--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Peery, Joseph S. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 25 number: 1 published: 1921-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Joseph S. Peery, "Loyalty to Our President," *Improvement Era* 25, no. 1 (November 1921): 64.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2501unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2501unse start_page: 64 end_page: 64 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1921-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2501unse publication_year: 1921 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1921, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Loyalty to Our President Loyalty to our President By Joseph S. Peery Big miihl- are loyal to constituted authority. All the universe is governed by law. To be in harmony with law, we must be loyal. In God's perfected Kingdom every officer works in perfect loyalty. Disloyalty would mean rebellion, dissolution — destruction. God chooses his representative here on earth. He makes no mistake. Whoever he chooses is the right person in the right place to fill a mission that no one else can perform. In paragraph 7, section 132, Doctrine and Covenants, God plainly states that the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the eternal sealing and binding power and is the anointed of God. "Whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this Priesthood are conferred." Therefore, as a member of this Church I am bound by all sacred ties to uphold and sustain God's chosen and anoint- ed, and I am very pleased to do so. Should I hear our President criticized at any time and not defend him I would acquiesce in the disloyal utterance and would be equally guilty. Why should not I uphold our presidents? Every one of them fill their missions well, trained from infancy by the Almighty to discharge their high and holy calling. All of them are noble, choice, splendid men. There is safety in sustaining our President. I have been shown that a shakeup will come. Twelve years ago in a realistic dream I saw a terrible convulsion of nature. One building after another fell down. I was standing at the foot of a hill, and, on the hill top, I saw a round tower tumble to the ground. Looking around I noticed the President of the Church. I went over to him, and together we walked up the hill. About half way on the hillside we went into a build- ing. Then I awoke. My interpretation is that when the shakeup comes my place is to go with the President of the Church, whoever he may be, and with God's help I propose to do so. In calm or in storm, it is the duty of all members of this Church to uphold and sustain at all times God's anointed — our President.