Hidden Treasures and Warnings

I've always loved Elder Maxwell and his gift for words.  Honestly, when I would first hear him speak, I would catch very little of the real meaning.  But reading it through again, I'm hit by the depth of every word that is chosen.  Here is the most recent gem that I've found and again it was extremely pertinent and applicable.  (Especially in light of the previous post.)

We are now entering a time of incredible ironies. Let us cite but one of these ironies which is yet in its subtle stages: We will see a maximum, if

indirect, effort made to establish irreligion as the state religion. It is actually a new form of paganism which uses the carefully preserved and cultivated freedoms of western civilization to shrink freedom, even as it rejects the value

essence of our rich Judeo-Christian heritage.

Brothers and sisters, irreligion as the state

religion would be the worst of all combinations. Its orthodoxy would be insistent and its

inquisitors inevitable. Its paid ministry would be numerous beyond belief. Its Caesars would be insufferably condescending. Its majorities—when faced with clear alternatives—will make the Barabbas choice, as did a mob centuries ago when Pilate confronted them with the need to

decide. This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.

In its mildest form, irreligion will merely be condescending toward those who hold to traditional Judeo-Christian values. In its more harsh forms, as is always the case with those whose dogmatism is blinding, the secular church will do what it can to reduce the influence of those who still worry over standards such as those in the Ten Commandments. It is always such an easy step from dogmatism to unfair play—especially so when the dogmatists believe themselves to be dealing with primitive people who do not know what is best for them—the secular bureaucrats’ burden, you see.

Neal A. Maxwell, A More Determined Discipleship, Ensign Feb 1979