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Show V jet-Nene- s Solt Lake City, Utah, Saturday, December 18, 1943 The Church And Its Servicemen Editorial Directed At 45,000 MembersHn Arms Divine Guidance rYURING the coming week," Latter-daSaints will pause to honor Jhe memory of the Prophet Joseph Smith, whose birthday anniversary falls .upon Dec. 23. It is one . of the most important anniversaries which men may keep, for it marks the day on which- the Almighty sent into the --, . world the great Restorer of latter days. The Doctrine and Covenants (Section 135) declares to the world tha t the Prophet J oseph Smith did more, for the salvation of men than any other person who ever lived, with the sole exception of the Savior Himself. The entire work of the Prophet resulted from his contact with the heavens, his visions of the Father and the Son, his experience with angelic beings who appeared to him from time to time, instructing him pertaining to his work and conferring upon him the povr and authority to proceed in the name of God. Continuous communication with the heavens has always been an essential factor in the work of the Lord. The entire scriptural rpcord sustains this thought. Well might we ask, how far could Moses have gone in the liberation of enslaved Israel --without communication and power ffoinT - heaven? How could Noah have prepared for the flood without it? How could any of the servants of the Lord in any age conduct the affairs of God without knowing what the wishes of the Lord were? Yet, how could they obtain the necessary information without revelation? . It wad with such a thing in mind that Amos taught, Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the prophets." Paul taught that in times past and in diverse manners, 'the Lord spoke nnto the ancients by the prophets, and said that now in his own time new and current revelation came through the Son of God Himself. And still further, he said, By revelation He made known nnto me the mystery which In other ages was not made nnto sons known the of man, as it is now revealed unto I His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (Eph. ) It has been customary for the Lord to so direct His work, and not to leave it to mere chance. Any student of the Old and New Testaments will agree that throughout the ages, God has stood at the helm, has directed the people through the prophets even in the most minute details. of their lives. He has called men to the ministry by name, through the power of revelation or personal appearance. Always has He operated through His inspired representative, and this representative has been, a prophet. The very beginning of the' life of Christ was marked by a declaration that the Almighty has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets which have been since the world began" (Luke 1:70). It is only the expected thing, then, that In the latter days, when all men admit the Lord has much to accomplish, He should conduct his affairs through a prophet and seer, ' to function as such chosen vessels had in ancient times. Since He had not varied from this practice from the time of Adam to the time of Peter and Paul, why should artyone suppose that He would change His practice in latter days, and leave His affairs to chance or to the judgment of uninspired men? The coming of the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith is a time for contemplation of the truth of this great principle that in all times and in all ages, when God has a work to do, He does it through men raised up .for that very purpose, commissioned by divine right, and inspired by the revelation of Heaven with the knowledge of Goths will. How could He function otherwise? Guidance from heaven was characteristic of the work of. "Joseph Smiths It continues on with his successors in the position of Prophet, Seer and Revelator. Recognition of this important teaching is essential to the welfare of the Latter-- day Saints. They an best honor God by serving Him and following His divinely appointed leaders as they point the way through this time of tribulation. It was recognition by the people the principle of seership which has built the Church to its present position; it will be similar recognition which will carry it on to its ultimate destiny. y - BY HUGH B. BROWN (Coordinator for L. D. S. Servicemen) CVEN before the outbreak of hostilities on December 7, 1941, the Church Authorities recognized the need" fo? some coordinated effort among the thousands of L. D. S. men who were being called to the service 3:3-5.