"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it" Winston Churchill
Serving a mission does lend itself to some downtime. At times my downtime is constructive, and at other times not so much. Where ever I am and with what I am doing it leads me to read something.
Last night was a long night in our office. Marcia was counseling several missionaries and interacting with two different Mission Presidents. That left me some downtime. One of the blessings of technology is the amazing storage capacity that is found in these small cell phones. I have a new phone that allows me to download some pretty cool apps. One of those apps is Gospel Library that is put out by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was able to download on to my itty-bitty phone 42 years of General Conference talks! Perhaps it leaves me little excuse to squander my time since now I can go way back to read what modern Prophets and Apostles have said over time.
 |
| Elder Mark E Petersen |
In a talk given in April of 1971, titled Warnings from the Past, Apostle Mark E. Petersen details to what happened to other civilizations living in this hemisphere. It is a very interesting read. I'll quote directly from his talk as an introduction:
"Three great civilizations have occupied the Western Hemisphere. Two have passed into oblivion.Those that disappeared died by virtual suicide. They brought about their own extinction as they defiled the land and defied their God by extensive crime, sexual deviation, and other loathsome sins of almost every kind."
What follows are some quotes directly from his talk that some say could be prophetic in nature.
From Roger Babson- at one time a leading economist:
"Only religion can prevent democratic rule from developing into mob rule. A nation can prosper only as its citizens are religious, intelligent, capable of service and eager to render it."
"Every great panic we have ever had has been foreshadowed by a general decline in observance of religious principles."
Abraham Lincoln:
"(America) need not fear no danger from without....If danger were ever to threaten the United States, it will come from within. 'As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide...."
"We have grown in numbers, wealth and power. ...But we have forgotten God. ...It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins,and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."
George Washington:
"...we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained. ...." (First inaugural address, April 30, 1789)
Daniel Webster
"If we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no one can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
It is not too late to remember....
jsf
No comments:
Post a Comment