Oct. 1987 Conf.:
"President George Q. Cannon, who served long and faithfully as a
Counselor in the First Presidency,
said on one occasion:
'Do angels take the Lord's name in vain? The idea is so
ridiculous
that we scarcely like to ask the question...How dare
we do that
which angels dare not do? Is it possible for us to
argue that
that which is forbidden in heaven is praiseworthy
on earth?...
Though we are sure no boy can tell us any advantage that
can arise
from the abuse of God's holy name, yet we can tell
him many evils
that arise therefrom. To begin,' Bro. Cannon
said, 'it
is unnecessary and consequently foolish; it lessens
our respect
for holy things and leads us into the society of the
wicked; it
brings upon us the disrespect of the good who avoid
us; it leads
us to other sins, for he who is willing to abuse his
Creator is
not ashamed to defraud his fellow creature; and
also by so
doing we directly and knowingly break one of the
most direct
of God's commandments.'"
(Juvenile Instructor, 27 Sept., 1873, p. 156)
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"True to the Faith," Salt Lake Valley-Wide Institute Fireside, Jan. 21, 1996:
"Cultivate the art of conversation. It is a tremendous asset.
For
me there is nothing more delightful
than to listen in on the conversation
of a group of bright and happy
young people such as you. Their dialogue
is witty. It is scintillating.
It sparkles and is punctuated by laughing even
when dealing with serious subjects.
But, I repeat, it is not necessary in
conversation to profane the name
of Deity or to use salty and salacious
language of any kind.
And let me add that there is plenty of humor in the world without
resorting to what we speak of
as dirty jokes. I challenge each of you to
avoid all such. During
the coming week as you talk with friends and
associates, see if you can do
so without speaking any words that you
might regret having said."
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Parowan Utah Youth Fireside, Jan. 13, 1996:
"You can't use that filthy, dirty language that's so common in the
high school and other schools--you
can't do it, if you believe you're a
child of God, without betraying
your birthright."
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"Be Ye Clean," Ensign, May 1996, p. 48:
"Be clean in language. There is so much of filthy, sleazy talk these
days. I spoke to the young
women about it. I speak to you also. It tells
others that your vocabulary is
so extremely limited that you cannot
express yourselves without reaching
down into the gutter for words.
Dirty talk is unbecoming any
man who holds the priesthood, be he young
or old.
Nor can you as a priesthood holder take the name of the Lord in vain.
Said Jehovah to the children
of Israel, 'Thou shall not take the name of
the Lord thy God in vain; for
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that
taketh his name in vain' (Ex.
20:7).
That commandment, engraved by the finger of the Lord, is as binding
upon us as it was upon those
to whom it was originally given. The Lord
has said in modern revelation,
'Remember that that which cometh from
above is sacred, and must be
spoken with care, and by constraint of the
Spirit' (D & C 63:64).
A filthy mind expresses itself in filthy and profane language. A
clean
mind expresses itself in language
that is positive and uplifting and in deeds
that bring happiness into the
heart."
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In a conference talk in 1987 when he was First Counselor in the First
Presidency, President Gordon
B. Hinckley reported that in our society such
profanity is becoming all too
prevalent. He read from a First Presidency
general epistle issued a hundred
years earlier, dated 8 April 1887 which
stated: "The habit...,
which some young people fall into of using vulgarity
and profanity...is not only offensive
to well-bred persons, but it is a gross
sin in the sight of God, and
should not exist among the children of Latter-
day Saints."
In addition President Hinckley recounted the story of the son of the
Israelitish woman who was stoned
to death for blasphemy (see Leviticus
16) and said "While that
most serious of penalties has long since ceased
to be inflicted, the gravity
of the sin has not changed."
(from the book: The Ten Commandments For Today, p. 64)
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