I was honoured to receive an invitation from the Seventh Day Adventist
Church Community to attend today's heritage celebration. This is a
particularly poignant moment for this community, as you return to the
soil of this farm after more than half a century. Thank you for asking
me to share your celebration as you reminisce over all the Church has
achieved, and suffered, since it took root in this part of South Africa.

Many of you will know that I am a member of the Anglican Church of
Southern Africa. But I have a heritage in the Seventh Day Adventist
Church which I received from my mother, Princess Constance Magogo
kaDinuzulu. I hope you will indulge me while I explain.

My mother's father, King Dinuzulu ka Cetshwayo, became involved in a
civil war in 1888 and was exiled to the Island of St Helena. Although
he had been close to Bishop John Colenso, the first Anglican bishop of
Natal, and to Bishop Colenso's daughters, who had championed the Zulu
cause, King Dinuzulu was not a professing Christian when he went into
exile. Nevertheless, when he returned from exile, he was an Anglican.

My mother was therefore prepared for confirmation by the Rt Rev.
Wilmot Vyvyan, the fourth bishop of Zululand. Before she married my
father, Mathole Buthelezi, who was King Solomon's Prime Minister, my
mother left to visit her younger brother, Prince Mshiyeni, who was at
that time working on the Rand, as it was then called. That was in
1926. As is our custom, she was preparing her trousseau by visiting
her relatives.

During her visit to Prince Mshiyeni, she met Pastor MN Langa of the
Seventh Day Adventist Church. Pastor Langa discussed the beliefs of
the Church with my mother and convinced her to become a practising
Adventist. I always marvel at the timing, for, soon after that, I was
born. Thus my mother's faith greatly influenced my upbringing.

Although I grew up at KwaDlamahlahla Palace in Nongoma, where we were
all Anglicans, my mother's influence had several benefits for me. One
is that I am abstemious as far as drinking alcohol is concerned. I am
grateful that I was never tempted in this direction, because the
pressures of working in public life and politics leads many people to
drink as a way of relaxing. I prefer a clear head. When I make
decisions, I want to know that I am in full control of my faculties
and I'm thinking straight. I cannot afford for anything to cloud my
judgement, for God has placed me in an influential position. I
therefore listen to music to relax, like my mother did.

While I was growing up, my mother followed Ellen G. White's teaching
against drinking even coffee or tea, and she prepared postum for us
children. I must say that many of the teachings of Ellen White, the
founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, were considered blasphemy
or foolishness at that time. Now, however, we know them to be true.

I think of smoking, for example. When I grew up, it was in vogue to
smoke cigarettes and all my peers smoked. I never did, though, because
of my mother's Adventist influence. Ellen White condemned smoking long
before medical science condemned it. By now, medical science knows
that smoking causes all kinds of disease. But White understood what is
meant by the scripture that our bodies are the temple of the Holy
Spirit. We are to keep them healthy so that we can do and become all
that God has called us to.

It is tragic to see people's lives cut short by Cancer, Emphysema, TB
or any of the many illnesses brought on or exacerbated by smoking. I
believe that God has given talents and a purpose to each one of us.
How sad it is when illness robs us of the energy to use our gifts, or
when death cuts short the good work we were created to accomplish. I
thank God for good health. In His great generosity, He has given me
the capacity to maintain a hectic schedule of travel and engagements,
even at my age.

Another thing I adopted from the Adventist teaching is to stay away
from red meat. This has done marvels for my health. Now let me say
that Zulus, like Afrikaners, regard eating meat as a national ritual.
When we speak about eating food, we mean eating meat. So I grew up
eating a lot of meat. But I developed gout at a young age and doctors
told me to cut out red meat. That was more than thirty years ago.

In the first half of the last century, abstaining from smoking or
drinking or eating certain foods purely for religious reasons was far
more controversial than it is today. We really hadn't yet grasped the
danger in these things. Drinking and driving, for instance, did not
raise great concern. At that time, it was considered somehow an oddity
to abstain for the sake of one's faith.

But this laid a foundation in my life of self-discipline and attention
to my health. Self-discipline has been of enormous value to me. In
Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23, the Apostle Paul writes, "22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law." I know that when I lose my peace or my joy, I
need to spend time with the Holy Spirit. But I think we seldom realise
that a lack of self-control is an indication that we need spiritual
refreshing.

I am grateful for times like this, spent in fellowship with the
children of God, for this is where I am refreshed in spirit. The many
responsibilities that weigh upon me as the leader of an opposition
party, as the traditional Prime Minister of the Zulu nation, as an
Inkosi of my clan, as a Member of Parliament, and even as a husband
and father, demand tremendous energy. But it is not just physical
energy. At my age, I think I operate on spiritual energy far more than
physical energy!

When I am refreshed in the Spirit, I feel able to take on every
challenge the world places before me. Not because I can, but because
Christ can, who lives within me. As it is written in Philippians 4
verse 14, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I have had opportunities, throughout my life, to travel to many places
and meet a great diversity of people. When I travelled to the United
States for the first time, the pastor who was looking after my mother
encouraged me to visit the headquarters of the Seventh Day Adventist
Church in Washington. At my request, my office arranged my itinerary
so that I could spend a day there. I was privileged to read some of
the writings of Ellen White, handwritten in pencil. These writings
constitute some of the large volumes of her work which are circulating
throughout the world today.

If one talks about the prophets of our time, I believe that Ellen
White was a prophet. She was so far ahead of her time. When I was
growing up people laughed at the things she said. Today no one laughs.
Instead, we listen attentively to her obvious wisdom.

So, although I am a practising Anglican, I have benefitted from the
Seventh Day Adventist upbringing that I received under my mother's
care. Today, when we worship at home, my wife and I still sing some of
the hymns of the Adventist Church, because I grew up singing them with
my mother.

