Will this apply to any of you? Your own hearts can answer.” Who will? Those who are valiant and inspired with the true independence of heaven, who will go forth boldly in the service of their God, leaving others to do as they please, determined to do right, through all mankind besides should take the opposite course. They never can hold scepters of glory, majesty, and power in the Celestial Kingdom. They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control them. They cannot rule themselves, to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to do in every trifle, like a child. Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and rinning their faith upon another's sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate they will never be capable of becoming Gods. Suppose that the people were heedless, that they manifested no concern with regard to the things of the Kingdom of God, but threw the whole burden upon the leaders of the people, saying, ‘If the brethren who take charge of matters are satisfied, we are,' this is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord.” “I do not wish any Latter-day Saint in this world, nor in heaven, to be satisfied with anything I do, unless the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the spirit of revelation, makes them satisfied. Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. “How easy it would be for your leaders to lead you to destruction, unless you actually know the mind and will of the spirit yourselves.” This has been my exhortation continually.” Let every man and woman know, themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blink self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken the influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. “What a pity it would be, if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. “President Joseph Smith read the 14th chapter of Ezekiel – said the Lord had declared by the Prophet, that the people should each stand for himself, and depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish Church – that righteous persons could only deliver their own souls – applied it to the present state of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall – that they were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves.” If not then we will see the inevitability of complete socialism, probably within our lifetime.Back to Mormon Quotes Index 1st Message – Think for yourself: But let us hope that this time around, the trend can be reversed. If I do not have that right as an individual, then I cannot delegate it to government, and I cannot ask my government to perform the act for me…In reply to the argument that a little bit of socialism is good so long as it doesn't go too far, it is tempting to say that, in like fashion, just a little bit of theft or a little bit of cancer is all right, too! History proves that the growth of the welfare state is difficult to check before it comes to its full flower of dictatorship. Do I as an individual have a right to use force upon my neighbor to accomplish this goal? If I do have such a right, then I may delegate that power to my government to exercise on my behalf. No one has the authority to grant such powers, as welfare programs, schemes for re-distributing the wealth, and activities which coerce people into acting in accordance with a prescribed code of social planning. “A category of government activity which, today, not only requires the closest scrutiny, but which also poses a grave danger to our continued freedom, is the activity NOT within the proper sphere of government.
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