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“News of the Church,” Ensign, Mar 1987, 75–80

President Benson Suggests Gifts of Service, Obedience to the Savior

“President Benson Suggests Gifts of Service, Obedience to the Savior,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 75–76

President Ezra Taft Benson, speaking at the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional at the Salt Lake Tabernacle December 7, spoke of the Savior’s many gifts to mankind and suggested what members might in turn give to Him.

The devotional was presented to a capacity audience at Temple Square and was telecast over the Church’s satellite network to more than a thousand meetinghouses throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

The services were conducted by President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency. President Thomas S. Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, also spoke to the congregation.

Speaking of the Savior, President Benson said, “First, he gave us the perfect model—himself—after which we are to pattern our lives.

“Not only did he set for us the perfect example,” President Benson added, “but for our sake he willingly gave his life. He went through agony in both body and spirit, which we cannot comprehend, to give us the glorious blessing of the Atonement and the Resurrection.

“Some men are willing to die for their faith, but they are not willing to fully live it,” he pointed out. “Christ both lived and died for us. By walking in his steps, and through his atonement, we can gain the greatest gift of all—eternal life.

“The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close can a life come to being like the Master’s, Jesus Christ,” the President noted. “He is the right way, the full truth, and the abundant life.”

The Savior’s second great gift was his Church, said President Benson. “There is no salvation or exaltation for us outside of the Church. … We must work with it and in it, build it up, and move it forward.

“The Church is true,” he added. “Keep its laws, attend its meetings, sustain its leaders, accept its callings, enjoy its blessings.”

The third gift President Benson mentioned was the gift of scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon.

“The Book of Mormon was written for our day,” President Benson noted. “Mormon, who compiled it, saw us in vision and was directed to put into the book those things God felt we would especially need in our time. We therefore should know the Book of Mormon better than any other book.”

President Benson urged members to read and study the Book of Mormon and understand its teachings. “I have noted within the Church a difference in discernment, insight, conviction, and spirit between those who know and love the Book of Mormon and those who do not,” he said. “That book is a great sifter.”

Regarding the gifts we can give the Savior in return, President Benson suggested we make a gift of “our lives and sacrifices, not only now but in the future.

“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. …

“Sacrifice is truly the crowning test of the gospel,” he said. “Men are tried and tested in this mortal probation to see if they will put first in their lives the kingdom of God.”

Members should give up their sins, President Benson said. “Why don’t we go all the way with the Lord—not part way? Why don’t we sacrifice all of our sins—not just some of them?” he asked.

President Benson talked about the premortal existence and how our memories are now veiled. “Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us,” he said.

“God loves us. He is watching us. He wants us to succeed. We will know some day that he has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfare of each of us.”

President Monson spoke about giving and about the spirit of Christmas.

“The spirit of Christmas is something I hope each of us would have within his heart and within his life, not only at this particular season, but throughout the year,” he said, adding that, “when we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the spirit of Christ.”

He then posed the question, “What gifts would the Lord have me give to him or to others at this precious season of the year?

“May I suggest an answer to this searching question? Our Heavenly Father would want each of us to render to him and to his Son the gift of obedience.

“I feel he would ask us to give of ourselves and not be selfish, nor greedy, nor quarrelsome,” President Monson said.

He pointed out that “in this marvelous dispensation of the fulness of times, our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.”

President Monson related a personal experience he had as a young boy. He had received a long-yearned-for electric train for Christmas, and his mother had purchased a less expensive windup train as a gift for a neighbor boy named Mark.

Before President Monson went with his mother to deliver the gift, he noticed that the windup train included an oil tanker car. He decided he wanted it for his own train, and pleaded with his mother to let him keep the car.

Finally she handed it over, saying, “If you need it more than Mark, you take it.”

Mark was thrilled with the gift and watched with joy as his new windup train, with only an engine and the two remaining cars, went around the track.

“Mother wisely asked, ‘What do you think of Mark’s train, Tommy?’

“I felt a keen sense of guilt and became very much aware of my foolishness,” he said. “I said to mother, ‘Wait just a moment; I’ll be right back.’ ”

He ran to his home, retrieved the oil tanker car, then added an additional car from his own set. Then he hurried back and said to Mark, “We forgot to bring two cars that belong to your train.”

President Monson reported that he “felt a supreme joy difficult to describe and impossible to forget” as he watched Mark’s lengthened train move around its track. “I had found the Christmas spirit.

“My prayer tonight is that each of us may discover anew the Christmas spirit—even the spirit of Christ,” he concluded.

