This Life is no Mistake

"We are privileged to live in a beautiful world. As we admire its majesties and beauties, with man as its final and crowning creation, we are filled with wonderment and awe. Surely these developments did not come about by mere chance, but must be the result of the handiwork of a divine and inspired architect and creator.

An illustrious biologist, after many years of study and meditation, concluded that "the probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the Unabridged Dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing office." (Professor Edwin Conklin, as quoted in Reader's Digest. April 1956.)

We are torn on every hand by man made intellectual theories and doctrines. And among us we have "doubting Thomases," who lack faith and who do not recognize a Heavenly Being as the creator of all these wonders. They cry out, "There is no God," or "God is dead."

We bear solemn witness that God does live and that the first principle of the gospel is to have faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and in God, our Heavenly Father. We further declare to the world and bear witness that we are the spiritual offspring of heavenly parents.

Our true genesis, we declare, is that we did not come here by chance or by a whim of nature, but we came here by divine right, which we earned because of our faithfulness in a previous estate. Our eternal spirits are clothed in mortal bodies made in the image of our Father. We do not remember what happened in that former estate, as a veil has been drawn that obscures our memory. We don't have all the answers

-Henry D Taylor
September 1970

There is no joy without struggle

"One of my esteemed colleagues told me of his efforts to aid a young college student who was feeling sorry for himself, who was lacking motivation and had no sense of responsibility. My friend made an attractive proposal to this young man. In a conversation that went something like this, he said, “Son, I’m going to take over full responsibility of your affairs from now on and relieve you of your worries. I’ll pay your tuition at college, buy your clothes, furnish you an automobile and a credit card for gasoline. When you get ready to marry, don’t worry about it; I’ll look for a wife for you, and I will supply you with a house that is furnished. I’ll support you and your family thereafter without any effort on your part. What do you think of my offer?”

After a moment of sobered thinking the young man replied, “Well, if you did that, what would there be for me to live for?”

Then my friend replied, “That is what I’m trying to make you see, my boy. That is the purpose of life—there is no joy without struggle and the exercise of one’s own natural abilities.”"

-Harold B. Lee
"A Time of Decision"
APRIL 1972