That You May Not Be Deceived

This is a great talk I was recently given by a good friend. Thought it was worth sharing again here. This is an address given at Brigham Young University by Elder Spencer W Kimball in 1959.

THAT YOU MAY NOT BE DECEIVED

ELDER SPENCER W. KIMBALL

ADDRESS GIVEN TO THE BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY STUDENTBODY

November 11, 1959

"My beloved young brothers and sisters: I am grateful for this opportunity to speak to this inspiring audience of elect young people of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In recent months I have had interviews with a number of people who have been confused and frustrated in the deceptions of those who would lead them to destruction.

It would be most gratifying if we could feel that every one of you is fully fortified against such onslaughts of the enemy and it is my hope to offer to you a few thoughts which might protect you, should you ever be approached by those who would rob you of your faith and of your salva-tion.

These are momentous days, the last days, when there will be numerous deceptions, when the very elect will be deceived and destroyed except for protections which only the individual may build for himself.

When I was on my early mission I drew in the back of my Bible the of an image depicting the successive kingdoms which would rule the world through the centuries: King Nebuchad-nezzar had besieged Jerusalem and had carried Judean captives into Babylon, together with their priceless sacred vessels from the House of the Lord. Among the captives was Daniel, a clean, worthy, courageous young man and one who was responsive to the inspiration of the Lord.

The king in his distorted sleep had an impressive dream which troubled him greatly, but when his magicians, astrologers and sorcerers had come at his command to interpret the dream, he had forgotten its details. Harsh measures were threatened, even to the death of these men. They answered that if he would reveal the dream, they would interpret it. They said:
.. .There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter; therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked, such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.

And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. (Daniel 2:10-11.)
A royal decree then went forth from the dictator that all the wise men should be destroyed and since Daniel fit into that category his life was also jeopardized. Daniel and his three companions earnestly sought deliverance through prayer to the Lord:
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, setteth up kings:....
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou. God of my fathers, who given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter (Daniel 2:19-21, 23.)

He then made known through proper channels that he would reveal the dream and the inter-pretation thereof, and the great king asked the direct question if he, Daniel could really do so; to which he answered that the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians and the soothsayers would not be able to ever reveal the dream nor its interpretations:

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy Lord, are these;
As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets known to thee what shall come to pass. (Daniel 2:28, 29.)

Daniel modestly disclaimed any wisdom but gave credit to the Lord, and gave in detail the dream with the interpretation. He then drew a picture of the great image with its head of fine gold his breast and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay, saying:
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. (Daniel 2:34.)

The iron, clay, brass, silver and gold became like chaff of the threshing floor, and were carried away by the wind and seen no more, but the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

His interpretation followed, indicating a succession of empires. The kingdom of Nebu-chadnezzar would be replaced by another, and then a third would take the spotlight, and then a fourth, the latter of which would break into many kingdoms.

Then came the colorful, spectacular prophecy recorded thousands of years before its ful-fillment.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:44.)

And Daniel concluded with this statement;
...and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. (Daniel 2:45.)
I know, and Latter-day Saints in general know, that in 1830 this prophecy was fulfilled and the God of heaven did set up his kingdom and likewise we know that “the kingdom shall not be left to other people,” and “shall never be destroyed” and “it shall stand for ever.”

This one scripture, which has been accepted by the Church of the Restoration, should be sufficient to satisfy every cultist or critic of the true Church of Jesus Christ, and should make him not only believe and tremble, but cause him to be afraid to kick against the pricks and to fight against the Church of the Lord.
Apostasy usually begins with question and doubt and criticism. It is a retrograding and devolutionary process. The seeds of doubt are planted by unscrupulous or misguided people; and seldom directed against the doctrine at first, but mete often against the leaders.
They who garnish the sepulchers of the dead prophets begin now by stoning the living ones, they return to the pronouncements of the dead leaders and interpret them to be incom-patible with present programs. They convince themselves that there are discrepancies between the practices of the deceased and the leaders of the present. The Lord speaking to such said:
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
...ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been par-takers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Wherefore ye we witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.... (Matthew 23:24-25, 29-31.)

Apply this to modern times and you have the so-called reformers. Many budding apostates follow the pattern progressively. They allege love for the gospel and the Church but charge that leaders are a little “off the beam.” Soon they claim that the leaders are making changes and not following the original programs. Next they say that while the gospel and the Church are divine, the leaders are fallen. Up to this time it may be a passive thing, but now it becomes an active resistance and frequently the blooming apostate begins to air his views and to crusade. He is likely new to join groups who are slipping away. He may become a student of the journal of discourses and is flattered by the evil one that he knows more about the scriptures and doctrines than the Church leaders who, he says, are now persecuting him. He generally wants all the blessings of the Church: membership, its Priesthood, its temple privileges, and expects them from the leaders of the Church, though at the same time claiming that these leaders have departed from the path. He now begins to expect persecution and adopts a martyr complex and when finally excommunica-tion comes he associates himself with other apostates to develop or strengthen cults. At this stage he is likely to claim revelation for himself; revelations from the Lord directing him in his inter-pretations and his actions. These manifestations are superior to anything from living leaders, he claims. He is now becoming quite independent.
He fails to recognize that if the Church had gone astray, and if its authorities were “off the beam,” that he could get no authority from them or from anywhere else.

