight hours per day can produce as much as all the people can reasonably consume, and further since prosperity can return only after purchasing power is placed in the hands of consumers, then the man who with average ability applies himself with reasonable effort to profitable employment for four hours a day ought to be given for said service enough purchasing power to enable him to provide for himself and for his family not only the necessities of life, but many of life's comforts and perhaps some of the luxuries of our modern, sanitary, intellectual and religious life. Until all of the consumers in every part of the land are by some method or other provided with a reasonable amount of purchasing power, prosperity under the most desirable conditions cannot return. When this greatly needed, this most happy condition prevails, when the great masses are provided with a reasonable amount of purchasing power, then and not until then will poverty be banished from our beloved nation. ¶

It is said that machinery is producing so much and with such efficiency that a rayon f actor)- in New Jersey is to be built in which only one man will be employed. Unless consumers are provided with purchasing power there can be no market for the products of this novel, remarkable and in fact desirable institution. Why, with men's hands, should work be done which machinery can perform ? ¶

Wealth Destroying Itself

It is reported that in the year 1930 one of our great manufacturers received in dividends for himself, for his wife and for his son $44,000,000. How can this automobile king expect to dispose of his product if he and other leading manufacturers are going to collect in dividends and thus hoard and keep out of circulation such tremendous quantities of piled up wealth ?' Dividends, profits, or certainly a large percentage of these, must be put into the hands of the consumer, thus providing him with purchasing power or evidently there can be little or no market for manufactured or other products. When our leading business men learn this fact and live in accordance with the lesson it ought to teach, namely, that all of the cash of the country, the purchasing power of the nation, should be kept circulating, we shall have a prosperity the like of which the world has as yet not known, and we shall then be practising the unselfishness, the perfection of the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

Coming of Increased Prosperity

If that $44,000,000 and the fabulous dividends and profits other business men have received and hoarded had been divided with the people whose labor helped to make these great fortunes possible, if these great stores of wealth had been divided with members of the extensive sales organizations which reach into every part of our country, if this wealth which is actually the purchasing power of the nation had, by some means or other, been distributed among those who are consumers, then the markets everywhere would not only have remained good, they would have continued all the time to improve, prices would have been maintained, factories would have operated at full capacity and prosperity would have gone on continuously with ever-increasing momentum. All that has been lacking is practising the simple, unselfish principles of the Gospel of the Master. ¶

Unprecedented Prosperity

Does it not seem that the great manufacturers, the business men of the land have, by selfishly accumulating, by hoarding, by withdrawing from circulation these great mountains of piled-up wealth, have been following a suicidal policy ? Are they not more or less devoid of that Christian spirit which teaches that we ought to support the weak, that we ought to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive ? ¶

Many of our men of wealth are piling up great fortunes that they must give away, that they must distribute, wealth they must divide with others, if they provide consumers with the power to purchase, which power the people must possess before prosperity can return. Distributing thus this accumulated power to buy will with certainty bring our great nation into unprecedented prosperity. ¶

Solution for World's Ills

Do you not see therefore that the solution to the ills of the world is religion, unselfishness? The need of the country is Christianity. We must be unselfish enough to support the weak and to remember to practise the words of the Lord Jesus when he said. Tt is more blessed to give than to receive. ¶

Religion the Solution

The cure for our ills, I say again, is religion. The outstanding need of the hour is the unselfishness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Men must learn to love one another. I pray for that day when every man shall know every other man for every man's name will be brother. Under such conditions we shall unitedly support the weak, and all will live in accordance with the words of the Master. Every knee will bow and ¶