[photo] The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, joined by the First Presidency and other General Authorities, sing during Christmas Devotional. (Photo by Gerald Silver, Deseret News.)

[photo] President Ezra Taft Benson

Gambling Is “Morally Wrong, Politically Unwise,” says Elder Oaks

“Gambling Is ‘Morally Wrong, Politically Unwise,’ says Elder Oaks,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 76–77

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Council of the Twelve, speaking at a Ricks College devotional assembly January 6, said gambling is both “morally wrong” and “politically unwise.”

He noted that lotteries and other forms of gambling are immoral and said that it is regrettable that governments would tolerate gambling and reprehensible that they would promote it.

Elder Oaks quoted the current First Presidency and earlier Church leaders in emphasizing the Church’s unyielding opposition to gambling in any form. He also quoted journalists, representatives of other religions, and government agencies who warn of the evils of gambling.

“Gambling is a game of chance that takes without giving value in return,” he said, adding that news coverage of lotteries and other gambling “only tells of the winners. All are encouraged to ignore the reality that the winner has been enriched at the expense of a multitude of losers.

“A state-sponsored lottery,” he said, “is sugar-coated with the phony sweetness of a good cause,” such as responding to state financial needs, while both moral and financial costs are ignored.

“Gambling tends to corrupt its participants,” Elder Oaks said. “Its philosophy of something for nothing undermines the virtues of work, industry, thrift, and service to others.”

Elder Oaks, a onetime state supreme court justice and former president of Brigham Young University, said gamblers commonly deprive themselves, often impoverish their families, and sometimes steal from others to finance their indulgence.

Seemingly innocent state-sponsored lotteries, he said, can ultimately lead to highly visible public gambling with its associated immoral influences of crime, prostitution, and alcohol.

Regarding political objections to gambling, Elder Oaks said, “Gambling is bad political policy. … A law that permits gambling is hard to justify, and a law that sponsors or promotes gambling is a sure loser.”

He cited several reasons gambling is politically unwise, including the fact that “gambling undercuts productivity and encourages crime.”

The philosophy of something for nothing “or sometimes for far less than it is worth is at the root of a multitude of crimes: theft, robbery, looting, embezzlement, fraud, and many other kinds of plunder.”

Elder Oaks quoted the editor of Saturday Review who said of New York State’s legalization of gambling, “The first thing that is obvious is that New York State itself has become a predator in a way that the Mafia could never hope to match.”

Gambling is also a costly way to raise revenue for public purposes, he said, citing the fact that between sixty to seventy-five cents of every dollar spent on lottery tickets goes to operating expenses and prizes. In contrast, most methods of state taxation cost only one to two cents to bring in each dollar of revenue. Elder Oaks quoted the 2 September 1986 issue of Newsweek: “The strongest case against lotteries may simply be that they are inefficient.”

Experience has shown, Elder Oaks said, that the effects of gambling impose increased government expenditures for social welfare and law enforcement.

“The social effects of gambling have been noted throughout history,” he said, citing the experience England had with lotteries in the nineteenth century. A Parliamentary committee described the effects of lotteries in 1808. The committee noted that people who had lived in comfort and respectability were “reduced to poverty and distress, domestic quarrels, assaults, and the ruin of family peace; fathers deserting their families, mothers neglecting their children, wives robbing their husbands of the earnings of months and years, and people pawning clothing, beds, and wedding rings in order to indulge in speculation.” England abolished lotteries a few years later.

Elder Oaks said advocates of legalized gambling argue that their games will eliminate illegal gambling, “but there is no evidence that this has occurred. Instead, legalized gambling wins new participants, which expand the market and the potential revenues of illegal gambling.”

He also noted that state lotteries provide only a small percentage of government revenues and that they primarily benefit only businesses such as gambling suppliers and convenience stores.

“As should be evident to every thinking person, a high proportion of all legislation has a moral base,” he said. “That is true of all the criminal law, most of the laws regulating families, businesses, and commercial transactions, many of the laws governing property, and a host of others.”

“Jesus taught us to give,” Elder Oaks said. “Satan, the adversary, teaches men to take—forcibly if necessary, deviously if feasible, continuously if possible. Whatever encourages men to take from one another without giving value in return serves the cause of Satan.

“Gambling is a game of chance that takes without giving value in return,” he added.

Elder Oaks quoted the words of Elder Richard L. Evans, formerly of the Quorum of the Twelve, regarding gambling: “At best it wastes time and produces nothing. At worst it becomes a ruinous obsession and fosters false living by encouraging the futile belief that we can continually get something for nothing.”

