50 years ago

"Christmas greetings from the First Presidency of the Church" were published on the first page of the Dec. 16, 1944, issue of the Church News.

The message - one of peace and love amidst the horrors of World War II - sent "our greetings, our blessings, and our love in the fellowship of the gospel of Christ. May the Lord be with you always.

"In this terrible hour of earth-wide woe, misery, and death, with their weight of sorrow and grief that pour in upon the households of the people, we turn to the Lord as the source of the only true solace to aching hearts and weary souls. For He said to men of all times: `Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'

"This is an hour of prayer.

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"Obedient to the occasion we especially send to you mothers who have lost your sons, to you wives whose husbands have been killed, to you orphans born of the slaughter of war - in whatever land you live and on whatever side your departed loved ones fought - the sympathy and sorrow of our hearts, and we humbly pray our Heavenly Father to send you comfort and an early surcease of your grief. . . ."

The message was signed by Presidents Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark Jr. and David O. McKay.

Quote from the past

"It is a sin to lie. It is a tragedy to be the victim of lies." - Elder Marvin J. Ashton, in an address given at general conference April 3, 1982.

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