Don't "win" the battle at the expense of the war...

When I think that I can not possibly be more disappointed with the state of our country, it JUST GETS WORSE. This week I have read several blog posts and discussions about the upcoming presidential election. I have yet to hear any arguments for either leading candidate based on their own merit but only as the means to keep the other candidate out of office. Is any one else getting REALLY tired of hearing about “the lesser of two evils”? The two-party system has been the only thing we have known in our life-times...but HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT? It seems to me that we have lost sight of the entire reason we vote. We have FORGOTTON what freedom means. And we have certainly abandoned all principles of truth and righteousness that enable that freedom. It has reached the point that not only are we capitulating to a corrupt and and flawed government (that isn't even close to resembling the government established by the Constitution), but I have seen some actually claiming that we have a MORAL obligation to choose from the TWO options that we have before us. I've seen scriptures and spiritual metaphors used to argue for TRUMP. WHAT?!?!

The God I know would never ask us to choose evil of any degree. The God I know expects us to choose the right no matter the consequence. The God I know does not send answers to prayers disguised in greed, dishonesty, hostility, and immorality.

The choices that we make matter, both in our personal lives and in government. The only way that we can regain our freedom is by making the RIGHT choice, for the RIGHT reason and then accepting the consequence that comes.

We've been justifying the compromise of values and truth in order to “win” for far too long...and that is why we are here. But the problem is that we are fighting a war. We are at war for our physical and spiritual freedom. We are at war for the soul of this country...but we can only see the current battle. We think that if we make this one more compromise that all of our problems will magically go away or maybe at least we prevent things from decaying even further.

However, THIS battle is already lost. What matters now is where we stand. What matters is that WE CHOOSE GOODNESS. That we choose freedom. Our vote needs to speak of where our heart lies. If that means that we end up with a President that leads our country to fall even further...let it be WITHOUT your support, WITHOUT your vote.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

After my plan to have a weekly post was thwarted by pregnancy sickness, this holiday weekend has returned my thoughts to the relevancy of certain true principles to our country today. One absolute truth that seems to be the determining factor in whether a nation is able to maintain its freedom is that of agency, the right to determine one’s own actions and the responsibility to accept the consequences of those actions. The second part of this seems to be most often ignored in today’s world. The focus is all on the “rights,” but few are willing to acknowledge that with every action, with every movement we make there must be an “effect,“ or as the laws of physics state, “ an equal and opposite reaction. As this is true in the laws of nature, of motion, and of literature; so is it true when it comes to the choices that we make as human beings.

 The consequences to our actions are pre-determined by God and cannot be avoided. “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven, before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated- And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21)

A government that understands this universal law, enforces consequences for certain actions, but does not attempt to determine the actions themselves. Our Founding Fathers understood the truth about freedom and responsibility that comes with it, and also the requirement that in order for such a government to be successful, the people must have the ability and self- control to govern their own individual actions.   Benjamin Franklin said "Only a moral and virtuous people are capable of freedom; the more corrupt and vicious a society becomes, the more it has need of masters." If a society ceases to be moral, it no longer possesses the ability to govern itself and a tyrannical government steps in.

Two hundred and twenty-four years ago, the following words introduced a document that would provide the foundation for a nation that provides its citizens more freedoms and liberties than any other nation in the history of the world. It reads: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The principle of Liberty upon which our nation is founded echos the fundamental doctrine of agency in which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is centered.

Elder Rulon S. Wells of the seventy (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) stated in 1930:

“It is no wonder that the Latter-day Saints have espoused the great cause of human liberty, that they regard this great government of which we form a part as having been inspired of Almighty God, that they regard the Constitution of our land and that instrument that preceded it, known as the Declaration of Independence, as being inspired of the Almighty for the salvation and the protection of the children of God. We rejoice in  being citizens of this great republic, the freest country in all the world. Its principles, the very foundation upon which it has been established are set forth in that Declaration of Independence, wherein it is stated that ‘all men are created equal and that they have been endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ Let it not be felt that these rights are given to us by any government. Not so. We live not because a government has given us the privilege to live; given us our liberty- we are free not because we have received that power and that right from any human source; we are free because God made us free.

