The Light That Shines in Darkness

"Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth." ¶

That solicitous admonition given by the Savior of men is as pertinent today as when it was first expressed. Men and nations having refused to walk in the Light now as Jesus said stumble in darkness and know not whither they go. Motivated for centuries largely by selfish interests, the human race, judging from present world conditions, is still dangerously near the jungle where primitive passions dominate and govern. ¶

There is a mythical Greek tale that Charon was permitted once upon a time to visit the earth to see what men were doing. From a lofty eminence he looked over the cities, palaces, and other works of men. As he turned to resume his assigned task, he exclaimed: "These human beings are spending their time in building just birds' nests. No wonder they fail and are ashamed." ¶

Men today in far too great an extent are not only spending their time with things which have no permanent value, but ruthlessly destroying much that they have built throughout the centuries. War is making the earth a shambles. Churches, palaces, cottages, hospitals in many parts of the globe lie in ruins as if shaken by a terrible earthquake. As accompaniment to this destruction there is a pall of night which seems to be enveloping nations as an impenetrable fog — a darkness that springs from Hate; for, "He that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." ¶

During this very hour while we reverently worship the God of Heaven, millions of men lie wounded, bleeding, maimed, many disabled for life by the hands of their fellow men. Other millions sleep in death, many in unknown graves, some in no graves, their bodies trampled by savage feet stumbling forward toward a coveted and selfish goal. Not only men but women — mothers lying lifeless clasping their babes even in death. Truly it seems that "Darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people." ¶

Men Have Forgotten God ¶

Why this worldwide holocaust? Why this mad orgy of death? Because man is acting contrary to eternal principles of Right! ¶

In words quite as applicable today as when he declared them, the immortal Lincoln gives the answer as f ollows: We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. ¶

I still have confidence that the Almighty, the Maker of the Universe, will, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people, bring us through this as he has through all other difficulties of our country. ¶

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says: If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore, you shall walk in darkness. ¶

The Antithesis of Christ's Teachings ¶

No one can doubt that the seeds of this war found nourishment in soil of hatred and dishonor, which are the antithesis of Christ's teachings. The Conversations of Munich, for example, were followed by violations of agreement and broken promises; the invasion of Poland was prompted by covetousness and carried out by the fiendish power of conquest; the attack of Pearl Harbor was conceived in treachery and deceit; Czechoslovakia, Greece, and other nations, too weak to withstand the onslaught, have been cruelly crushed by the forces of one who had defiantly rejected Jesus of Nazareth and His teachings. So the list can be lengthened, showing how principles of Right have been violated, and how Hate has plundered and destroyed. ¶

Men Groping Blindly, Aimlessly ¶

The serious effect of all this is far reaching. Men's confidence is shaken in political forms of government. In uncertainty they begin to question the promised security of well-tried and fundamental principles. They see the discoveries and inventions of science prostituted as a means of human destruction. Old beliefs and ideals are toppling, and as a drowning man seizes a floating substance, men and women grasp at any new idea or theory that is thrown as a bait in this sea of confusion. ¶

The upsetting of the world has forced us into war, and we should be recreant not to go forward. To our soldier boys wherever you are we say God bless and guide you as you defend the divinely-given principles of freedom. May the Light of Truth and the power to resist evil be your constant companions. We all realize with you that you are enlisted in a war against wickedness, and that peace cannot come until the mad gangsters having In their hands science-produced explosives, mechanized equipment, and giant tanks, are defeated and branded as murderers, and their false aims repudiated, let us hope forever. Yes, the conflict must continue though its aims and purposes to many seem terribly complicated, and the establishment of a just peace, a task as herculean as the terminating of the war itself. ¶

The Need of a Guiding Light ¶

For the ultimate victory for Freedom, we must not doubt; nor harbor either discouragement or despair. As after every night, even in the darkness, rises the morning star, so now in the midst of the blackness of international hatred and bloody conflict, men may behold a Light heralding a new day, if they will but look through the eyes of Reason and Common Sense. Statesmen, men of science, thinking men in all nations, laymen everywhere sense the need of something definite to which to look forward, some clear beacon that will guide the stranded nations to a safe harbor of permanent peace. As practical steps toward that goal they say: (1) mete out just punishment to villains and murderers; (2) make restoration of sovereign rights to those who have been deprived of them by force; (3) secure equal enjoyment by all nations of world trade and materials needed for prosperity; (4) establish improved labor standards, economic advancement, and social security for all; (5) declare a peace assuring safety and tranquility the world over; (6) grant freedom of the seas to all; (7) exact promise of abandonment by all nations of the use of force, and of disarmament of aggressive nations pending the establishment of general security— these and other expressed aims are worthy ideals and point to the fact that generally in men's hearts there is a desire to treat fairly their fellow men. ¶