He who quotes so glibly from Brigham Young and his contemporaries seems to forget that in the days of that Brigham Young, there were many who would not accept his pronounce-ments but quoted the Prophet Joseph Smith. And numerous were they of the day of Joseph Smith who questioned his interpretations and quoted the dead sepulchered prophets. These apostates seem to forget that the very Christ himself was not accepted by most of his contemporaries.

John the Baptist preaching the Christ was met with the same brand of criticism and self-righteous egotism. To the arrogant Pharisees and Sadducees he asked:

.. .who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

And think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these to raise up children unto Abraham. (Matthew 3:7-9.)

And Jesus himself was met with the same apostasy, “We be Abraham’s” the boasters said, to which the Lord replied:

I know that ye are Abraham’s seed, but ye seek to kill me because my word hath no place in you.
Again they countered, “Abraham is our father,” to which the Lord replied:

If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me... this did not Abraham.

Ye do the deeds of your father.
Ye are of your father the devil, end the lusts of your father ye will do... When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:...

“Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?” these apostates had the temerity to ask of the Lord of heaven and earth. The Savior said,...Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad. Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:30, 37, 39, 41, 44, 53, 56, 58.)

And the pretenders took up stones to assassinate him. At another time he cried out in anguish:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Behold, your house it left unto you desolate. (Matthew 23:37-38.)
History repeats itself. As the critics of the Redeemer still worshiped Abraham and the critics of Joseph Smith could see only the Savior and His apostles, and as the apostates of Brigham’s day could see only the martyred Joseph, now there are those who quote only the dead leaders of the pioneer era.

Some of these people disappointed, perhaps ignored in their ambitions, hungry for lea-dership, are deceivers of the first order. To them there is little help we can give. Others are the deceived, the confused and frustrated, honest and sincere at least in their first movements. To these we speak in the words of the Lord:
Return unto me and I will return unto you. (3 Nephi 24:7.)

To them we bear testimony: The kingdom of God is on the earth with all its gifts, bless-ings, doctrines, ordinances and with its divinely called leadership. To them we plead: leave your deceivers, cleanse your lives, return to love and faith and peace.

We remind the confused and deceived ones that these are the days, the latter days, when the kingdom now established would never be destroyed nor fall, but also that these are the last days in which false prophets and false christs should arise and show great signs and wonders, so great indeed that “if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:24.)

It is the Lord himself who, in Matthew, chapter 24, is speaking to his people concerning these last days before the end of the world, and it is He, himself, who endorses Daniel, the prophet, and his aforementioned prediction. It is the Redeemer who says that in these last days shall be great tribulation.
...such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days he shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. (Matthew 24:21-23.)
These are the last days and Lucifer, the arch deceiver, who, recognizing the rapidly shortening tame to his conquest of the people of this world, is exerting every effort. Deceptions will increase; cults will become more numerous: more and more of the weak and faithless will fall by the wayside.

The confused one says, “But these dissenters tell me that there is no revelation in the Church today.” How wrong they are!

The Lord told Peter that upon the rock of revelation the Church is built. And upon revela-tion it is founded each time it has been upon the earth, Revelation has continued without inter-ruption to all the successive presidents of the Church. Revelation today is common, continuous, and compelling. With sixteen years in the High Councils of the Church I have seen at first hand the work of the Lord unfold under the rock of revelation and this under three presidents of the Church.

In 1839 while in Liberty Jail the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out in his agony not only at the mobocrats who turned the jail key on him but those of the Church who charged him with transgression, whose hearts were corrupted, to the telling words of the Lord:

Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.

But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.

Wo unto them; because they have offended my little ones they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house.

Their basket shall not be full, their houses and their barns shall perish, and they themselves shall be despised by those that flattered them.

They shall net have right to the priesthood, nor their posterity after them from generation to generation.
It had been better for them that a millstone had been hanged their necks, and they drowned in the depth of the sea. (D&C 121:16, 17, 19-22.)

The budding apostate closes his eyes to these statements and of course will not apply it to himself.
The word of the Lord to Oliver Cowdery through the prophet, Joseph Smith, in Sep-tember of 1830, applies to all members of the Church:
And thou shall not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the Church;
For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead. (D&C 28:6-7.)

Oliver Cowdery was permitted to write his ideas and own interpretations, but not by way of commandment, that being left to the president of the Church, ... no one shall be appointed to receive commandments in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. (D&C 28:2.)
...until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead. (D&C 20:7.) The Church has never been without its false claimants of revelations and authority. As early as February 18, 1831, some members of the Church were disturbed by the false assertions of others who claimed to be receiving revelations. As an example one of the members, Hiram Page, claimed to be receiving revelations for the Church through a certain stone in his possession. Some members had already been deceived by his statements. The Lord sought to protect innocent members from danger by commanding Oliver Cowdery to stop the deception.
...take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written tram that stone are not of me, and that Satan deceiveth him; (D&C 28:11.)