In conclusion, Elder Oaks urged Latter-day Saints to oppose and avoid participation in gambling in every form. “If members of our Church do not oppose immoral and pernicious practices, who will? If not now, when? We can make a difference! May God help us to do so.”

BYU Advanced High School Studies Program, Scholarships Open to Students Worldwide

“BYU Advanced High School Studies Program, Scholarships Open to Students Worldwide,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 77

The Advanced High School Studies Program offered by Brigham Young University’s Department of Computer Science is now accepting applications from outstanding high school juniors worldwide.

This year, the intensive eleven-day program is scheduled for August 3–14.

Applicants must be in the top 10 percent of their class and must have completed second-year algebra before the start of the program. No previous computing experience is necessary. All applicants accepted into the program will receive full scholarships.

Those completing the course can earn two semester hours of university credit for later enrollment at BYU.

For more information, write to AHSSP ’87, Department of Computer Science, 230 TMCB, Brigham Young University, UT, 84602 USA; or call (801) 378-3207.

Closed-Captioning for Hearing Impaired Now Available on LDS Satellite Telecasts

“Closed-Captioning for Hearing Impaired Now Available on LDS Satellite Telecasts,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 78

Many Church satellite telecasts and videotapes are now available with closed captions to aid the hearing impaired.

With the aid of a decoder, members with impaired hearing can now read what they cannot hear. The decoder allows dialog to appear on the screen.

The Church first used closed-captioning during its 1986 General Women’s Meeting and during three sessions of last October’s general conference. Many future satellite broadcasts will have closed captions, and priesthood leaders will be informed of them in advance.

In addition to the satellite broadcasts, the Church’s Curriculum Department is providing closed captions on many programs available on videocassette, including such films as “Mr. Krueger’s Christmas,” the six-tape scripture series titled “The New Media Bible,” and “The First Vision.”

To assist members with impaired hearing, the Church will share the cost of decoders with local units. To qualify for Church financial participation, branches, wards, or stakes must have hearing-impaired members who attend regularly and who use closed-captioned decoders in their homes. For information about ordering decoders, contact the Church Purchasing Division, 50 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150.

[photo] Decoders allow hearing-impaired members to read dialogue coded into many Church telecasts and videotapes. (Photography by Michael M. McConkie.)

20,000 Visit Copenhagen Nativity Exhibit

“20,000 Visit Copenhagen Nativity Exhibit,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 78

Some twenty thousand visitors came to the LDS Maglegaards Alle meetinghouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, during December to see the nativity scene on display there. The exhibit, which used eight thousand lights, was believed to be the largest such exhibit in Denmark.

A national telecast of the exhibit also showed a statue of Christ standing between models of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. This was the first time that concept had been shown in the national media.

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Council of the Twelve presided at the switching-on ceremony that lighted the exhibit December 7. “Jesus Christ is the Light of the world,” he said. “At this Christmas season it is appropriate to celebrate him with these beautiful lights.”

Also in attendance were Elder Carlos E. Asay of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Europe Area President, and Danish stake presidents Richardt Andersen and Knud B. Andersen.

Elder Nelson said that he hoped the lights would attract many people and remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. Most of the visitors were nonmembers.

Those who came to see the nativity scene were invited inside the meetinghouse to view exhibits showing the life of Christ in pictures, surrounded by quotations from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Many of the visitors requested more information about the Church.

Hurricane Damages LDS Homes in Cook Islands

“Hurricane Damages LDS Homes in Cook Islands,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 78

The homes of ten LDS families in the Cook Islands were either destroyed or seriously damaged January 3 as Hurricane Sally struck the South Pacific. No Church buildings were damaged, and missionaries were reported safe.

The hurricane did most of its damage along the waterfront in Avarua, Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands. Ninety-mile-per-hour winds and thirty-foot waves caused widespread destruction to buildings and boats, but no deaths were reported.

Some 450 members live on Rarotonga, with another 100 located on the neighboring island of Aitutaki; 94 members are on Mangaia.

The cultural hall of the branch meetinghouse, which was not damaged, provided refuge for members and nonmembers left homeless by the storm. A small farm home owned by the Church was also used for temporary shelter.

Update: Seminary and Institute Enrollment

“Update: Seminary and Institute Enrollment,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 79

Enrollment in Church Educational System seminary programs grew by 34,086 in the five-year period beginning with the 1981–82 school year, an increase of 17.8 percent.

