'I honor you' Pres. Uchtdorf salutes military
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DRAPER, UTAH
The Title of Liberty in the Book of Mormon and many other scriptural instances make it clear that there are times and circumstances when nations are justified — and, in fact, obligated — to fight for liberty and family against tyranny and oppression, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said Oct. 31 at a special fireside for military personnel who are Latter-day Saints.
President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, spoke to more than 1,000 men, women and family members from four branches of the United States military gathered in the Draper Utah Stake Center. By way of a Skype service Internet connection, about two dozen members of the Utah National Guard 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and 141st Military Intelligence Battalion deployed in Iraq viewed the fireside proceedings. A live scene of the group in Iraq was displayed on a screen in the chapel throughout the meeting.
"As citizens, we are all under the direction of our respective national leaders," President Uchtdorf observed. "Those in the armed services, and this is who you are, are under obligation to their respective governments to execute the will of their leaders." Citing the 12th Article of Faith, he said governments and their representatives will eventually be held accountable by God for their actions.
"Perhaps the most important lessons you will be able to teach as you are among foreign people, in dangerous locations, are to support the courage to do what is right, advance independent thinking and create a desire to stand up for moral values and freedom of religion that will transcend local traditions and nations' history," he said.
Noting that members of the armed forces reach out to many countries and encounter those that are friendly or hostile, the Church leader admonished: "Remember, wherever you go, you always go as brothers and sisters to those whom you are going to meet. All human beings on this beautiful planet Earth are spirit children of the same Father in Heaven."
A west German military and commercial jet pilot by profession, President Uchtdorf told of being on a flight some time ago of a Utah National Guard tanker for a refueling mission and spoke of the delicacy of the procedure.
"The aircraft approach each other with the right speed; they have to focus completely on the other plane; they have to have courage and trust, and then they are connected," he said. "Tanker and fighter unite in a combined effort for a higher common goal."
Likewise, the soldier in the field and the family at home have different places of action but a common goal, he said. "By supporting each other through daily prayer and through your faithfulness wherever you are, through your love for each other, you provide a spiritual lifeline and a source of strength for each other."
Living the gospel is a blessing not only to a soldier's family but to those with whom he or she associates, President Uchtdorf observed. He shared a letter he received recently from a Church member who was an instructor pilot at the same military base in Texas where President Uchtdorf received part of his pilot training. The man was inactive in the Church at the time, but was influenced by the example the German trainee set. After the instructor married, and the couple moved due to his military transfer, the wife was converted to the gospel and the man re-activated through the friendship of their landlord, who later sealed the couple as husband and wife in the Mesa Arizona Temple.
President Uchtdorf spoke of the experience of his wife, Harriet. As a child shortly after the end of World War II, she and her widowed mother encountered a kindly American soldier in the streets of Frankfurt, Germany, who gave Harriet a stick of chewing gum. Later, when American LDS missionaries came to their door, Harriet persuaded her mother to admit them, remembering the kindness of the American GI. As result of that contact, the family joined the Church.
"Isn't it amazing — one American soldier left a wonderful impression of kindness, even in the presence of destruction, and he left it on the mind and in the heart of a child and a mother," President Uchtdorf remarked. "One kind act by one soldier in an enemy country shortly after a fiercely fought war prepared the way for greater blessings in the future."
President Uchtdorf said commitment to service, in war and peace, are hallmarks for members of the U.S. military. "You are people who render service. I honor you for your service."
Referencing a comment made by Elder Lance B. Wickman, emeritus General Authority, who served as an army ranger in Vietnam, President Uchtdorf said God chose two soldiers, Mormon and Moroni, to prepare centuries of records now contained in the Book of Mormon.
"They were soldiers because they had to be, because their people needed them, because it was the right thing to do," he said. "Each of you may have the same sweet assurance that the Lord knows of your service and your motives."
He quoted words pertaining to an earlier Moroni, captain of the Nephite forces: "If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto him, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men" (Alma 48:17).
Prior to his address, President and Sister Uchtdorf were presented with a representation of the Title of Liberty by Richard and Shannon Kramer, parents of army Sgt. Aaron Kramer who was killed Sept. 16 while serving combat duty in Afghanistan. The Kramers are members of the Cottonwood Heights 7th Ward, Salt Lake Cottonwood Stake. The item was prepared for the presentation by Leslie Ison of the Cottonwood Heights 5th Ward.
Speaking earlier to the congregation, Richard Kramer said his son felt awkward when people would see him in uniform and thank him for his service to the country. "He said, 'I haven't done anything. It's the ones who are over there that have died for their country that they should be thanking.' "
Brother Kramer said he has had many people approach him to thank him for the family's sacrifice (Aaron's twin brother, Brandon, also serves in the military) and to ask what they can do for the family. "I say, 'Pray for the soldiers; remember them in your prayers. That's what you can do for us, and that will mean the most to us.' "
A combined quartet from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines performed "America the Beautiful."
"Sometimes we see a competition between the different branches of the armed forces, but this combined quartet showed how unity creates harmony," President Uchtdorf commented.
Lt. Col. Mark L. Allison, state chaplain of the Utah National Guard, who organized the fireside, said after the meeting, "These are lions of liberty and defenders of light. I wanted us to all get together and rub shoulders and be counseled by a prophet of the Lord."
He has organized other such firesides involving General Authorities, but this is the first time a member of the First Presidency has been featured, he said. The fireside was publicized through military chaplains and held at the stake center in Draper adjacent to the Utah National Guard headquarters for the units deployed overseas.
