Optimism Must Prevail

A good friend forwarded this to me, along with several other comments on this country given by prominent LDS leaders. But this one caught my attention in particular. It is so easy to identify and blame the leaders of this country--and some more rightly so than others--but we still have the responsibility to participate to make the positive changes we want to see.

Recently, at the Republican state convention here in Utah, a group of uber-conservatives got themselves selected as delegates with the idea that they would unseat Senator Bob Bennett. Bennett is a three term senator with a bit of power and quite some respect, as I understand it, among his colleagues. These state delegates didn't seem to have a plan beyond ousting Bennett.

As a result two newbies are running in the Republican primary for the senate seat. Neither will come in with the understanding Bennett had. Neither one seems interested in cooperating with the other party. Did no one listen in their civics classes about compromise and moderation?

This is what makes me crazy about our country. Reactionary measures taken that essentially cut off your nose in spite of your face.

It is also what makes me so incredibly weary of politics in general. President Lee's comments here remind me that I need to put the pessimism away and remember that this is the Promised Land! The Lord saved it and prepared it for a nation He had a hand in raising up. In the end, everything WILL be OK. We must work to retain the righteousness the Lord demand of His children who live in this blessed land. Everything else will work out for our good.


President Lee:

Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail.

This is the cradle of humanity, where life on this earth began in the Garden of Eden. This is the place of the New Jerusalem. . . . This is the place where the Savior will come to His temple.

We are living in a time of great crisis. The Country is torn with scandal and with criticism, with faultfinding and condemnation. There are those who have downgraded the image of this nation as probably never before in the history of the country.

I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world. . . . It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through.

We must be on the optimistic side. This is a great nation; this is a great country; this is the most favored of all lands. While it is true that there are dangers and difficulties that lie ahead of us, we must not assume that we are going to stand by and watch the country go to ruin. We should not be heard to predict ills and calamities for the nation. On the contrary, we should be providing optimistic support for the nation.

You must remember . . . that this church is one of the most powerful agencies for the progress of the world, and we should . . . all sound with one voice. We must tell the world how we feel about this land and this nation and should bear our testimonies about the great mission and destiny that it has.

If we do this, we will help turn the tide of this great country and lessen the influence of the pessimists. We must be careful that we do not say or do anything that will further weaken the country. It is the negative, pessimistic comments about the nation that do as much harm as anything to the country today. We who carry these sacred responsibilities must preach the gospel of peace, and peace can only come by overcoming the things of the world. Now, we must be the dynamic force that will help turn the tide of fear and pessimism.

(Excerpts from a talk given at Ricks College Devotional Assembly, “Have Faith in America,” October 26, 1973, and printed in two sources: Ye Are the Light of the World: Selected Sermons and Writings of Harold B. Lee, 340, 350-351, and The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams, 365-366.