This is understandable in the early days when all the members were recent converts from churches with wholly different standards, doctrines, and practices, and they did not understand that while inspiration and even revelation is available to every individual for himself to every head of family, for his family, to every bishop for his ward, to every stake president for his stake, yet none of these will receive revelation for the Church, and any revelations they receive for themselves will always parallel and never counter the major revelations to the prophets of the Lord.

To offset these spurious claims and false teachings the Lord revealed, through the prophet, Joseph Smith:
For behold, verily verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations from my hand, [This was addressed to the Elders of the Church.]

And this ye shall know assuredly—that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken.... (D&C 43:2, 3.)

How would anyone dare to lift up his heels against the Lord’s anointed? How would one have the rashness to swear falsely against the Lord’s servants? How would one dare to be critical when severance from the Church and the ordinances of the House of the Lord would follow, bring-ing a less of the priesthood, and even the loss of his own posterity and the damnation of his own soul may be the penalty?

When we think of the certain increasing deceptions of the latter days we return to the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 28, where the Lord stated again to Oliver Cowdery:

For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.

For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith. (D&C 28:12, 13.)
Again, the succession to authority, to the keys, to the oracles, to the revelations is covered in Section 90:
Therefore, them art blessed from henceforth that bear the keys of the kingdom given unto you? which kingdom is coming forth for the last time.

Verily I say unto you, the keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you, while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come;
Nevertheless, through you shall the oracles be given to another, yea even unto the church. (D&C 90:2-4.)

The Prophet, Joseph Smith, conferred upon the twelve apostles every key, right, au-thority and power to be held by them in a dormant state, to be activated when the proper time came. The death of the prophet left all the keys in the hands of the twelve. Brigham Young, being the President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, and properly called of the Lord, approved by the Council of the Twelve and the people, became the new president and the keys he had held many years now became operative. This followed in succession through the various Church presidents from Joseph Smith to President David O. McKay.

If the spirit of the Lord is still striving with the apostatizing individual he may yet he recov-ered. But if he, like Martin Harris, boasts in his own judgment and strength and ignores the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, there is little hope for him and none except through real repentance. Joseph Smith was chastised by the Lord for turning over the plates to him.

Who has set at naught the counsels of God, and has broken the sacred promises which were made before God, and has depended upon his own judgment and boasted in his own wisdom. (D&C 3:13.)
The story of Martin Harris has some very sad chapters.

If one rejects the Holy Spirit long enough, then the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with him and leaves him to his own devices to fight out his own battle with the master of deception.
To the sincere, honest but confused person there is a way back. Recovery is possible. One must live all the principles of the gospel. He must repent of all his sins and errors, and he must build back his faith and confidence in the leadership of the Church by severing all of his ties with those who are at variance with the Lord’s Church and his leaders.

There are lines of defense for him who has been assailed by the deceivers. If the confused one is in doubt, let him ask of the pretending leader: Were you sustained and approved by the body of the Church? Early the Lord indicated this safeguard against imposters. Changes in policy, practice or doctrines will be approved by common consent of the Church. Hear the Lord:

Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and thy servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell.
...neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants.
For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in. the church.... (D&C 28:10, 12-13.)
Outlining procedures for the Church, the Lord said:
No person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where there is a
regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of that church; (D&C 20:65.)
Again, And all things shall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and faith.... (D&C 26:2.)
8
And now, I give unto the church in these parts a commandment, that certain men among them shall be appointed, and they shall be appointed by the voice of the church; (D&C 38:34.)
And once again, And a commandment I give unto you, that you should, fill all these offices and approve of those names which I have mentioned, or else disapprove of them at my general conference; (D&C 124:144.)

Accordingly the voice and sustaining by the people is a most vital element in leadership.
In the Apostolic times men did not set themselves up in offices but were called and sus-tained. The case of Matthias is a good example:

And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:23-26.)

Or, in other words, the vote that was cast for Matthias was the vote of the Church and made it operative and proper. Again, one is assured through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Everyone is entitled to the revelations of the Lord for himself.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:5.)
If one lives in total harmony and faith, sustaining the authorities of the Church and lives all the principles, the spirit will guide him; but if he gets arrogant and sets himself up as a final judge, he may be deceived.
O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. (2 Nephi 9:28.)
Those of us who have had experiences with many people who are on their way to apostasy know that to be true. The spirit will strive and plead and persistently encourage one in the path of correct thinking, but there comes a time finally when if he is driven away enough times by one who is boastful and proud of his own knowledge and power, and one who admits the deceiver,...behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdraw, Amen to the priesthood or authority of that man.
Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. (D&C 121:37, 38.)

