Since today is Memorial Day, I thought I would share here a talk a friend of mine wrote for church in 2017 and delivered on Sunday, from the pulpit. The bishop asked by (male) friend to speak on any General Conference talk he wanted and he chose Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear by Apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf who was then also a counselor in the First Presidency. On a day where we are bombarded with military and statist propaganda endlessly my friend had the courage to tell the truth about the pro-state, pro-military lies that inundate us and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its demand that we renounce violence and fear as means to achieving our social, political, or economic ends. Instead we must fully embrace the teachings of Jesus Christ and embrace His power to protect us and transform us, to create the better, safer world we all long for. In speaking on this topic he also talks about the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, the US military, the idolatry of worship weapons as if they can keep you safe, missionary work, serving our enemies, loving those who hate us, and the way to build Zion.
With one exception (a long quote from President Spencer W. Kimball) all quotations are directly from the talk which is linked above. The unquoted sections are my friends commentary and message built on what President Uchtdorf taught in his talk. The only liberties I have taken are the addition of pictures and links to articles where I have covered topics he mentions in his talk. The address picks up immediately below.
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[Opening remarks. Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Explain that this talk will be less like a traditional talk -where you have a theme you develop- and more of a commentary -me trying to understand and apply what President Uchtdorf is saying to the world we live in, “to liken his words unto ourselves.”]
Historically, fear has often been used as a means to get people to take action. Parents have used it with their children, employers with employees, and politicians with voters.
We smile at this and think we would never fall for such manipulation, but we sometimes do. Worse, we sometimes use similar methods to get others to do what we want.
My message has two purposes today: The first is to urge us to contemplate and consider the extent to which we use fear to motivate others—including ourselves. The second is to suggest a better way.
President Uchtdorf’s invitation here is help us to see how we as a people use fear to motivate each other. The Natural Man is a fearful creature by instinct. It’s the primate inside each of us, insisting on protecting their territory and seeing all others as a challenge to its position. But the New Man, born in Christ, is supposed to be something more, and to live differently. As I apply his words, I will use some very specific examples in my talk about how our society uses fear to try and manipulate and control each other and try and apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ as an alternative means for facing and solving the serious and sometimes terrifying problems of the world.
It is true that fear can have a powerful influence over our actions and behavior. But that influence tends to be temporary and shallow. Fear rarely has the power to change our hearts, and it will never transform us into people who love what is right and who want to obey Heavenly Father.
People who are fearful may say and do the right things, but they do not feel the right things. They often feel helpless and resentful, even angry. Over time these feelings lead to mistrust, defiance, even rebellion.
Fear has the appearance of functionality; it seems to work because those afraid of us do what we demand. Fear of punishment is used to void their agency, to make them too afraid of being hurt to do that thing of which we disapprove. But it doesn’t stop them from doing it, it just drives them into hiding while doing it. This often results in an increase in danger and violence, making the original offense even worse. We can see this in the way War on Drugs has been run and has failed so far. The more our society has tightened drug laws, the more we have made the punishments harsher – and you can today do more time for smoking marijuana in some states that you could for murdering someone – the less we’ve achieved. The result has only been a dramatic increase in the black-market drug trade and the growth of gangs, causing worse violence than ever before.
Is drug abuse something we should promote as a people? Certainly not. Would getting rid of such abuse lead to a more Zion like society? Certainly. Has fear, violence, and increased punishment accomplished that? Certainly not. Why? Because fear and violence may terrorize us into obedience as long as we believe we can be caught but they don’t convert us into good people. They don’t work to do they one thing necessary to end the crime we fear – they don’t change the hearts of minds of those committing them.
The Lord has said that “when we … exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, … the heavens withdraw themselves [and] the Spirit of the Lord is grieved.”
There are other ways we use fear to try and control people as well. To some degree the very basis of democratic law is the fear of the violence the majority can bring down upon the minority. This is a serious issue when we realize that “it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.” (D&C 121:39) It is the nature of those with the power to force others to obey them through the fear of violence, even when those in power are wrong. This, as President Uchtdorf notes, is out of sync with the will of God and as a result the Spirit withdraws from us as individuals and communities.
Now, undoubtedly some of you are thinking, “Well, if the system didn’t force people to do something and use violence against them to stop them from doing other things then we would have chaos. Therefore, as distasteful as it may be, ruling through fear is necessary for the social good.” To that, I quote President Uchtdorf:
There may be moments when we are tempted to justify our actions by believing that the end justifies the means. We might even think that to be controlling, manipulative, and harsh will be for the good of others. Not so, for the Lord has made it clear that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance.”
