Elder Loren C. Dunn and Paul Wohl on the Rise of Religion in Russia

Elder Loren C. Dunn came out with a talk in April 1971 called "Drink of the Pure Water" which compared the gospel of Jesus Christ with other worldly philosophies of the time:

 

The Quote

"...In studying religion in Russia today, 

journalist Paul Wohl states that 

“socialist morality has been accepted 

as the official yardstick of good behavior, 

but whether Soviet man is more harmonious than his predecessor 

 is a moot question. 

A scientific outlook is there,” says Wohl, 

“but so is religion. Its comeback,” he says, 

“is a phenomenon which the ideologists of communism cannot explain 

and about which they prefer to remain silent.” 

He states that the move toward religion is primarily sparked 

by young people.

The writer tells of a simple Russian woman 

who received the visit of her neighbor, a young engineer-physicist. 

“I know you are a believer,” said the engineer. 

“Can you tell me about God? 

The philosophy of dialectical materialism does not satisfy me. 

I would like to know the viewpoint of believers.”

 

Paul Wohl? 

The journalist Paul Wohl is not an easy man to find. He was born in Germany, and wrote for many prominent newspapers, so a quote like this is likely, but cannot currently be corroborated without a lot (A LOT) more research.

It's cool that he helped ghostwrite a former KGB agent's book, "In Stalin's Secret Service". Very interesting. 

Also interesting that he was an amateur herpetologist and had about 47 turtles and tortoises in his home in Greenwich Village. He died leaving behind no wife and children - which makes sense. For some rather obvious reasons.

The quote is also interesting from its perspective of how Marxism as a philosophy is on the rise again amongst young people in the Western world, when the opposite seemed to be happening around 1971. Following these historical cyclical patterns have been invaluable to me personally. 

When we do not know history, we are very often bound to repeat it. 

Elder Hartman Rector, Jr and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

The talk "Eternal Joy is Eternal Growth" is a good talk - all scriptural references. That is a very legitimate thing to do in a talk, and we'll skip that one to the next - Elder Bruce R. McConkie's talk, "The Lord's People Receive Revelation."

He references in his first example, the sacred English oratorio The Messiah by George Frideric Handel, but it's not a quote per se, so we skip ahead to find any other quotes?

There are none in this talk either. Great talk, and all scriptures again. It was good to read it again, and now, we move on.

Finally, Hartman Rector, Jr. delighted me with a quote from Shakespeare in his talk, "Ignorance is Expensive" - namely, a quote from Julius Caesar: 

 

 The Quote

"Then Cassius’s words to Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar apply equally to us. 

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 

But in ourselves, 

that we are underlings.” 

We must look to ourselves for the reason for our ignorance."

 

Elder Rector is speaking of the importance of learning for ourselves where truth lies, or else face its consequences. Nature and God are both just. If we break a law, even if we don't understand the law, we must face the consequences. If a baby falls off a mountaintop, not knowing about gravity won't save the baby from an inevitable end.

But in addition to justice, we have mercy in Jesus Christ. That was why He came here, gave his life, and rose again, a victor over the laws of nature, himself being the god of nature.

 

How many of you knew the title for the novel/movie, "The Fault in Our Stars" came from Shakespeare? You're quite welcome. Truthfully, I didn't know it either, but there's so much in our history and culture that springs from the world's greatest playwright (and the husband of my first cousin fourteen times removed on my father's side, Anne Hathaway).

The quote itself comes from Act 1, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar, in an exchange between Brutus and Cassius. Brutus worries about Caesar accumulating more and more power and honors, and Cassius proclaims that Caesar's rise is their own fault:

 BRUTUS  Another general shout!
I do believe that these applauses are
For some new honors that are heaped on Caesar.

CASSIUS 
Why, man, he (Caesar) doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

Cassius dares to think that they can do something about their position beneath the most powerful man in the world - that they are just as worthy of honor and greatness as Caesar himself. They are not rocks that are acted upon, instead of acting.

(Spoiler alert if you haven't seen the play yet) Unfortunately, they seek that greatness by killing Caesar - so they had the right concept initially, but became negative examples through their actions. 

(Spoiler alert again if you haven't already seen the play...you should see it, really!) Nature and God brought about Brutus' and Cassius' eventual downfall due to their tragic choices.

We can always choose our paths, that much is true. Even if Brutus and Cassius chose an evil path (or a good path, depending on who is commenting), we can always choose the good. Life or death.

I highly recommend choosing life. Not as dramatic, maybe, but much more satisfying.