There are some conference talks that are simply prophetic. One of these is President Ezra Taft Benson’s talk: “A Witness and A Warning.”

My husband always carried around with him two talks, this one, and Bruce R. McConkie’s final testimony, “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane.” Years ago, I decided I was going to compile these two talks, with a few other exceptional conference addresses, into a book for him. That way, he could readily find them and use them in lessons, etc. (This was before Smartphones). This began my own personal interest in following the results of these conference prophecies. As I journey today through this General Conference Odyssey I particularly enjoy running across these talks and, once again, feeling the power of them.

As most of us remember, Pres. Benson was very politically savvy. He served as Secretary of Agriculture when Pres. Eisenhower was in office, at a time when agriculture was the most important commodity in the United States. Pres. Benson had quite a bit of power in the White House and a lot of respect. Because of his subtle example, prayers began being said during cabinet meetings.

In this talk, Pres. Benson bears witness to some powerful truths, such as America is where the Garden of Eden was located and where the great nations of the Jaredites and the Nephites lived. It’s where the fullness of the gospel was restored. This is a land that is choice above all other lands.

He testifies that the Monroe Doctrine was one of the most important proclamations ever formed by the United States government. He quotes from it in part: “The American continents … are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power.” This document alone sets the stage for America to become the cradle of liberty necessary for Jesus Christ’s church to be restored.

Pres. Benson’s talk warns us what will happen to this great nation if we squander this liberty. The Book of Mormon promises that if we keep the commandments, we shall prosper in the land, but if we are wicked we will be cut off (see 1 Ne. 2:19-21).

With this warning, Pres. Benson says,

“I am a witness to nations and people deprived of their freedom. … We seem to forget that the great objective of Communism is still world domination and control, which means the surrender of our freedom—your freedom—our sovereignty.”

Today, we battle Communism from across the world, but we feel confident our country will never allow this ideology to overpower us. Instead, we are more likely to become prey to Socialism, which is the kissing cousin to Communism.

A prophet of God lists four things we can do to “stave off a holocaust of destruction.”

• We must worship the God of this land and live the gospel.

  

• We must “awaken our senses” to the secret combination among us.
• We must “uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers.”
• We must become involved in the political process.

Relevant back in 1979, this talk is even more so today. Do we even recognize that our liberty is slowly being stolen away from us? And if we do, what are we doing about it?

Additional posts:

As You Persist, You Will Hear His Voice  G

On nursing and “long enough”  Marilyn Nielson