Total enrollment in both seminary and institute programs increased by 34,452, or 11 percent, during that time. At the end of the 1985–86 school year, seminary and institute programs were operating in seventy-two countries and territories and in eighteen languages.

School Year	Seminary	Institute	Total	1981–82	191,623	121,648	313,271	1982–83	195,475	123,375	318,850	1983–84	205,616	126,762	332,378	1984–85	214,963	134,739	349,702	1985–86	225,709	122,014	347,723

Appointments

“Appointments,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 79

Mission Presidents

The First Presidency has called fourteen mission presidents to begin serving in July. The new mission presidents and their wives will receive their specific assignments later.

Benjamin B. Banks, a Salt Lake City native, is president of a lumber company. He has served as a bishop and stake president. Assisting him with his mission responsibilities will be his wife, Susan Kearnes Banks.

Douglas E. Brinley, associate director of the LDS Institute of Religion adjacent to Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, is a native of Ephraim, Utah. He has served as bishop and stake high councilor. He is married to Geraldine Ann Rosine Brinley.

Warren L. Burton, head of the Department of Music at Utah State University, is a native of Salt Lake City. He has served in a stake presidency and on a stake high council. His wife, who will assist with his mission responsibilities, is Alta Chugg Burton.

Daniel L. Copeland is a retail jeweler. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, he has served in a bishopric. He is married to Karen Ann Dahl Copeland.

James C. Fogg is senior vice-president of a chemical company. The Pocatello, Idaho, native has served as a bishop and stake high councilor. His wife is Arleen Lund Fogg.

Joseph Hamstead is a retired business executive from Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. He was born in Midvale, Utah. He has been a stake president, temple president, and regional representative. His wife is Mary Margaret Ball Hamstead.

Lennis M. Knighton, a professor of management at Brigham Young University, is a native of Moore, Idaho. He has served as a bishop and branch president and has also served on the General Church Adult Curriculum Planning Committee. He will be accompanied by his wife, Peggy Lee Thayne Knighton.

Helvecio Martins, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is an executive with an oil company. He has served the Church as a bishop and as a stake president’s counselor. His wife, Ruda Tourinho de Assis Martins, will assist him in his new assignment.

A. J. Mendonca is an employee of the Church Educational System. The Brazilian native previously had spent several years managing a radio station. He has served as a stake, branch, and district president. He is married to Yone Guarany Mendonca.

Enrique Moreno has business interests in Utah and Mexico. He is a native of Mexico City, Mexico. His Church service includes assignments as bishop and regional representative. His wife is Marilyn Ruth Westenskow de Moreno.

Kenneth L. Neal is an educator working with the Utah State Office of Education. The Perth, Australia, native has served as a stake president and stake high councilor. He will be accompanied by his wife, Rosa Elizabeth Newsome Neal.

Glenn C. Nelson, a native of Sandy, Utah, has been involved in several businesses. He has served as a stake president and bishop. His wife is Emma Jane Thornton Nelson.

Durrel A. Woolsey is owner and founder of an oil company. The Escalante, Utah, native is active in several other businesses, and is involved in civic affairs in Stockton, California. He has served the Church as a stake president and stake high councilor. He is married to LaRae Wood Woolsey.

Dan J. Workman, a native of Vernal, Utah, is a zone administrator and former teacher in the Church Educational System. He has served as a bishop and as a member of the Sunday School General Board. Assisting him with his mission duties will be his wife, Lola Barbara Gibbons Workman.

Board Member

Joyce S. Goodman, associate member of the Relief Society General Board, has been called as a national officer for the Church’s Lambda Delta Sigma sorority. She is married to Joseph E. Goodman.

Policies and Announcements

The following items appeared in the December 1986 Bulletin.

“Policies and Announcements,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 79–80

Resource Materials for New Testament Study

Several new items prepared to aid teachers and students of the New Testament are available at the Salt Lake Distribution Center. These might be placed in meetinghouse libraries where they could be used by teachers, families, and other Church members.

1. Bible Lands Posters (VVIS1452; $15.00 per set). This set includes eight full-color posters measuring 24 1/4 by 38 inches each. These high-quality posters display over 150 significant sites in the Holy Land, such as Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Mount Carmel, the Dead Sea, Samaria, Lower Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula. The set also includes a booklet of commentary that describes the sites shown on the posters.

2. Satellite Map of the Holy Land (VVIS1463; $5.00 per set of two posters). The set consists of two posters (which can be joined to make one large poster) offering a dramatic satellite view of the Bible lands, including cities, roads, mountains, valleys, seas, and rivers.

