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Show (2&rcK CWeW EDITORIAL PAGE Correct Principles Prophet Joseph Sinilh said at one I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves. This is an expression of three ideals to which the Latter-da- y Saints are firmly committed: Thu 1. Proper teaching. 2. Acceptance of correct principles. 3. based upon such principles. ' These ideals should direct the economi1', political and spiritual life of man. The correct principles mentioned by the Prophet are not in any sense theoretical. They are basic, true and incontestable. His knowledge of them came by revelation and was therefore untainted by the philosophies of men. The of which he spoke was an exercise of the free agency given to nt and graevery human being by an cious God, without which the purposes of creation could not be achieved. Free agency in the economic world means assurance to each individual of his right to earn a living in the field of his choice under an unrestricted private enterprise system. FREE AGENCY in government guarantees to each individual the right of including the liberty whereby the common people may govern themselves, without interference from dictators In any guise, write their own laws and choose their own administrative officers in unfettered all-wi- se elections. - Free agency in religion is the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, let them worship how, where or what they may. These correct principles so earnestly advocated by the Prophet Joseph Smith are being challenged today In many areas by those who seek to rob mankind of all these basic privileges, and establish a captive, enslaved society. The most threatening of these aggressive forces today is Communism, with its Godless ideology, its subjection of the individual to the state, and its complete materialism. TIIE ENTIRE concept and philosophy of Communism is diametrically opposed to everything for which this Church stands: belief in Diety, the dignity and eternal nature of man, and the application of the Gospel to bring about peace in the world. Because Communism is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and since the two are totally incompatible, no member of the Church can be a Communist and remain a true Latter-da- y Saint. It is committed to the destruction of faith, wherever it may be found. On the other hand, the Gospel teaches the existence of God, as our Eternal and Heavenly Father, and declares: him only shalt thou serve. Communism is Tut the Gospel unmistakably identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, the Son of the Laving God, the Redeemer of the world. There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved, the scriptures explain. COMMUNISM BRANDS religion as an opiate of the people. which is the only true reliThe Gospel is the way of life and truth. gion Communism teaches hate as its basic phiCommunism is militantly atheistic. anti-Chri- st Some pleasures bring happiness but certainly not all. You are concerned then to know at what point pleasure may lead to sin rather than to happiness. Pleasure may be said to be any mental gratification felt in attain'ng or anticipating the indulgence of any desire or appetite, and even sen- RCH The Gospel is the embodiment of love. Communism enslaves the individual. The Gospel liberates him and gives him free agency. It is the perfect law of liberty. Communism would destroy the constitutional government of the United States. By modem revelation the Lord declared the U.S. Constitution to be an inspired document, written by men whom He raised up for that very purpose. IN THE DAYS of President Hebcr J. Grant, the First Presidency affirmed: Com-munism, being thus hostile to loyal American citizenship and incompatible with true Church membership, of necessity no loyal American citizen and no faithful Church member can be a Communist. They further said: We call upon all Church members completely to eschew Communism. The safety of our divinely inspired constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that Communism shall have no place in America." President David O. McKay similarly has been forthright in his declarations against this evil institution. All Latter-da- y Saints should so love their religion and their free form of government that they will resist every approach of recognizing Communism as the most formidable foe of modem Christian thought. sual gratification. It is transitory and passes with the moment. It was Thomas Paine who said: The mere man of pleasure is miserable in old age. Happiness is the state of being that springs from a possession of the good, and is more permanent measure and of a higher and more intellectual or moral nature. It is in fact a condition where pleasure predominates over either pain or evil. - One writer has said : "True WEEK ENDING APRtl. 5, 1969 Mosiah: A Key Figure All that is known about King Mosiah is recorded in 11 paragraphs ol the Book of Omni. Much that is and to the complete record important in his life is left to imagination. Yet, Mosiah must have been a person of major significance and is certainly a key figure. After him is a history of the united Nephites and Mulekites. Mosiah, living in the land of Nephi, was warned to for what reason we know not by the Lord gather the righteous together and depart. ; . Obedient, Mosiah followed the Lord's command, and the people were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm, through the wilderness. losophy. anti-Chri- st, From Fountains of the Soul Youth and Excerpts from the Church by Elder Harold B. Lee, of the Council o' the Twelve. BOOK OF MORMON PROFILES happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an everpresent source of anguish. . . . Happiness Is not akin to levity, d nor is it one with mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul and is not infrequently accompanied by tears. Have you never been so happy that you have had to weep? light-minde- ... ' ; Eventually, Mosiah and his people came upon a both city and people completely unknown to them called Zarahemla, after one of their leaders. The Zarahemla people were exceedingly numerwar-likous, crude, They had brought no records with them but they were led by the Lord from Jerusalem at the time of King Zedekiah, and their language had become corrupted. These same people, sometimes called Mulekites, after Mulek, who was a son of Zedekiah, also denied the Lord. Mosiah saw that they were taught the language of the Nephites so that the two peoples could understand one another. Soon Mosiah was named king of the combined peoples. The Mulekites rejoiced when the Nephites dishistocovered them because of the written records that Mosiah and ries, genealogies, and scriptures his followers brought with them. The people of Zarahemla brought to Mosiah a large engraved stone, and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God. The inscriptions gave a history of the Jaredites and their last surviving king, Coriantumur, who lived with the Mulekites for nine moons before he died. What happened to the Nephites from whom Mosiah separated is unrecorded. Years later, when Zen iff and a group from Zarahemla returned to the land of their inheritance," they found it occupied by Laman-ite- s and the cities in disrepair. Presumably, the Nephites were destroyed as had been prophesied by an earlier prophet, Jacob. Whatever their fortune, the remainder of the Book of Mormon, from Omni 12 to the end (Ether excepted) is the history of Mosiah's smaller group of Nephites united with the Mulekites. Of Mosiahs personal history, his reign, and influence, the record is blank. He was, of course, a righteous leader and when he died was succeeded by his son, Mosiah, who became the third generation to reign righteously over the people. half-civilize- d, - e. ... . Illustration adapted from "The Book of Mormon Storv. (C) Deeeret Book Co., Ronald Crosby, artist |