He says clearly there that the ends do not justify the means. To try and use the “common good” as a justification for doing that which God has forbidden is only to tell lies to yourself to justify sin.
What then do we need to do? What other means are there? To quote President Uchtdorf:
The more I come to know my Heavenly Father, the more I see how He inspires and leads His children. He is not angry, vengeful, or retaliatory. His very purpose—His work and His glory—is to mentor us, exalt us, and lead us to His fulness.
So, how does God motivate His children to follow Him in our day?
He sent His Son! God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to show us the right way. God motivates through persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. God is on our side. He loves us, and when we stumble, He wants us to rise up, try again, and become stronger.
He is our mentor. He is our great and cherished hope. He desires to stimulate us with faith. He trusts us to learn from our missteps and make correct choices.
This is the better way!
As He always is, Jesus Christ is the answer. His Gospel is the answer to the world’s rule by fear. It is the princes of the Gentiles who lord over people with power and it is Satan who seeks to reign with violence (blood) and fear (horror) on the Earth. The Saints on the other hand are commanded to renounce war and proclaim peace so that we can better live our covenant with God. The greatest among us is a servant. We pray for those who use us and serve those who hate us. Like the Sons of Mosiah, Abinadi, Alma and Amulek, and the brothers Lehi and Nephi, we are called to go among those who hate us, who would use us, who would kill us, and love and serve them. We do not kill our enemy. Like Christ, who we are commanded to be like, we seek not to slay but redeem. As D&C 98 records, we are commanded to renounce war and proclaim peace so that we more fully live our covenant with God. We must follow the example of God if we wish to fulfill our call to save the world. We must, in all our dealings personal, religious, political, everything, seek to follow Christ and motivate and rule out of a sense of love and sacrifice.
So, you may ask, what about defense? President Uchtdorf answers that question, teaching:
He has given us an abundance of reasons to rejoice. We just need to find and to recognize them. The Lord often reminds us to “be not afraid,” to “be of good cheer,” and to “fear not, little flock.”
As His covenant people, we need not be paralyzed by fear because bad things might happen. Instead, we can move forward with faith, courage, determination, and trust in God as we approach the challenges and opportunities ahead.
We do not walk the path of discipleship alone. “The Lord thy God … doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
In the face of fear, let us find our courage, muster our faith, and have confidence in the promise that “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.”
Do we live in a time of peril and turmoil? Of course we do.
God Himself has said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Can we exercise the faith to believe and to act accordingly? Can we live up to our commitments and sacred covenants? Can we keep the commandments of God even in challenging circumstances? Of course we can!
We can because God has promised, “All things shall work together for your good, if [you] walk uprightly.” Therefore, let us set aside our fears and live instead with joy, humility, hope, and a bold confidence that the Lord is with us.
The Psalms testify that arrows and swords, or in modern parlance, guns and bombs, will fail us. The only thing that will never fail us is God Himself. And the good news, the Gospel, is that when we walk in His paths, when we keep His commandments, when we are following the example of Jesus Christ, we will never have to worry about safety. God Himself will fight our battles. We will hold our peace and God shall be our buckler and shield. When Enoch went out alone to defend Zion, he but spoke and the very Earth itself obeyed his commands. When the Egyptians bore down on the hosts of Israel, Moses walked into the sea and it parted. When Jesus was threatened, He could pass unseen among those who would harm Him. When Peter, Lehi and Nephi were imprisoned, they were miraculously delivered by angels. When Zion’s Camp reached Missouri a storm fiercer than ever seen protected the Saints from armed attack. These, and many more examples, come back to the singular truth Elisha’s servant discovered when he had his eyes open, and he saw the legions of angels that protected the ancient Saints: They that be with us are more than they that be with them. The prophets ancient and modern promise that when we do as God says then no weapons will ever prosper against us.
Here, President Uchtdorf reminds me of President Spencer W. Kimball who said:
In spite of our delight in defining ourselves as modern, and our tendency to think we possess a sophistication that no people in the past ever had—in spite of these things, we are, on the whole, an idolatrous people—a condition most repugnant to the Lord.
We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel—ships, planes, missiles, fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching:
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:44–45.)
