The Spirit of Escape – Sunday, October 05, 1941
There seems to have come to dwell among us the spirit of escape. Perhaps it has always been present, but the tenseness of our times makes it more apparent. We seem to want to escape reality; to postpone the day of settlement; to prefer present pleasure to future happiness; to escape the consequences of our own mistakes. There are some who seek to escape by borrowing rather than face the restrictions of a sound economy.
There are some who would rather mortgage the future than curtain their appetites. There are some who would like to escape the truth, because acceptance of it isn’t convenient to their way of thinking or living. There are some who count heavily on mercy and the opportunities of the moment, rather on justice and the certain reckoning of the future. Some have become materially and spiritually insolvent—bankrupt, both in the things of this world and in things of the realm beyond—and rather than facing the facts and paying the price and beginning again on humble but substantial foundations, they prefer continuing on borrowed time, always with the shadow of inevitable consequences hanging over them, but never looking at things quite squarely. No doubt there would be less of the spirit of escape if we could bring ourselves to the realization that there is no such thing as permanent postponement.
Retribution cannot forever be outdistanced. The judgements of men may be slow, but they are sure, and yet more certain are the judgements of God. No one was ever able to cheat at anything permanently. No one has ever been able to postpone a time of reckoning forever—even though he may have departed this life before he faced the facts—for it is written in the record of scripture: “Verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:2 and 3) And since there is no way of permanent escape, to all who seek an easy way out it should be said: Face the issues as they come; pay the price, whatever it is; make your peace; put your house in order, and build on sure foundations for that future wherein no mistakes have yet been made.
October 05, 1941
Broadcast Number 0,633