The One and Safe Guide ¶

In all such seeking, however, there is one idea indispensable to the establishment of a permanent peace which too many men and some nations have obliterated from their minds entirely, but which now should be reburnished until it shines as the unclouded noon-day sun. I call it an idea, having in mind the fact that "there is more dynamite in an idea than in many bombs." It is as old as the Lord's first message to man, and some of you listening in will call it trite — men in the past have entertained it for a time, have dallied with it, then without attempting to make it a reality have permitted it to drop below the plane of consciousness, and even to sink into the abyss of unbelief. This idea so frequently mentioned but so seldom practiced, connotes things which, if lost, civilization itself is lost. It connotes the right to live, to be treated decently, to be kindly spoken to, to enjoy home, to love, and to be loved. It connotes strength to defend the Right — sympathy for those who, striving, have failed. It connotes justice and mercy. It turns the eye and the heart from beastly passions to noble aspirations. ¶

It is Christ's plan of love and service— summarized in the two great commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself." ¶

I fully realize with Professor Wieman that When one looks out upon the human race, the way it has come and the way it must go, and sees that tiny gate so obscure that one must search to find it, and so lowly that one must stoop to enter it, and yet the only way to life, the only escape from ruin of mankind, one is sobered. . . . And yet civilization will be transitory until men in large numbers go this way of love. ¶

For two thousand years and even more, nations have ignored, and, in many instances, repudiated fundamental principles of the gospel. Even in socalled Christian lands men have spurned the teachings as being impractical. The result is that the earth has literally been drenched with blood. ¶

I have referred to the present-day carnage, even to think of which makes everyone gloomy and sick at heart, to emphasize, if possible, the need of a drastic change in men's dealings with one another. Never has there been a time in the history of the world when a change for the better was so imperative. Now, if ever, as the scripture promises, "a nation should be born in a day" — a nation of men and women with changed hearts and changed attitudes. ¶

Since rejection of Christ's teachings has resulted in disaster and useless bloodshed, with only intermittent periods of respite and progress, why in the name of reason should people not be willing to substitute for selfish aggrandizement Christ's principle of brotherly consideration? As a first step, for example, make truly applicable the simple injunction of putting one's self in the other fellow's place, the surest of all means of eliminating the bitterness that characterizes misunderstandings. ¶

Applicability of Christ's Teachings ¶

No thinking person can say truthfully that the application of this one simple act if practiced among individuals and nations would not bring about a better world! Equally effective and applicable are His teachings regarding the value and sacredness of human life, the virtue of forgiveness, the necessity of fair dealing, His condemnation of the sin of hypocrisy, and of covetousness, His teachings regarding the saving power of love, and of the immortality of the soul. His doctrine of arbitration as a means of settling difficulties and quarrels if applied by warring nations would in itself do away with war. ¶

If America is the "melting pot," the gospel of Jesus Christ is the crucible in which hate, envy, and greed are consumed, and good will, kindness, and love remain as inner aspirations by which man truly lives and builds. ¶

Proclamation of Christ's Teachings ¶

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes with the Prophet Lehi that America is a "land of promise, a land choice above all other lands" — a land of liberty unto those who keep the commandments of God. But "if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them." The Church believes, also, that before the end of wickedness shall come, and wars shall be no more, "this gospel of the Kingdom must be preached to all the world." ¶

The Constitution of this government was written by men who accepted Jesus Christ as the Saviour of mankind. Let men and women in these United States then continue to keep their eyes centered upon Him who ever shines as a Light to all the world. Men and women who live in America, "the land of Zion," have a responsibility greater than that yet borne by any other people. Theirs the duty, the obligation to preserve not only the Constitution of the land but the Christian principles from which sprang that immortal document. ¶

With the appeals for freedom that you transmit to your fellow-countrymen across the seas, send also in messages that connote a sincerity never before expressed, an avowed conviction that Christ is the Way, the Truth, the Life, the only safe Guide to that haven of peace for which men and women the wide world over are earnestly praying. Thus may we hope that there will come an answer to the prayer: Peace in our time, O Lord, To all the peoples — Peace! ¶

Peace that shall build a glad new world. ¶

And make for life's increase. ¶

O living Christ, who still Dost all our burdens share, Come now and dwell within the hearts Of all men everywhere. ¶

To this end let members of the Church, and honest men in every clime accept, not as an abstract, inapplicable saying, but as an eternal and guiding truth, the declaration of the Redeemer: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Amen. ¶