Fast Offerings and Perilous Times

First Counselor in the First Presidency ¶

My brothers and sisters: In common with you, I have been inspired and made grateful by the message which has been delivered by President Heber J. Grant, the representative of God on this earth. May we hearken to what he has said, may we obey his counsel in all things. I know him to be a righteous man, a man whom God loves, and to whom God reveals His mind and His will, and this is my testimony to you and to the world. May God spare him yet many years to guide and direct this people. ¶

The Church in a Prosperous Condition

I thought perhaps I might begin my remarks by saying to you a few things about the Church in general. As I have explained to you before, we build at the beginning of each year a budget in which we allocate to the various activities of the Church certain funds which we hope -- and as to which our hopes have always been realized -- you brethren and sisters will furnish by your tithes and offerings. And may I say here, with gratitude to our Heavenly Father, and with congratulations to you and to the Church generally, that this promises to be the banner year of the Church in the matter of tithes and offerings. We are living within our budget, and we are doing this so far, notwithstanding the fact that ¶

the cost of building and of materials generally which we have to use in our work has considerably advanced. ¶

Our great building projects completed during the year, or which are now going on, are the Idaho Falls Temple, which we are pushing rapidly to a conclusion; the Joseph Smith Memorial building down at the Brigham Young University which is finished and will be dedicated soon, and the various Ward buildings which we are building all over the Church. ¶

We have been most grateful for your work in carrying on the beautification program. All over the Church it is noticeable that we are improving our yards, cleaning them up, painting our buildings, repairing the fences, things that we should do, because the Lord loves order and He loves us to live in orderly places. ¶

The Relief Society just now is making a drive, as you know, to reach one hundred thousand members. We hope that all Bishops will cooperate with the presidents of the Relief Societies of their Wards in helping to attain this desired end. ¶

The True Meaning of Fast Offerings

There has been some good deal of talk among the people with reference to Fast offerings, and I should like to repeat here what was said yesterday, both by President McKay and by myself, before the Bishops: Do not, brethren and sisters, and members of the Church generally, get the impression that a dollar is the ceiling on Fast offerings. A dollar is the ceiling which we said we hoped you might at least reach for one year, but the real ceiling of the Fast offering is the price of two meals per month for the twelve months: not a dollar, but the price of the meals. If you have a five cent meal, then twelve times ten would be one dollartwenty cents; if you have a ten cent meal it would be two-forty a year; if you have a fifteen cent meal, it would be three dollars and sixty cents; and if you have a twenty cent meal -- and most of you eat that kind of meal -- then you owe the Lord and the poor four dollars and eighty cents as your Fast offering. ¶

Work Going on in Foreign Lands

We are glad to say that the missionary work is going forward in these war times in foreign countries. We are having some difficulty in getting missionaries into some countries, but we hope and shall try to carry on to the full extent possible this missionary work in foreign lands. ¶

Church Activities in Army Camps and Defense Industries

You have already heard of the appointment of Brother Hugh B. Brown to help in the army camps. We may say that Brother Brown is being received most kindly. He is going around to the different camps, he is trying to get in touch with the sons whom you have sent into those camps. He is trying to arrange so that these boys who are there can, if they wish, carry on their work as Latter-day Saints. ¶

Recently we asked the Bishops to notify you that we could supply, through the Deseret Book Company, three books that you might send to your sons who are in the army camps, at cost. You can send the Book of Mormon, the Articles of Faith by Brother Talmage, and a Song Book, for one dollar and three cents, or if you send another Song Book it costs one dollar thirty-three cents. I think there are few if any Latter-day Saints who could not send their boys in the camps these books properly inscribed. I can assure you from the reports that we have received that practically nothing you can do will do more to hold these boys along the road that you want them to travel than for you to send these books. We have arranged that where the people are tob poor to spend a dollar on their sons, we can take care of it. ¶

We are also trying to organize the defense workers who are working in defense industries, particularly on the Western Coast; we are arranging with the Presidents of the Stakes in that section to cooperate together and coordinate their labors to bring these young boys into the Wards, where they are in the Stakes, and into the Branches, where they are in the Missions, so that they can participate in Church activities. We are trying to arrange so that no one will be neglected or be forgotten, and that everybody will have an opportunity, every young man who wishes it, to continue his activities in Church work to the utmost limit that is possible under the conditions. ¶

Sees Perilous Times

We come here today, my brethren and sisters, all of us, with faith, we hope with testimony. We come here in the hope that the Lord will inspire those who speak to us, so to speak that we may gain strength, increased knowledge, that our testimonies will be intensified and made stronger to the end always that we may be able to live the Gospel and enjoy its blessings. We all know how we ought to live, I do not need to tell you about that, but I do perhaps need to exhort myself and to exhort you to live as we know we ought to live. ¶

