Ch. 5 of “Behold, I Come Quickly” By Hoyt W. Brewster

Hoyt W. Brewster (1994) Behold, I Come Quickly, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. Notes by Ken K. Gourdin

Here’s a link to the Preface: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2020/12/03/preface-of-behold-i-come-quickly-by-hoyt-w-brewster/

Here’s a link to Chapter 1: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2020/12/03/preface-of-behold-i-come-quickly-by-hoyt-w-brewster/

Here’s a link to Chapter 2: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2020/12/04/ch-1-of-behold-i-come-quickly-by-hoyt-w-brewster/

Here’s a link to Chapter 3: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/ch-3-of-behold-i-come-quickly-by-hoyt-w-brewster/

Here is a link to Chapter 4: https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2020/12/12/ch-4-of-behold-i-come-quickly-by-hoyt-w-brewster/

C2. Chapter 5: Satan’s Assault on the Family

1. The Father of Lies

a. Satan’s Assault on the Family a Significant Sign of the Last Days – Satan’s all-out assault on the family is a significant, dangerous sign of the last days. “He has an intense hatred of anything associated with the family—marriage, mother, father, children—for he will never be a true father. . . . [T]he adversary takes pleasure in the destruction of the family. Quickly 52, 53, ellipses and brackets added.

b. Characteristics of Satan and His Plan – Quickly 52.

i. Displace our Father in Heaven (“Give me thine honor”)

ii. Denial of agency

iii. Employment of force

iv. “[O]ne soul should not be lost” is a lie, because Satan could not force us to follow him

v. He could not have carried out the Atonement because he could not have borne the suffering required

vi. “A liar from the beginning” (D&C 93:25), “The father of all lies” (2 Nephi 2:18, Moses 4:4)

c. Victor L. Brown: Satan’s Arsenal of Weapons – Of Satan and those who followed him, Bishop Victor L. Brown said, “In their battle to enslave mankind, they use weapons such as selfishness; dishonesty; corruption; sexual impurity, be it adultery, fornication, or homosexuality; pronography; permissiveness; drugs; and many others. . . . (Ensign, January 1974 108.)” Quickly 53, ellipses added.

d. Evidence of Assault on the Family – “[D]ivorces, spouse and child abuse, broken homes, absentee parents, and abortions all bear witness to the assault being made on the family.” Additional evidence: Single parents, illegitimacy. Quickly 53.

2. The Breakdown of the Family

a. Family Responsible for Moral Education, So Morals Break Down as the Family Breaks Down: William Barr – “[The] breakdown of the family is particularly distressing because it is the family that is the principal institution by which we conduct moral education—by which we transmit moral values from generation to generation. [¶] As the family is weakened, so is our ability to transmitvalues to the next generation. [¶] And, it is the breakdown of the family that is the root of most of our social problems today.” William P. Barr (October 6, 1992), “The Judeo- Christian Tradition vs. Secularism,” speech to the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights at Quickly 54.

b. New Zealand Minister of Police John Banks on the Importance of Families – “It is within the family that children learn such values as love, responsibility, communication, respect for authority and faith in God. They learn about living up to one’s potential, leaving the world a better place, doing the right thing and doing things right . . . [¶] The destruction of the family unit provides the setting which leads young people to the treadmill of drug abuse and crime. Children need mothers and fathers. A welfare cheque [sic] is not a husband. The State is not a father. Where there are not mature, responsible parents around to teach boys how to be good citizens, gangs often serve in their place.” John Banks (September 1, 1993), “Make Our Country Good and Great,” Vital Speeches of the Day 682 at Quickly 55, ellipses in original.

3. Absentee Parents

a. The Importance of Fathers in the Home – “Among the most difficult social problems of our day is the rise in juvenile crime and violence. It is of interest to note that recent statistics show that ‘the most accurate predictor of violence crime and burglary in neighborhoods is not race or income but rather the percent of households without fathers.’ . . . ‘[S]eventy percent of all juveniles in long-term correctional facilities did not live with their fathers while growing up.’ (Richard Witmire, ‘Life Without Father Breaking Hearts, Homes, Across U.S.,’ Salt Lake Tribune, June 19, 1993 A1.” Quickly 55.

b. Increase in Possessions and the Quality Thereof Insufficient to Compensate for Absent Parents or Deficient Parenting – See Quickly 56.

c. Mothers Should Seek Divine Approbation of the Decision to Work Outside the Home – See Quickly 56-57.

4. Genocide of the Unborn

a. Russell M. Nelson: Abortion Has Claimed More Lives than All U.S. Wars Combined – “Elder Russell M. Nelson has noted that this war on the unborn [i.e., prevalence of abortion] ‘annually claims more casualties than the total number of fatalities from all the wars of this nation.’ (Ensign, May 1985 11).” Quickly 57.

b. Two Scriptures and a Vision(See Quickly 57) – Is abortion a manifestation of:

i. People being “without natural affection” (2 Timothy 3:3)?

ii. People being “without affection [and] . . . hat[ing] their own blood” (Moses 7:33)?

iii. Joseph Smith’s vision of “women killing their own daughters” (History of the Church Vol. 3, p. 391)?

c. “Soft Words to Describe Hard Deeds” (My phrase): Elder Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, November 1982 59 (See Quickly 58)

i. “Alternate lifestyle” ==> Adultery, homosexuality

ii. “Freedom of choice” ==> Abortion

iii. “Meaningful relationship” and “self-fulfillment” ==> Extramarital sex

d. First Presidency Statement (Official Declaration) on Abortion – “LDS [sic] Position on Abortion,” Deseret News, January 12, 1991 B6, at Quickly 58-59.

e. Elder Neal A. Maxwell: The Womb Shouldn’t Be a Tomb – “Elder Neal A Maxwell[ ] expressed his feelings on abortion in connection with his gratitude for the Atonement: “I thank the Father that His Only Begotten Son did not say in defiant protest at Calvary, ‘My body is my own!’ I stand in admiration today of women who resist the fashion of abortion, by refusing to make the sacred womb a tomb’ (Ensign, May 1978 10).” Coming 59.

5. An Eternal Perspective on the Family

a. Dallin H. Oaks Encouraged Those in Less-than-Ideal Life Circumstances – Elder Oaks encouraged those dealing with singleness, childlessness, death and divorce when he said: “[T]hese frustrations are only temporary. The Lord has promised that in the eternities no blessing will be denied his sons and daughters who keep the commandments, are true to their covenants, and desire what is right. [¶] Many of the most important deprivations of mortality will be set right in the Millennium, which is the time for fulfilling all that is incomplete in the great plan of happiness for all of our Father’s worthy children. . . . (Ensign, November 1993 75).” Quickly 60, ellipses added.