Elder Neal Maxwell, ordained an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1981, may have been prematurely recalled to heaven in 2004 after a prolonged battle with leukemia, but he left behind a rich legacy of wisdom and foresight.
Elder Maxwell was a renowned wordsmith, famed for his ability to present doctrine in such a manner that even the least amongst us could understand it. Elder Maxwell was also famed for identifying "wallflowers" at social gatherings and making a special effort to welcome them. More on his life can be found in Wikipedia, and a host of official LDS stories about him can be accessed HERE.
However, it was a speech delivered at Brigham Young University on October 10th, 1978, while he was still President of the First Quorum of Seventy, that stands out today. This speech effectively symbolizes prescience on his part. Elder Maxwell foresaw the slowly escalating war against Christianity which continues to unfold during the closing years of the first decade of the 21st century. He outlines how "irreligion" would not only supersede religion culturally, but also discusses how "irreligion" would become America's unofficial "state denomination". He even chillingly reveals the Orwellian cultural reversal currently taking place, where people of faith would be demonized as "haters" by people of hate who seek to cover up their own hate by transferring the label to their victims. Video embedded below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMMu4Sv0-QI
Much of what Elder Maxwell foresaw has or is currently coming to pass. The shrill and hysterical reaction of many gay activists to California's constitutional reaffirmation of traditional marriage best personifies the hate directed towards people of faith. Gay activists falsely portray marriage as a "fundamental" constitutional right, even though the term "fundamental right" is customarily restricted only to those rights formally specified in the U.S. Constitution. Some even assert that the Founding Fathers were "irreligious" and were even "Deists", although a visit to the Adherents.com website puts that canard to bed straightaway. By viewing the lists of signers of the Declaration of Independence, the signers of the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitutional Convention delegates including signers of the U.S. Constitution, you'll find that NONE of them are listed as "Deists".
Indeed, the gay hate campaign directed against Mormons and other like-minded Christians is beginning to backfire. The recent "Day Without A Gay" campaign fizzled badly, even in California. And the proposed gay boycott of Utah has not caught fire. This shows the opposition cannot win if we at least hold firm to our convictions. Just because we Mormons are in the world does not mean we need to be of the world. What good does it do if our church gains the approval of the world but loses the approval of the Lord? We are supposed to be the Lord's church, not the world's church.
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