Wisely the Lord has given men still another fortification against the enemy of lies and deceit. Paul expressed it clearly and unmistakably:

And he gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4:11-14.)
To every member of this Church, the Lord has given leaders on three levels: the Bishop or Branch President, the Stake President or the Mission president, and the General Authorities, These leaders are dependable. One of them may be limited in knowledge, education or training, but he is entitled to the revelations of the Lord for his people and he has the channel open to God himself. The leaders will never deceive the earnest confused one. These pastors, teachers, apostles and prophets are given for that very purpose to counteract the wavering, deceived and frustrated person who like children are “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine....”

Apostasy was in the primitive church. Disputations as to doctrine and procedures and performances were prevalent. The leaders took steps to clarify matters and assert their proper leadership.

Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (Acts 15:22-25.)

Paul knew that there would be deceivers, deliberate, intentional vicious ones and also blind guides who would lead themselves and their followers into the ditch. Inspired Paul give us the key which is always dependable. Chosen, approved, ordained leaders will protect us against “the slight of men, and cunning craftiness.” One can never be deceived if he protects himself against the blind or vicious guide by following the spirit and the proper leaders of the Church.

Like the oft repeated camel story, an individual does not go sour in a day. It is a gradual process. You remember the proverbial camel which begged his master to let him put his nose through the flap of the tent to get out of the blasting storm on the desert. With his nose in, he next asked to put in his eyes and head, which were sand-blasted, and when they were in, he begged protection for his front quarters, his torso, his hind quarters and tail, and when solidly set in the tent, he kicked the master out.

The best protection against one ever leaving the Church in apostasy is to keep the flap door closed. Lucifer cannot enter a locked door. He is ready always to accept invitations and when he has a toe hold, his legs follow with his body, head and all his evil machinations.

Each individual then may be certain of a place, if he will keep his hands clean, his heart pure, his faith undaunted, his trust in the Lord and in Church leaders. I give to you absolute as-surance that the time will never come when the kingdom established will ever fall; that is will ever be given to another people or that the chosen leaders will ever falter. Some individuals may falter and lose the faith, but the Church never. I know that President McKay, as well as his prede-cessors, is called of God for this high place as the leader of this people. I know that he not only occupies the chair of the prophet of God, but he is the divinely appointed one and holds all the keys of the kingdom.

May you always keep your armour on and your defenses up and fully protect yourselves against the foe and his subtle deceptions. Satan would like to have you, to sift you as wheat. You are precious, each of you. We love you much. God bless you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Men's hearts shall fail them

I found this video this morning and thought it was very meaningful especially for those who are facing challenges that have crippled them with fear. I hope you find it meaningful.

Remember Lot's Wife

Here is a great talk about overcoming and not looking back. Sometimes we have a tendency to go back to the challenges of the past. Or we struggle to have the faith to move forward and into new opportunities. We sometimes lack courage to move forward. The talk also addresses our challenge of leaving the past in the past. He talks about forgiveness and marriage.

Before we get into the talk. Here is a fun video about the story of Lot's Wife told by the average guy. :)

Remember Lot’s Wife

JEFFREY R. HOLLAND

Jeffrey R. Holland was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

when this devotional address was given on 13 January 2009.

© Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Speeches, 218 University Press Building, Provo, Utah 84602.

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You all look so good. Sister Holland walked in and said, “I think I’m going to cry.” You have to understand: Give yourselves 20 or 30 years—then you’ll know how we feel coming back here.
We love this campus. We’re thrilled to be with you on it, and we love you personally with all our hearts.

You have had, will have, and now have better university presidents than I was, but you’ll never have one who loves you and loves this university more than I do. Thank you for serving here, and thank you for being in attendance on a bright, clear, January morning.

We are grateful to President and Sister Samuelson for their kindness and their leadership at this university. We actually know something about their jobs and what they entail. You and we are very lucky to have them at the helm of this special school, and we praise them publicly for the time they spend, the success they are having, and the strength that they bring. I loved every word of their counsel to you last week, and I pray that my remarks to you today are consistent with their messages about light, about trust, and about the privilege it is to have the gospel of Jesus Christ enhance our study at BYU. President and Sister Samuelson, we do love you. You have our prayers, our gratitude, and our support.

The start of a new year is the traditional time to take stock of our lives and see where we are going, measured against the backdrop of where we have been. I don’t want to talk to you about New Year’s resolutions, because you only made five of them and you have already broken four. (I give that remaining one just another week.) But I do want to talk to you about the past and the future, not so much in terms of New Year’s commitments per se, but more with an eye toward any time of transition and change in your lives—and those moments come virtually every day of our lives.

As a scriptural theme for this discussion, I have chosen the second-shortest verse in all of holy scripture. I am told that the shortest verse—a verse that every missionary memorizes and holds ready in case he is called on spontaneously in a zone conference—is John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” Elders, here is a second option, another shortie that will dazzle your mission president in case you are called on two zone conferences in a row. It is Luke 17:32, where the Savior cautions, “Remember Lot’s wife.”

Hmmm. What did He mean by such an enigmatic little phrase? To find out, I suppose we need to do as He suggested. Let’s recall who Lot’s wife was.

