Writing in 1941, Nels Lars Nelson wrote the following about the Gospel and that of Nazism (a topic that had a lot of "contemporary currency"):
What does the Cross
stand for? First, Love: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends.” Second, Truth: “Ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.” Third, Justice: “Do ye unto others as ye would be
done by.” Fourth, Honor: “Thou shalt not lie, steal, bear false witness,” and
so on. Fifth, Personal Purity: “Thou shalt not commit adultery—nor even look
upon a woman to lust after her.” Sixth, Peace: “Blessed are the peace-makers”;
also, “If thine enemy compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Seventh,
Mercy and Forgiveness: “Greater joy in heaven over one sinner that repents,
than over ninety-nine that need no repentance.” The list might be extended to
include all the moral and spiritual values—values sneered at by Swastika
adherents as “virtues of the weak.” Whence we reach the conclusion that the Cross
is the ensign of heaven.
What then can be said
for the Swastika? First as a source: while the Cross is fed by a living stream,
the Swastika draws life only from a stagnating pool forever cut off from the
stream. Does the Swastika stand for love? No; only for hate and destructiveness.
Does it have a background of honor, truth, justice? No; “To lie, betray, even
to kill, are justifiable when policy demands.” Does it ever show mercy, forbearance,
kindliness? No; only the strong—only the superman—is entitled to rule. What
then are its mainstays? Hate, compulsion, and fear. Hate for the master wheel,
compulsion for the driving power, fear for oiling the cogs. “Toe the mark,
verdampte!—Ya, ya mein herr!” The Swastika is therefore the ensign of hell.—Ecrasez
l’infame. (Nels Lars Nelson, Second War in Heaven: As Now Being Waged by
Lucifer Through Hitler as a Dummy [Independence, Miss.: Zion’s Printing and
Publishing Co., 1941], 227-28, emphasis in original)
For more on the cross being held in high
esteem in the Latter-day Saint tradition, see:
John Hilton III, Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021)