When Moses saw the golden calf the children of Israel had made, he "burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it." (Ex. 32:20.)
After Aaron explained that the children of Israel demanded an idol to worship, Moses "stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him." (Ex. 32:26.)In a baccalaureate address to graduates of the Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) in Logan, Utah, on June 4, 1944, President George Albert Smith said:
"There are two influences in the world today, and have been from the beginning. One is an influence that is constructive, that radiates happiness and builds character. The other influence is one that destroys, turns men into demons, tears down and discourages. We are all susceptible to both. The one comes from our Heavenly Father, and the other comes from the source of evil that has been in the world from the beginning, seeking to bring about the destruction of the human family.
" . . . My grandfather used to say to his family, `There is a line of demarcation, well defined, between the Lord's territory and the devil's. If you will stay on the Lord's side of the line you will be under His influence and will have no desire to do wrong; but if you cross to the devil's side of the line one inch, you are in the tempter's power, and if he is successful, you will not be able to think or even reason properly, because you will have lost the spirit of the Lord.'
"When I have been tempted sometimes to do a certain thing, I have asked myself, `Which side of the line am I on?' If I determined to be on the safe side, the Lord's side, I would do the right thing every time. So when temptation comes think prayerfully about your problem, and the influence of the spirit of the Lord will enable you to decide wisely. There is safety for us only on the Lord's side of the line.
"If you want to be happy, remember, that all happiness worthy of the name is on the Lord's side of the line and all sorrow and disappointment is on the devil's side of the line. Righteousness is the pathway of happiness." (Church News, June 17, 1944, p. 9.)