The original story, of course, comes to us out of the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord, having had as much as He could stand of the worst that men and women could do, told Lot and his family to flee because those cities were about to be destroyed. “Escape for thy life,” the Lord said, “look not behind thee . . . ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed” (Genesis 19:17; emphasis added).

With less than immediate obedience and more than a little negotiation, Lot and his family ultimately did leave town, but just in the nick of time. The scriptures tell us what happened at daybreak the morning following their escape:

The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

And he overthrew those cities. [Genesis 19:24–25]

Then our theme today comes in the next verse. Surely, surely, with the Lord’s counsel “look not behind thee” ringing clearly in her ears, Lot’s wife, the record says, “looked back,” and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

In the time we have this morning, I am not going to talk to you about the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, nor of the comparison the Lord Himself has made to those days and our own time. I am not even going to talk about obedience and disobedience. I just want to talk to you for a few minutes about looking back and looking ahead.

One of the purposes of history is to teach us the lessons of life. George Santayana, who should be more widely read than he is on a college campus, is best known for saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Reason in Common Sense, vol. 1 of The Life of Reason [1905–1906]).

So, if history is this important—and it surely is—what did Lot’s wife do that was so wrong? As something of a student of history, I have thought about that and offer this as a partial answer. Apparently what was wrong with Lot’s wife was that she wasn’t just looking back; in her heart she wanted to go back. It would appear that even before they were past the city limits, she was already missing what Sodom and Gomorrah had offered her. As Elder Maxwell once said, such people know they should have their primary residence in Zion, but they still hope to keep a summer cottage in Babylon (see Larry W. Gibbons, “Wherefore, Settle This in Your Hearts,” Ensign, November 2006, 102; also Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1990], 47).

It is possible that Lot’s wife looked back with resentment toward the Lord for what He was asking her to leave behind. We certainly know that Laman and Lemuel were resentful when Lehi and his family were commanded to leave Jerusalem. So it isn’t just that she looked back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That, apparently, was at least part of her sin.

So, as a new year starts and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. Apparently she thought—fatally, as it turned out—that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind.

It is here at this moment in this little story that we wish Lot’s wife had been a student at BYU enrolled in a freshman English class. With any luck, she might have read, as I did, this verse from Edwin Arlington Robinson:

Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn,
Grew lean while he assailed the seasons;
He wept that he was ever born,
And he had reasons.

Miniver loved the days of old
When swords were bright and steeds were prancing;
The vision of a warrior bold
Would set him dancing.

Miniver sighed for what was not,
And dreamed, and rested from his labors;
He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot,
And Priam’s neighbors. . . .

Miniver cursed the commonplace
And eyed a khaki suit with loathing;
He missed the medieval grace
Of iron clothing. . . .

Miniver Cheevy, born too late,
Scratched his head and kept on thinking;
Miniver coughed, and called it fate,
And kept on drinking.
[Miniver Cheevy (1910), stanzas 1–3, 6, 8]

To yearn to go back to a world that cannot be lived in now; to be perennially dissatisfied with present circumstances and have only dismal views of the future; to miss the here-and-now-and-tomorrow because we are so trapped in the there-and-then-and-yesterday—these are some of the sins, if we may call them that, of both Lot’s wife and old Mr. Cheevy. (Now, as a passing comment, I don’t know whether Lot’s wife, like Miniver, was a drinker, but if she was, she certainly ended up with plenty of salt for her pretzels.)

One of my favorite books of the New Testament is Paul’s too-seldom-read letter to the Philippians. After reviewing the very privileged and rewarding life of his early years—his birthright, his education, his standing in the Jewish community—Paul says that all of that was nothing (“dung” he calls it) compared to his conversion to Christianity. He says, and I paraphrase: “I have stopped rhapsodizing about ‘the good old days’ and now eagerly look toward the future ‘that I may apprehend that for which Christ apprehended me.’” Then comes this verse:

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 3:13–14]

No Lot’s wife here. No looking back at Sodom and Gomorrah here. Paul knows it is out there in the future, up ahead wherever heaven is taking us where we will win “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

At this point, let me pause and add a lesson that applies both in your own life and also in the lives of others. There is something in us, at least in too many of us, that particularly fails to forgive and forget earlier mistakes in life—either mistakes we ourselves have made or the mistakes of others. That is not good. It is not Christian. It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ. To be tied to earlier mistakes—our own or other people’s—is the worst kind of wallowing in the past from which we are called to cease and desist.

I was told once of a young man who for many years was more or less the brunt of every joke in his school. He had some disadvantages, and it was easy for his peers to tease him. Later in his life he moved away from his community. He eventually joined the army and had some successful experiences there in getting an education and generally stepping away from his past. Above all, as many in the military do, he discovered the beauty and majesty of the Church and became very active and happy in it.

Then, after several years, he came back to the town of his youth. Most of his generation had moved on, but not all. Apparently when he returned quite successful and quite reborn, the same old mind-set that had existed before was still there, waiting for his return. To the people in his hometown he was still just old “so and so”—you remember the guy who had the problem, that idiosyncrasy, this quirky nature, and did such and such and such and such. And wasn’t it all just hilarious?