3. The New Media Bible Videocassettes (VNVV166A, VHS format, or VNVB1669, Beta format; $90.00 per set of six videocassettes, either VHS or Beta format; videocassettes are also available separately for $15.00 each). Major portions of the book of Genesis and the book of Luke have been recreated in a videocassette format. Filming by a nondenominational agency was done on location in the Holy Land after years of careful research. The dialogue is spoken in Hebrew, Aramaic, Egyptian Coptic, and Greek. A voice-over narration gives the biblical text in English. Three of the videocassettes portray episodes from the book of Genesis, and three portray episodes from the book of Luke, with a total playing time of approximately ten hours. The tapes are closed captioned for the hearing impaired who have decoding equipment.

4. Church Educational System Lands of the Scripture Slide Series. Slide set C, eighty slides of Jerusalem (PMSI0927; $11.75); slide set D1, fifty-three slides of Galilee (PMSI0938; $10.50); slide set E, forty-four slides of Central Israel (PMSI0949; $10.50); slide set F, seventy-six slides of Southern Israel (PMSI095A; $11.75). These colored slides depict scenes and places associated with the scriptures. A booklet accompanying each set contains commentary explaining each slide.

Antipornography and Antilottery Materials

The Church has produced half-hour radio and television public affairs programs and newspaper articles on the plague of pornography. Similar materials address the disturbing efforts to legalize and foster government sponsorship of lotteries. These materials are being distributed to the media, either by the Church Public Communications/Special Affairs Department directly or by local public communications directors, for publication and broadcast. The materials also are suitable for use in encouraging Church members and others to join in appropriate opposition to the distribution of pornography and legalization of lotteries. Additional copies may be ordered from the Public Communications/Special Affairs Department, (801) 531-3229.

LDS Scene

“LDS Scene,” Ensign, Mar. 1987, 80

Lt. Gen. Robert C. Oaks, one of the highest-ranking Church members in military service, became Commander of Allied Air Forces in southern Europe October 20. The three-star general is also deputy commander in chief of U.S. Air Forces in Europe for the Southern Area.

Avard T. Fairbanks, 89, who created many statues for the Church, died January 1 of complications from a heart attack suffered earlier. He sculpted the statues of the Angel Moroni atop the Jordan River, Seattle, and Washington temples. He also created monuments for the Church commemorating the tragedy at Winter Quarters. One stands on Temple Square and one at Florence, Nebraska. The renowned sculptor had received many honors during his lifetime, including a knighthood from the king of Greece. He married B. Maude Fox in 1918, and they were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

The Church has been presented an award for outstanding maintenance and beautification of the 8 1/2-acre site occupied by the Sydney Australia Temple and Pacific Area offices. Elder John Sonnenberg of the First Quorum of the Seventy and President of the Pacific Area said the award is particularly significant because it was presented by many of the same people who initially objected to the temple being built in the area.

A proclamation declaring a family week in San Antonio, Texas, and commending the Church for its support of the family unit was presented to San Antonio Texas West Stake President Jan Sterneckert and Texas San Antonio Mission President Dale Huntsman. The presentation was made by Yolanda Vera, San Antonio mayor pro-tem. Area members promoted the week with widespread publicity about the importance of the family.

BYU senior defensive lineman Jason Buck was voted the 1986 Outland Trophy winner November 29. The award is given to the best college lineman in the United States. Because he wanted to be an example to youths in the Church, Buck, who was named an All-American last year, declined an offer from an adult men’s magazine to promote him this year as a pre-season All-American.

In New York City, the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe from the Peoples Republic of China lost their interpreter but gained a pair of LDS missionaries for four days in December. The leader of the troupe, which travels with the Ringling Brothers Circus, was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. Elders John Day and Jeff Warburton, the only Mandarin-speaking missionaries in the New York New York Mission, temporarily replaced the interpreter for the troupe.

The State of California has approved reconstruction of the first San Diego courthouse, built in 1847 in that city’s Old Town section by members of the Mormon Battalion. The site of the original structure was pinpointed by excavation that also uncovered a button belonging to one of the battalion members.

Some five thousand Christmas gifts were distributed to families in sixty-three locations in North and South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Mexico by Brigham Young University’s American Indian Services and local communities. Some of the funds used were raised last summer at a golf tournament sponsored by the AIS at Utah’s Jeremy Ranch. The tournament featured professional golfer Johnny Miller, former U.S. President Gerald Ford, and comedian Bob Hope.

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