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Wars, Rumors of Wars,
and Wise and Faithful Servants

As we hear of wars and rumors of war, as natural disasters increase, as old and new diseases spread, as iniquity abounds, even Saints are prone to give into the inclinations of the natural man and hunker down and avoid the battle against evil that we came to this earth to fight. As long as one's relatives, friends, and neighbors are safe and sound, it's tempting to write off "the world" and sit back and hope that the Lord comes soon. Brothers and sisters, if our bowels are not filled with charity for the whole world, we have not understood the parable of the good Samaritan. If we shun the fight, our lamps are likely to run out of oil, and before we know it, we may find the door shut before us and hear the Lord say to our request to enter, "I know you not" (Matthew 25:12).

No one can be faulted for hoping that the coming of the Lord is nigh. What we must guard against is the tendency to assume that it is too late for us to make a difference. We must pray for love to replace fear, for "there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18). As the Prophet Joseph Smith observed, "A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race" (HC 4:227).

As disciples of Christ we cannot give up. We have been commanded to seek peace. We have been told, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you," and we must follow these teachings if we would be worthy to be called the children of Him who "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44–45). Indeed, "blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).

I want to tell you about some peacemakers. It has been my great privilege over the years to associate with hundreds of students committed to working for peace. With surprising regularity students and others knock on my door or call and say, "You may find this strange, but I feel that I am supposed to study Arabic." These people, young and old, all have one thing in common: a strong desire to serve the Lord and work toward a better world. Some are only with us for a semester whereas others spend years and achieve impressive levels of fluency. All are peacemakers, bridge builders. Few things soften a person's heart toward a people like learning their language.

Let me tell you one student's story. In 1997 Alicia's family moved to Jerusalem as a result of her father's assignment to teach at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. While there she had the opportunity to travel to Jordan and attend church meetings with the members of the Amman Branch. She was frustrated that she could not speak with them and vowed that she would learn Arabic. True to her word, she enrolled in Arabic 101 the first semester of her freshman year here.

Like many students Alicia found Arabic challenging, but she pushed on, looking forward to returning to Jerusalem in January of 2001 to participate in our winter/spring intensive Arabic program. Less than three months before our scheduled departure, violence broke out in Jerusalem and quickly spun out of control. No students have been sent to Jerusalem since. As a result of remarkable prior events, however, our students ended up spending winter semester in Syria, a land where few Americans go.

Once in Damascus, the students applied themselves to learning Arabic. With the help of excellent teachers and good friends they gradually acquired facility in the language. Syrians are particularly proud of their language and were deeply impressed to see Americans striving to learn it. Thousands, if not millions, came to know about our students, who were regularly featured on radio and TV and in newspapers. Everywhere the students went, people recognized them.

All of the students spent time serving in the community. Of one such experience Alicia wrote in her journal:

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http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7684&x=69&y=2

Audio of this talk
http://www.ldsvoices.com/index.php?id=421

And CalJones and all other Christians, if you will indulge me, I would like to ask you one last question. I believe you all believe that we are the children of God. Now, consider the type of being that the Jesus Christ of the New Testament is, think of all that he taught and represented. Do you think He would condemn all the billions of people who have been born throughout history and lived their lives without even having the chance to hear about Christ? This may just be another example of misunderstanding the teachings of Christ in the 4 gospels, but it seems to me like that Christ would never condemn all of those people just because he decided that they should be born in that time and that place.

Before I definitively address your question, let me pose this this one to you ... for your thoughts and consideration ...
Do you not think it at all suspect that Mormon leaders teaders, essentially, teach their followers that they cannot understand the message of God for themselves ... that it must be interpreted for them ... by their church leadership ?
Do you really believe that God would allow the distribution of His Word to the world's people ... all the while knowing that ... they couldn't really understand it ?

This type of thought is quite similar to what the Catholics believe (i.e. that they must defer to the interpretation of the Catholic church) ... and, IMO, is really just a device which keeps people from seeking out God's truth for themselves.

Twenty-five years ago, I was in a situation where the validity of my christianity was challenged ... and the statement was made ... that I only believed what I did ... because that was what I was taught.

Aside from any other points made by my questioners, I recognized that on that score, ... they were right. I had not made my own search for God's truth.

I was in the unfortunate position of ... possibly being mistaken in my beliefs ... because those who taught me were mistaken.

I decided that night to do my own investigation of God's truth, ... so that when God asked me why He should allow me into His paradise ... I could say ... "Because You said so" ... rather than ... "Because they said so".

In the twenty-five years which have followed, ... I have not regretted for a moment that I took such a step. I am now grounded in my beliefs, ... and not because of what anyone else has said, ... but only because of what God has said.

Whatever your beliefs, ... I heartily encourage you to make this same type of investigation for yourself.

I would hate to be told by God that those men in whom I had placed my trust ... were wrong. Seek out God's truth for yourself. It will be a blessing to you ... and to those whose lives you touch.

Now, as to your question ... I believe that God loves His human creation (i.e. John 3:16) ... and that, for this reason, He has placed His truth out among us ... and at our disposal.

I believe that God will save ... all those who would desire to be saved.

I do not believe that there will be any souls lost ... because they didn't have access to His truth. I trust that God will get His truth to all those who might be blessed by it.

We should remember that many times God works in ways which we do not see ... and do not understand.

that He will bring all those who would be His children ... home.

The Old Testament Bible writing of Jeremiah supports me in this belief ...
Jeremiah 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.