Well, you know what happened. Little by little this man’s Pauline effort to leave that which was behind and grasp the prize that God had laid before him was gradually diminished until he died about the way he had lived in his youth. He came full circle: again inactive and unhappy and the brunt of a new generation of jokes. Yet he had had that one bright, beautiful midlife moment when he had been able to rise above his past and truly see who he was and what he could become. Too bad, too sad, that he was again to be surrounded by a whole batch of Lot’s wives, those who thought his past was more interesting than his future. Yes, they managed to rip out of his grasp that for which Christ had grasped him. And he died even more sadly than Miniver Cheevy, though as far as I know the story, through absolutely no fault of his own.

That happens in marriages, too, and in other relationships we have. I can’t tell you the number of couples I have counseled who, when they are deeply hurt or even just deeply stressed, reach farther and farther into the past to find yet a bigger brick to throw through the window “pain” of their marriage. When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open up some ancient wound that the Son of God Himself died trying to heal.

Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is it charity? Yes! Above all, it is charity, the pure love of Christ. If something is buried in the past, leave it buried. Don’t keep going back with your little sand pail and beach shovel to dig it up, wave it around, and then throw it at someone, saying, “Hey! Do you remember this?” Splat!

Well, guess what? That is probably going to result in some ugly morsel being dug up out of your landfill with the reply, “Yeah, I remember it. Do you remember this?” Splat.

And soon enough everyone comes out of that exchange dirty and muddy and unhappy and hurt, when what God, our Father in Heaven, pleads for is cleanliness and kindness and happiness and healing.

Such dwelling on past lives, including past mistakes, is just not right! It is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is worse than Miniver Cheevy, and in some ways worse than Lot’s wife, because at least there he and she were only destroying themselves. In these cases of marriage and family and wards and apartments and neighborhoods, we can end up destroying so many, many others.

Perhaps at this beginning of a new year there is no greater requirement for us than to do as the Lord Himself said He does: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42).

The proviso, of course, is that repentance has to be sincere, but when it is and when honest effort is being made to progress, we are guilty of the greater sin if we keep remembering and recalling and rebashing someone with their earlier mistakes—and that “someone” might be ourselves. We can be so hard on ourselves, often much more so than with others!

Now, like the Anti-Nephi-Lehies of the Book of Mormon, bury your weapons of war, and leave them buried. Forgive, and do that which is harder than to forgive: Forget. And when it comes to mind again, forget it again.

You can remember just enough to avoid repeating the mistake, but then put the rest of it all on the dung heap Paul spoke of to those Philippians. Dismiss the destructive and keep dismissing it until the beauty of the Atonement of Christ has revealed to you your bright future and the bright future of your family and your friends and your neighbors. God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go. That is the thing Lot’s wife didn’t get—and neither did Laman and Lemuel and a host of others in the scriptures.

This is an important matter to consider at the start of a new year—and every day ought to be the start of a new year and a new life. Such is the wonder of faith and repentance and the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We started this hour with a little verse remembered from one of my BYU English classes. May I move toward a close with a few lines from another favorite poet whom I probably met in that same class or one similar to it. For the benefit of all BYU students in the new year of 2009, Robert Browning wrote:

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith, “A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”
[Rabbi Ben Ezra (1864), stanza 1]

Sister Holland and I were married about the time both of us were reading poems like that in BYU classrooms. We were as starstruck—and as fearful—as most of you are at these ages and stages of life. We had absolutely no money. Zero. For a variety of reasons, neither of our families was able to help finance our education. We had a small apartment just south of campus—the smallest we could find: two rooms and a half bath. We were both working too many hours trying to stay afloat financially, but we had no other choice.

I remember one fall day—I think it was in the first semester after our marriage in 1963—we were walking together up the hill past the Maeser Building on the sidewalk that led between the President’s Home and the Brimhall Building. Somewhere on that path we stopped and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Life that day seemed so overwhelming, and the undergraduate plus graduate years that we still anticipated before us seemed monumental, nearly insurmountable. Our love for each other and our commitment to the gospel were strong, but most of all the other temporal things around us seemed particularly ominous.

On a spot that I could probably still mark for you today, I turned to Pat and said something like this: “Honey, should we give up? I can get a good job and carve out a good living for us. I can do some things. I’ll be okay without a degree. Should we stop trying to tackle what right now seems so difficult to face?”

In my best reenactment of Lot’s wife, I said, in effect, “Let’s go back. Let’s go home. The future holds nothing for us.”

Then my beloved little bride did what she has done for 45 years since then. She grabbed me by the lapels and said, “We are not going back. We are not going home. The future holds everything for us.”

She stood there in the sunlight that day and gave me a real talk. I don’t recall that she quoted Paul, but there was certainly plenty in her voice that said she was committed to setting aside all that was past in order to “press toward the mark” and seize the prize of God that lay yet ahead. It was a living demonstration of faith. It was “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). So we laughed, kept walking, and finished up sharing a root beer—one glass, two straws—at the then newly constructed Wilkinson Center.