We forget that if we are righteous the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us—and this is the special promise to the inhabitants of the land of the Americas (see 2 Ne. 1:7)—or he will fight our battles for us (Ex. 14:14; D&C 98:37, to name only two references of many).”
We need not rule either in fear here at home or act out of fear abroad if we have faith in the promises of God. Indeed, that we do suggests our faith is weaker than it should be, that we are ruled by fear and not faith.
To continue with President Uchtdorf’s comments:
My beloved friends, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we ever find ourselves living in fear or anxiety, or if we ever find that our own words, attitudes, or actions are causing fear in others, I pray with all the strength of my soul that we may become liberated from this fear by the divinely appointed antidote to fear: the pure love of Christ, for “perfect love casteth out fear.”
Christ’s perfect love overcomes temptations to harm, coerce, bully, or oppress.
Christ’s perfect love allows us to walk with humility, dignity, and a bold confidence as followers of our beloved Savior. Christ’s perfect love gives us the confidence to press through our fears and place our complete trust in the power and goodness of our Heavenly Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ.
In our homes, in our places of business, in our Church callings, in our hearts, let us replace fear with Christ’s perfect love. Christ’s love will replace fear with faith! His love will enable us to recognize, trust, and have faith in our Heavenly Father’s goodness, His divine plan, His gospel, and His commandments.
Faith in Jesus Christ casts out fear, and removes our need to harass, bully, and hurt those who live differently than we do. This change must stretch to every part of our lives: our homes, our businesses, even our politics. If we are to be a Zion society, and that is the mission of this church-to build Zion- our faith must be reflected in how we live, in our laws, in our interactions with others. We cannot use the law to hunt, hurt, beat, and cage those who do nothing to harm others and merely live differently than we wish they would. This will not solve our problems, it will not convert them to our view, it will only increase the problem, bringing more violence to our streets and more hidden abuse and suffering. If we wish to convert our brothers and sisters from the enslaving ways of Babylon, we must love them as Christ loves them and seek to convert them, to change their hearts so they can be changed in the grace of Christ. And this is but one place where such a change could be made at home.
Our national actions abroad must change as well. A small example: In the fight against ISIS the USA has killed over 3,681 civilians -mostly women and children. In the last two days alone over 180 civilians – again, almost entirely women and children- have been killed. And this isn’t accidental. The US military is more than willing to kill over a hundred innocent people if it can also kill one or two potential ISIS fighters. This is no surprise as our current President vowed to kill the innocent civilian family members of any suspected “terrorist.” Is this something the Prince of Peace, who promises and end to all war, would do or something the prince of the world, who promises to purchase the militaries of the world to rule with violence and fear over all the Earth, would do?
Brothers and sisters, this is not a Democrat vs. Republican thing, or a Hillary vs. Trump thing, this is a disciple of Jesus Christ thing. What manner of men and women ought we to be? Even as He is. We have the cures to these problems of the world. We have the message of peace, the word of truth, the power of salvation here and hereafter. We have the power to reshape the world. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most revolutionary doctrine ever preached, calculated to lay the foundation of Zion, the kingdom of our God, a kingdom that will fill the whole Earth and crash to pieces all other nations and kingdoms. If we have the faith, we will have the power and protection of God to accomplish His work to perfect the Saints, preach the gospel, redeem the dead, minister to the poor and -in short- save the world from itself. Even if we are called, like Ammon, Alma, and Amulek, and the brothers Lehi and Nephi, to go among savage people who would torture us and possibly even murder us, if we live the Gospel we shall be Saviors on Mount Zion, messengers of peace and redemption that save the world. And, like the Anti-Nephi-Lehi people, even if any of us is called to make the ultimate sacrifice then not one of us will be lost as we convert our enemies into our friends.
Loving God and our fellowmen will turn our obedience to God’s commandments into a blessing rather than a burden. Christ’s love will help us become a little kinder, more forgiving, more caring, and more dedicated to His work.
As we fill our hearts with the love of Christ, we will awaken with a renewed spiritual freshness and we will walk joyfully, confidently, awake, and alive in the light and glory of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thank you for letting me address you today, brothers and sisters. I pray I have said something of value in all this and pray that God will bless and keep you. I know the church is true. I know that Jesus Christ loves us and is our Savior. I know that He speaks through modern prophets today and if we but have the courage to live His Gospel and follow their inspired counsel then we can transform the world. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.