A Stranger Will They Not Follow – Sunday, June 14, 1942
We have come again to another patriotic occasion. Deep-rooted patriotism, of course, does not depend upon the observance of special days for its sustenance, but it is good to pause, to think, and to remember at times set apart for remembrance—and so today we remember America—and remembering our own land we remember also other lands, with their strength and their weakness—and what has made them so. It is a well known fact—so well known that the re-utterance of it would seem to be trite—that the strength or the weakness of a nation runs right through the very fiber of its people, down to the last town and village and countryside.
Nevertheless, it is also true that strong peoples have been led to their ruin by false or misguided leaders, and that weak peoples have been led to better things by strong and wise leadership—all of which impresses upon us the profound importance of men’s choosing wisely whom they will follow.
There are many marks of a great leader and there are many peoples who are in grievous difficulties because they have followed bad leadership, willingly or otherwise. Indeed, this question of leadership holds the key to many of the world’s troubles in our generation and in all generations, in all phases of life, and since those who follow, suffer or gain by their leadership, it would be well to know some of the things we should look for.
First of all, we should know that a good leader is one who does not consider his power of greater importance than the welfare of his people; nor does he seek to enslave those he professes to benefit; nor does he place political considerations above the common cause, nor his own ends above a united effort; nor would he ask others to sacrifice without also being willing to sacrifice. Nor would a safe leader hold creedal formalities above righteousness, the letter above the spirit, or traditional dogma above revealed or demonstrated truth.
A safe and good and great leader trusts his followers with the truth, and feeds them nothing else. It was the Savior of mankind who said: “For they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow.” (John 10:4 and 5) And somehow all peoples, out of the experience of their own lives, and out of the testimony of generations gone before, must learn to recognize and to follow those voices that beckon them to destinations that are worth traveling toward, to places that are worth reaching for, where promises find fulfillment, and where the substance of enduring happiness is not always just over the next hill.
By Richard L. Evans, spoken from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, June 14, 1942, over Radio Station KSL and the Nationwide Columbia Broadcasting System. Copyright – 1942.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
June 14, 1942
Broadcast Number 0,669