Twenty years later I would, on occasion, look out of the window of the President’s Home across the street from the Brimhall Building and picture there on the sidewalk two newlywed BYU students, down on their money and down even more on their confidence. And as I would gaze out that window, usually at night, I would occasionally see not Pat and Jeff Holland but you and you and you, walking that same sidewalk. I would see you sometimes as couples, sometimes as a group of friends, sometimes as just a lone student. I knew something of what you were feeling. Some of you were having thoughts such as these: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester or a new major or a new romance hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to go home?

To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come.”

My young brothers and sisters, I pray you will have a wonderful semester, a wonderful new year, and a wonderful life all filled with faith and hope and charity. Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep, and I leave a blessing on you—every one of you—to be able to do so and to be happy, in the name of Him who makes it all possible, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Meeting our Goliaths

The following is a talk given by President Thomas S Monson. This talk is full of wonderful examples of overcoming the challenges we face in life. President Monson shares five stones we can use to overcome. He also gives examples of Goliath type challenges that some face and how to overcome them. I hope the talk is helpful.

Meeting Your Goliath

BY PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

Meeting Your Goliath
Of all the battles that have been fought over many centuries in the area of the world known as the Holy Land, no single battle is better remembered than the one which occurred in the Valley of Elah during the year 1063 B.C. Along the mountains on one side, the feared armies of the Philistines were marshaled to march directly to the heart of Judah and the Jordan Valley. On the other side of the valley, King Saul had drawn up his armies in opposition.

Historians tell us that the opposing forces were about evenly matched in number and in skill. However, the Philistines had managed to keep secret their valued knowledge of smelting and fashioning iron into formidable weapons of war. The sound of hammers pounding upon anvils and the sight of smoke rising skyward from many bellows as the smiths went about the task of sharpening weapons and fashioning new ones must have struck fear into the hearts of Saul’s warriors, for even the most novice of soldiers would know the superiority of iron weapons to those of brass.

As often happened when armies faced each other, individual champions challenged others from the opposing forces to single combat. There was considerable precedent for this sort of fighting; and on more than one occasion, notably during the tenure of Samson as judge, battles had been decided by individual combat.

Now, however, the situation was reversed as far as Israel was concerned, and it was a Philistine who dared to challenge all others—a veritable giant of a man called Goliath of Gath. He wore heavy brass armor and a coat of mail. And the staff of his spear would stagger a strong man merely to lift, let alone hurl. His shield was the longest ever seen or heard of, and his sword a fearsome blade.

This champion from the Philistine camp stood and cried unto the armies of Israel: “Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.” (1 Sam. 17:8.)

His challenge was that if he were overpowered by an Israelite warrior, then all the Philistines would become servants to the Israelites. On the other hand, if he were victorious, the Israelites would become their slaves. Goliath roared: “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” (1 Sam. 17:10.)

For forty days came the challenge, met only by fear and trembling. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man Goliath, “fled from him, and were sore afraid.” (1 Sam. 17:24.)

There was one, however, who did not quake with fear nor run in alarm. Rather, he stiffened the spine of Israel’s soldiers by his piercing question of rebuke toward them: “Is there not a cause? … Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” (1 Sam. 17:19, 32.) David, the shepherd boy, had spoken. But he did not speak just as a shepherd boy. For the hands of the prophet Samuel had rested upon his head and anointed him; and the Spirit of the Lord had come upon him.

Saul said to David: “Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” (1 Sam. 17:33.) But David persevered; and bedecked with the armour of Saul, he prepared to meet the giant. Realizing his helplessness so garbed, David discarded the armor, took instead his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag; and with his sling in hand, he drew near to the Philistine.

All of us remember the shocked exclamation of Goliath: “Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? … Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.” (1 Sam. 17:43–44.)

Then David said: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

“This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand … that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

“And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

“And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

“And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it and smote the Philistine in the forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him.” (1 Sam. 17:45–50.)

The battle had been fought. The victory had been won. David emerged a national hero, his destiny before him.

Some of us remember David as a shepherd boy divinely commissioned by the Lord through the prophet Samuel. Others of us know him as a mighty warrior, for doesn’t the record show the chant of the adoring women following his many victorious battles, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands”? (1 Sam. 18:7.) Or perhaps we look upon him as the inspired poet or as one of Israel’s greatest kings. Still others recall that he violated the laws of God and took Bathsheba, she who belonged to another. He even arranged the death of her husband Uriah. I like to think of David as the righteous lad who had the courage and the faith to face insurmountable odds when all others hesitated, and to redeem the name of Israel by facing that giant in his life—Goliath of Gath.

Well might we look carefully into our own lives and judge our courage, our faith. Is there a Goliath in your life? Is there one in mine? Does he stand squarely between you and your desired happiness? Your Goliath may not carry a sword or hurl a verbal challenge of insult that all may hear and force you to decision. He may not be ten feet tall, but he likely will appear equally as formidable, and his silent challenge may shame and embarrass.