What a pleasure it is for me to hear these hymns today and to know
that our gathering like this, on the Sabbath, is intended for
deepening our relationship with the Creator. As we reminisce over the
history of this Church, on this soil, let us look for the hand of God
in all that has happened. For how can we remember the past, without
remembering God's goodness along the way? Surely He has guided us
along our paths.

There have been many moments in my own life when I faced difficult
decisions. My approach has always been to do what my conscience
demands and my faith requires. I don't look to my own interests for
guidance, but to the interests of God's kingdom. To me, serving God,
means serving the expansion of His kingdom on earth. That means
increasing social justice, increasing human dignity, and increasing
respect for life, hope, integrity, order and peace.

Following this mandate, I have been able to make some difficult
decisions. I think of the danger I placed myself in as the Chief
Minister of KwaZulu during Apartheid, by daring to stand up to people
like the Minister of Police, who summoned me to Pretoria and tried to
intimidate me into restricting Inkatha to Zulus only. The Apartheid
Government panicked when it saw the rapid growth of Inkatha so soon
after its inception. With the ANC banned and in exile, Inkatha became
home to the disenfranchised masses. We reignited mobilisation towards
freedom.

At our rallies and meetings, I often quoted Nelson Mandela, when it
was a criminal offence to do so. Indeed, I held more rallies under the
banner "Free Mandela" than any other South African during Apartheid.

For some of my stands, I have been vindicated. When former President
FW de Klerk announced the release of political prisoners and the
unbanning of political parties on the 2nd of February 1990, he
publically thanked me alone for having helped him make that decision.
But, since then, the ruling Party has conveniently forgotten all I did
for our liberation struggle and the IFP has been airbrushed out of the
liberation narrative that has been recounted this year during the
centennial celebrations.

I do not expect accolades. Yes, I have received many awards, medals
and honorary titles over the years for my work for human rights,
peace, reconciliation, trade unionism, equality and freedom. But I
don't expect anyone to pat me on the back â“ that is not why I do
what I do. I do it because it is right. I do it because God has
equipped me and called me to lead His people in South Africa. And I do
it because, as Christians, we are mandated to stand against the tide
of evil.

I have no doubt that we are in the end times. Wherever I look, I see
signs of the times. I see corruption in our Government and conflict in
our homes. I see violent protests and strikes, and influential men
agitating citizens to anarchy. I see people sitting idle and losing
self-respect. I see Government trying to interfere in the relationship
between parent and child, and civil society organisations trying to
teach five year olds about sex.

When I think of the great crisis we find ourselves in, the opening
lines of Rudyard Kipling's poem echo in my mind â“
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt youâ¦"

Friends, it is hard to argue with people who are sincere, even when
they are sincerely wrong. I think of the Department of Social
Development which, in its commitment to ending child abuse, intends to
legislate against parents administering corporal discipline to their
children. According to the Bible, "He who spares the rod hates his
son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him" (Proverbs
13:24). But according to the Government, he who disciplines his child
is a criminal.

Let me speak to the mothers and fathers among us. Have you heard your
child complain against your parenting decisions with the words, "It's
my constitutional rightâ¦"? If you have teenagers, you have probably
heard those words. The task of a parent is one of the hardest in the
world. We carry the responsibility of moulding our most precious
treasures into independent, responsible and mature citizens, capable
of maintaining relationships and being productive. Ours is the
responsibility of imparting self-discipline, respect for authority,
and moral integrity.

Proverbs 13 verse 18 says, "He who ignores discipline comes to poverty
and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honoured". When we allow
the State to question a parent's authority over their child's
upbringing, we are encouraging parents to abdicate their
responsibilities to the State. As Plato said, surely the State is
better equipped than parents to raise good citizens.

I disagree. I believe that not only are parents best equipped â“ for
they have the one thing the State does not have, which is
unconditional love for the child â“ but parents are mandated by God
to carry the responsibility of raising their children. Would we be
"good parents" if we simply deposited our children on the doorstep of
a government institution and walked away? Why then should we be
labeled "bad parents" when we take responsibility for raising our
children to honour their mother and father, respect authority and pay
homage to the State?

As Believers, we know that increasing conflict in the home is a sign
of the end times. We are warned in the gospel of Matthew that children
will turn against their parents, son against father and daughter
against mother. It is not difficult to imagine that undermining
parental authority in the home will bring division and disunity. I see
in this a sign of the times.

Likewise, it is a parent's responsibility to educate and equip their
child when it comes to human sexuality. We, as parents, know our
children better than anyone else. We are best equipped to gauge when
our child is ready to discuss sex. We can assess the teachable
moments, and gauge how much to divulge at the time. A child is
naturally curious and we should let their curiosity guide us.

What parent is going to send their five year old child to someone they
don't know, to tell them whatever that person feels is best for the
child to know? Good parents do not abdicate responsibility.

Once again, the proponents of this idea of teaching five year olds
about sex are sincere in their desire to end child abuse. But they are
sincerely wrong that the best way to do this is to expose a
pre-schooler to information and images they are not emotionally mature
enough to process.

Friends, let me not continue with the many things I see that point to
the end times. We are well aware of the crisis South Africa faces. Let
me rather exhort us as Believers to stand in the way of the rising
tide, knowing that God is for us. And let us remember Ephesians 6
verse 12 â“
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

So ours is the responsibility to pray, pray and pray. And, after we
have prayed, to take our stand for biblical values wherever these are
threatened. Let us do this with temperance and love, being wise as
serpents, but gentle as doves.

With these words of exhortation, I wish to thank you again for asking
me to participate in today's celebration. May the Lord bless and keep
you, always.