Faith a Motivating Power

I humbly pray God for the guidance of His teaching spirit. ¶

There is a continuous freshness in the fundamental principles of the Gospel. They never grow out of date. Fortunate is the man who translates them into his life. ¶

Faith a Motivating Power

In his masterly presentation of faith and his great appeal for faith, the apostle Paul citing the examples of the heroes of faith of the Old Testament said: ¶

Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ¶

We know, as though we had seen them, the creation of the earth, the deluge, the birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of our dear Lord Jesus Christ. We hope for the millennium, when swords shall be beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks. We hope for the glorious resurrection of the Saints of God and the re-appearance of Jesus Christ in the splendor and glory of immortality. ¶

“Through faith," Paul said, “we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.” I am one who fondly hopes and believes that in the spirit world, our pre-existent state, through the faith we exercised and prayers we offered before the throne of God, that this earth was created, to which we might come, and by taking mortality upon ourselves, go on to eternal perfection and immortality. ¶

The Apostle Paul continues: ¶

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. ¶

Thus we are taught that faith is one of the powers upon which eternal life is based. ¶

At the close of this war we are going to witness a remarkable and mighty miracle of faith. We shall be under the necessity of remaking a ' world, of building up a new world. God grant that we may build it up unto Him. A poetess has said: ¶

I never understood how man could dare ¶

To watch a city shaken to the ground, ¶

To feel the tremors, hear the tragic sound ¶

Of houses twisting, crashing everywhere ¶

And not be conquered by a sick despair. ¶

Although his building crumbles to a mound ¶

Of worthless ruin, man has always found ¶

The urge to build a stronger city there. ¶

Within my soul I made my towers high. ¶

They lie in ruins, yet I have begun ¶

To build again, now planning to restore ¶

What life has shaken to the earth; ¶

And I, in faith, shall build my towers toward the sun ¶

A stronger city than was there before. ¶

—GERTRUDE RYDER BENNETT[1] ¶

God's Purpose Being Fulfilled

Henry Grady, the great southern orator, declared, after the Civil War: “Fields that were red with human blood, are green with the harvests of June. The reins have not slipped from God’s hands.” ¶

His purposes will be fulfilled, and this old world is not going to burst asunder, and civilization shall never perish from the earth while the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is taught, while the Priesthood of God still remains upon the earth. ¶

I am not vain nor egotistical when I say that I believe with all my heart that the Priesthood of God, this great Church, because of the great mission to be performed, is holding this old world together, and the missionary work to be accomplished after this war is going to make our hearts overflow with joy. ¶

The servants of our Father shall go out, and where they are baptizing one today, they shall baptize a score, or hundreds, yea a thousand, for every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. ¶

I believe, I have faith, that this terrible war, with all its death and ravages, is bringing men nearer to God. That has been the rule in the centuries that are passed. An ancient prophet said: ¶

“When I was afflicted, I learned thy statutes.” ¶

But in dissipation, in idleness, in immorality, in wickedness, we never learn much about God. It is only when God touches our heart and makes us all mourn, because of the grief in the world, that we feel after Him. For a touch of trouble makes us all akin, and we look unto the Lord. Affliction and sorrow have brought more souls to God than all the joy of the world. ¶

The Destiny of America

We read of a great postwar program. Is it not pathetic that in all these postwar declarations the name of God is seldom, if ever, mentioned? The best postwar program is found in the Book of Mormon. May I read the words of the Lord: ¶

Behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land. ¶

And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. ... ¶

And, now, listen: ¶

And I will fortify this land against all other nations: ¶

And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God. ¶

For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words. (II Nephi 10:10-14.) ¶

Here is a divine pledge of the perpetuity of our glorious republic, conditioned upon our obedience unto God, conditioned upon our effort, our determination, and our labors to cleanse the land of the accursed thing, which is sin; and you know the form in which sin lurks and is often disguised. I hope and pray that this nation, after this war, and during the war shall fortify this land to such an extent, and place it in such a condition of invulnerability that the nations of the earth, as God says in the Doctrine and Covenants, shall say: “Let us not go up to battle against Zion for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible.” America is Zion, from north to south, from east to west. ¶

I pray that after the war our government will furnish employment for every inactive laborer, in fortifying this country, that it will teach men to be mechanics, to be useful, for a nation that harbors idleness is doomed to decay and, finally destruction. One of the saddest hours of a young man's life is when he sits down and seeks to devise ways and means for earning a living without work. It is the wise nation that keeps its people at work. The men who want that bold independence that only labor can buy are the strength of the nation. Work helps a people to be strong in the worship of that God, who, from the days of Adam, has condemned slothfulness. He has always urged men and women to work. ¶

Furthermore, I hope that our nation, now and forever, so long as the Star Spangled Banner shall float in the breezes of heaven, will remember the words of Washington, that “to be prepared for war is the most effectual means of preserving peace.” Also, “ 'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” God destined this nation to be a light to the world, to be a herald unto every nation, and nobly we will fill that mission if we serve the God of this land and abstain from all uncleanness. ¶

The Work to Be Accomplished by the Priesthood

The Savior, just before His ascension, said to His apostles: ¶

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8.) ¶

In pursuance of that glorious promise, Peter, James and John did come, as heavenly beings, unto America, to the uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost bounds of the everlasting hills, as Jacob said, when he blessed the tribe of Joseph; and there, declaring that they held the keys of the kingdom of God, and the keys of this last dispensation, they did lay their hands upon the head of Joseph Smith, and ordained him to the Melchizedek Priesthood, fulfilling the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

This Priesthood today is being magnified in a mighty work. By the power of this Priesthood temples are built, and work for the living and the dead has been inaugurated, the Gospel is being preached, and true to its mission, by the power of the holy Priesthood, this Church is preaching the Gospel to every nation and kindred and tongue and people to prepare the way for the glorious second coming of the Son of God. ¶

This I testify to, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶

[1] Reprinted by permission of Good Housekeeping and G. P. Putnam Sons, Publishers. ¶