- Whose birthday is to be Observed next Thursday, Dec. 23 . . see the editorial on page 1. - ' About the Teen age Girl program now succeeding in Gran - and Australia, and has done meritorious work in every assignment given to him. Chaplain Leo F. Freeman served in a number of camps served with real distinction. at on thejvest coast and was later., Ft. Lewis for many months, transferred to Camp Rucker, Chaplain Freeman and was 1 then sent to the Alabama. a and efficient is unhad South Pacific where he usual experience in the islands officer, and has given Co'mplete satisfaction in every assignment given to him. Space will not permit detailed information on the other chaplains," but "the"following have been appointed and each has served with distinction: Chaplain George R. Woolley, Hawaii; Chaplain -- Howard South Pacific; Chaplain Howard Widdison, ' Hawaii; Chaplain Robert G- Gibbons, Ft. Warren, Wyoming; Chaplain Gerald L. Erickson, North Camp Hood, Texas- - Chaplain Vernon A. Cooley; enroute overseas; Chaplain Eldin Ricks, Italy; Chaplain Hyrum A, Hendrickson, Camp .Young, Camp Roberts for some time, but later it was fotind necessary to permit him to retire on account of ill health. Chaplain Reed G. Probst well-traine- -. California; Chaplain Marc Harold B. Lea of our country. e Since that-tim- specially appointed representatives have been actively engaged in an attempt to make available to our servicemen such Church activity and contacts as is possible under 4 ' the circumstances. the of office the Through Chief of Chaplains of both the army and the navy in Washington, D. C. a number of our men have been appointed chap(. lains to the armed services. First and senior among them was C. Clarence Neslen, former mayor of Salt Lake City, and later a lieutenant colonel and divisional chaplain at Ft Lewis, Wash. Chaplain Neslen served in various fields with distinction, contacted . thousands of our men and did outHugh B. Brown standing work at Ft. Douglas, These three leaders form the San Luis Obispo, and Ft. Lewis. of the committee general E. Curtis, Chaplain Theodore ChurchMn charge of all aetiv-tie- s who was stationed at San Luis concerning L. D. S. men in Obispo, was later transferred to the armed service. Honolulu, where he has been most helpfulin directing the affairs of our men in that area. He Is nOw serying there with Nption-wid- e the rank of major. Will Pres. "many others l r Chaplain Reuben E. Curtis, a brother of Theodore, is now a lieutenant colonel and is also stationed at Honolulu. He served in the Aleutian Islands, as well as in a number of camps in the U. S prior to going overseas. These two brothers have done outstanding work for the Church and for their ite Stake . . . Jhe story is found country! on page 4. Chaplain Orlando' McBride, upon appointment as chaplain, What news happenings there was. sent . to . Camp Barkeley, are about the - Church-'th- is Texas, where he organized the see page 5. L. D. S. men and was an inweek i Following the regular ly e ... COORDINATORS NAMED As there are now something over 45,000 L. Q. S. men in (Continued on Page. Eight) tion received but four times each year. The complete text of President McKays Christmas message will be published in the Christmas Day Church News Section,' December 25. . - weekbroad- cast of the Tabernacle Cloir, President McKay will Speak on Faith ' In. Christy The Worlds Greatest Need" (A Christmas message). The message will be despiration to thousands during his service there. Later he livered as the Church again About the group of missionto Panama Zone, but had participates in another of the went from out the aries being sent mission home this past week to return on account of Ill- Columbia Systems Church of ness. He served as chaplain at the Air programs, an invita , . . see page 8. -- Christensen. Chaplain Boud was the first to be appointed in the navy, and has established a real reputation in San Diego for hia outstanding service among our men in that area. Chaplain Hess is on active duty in the Aleutian Islands, Chaplain Jack-so- n at San Francisco, Chaplain Richards at Farragut, Idaho, and Chaplain Christensen just returning from his instruction at Harvard is enroute to San Diego for assignment. Speak Sunday Morning PRESIDENT David O. McKay will broadcast a Christmas message to the entire nation Sunday, December 19, at 11 a.m., Mountain War Time over KSL according to a previous announcement from the office . of the First Presidency. nation-wid- W. Dalebout. NAVY CHAPLAINS In addition to the appointments above mentioned, we have five chaplains serving in the navy. They are Chaplain John W. Boud, Chaplain Mil-to- n J. Hess, Chaplain Glen Y, Richards, Chaplain Gifford A. Jackson, and Chaplain Rex Li Address Ready McKay half-hou- r Har vey Sessions, Santa Ana A.A.B., California. Two recently appointed and yet not assigned are Marsden Durham and Lee John H. Taylor i Do You Know?- - - - - What the Church has done for and is doing for its 45,000 men in the armed forces . , . read Hugh B. Browns story on page l. n . -Evans, ... tf Is Program Page- - . ....... Editorial ...,. Church and its servicemen . . Church news 1, 9, Talks to Teachers Scrapbook Progress of the Church Granite Stake "Teen-AgGirl . ., Program news Missionary Radio Addreee 1 1 9 9 9 9 e ' I f 4 9 I |