I have in the past, for the last eight years, talked about the perilous times that were coming, and now about the perilous times that we are in. I do not intend to go over that ground again, but I do call your attention to the fact that we urge upon you thrift, economy, getting out of debt, and keeping out of debt. We have told you about the bad effects of interest; we have told you about the war prosperity, and the depression which is to come. All that has been said in the past, all that I have said, I want to incorporate here by reference. We said these things when it was unpopular to say them, when we were thought to be going against the course we should go, but now everybody is talking about these things, and we do hope that the people will realize that, after all, the old virtues are the sound ones, the old virtues are the things upon which we must build.. ¶

I have also talked about our participation in the war, and I told you years ago that there was to be an effort to take our boys across the Water. You do not need to have any doubt about it now, I suppose. ¶

It is not only being sought for on the other side, but it is being planned for on this side. ¶

I have also spoken about what I will call commodity insurance, remembering that sometime you may be ill, that sometime you may be thrown out of employment, sometime you may have death in your homes; remembering that your crops may sometimes fail. We have urged you to get enough material together so that you would have some insurance against those conditions. I am talking about foodstuffs and the things that are necessary in our living. I renew that suggestion. ¶

Warning Against Communism

I have been preaching against Communism for twenty years. I still warn you against it, and I tell you that we are drifting toward it more rapidly than some of us understand, and I tell you that when Communism comes, the ownership of the things which are necessary to feed your families is going to be taken away from us. I tell you freedom of speech will go, freedom of the press will go, and freedom of religion will go. ¶

I have warned you against propaganda and hate. We are in the midst of the greatest exhibition of propaganda that the world has ever seen, and all directed toward one end. Just do not believe all you read. ¶

Early Leaders Rebuked by the Lord

The First Presidency was organized in March of 1833. In May of that year the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet, and I am going to read a few verses from that revelation, because I think the instructions and the admonition and the command here given are of the last and ultimate importance today. ¶

But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth. ¶

But verily I say unto you, my servant Frederick G. Williams, you have continued under this condemnation; ¶

You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction. ¶

I am reading from the 93rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants. ¶

And now a commandment I give unto you -- if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house. ¶

Verily, I say unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, that in some things he has not kept the commandments concerning his children; therefore, first set in order thy house. ¶

Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith Junior, or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me -- ¶

I called you servants for the world's sake, and ye are their servants for my sake -- ¶

And now, verily I say unto Joseph Smith Junior, -- you have not kept the commandments, and must needs stand rebuked before the Lord; ¶

Your family must needs repent and forsake some things, and give more earnest heed unto your sayings, or be removed out of their place. ¶

What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you, and remove you out of your place. ¶

My servant Newel K. Whitney also, a bishop in my Church, hath need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place. ¶

Our Responsibility to Teach Children

Now, as I see it, my brethren and sisters, that is the crying need of the Church today. We must set in order our own houses, we must see that our children are properly taught; they must understand what the commandments of the Lord are, and we shall not have our skirts clear if we do not do all that is in our power, not alone by precept, but by example, in bringing them to live according to the principles of the Gospel. In no other way can salvation and exaltation come, and our troubles will be great, even as the Lord told the First Presidency over a hundred years ago, our troubles will be great if we fail in teaching our children properly. We are coming too much to the point where we condone sin instead of forgiving the repentant sinner, and there is a great difference between those two things. The Lord has said He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, and yet He has proclaimed time and time again His willingness to extend mercy, to extend forgiveness, to receive back that person who, sinning, has sincerely repented, and by this ye shall know that they have repented, namely, that they confess their sins and forsake them. ¶

It is becoming a practice today to try to coax, cajole, buy children to be good. We hesitate, some of us, to say to children, you must not do this, you must not do that, and to our young people we hesitate to do this, because we may offend them. The Lord has made it perfectly clear, from Adam until now, and has told us in no unmistaken words, that there are certain things "thou shalt not" do. Adam fell because he violated one "Thou shalt not." Moses from Sinai gave a whole series of commandments, only one of which has not "Thou shalt not" in it. ¶

My brethren and sisters, our young people welcome, they expect that we shall tell them what to do and what not to do, and what not to do must be told them in such language, in such terms, and with such emphasis that they are not left in doubt. Try this on your young people and you will be amazed at the response you will get. They are hungering for the Gospel. See to it that we do not starve them; they must be fed. ¶

My time is up. May the Lord bless you. May He bless all of us. May He increase our faith, our testimony. May He give us all of the things that we need spiritually and temporally, so that we can perform our duties, so that we can set our houses in order, so that we can save our children, for their sakes, for our own sakes, because otherwise the Lord will not bless us, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