Brethren Two Or Three Weeks Ago The...

Brethren, two or three weeks ago the Deseret News ran an editorial, the caption of which asked the question, "Too much Word of Wisdom?" It was a great surprise to me to see some of the letters that came in response to that little editorial. Obviously the editorial defended the position that we could not say too much about the Word of Wisdom. It is all important. We cannot be too clean in the work of the Lord. But it was amazing that some apparently good Latterday Saints, writing in would insist that we did say too much about the Word of Wisdom, that it did not really matter if people smoked a little — after all it was the popular thing these days and if young people are going to get along well with their crowds at school, they ought to do like the other fellow does. ¶

It was a great surprise to me that Latterday Saints, raised in the Church, would take this position. ¶

We have had other reactions, occasionally, which have rather frightened me. I was talking with one of our brethren right recently and he said, "My little five year old girl was watching television and was watching the Lucky Strike program. When the program was over, she turned to Dad, and said, 'Daddy, when I grow up I am going to smoke Lucky Strikes.' " It turned this man pale as he thought about the effect of the advertising upon his little girl. ¶

The world today is dramatizing immodesty, dramatizing the use of cigarettes, dramatizing the use of liquor to a point where they are making it seem that it is the popular thing, that if you are going to get along well in the world, then you must indulge in these things. ¶

How are we going to counteract this sort of thing, I ask you? The only way is to have a positive approach and move forward and maintain our standards and use every legitimate device we can to promote wholesome thinking in regard to the vicious things that are being held out to our young people today. It was with this thought in mind that the First Presidency endorsed a suggestion from the General Priesthood Committee of which Brother Lee is chairman, suggesting that we use the devices of advertising to teach the positive side of clean living as a means of counteracting the same type of approach used on the other side. ¶

We were very grateful for the wonderful encouragement we received from the First Presidency on this matter. They have given it their whole hearted support and they are hoping that the entire Church will likewise support it. ¶

We have been getting wonderful support from many sources. We have had hundreds of letters come in from bishops and others telling us of their reaction to the use of the posters and the small cards which have been distributed now for several months, and which we first announced to you here six months ago. ¶

One bishop writing under date of day before yesterday, October 4th, says this: ¶

"Those posters for youth along with the smaller individual corresponding cards, are masterpieces. There is so much psychology leading youth away from correct principles that my heart leaps for joy that our Church is using powerful ways and means to strengthen youth. May the Lord continue to bless you with power." ¶

Another bishop writing under date of September 30th, sent us a letter which is duplicated by scores and scores of others which have come during the last couple of months. He writes: ¶

"We feel favorably impressed with the posters which we have received. They are dignified and attractive. I notice that our ward members both the youth and their parents, stop and take time to read the message given on them, and twice I have had young persons who were absent at the time the cards were given out, come to me before I had the opportunity to go to them and ask if I had a card for them. I hear the young folks talking among themselves about the message on the card and I feel that they appreciate the deep significance of the thought given. In behalf of my own sons and the young people of this ward, I wish to thank you brethren for this program. I feel convinced that it will prove to be very worthwhile and of great value as an aid to the parents and teachers of the youth of the Church." ¶

In the middle of September we received the first mailing piece from one of the young people themselves. We have been hearing since, but this was the first. It was a little postcard I was so proud of it I sent it down to the Presidency's office because I wanted them to see it: ¶

"To Whom It May Concern"— by the way, it was addressed merely to the L.D.S. Church Headquarters, and gives the address— "To Whom It May Concern: (and as I say this comes from a young lady) — What a refreshing experience to pick up a card, "healthy, happy, lucky you." Through such a positive approach youth will react positively because it shows you really do have faith in us. It is really good to see things like these posters rising away from 'thou shalt not.' Thanks for your faith in us. Sincerely" — and then the name is given. ¶

Brethren, the program as we have it under way, is doing a great deal of good. The program becomes a device in your hands for making your work easier. It is a program likewise which may touch the hearts of young people who may not be touched in other ways as you would like to have them. We believe that this program will strengthen faith and give to our young people an appreciation of the worthwhileness of living a clean life. ¶

Many, many of the wards and the stakes have given us 100% cooperation in this matter, such as is reflected in the letters of these bishops, and their efforts are surely appreciated as is suggested in this letter. But, unfortunately, brethren, six months after we have announced the program, we still have some wards in some stakes where nothing has been done. It makes us sad to think that young people are going astray who might be saved if only this device, among other things, were handed to them. But instead of being distributed the cards and the posters are safely tucked away in the bishop's office. ¶

Bishops, you cannot afford to be without this program. Your young people need it. We hold you responsible for putting it into effect in your wards. We ask that your Aaronic Priesthood organization take care of the distribution of the little cards for the boys. The bishopric is in charge of the Aaronic Priesthood, therefore, it is their personal responsibility to see that each boy from twelve to twenty receives one of these little cards. ¶

I think most of you are familiar with them. ¶

We ask that the L.D.S. girls committee in each ward, made up of Y.W.M.I.A. workers, distribute the cards to the girls of the ward between the ages of twelve and twenty-five. Yet you, the bishopric, are advisers to these M.I.A. sisters, so it is in your hands again to see that there is a full distribution of the cards to the girls, also. ¶

Now, there is the large poster. You are familiar with that. It comes in two pieces. One is the principal picture bearing the main caption, with our theme which is "Be Honest With Yourself." And then we have the side piece, you remember, which gives a message. ¶

It is hoped that that poster and the side piece will be properly shown in a display case in a prominent place in your foyer or other part of your building, if you do not have a foyer, which will be prominent enough so that people will see it. ¶

Many there are who stop and look at the picture and admire the artistry and catch the message, whether it be "Virtue is its own reward," or "Happy, Healthy, Lucky You," or "Be Honest With Yourself." And many having seen the picture and the caption have paused to read the entire message on the side. ¶