One man’s Goliath may be the stranglehold of a cigarette or perhaps an unquenchable thirst for alcohol. To another, her Goliath may be an unruly tongue or a selfish streak which causes her to spurn the poor and the downtrodden. Envy, greed, fear, laziness, doubt, vice, pride, lust, selfishness, discouragement—all spell Goliath.

The giant you face will not diminish in size nor in power or strength by your vain hoping, wishing, or waiting for him to do so. Rather, he increases in power as his hold upon you tightens.

The poet truly describes this truth:

Vice is a monster of so frightful mein,
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
(Alexander Pope, “An Essay on Man,” l. 217.)

The battle for our souls is no less important that the battle fought by David. The enemy is no less formidable, the help of Almighty God no farther away. What will our action be? Like David of old, “our cause is just.” We have been placed upon earth not to fail or fall victim to temptation’s snare, but rather to succeed. Our giant, our Goliath, must be conquered.

David went to the brook and carefully selected five smooth stones with which he might meet his enemy. He was deliberate in his selection, for there could be no turning back, no second chance—this battle was to be decisive.

Just as David went to the brook, well might we go to our source of supply—the Lord. What polished stones will you select to defeat the Goliath that is robbing you of your happiness by smothering your opportunities? May I offer suggestions.

The stone of COURAGE will be essential to your victory. As we survey the challenges of life, that which is easy is rarely right. In fact, the course that we should properly follow appears at times impossible, impenetrable, hopeless.

Such did the way appear to Laman and Lemuel. When they looked upon their assignment to go unto the house of Laban and seek the records according to God’s command, they murmured, saying it was a hard thing that was required of them. Thus, a lack of courage took from them their opportunity, and it was given to courageous Nephi, who responded, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Ne. 3:7.) The stone of courage is needed.

Next, I select the stone of EFFORT—mental effort and physical effort.

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Ladder of St. Augustine.”)

The decision to overcome a fault or correct a weakness is an actual step in the process of doing so. “Thrust in thy sickle with thy might” was not spoken of missionary work alone.

Then there must be in our selection the stone of HUMILITY, for haven’t we been told through divine revelation that when we are humble, the Lord, our God, will lead us by the hand and give us answer to our prayers?

And who would go forth to battle his Goliath without the stone of PRAYER, remembering that the recognition of a power higher than oneself is in no way debasing; rather, it exalts.

Finally, let us choose the stone of LOVE OF DUTY. Duty is not merely to do the thing we ought to do, but to do it when we should, whether we like it or not.

Armed with this selection of five polished stones to be propelled by the mighty sling of faith, we need then but take the staff of virtue to steady us, and we are ready to meet the giant Goliath, wherever, and whenever, and however we find him.

For the stone of COURAGE will melt the Goliath of fear. The stone of EFFORT will bring down the Goliath of indecision and procrastination. And the Goliaths of pride, of envy, of lack of self-respect will not stand before the power of the stones of HUMILITY, PRAYER, and DUTY.

Above all else, may we ever remember that we do not go forth alone to battle the Goliaths of our lives. As David declared to Israel, so might we echo the knowledge, “The battle is the Lord’s, and he will give [Goliath] into our hands.” (1 Sam. 17:47.)

But the battle must be fought. Victory cannot come by default. So it is in the battles of life. Life will never spread itself in an unobstructed view before us. We must anticipate the approaching forks and turnings in the road. We cannot hope to reach our desired journey’s end if we think aimlessly about whether to go east or west. We must make our decisions purposefully. Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty.

The vast, uncharted expanse of the Atlantic Ocean stood as a Goliath between Christopher Columbus and the New World. The hearts of his comrades became faint, their courage dimmed, hopelessness engulfed them; but Columbus prevailed with his watchword, “Westward, ever Westward, sail on, sail on.” (See Joaquin Miller, “Columbus,” in Ralph Henry and Lucile Pannell, comps., My American Heritage, New York: Rand McNally and Company, 1949, pp. 153–154.)

Carthage Jail, an angry mob with painted faces, and certain death faced the Prophet Joseph Smith. But from the wellsprings of his abundant faith he calmly met the Goliath of death. “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter,” he had said over a month earlier, “but I am calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward all men.” (History of the Church, 6:555.)

Gethsemane, Golgotha, intense pain and suffering beyond the comprehension of mortal man stood between Jesus the Master and victory over the grave. Yet he lovingly assured us, “I go to prepare a place for you … that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2–3.)

And what is the significance of these accounts? Had there been no ocean, there would have been no Columbus. No jail, no Joseph. No mob, no martyr. No cross, no Christ!

Should there be a Goliath in our lives, or a giant called by any other name, we need not “flee” or be “sore afraid” as we go up to battle against him. Rather we can find assurance and receive divine help from Him of whom David wrote in his inspired psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. … Yea, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” (Ps. 23:1, 4.)

Victory will be ours.