But we have found that there are some of these display cases which have been placed in such a manner that they are really hidden away. I have been in some buildings where I actually have had to search for them. In one dark corner, behind the door, I found one of these display cases, and because the people come in and out when the door is opened, the door effectively hid the display case. Nobody ever got to see the poster except the janitor who looked at it when he locked the door after everyone had gone out. ¶

Do you suppose that Lucky Strike cigarettes would ever put an advertisement in a place like that? Ask yourself now. You are opposing them in trying to obtain the interest of that boy or girl, are you not? You are in competition with them in a very real sense. The boy or the girl is going to look at the attractive ads of the cigarette or will look at the attractive ad of the Church. Lucky Strike, Camel, Old Gold, will never hide their ads away where you cannot see them. They are on the most prominent billboards and they use the best radio programs you can find anywhere. Why should we hide our light under a bushel? ¶

Brethren, bring out these posters where people can see them and read them. Frame them in an attractive way because the display is part of it, I would say almost half of it. ¶

If you do not have these posters displayed in your foyers by this time, will you in the spirit of our campaign be honest with yourself, be honest with your young people, and adequately and beautifully display these posters where everyone who passes by will see them and enjoy them? ¶

Stake presidents, you preside over the stake, and in that respect you preside over all of the wards and branches in your stake. Will each stake president take it upon himself as a special assignment to go to every ward in his stake within the next week and look for the posters and see how they are displayed, and if they are not will you, as a stake president use your influence to have the posters well displayed? It is your responsibility, stake presidents, to see that your stake functions. Every ward is a part of your stake. Without them you have no stake. This is part of the Church program. As presidents of stakes and as bishops of wards, when we receive our appointments, we agree to accept the responsibility accompanying those appointments and now part of that responsibility is the proper display of those posters and the proper distribution of these little cards. ¶

I would like to ask every bishop, are you sure that all the young people of the proper age groups in your ward are receiving the individual cards with our specialized message. Only yesterday I talked with the father of a young man, sixteen or seventeen years of age, who lives in one of the most progressive stakes in the Church right here in Salt Lake City. I asked if his son had seen any of these cards yet, and he said, "No, he has not seen them." I know the son goes to Church regularly, but there has been no distribution of the cards. We are now in the midst of mailing out the third set of cards and this boy has not yet received the first. ¶

That reminds me of some of the difficulty we had during the World War. The First Presidency authorized our distribution of a little pamphlet, a midget sized Church News, for all of the service men. It was disheartening indeed to find these packages, sometimes with dust on them, piled up one above the other on top of the bishop's desk. ¶

Brethren, souls are too precious to allow our successful devices to be unused. ¶

Do you have some kind of a check up system to insure full distribution of these cards? A list of names might well be kept by both M.I.A. and Aaronic Priesthood workers, including all of the young people of the ages mentioned, whether they come out to the meetings or not, whether they are on your roll books or not. If they are members of the Church they should receive the cards, no matter how inactive these boys or girls might be. If a list of these young people's names is maintained, the names could easily be checked off as a card is delivered to each boy or girl personally. ¶

We hope that you will not merely distribute the cards to the young people who come to the meetings and believe that the job is done. If necessary, have your committee deliver the cards to the young people in their very homes. ¶

Those who do not attend our meetings may well be in the greatest need of the message we have for them. ¶

We would like to suggest to you, Bishops, that you popularize this program in your wards. In your Sacrament meetings, you, yourselves, may well call attention of the Ward membership to the posters in the foyer, inviting all to pause and read. You may also do well to encourage parents to mention the cards and the posters in their family hour gatherings in the home. Boys and girls might well be invited by their parents to read and discuss the message on the cards as part of the program for the family hour in the home, or these cards may be read and discussed over the dinner table in the evening. ¶

Young people should be encouraged to save the cards and place them upon the dresser or the walls or on the desks in their bedrooms. When these young people are assigned two and a half minute talks in Sunday School, or short talks in other meetings, the cards may well provide inspirational subject matter which will be of great assistance to them. ¶

Since the cards are distributed only once in two months, is there any good reason why a boy or girl may not be invited to give a brief talk on the subject treated on the current card during some Sacrament meeting in the Ward? Brethren, popularize this program. ¶

The cigarette companies popularize their cigarettes, and the immodest styles emanating from Hollywood and Paris are certainly popularized by the best advertising devices that we have in the United States. Then should we not popularize our program of modesty and cleanliness? ¶

I would like to ask, what do you do with the big posters which have been on display when you replace them with new ones? Do you just discard them and throw them away, or do you save them for appropriate use at other times, possibly at young people's meetings or socials in the ward. It might be that some of your own young people would like to take these posters home as their own prized possessions. Some do. Or they might be awarded for some specially outstanding service, or as a mark of appreciation. Or these posters might be saved by the young people's committees of the ward and displayed to advantage in a fireside meeting on Sunday evening. Or several of them shown together would make a very impressive display at a Gold and Green Ball or a young people's banquet. ¶

As you know, brethren, the theme of the program is "Be Honest With Yourself." We do ask you, as the leaders of the wards and the stakes, to be thoroughly honest with your own selves in the conduct of this program. And be honest with the young people of your wards and give them this added help in their fight against sin. Be honest with the parents of the youth of Zion and give to them this potent aid in teaching their children the value of clean living. Be honest with yourselves in getting the most out of the program which is designed to make your work easier, to make righteousness more attractive to the youth of your wards and stakes, and to help build faith and testimony in the hearts of all. ¶

So, brethren, let us be honest with ourselves, let us enter into the spirit of this work, let us make this program succeed. ¶

That we may do this is my earnest prayer, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