The Lord inspired the fathers of our country, our Revolutionary fathers, with this same spirit of human liberty, this right of free agency. This great struggle for liberty did not begin on this earth; it began before the foundations of it were laid. The Lord devised the plan whereby we might be liberated and made free and independent. The Lord designs that we shall be so. There was war in heaven before the foundations of this earth were laid. And what was that great conflict over? It was a struggle for the liberties of the children of God.”

The struggle for liberty has continued throughout our history on the earth. It is battle both for our civil freedom and for our spiritual freedom. Elder Wells continued,

“We, in this country, boast of our human liberty and we have great reason to be proud of the liberty that we enjoy under our Constitution; but after all is said and done it is only a measure of civil liberty, but the greatest measure to be found among all the governments of the world. We sometimes boast of being in the land of the free, the home of the brave. Nevertheless, we are not free until we have overcome evil- until we liberate ourselves from the bondage of sin.”

Civil liberty is inseparably connected to spiritual liberty. Washington said in his 1^st inaugural address “There exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness…we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”

Edmund Burke, the great English philosopher said “Men are qualified for civil liberties in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains on their own appetites.”

And Elder Jeffery R Holland stated that “Through their knowledge of history, their commitment to the moral values and traditions in which they believed, and through their own experience, the American founding fathers knew that a morally corrupt people could never enjoy the luxury of freedom.”

In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah understood the relationship between freedom and obedience to God and taught his people that…”it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right. Therefore this shall ye observe, and make it your law, to do your business by the voice of the people. And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you, then is the time He will visit you with great destruction even as he hath hitherto visited this land…. And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord…And now I desire that this iniquity should be no more in this land, especially among my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as any of posterity remains upon the face of the land.”

Speaking of this passage from the Book of Mormon, Elder B.H. Roberts of the seventy said in 1912:

“To my mind Joseph Smith, in bringing forth that principle through the Book of Mormon- the principle of personal, moral, responsibility to God for the government that obtains in free republics- has contributed one of the mightiest thoughts to the political life of the age in which he lived, that any man has brought forth in all the contributions that have been made to political thought in America. Patrick Henry’s idea that men had an inherent right to rebel against insufferable tyranny is not equal to it. Jefferson’s great doctrine of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed with the inalienable rights of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is not greater than this Book of Mormon doctrine.  Because this great Book of Mormon thought is this: that while governments drive their just powers from the consent of the governed, there goes with that the awful, moral responsibility, direct to God, of every man and woman participating as sovereigns in a free government, for the kind of government that obtains in such country. The great doctrine of direct, moral responsibility of God of a free people is indeed a soul-inspiring utterance, but it is also an awe-inspiring condition, and on its face bears evidence of the divine source whence it comes.”

We live in troubled times. The adversary is fighting harder than ever to take away our physical, civil and spiritual freedoms. This helps us to understand why Joseph Smith prophesied over two hundred years ago that the Constitution would one day “hang by a thread.” If the majority of the people are not living according to the laws of God, we will not be able to retain our liberties within our government.

However, we need not fear. Joseph Smith also prophesied that “Even this nation will be on the verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the constitution is upon the brink of ruin this people will be the Staff upon which the Nation shall lean and they shall bear the constitution away from the very verge of destruction.”

John Taylor also stated. “When the people shall have torn in shreds the Constitution of the United State the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men.”

As a celebrate the birth of this great nation, my feelings reflect that of Ezra Taft Benson when in 1986 he said, “I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed his stamp of approval on the Constitution of this land. I testify that the God of heaven sent some of his choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and he has sent other choice spirits-even you who hear my words this day- to preserve it. We, the blessed beneficiaries, face difficult days in this beloved land, “a land which is choice above all other lands” It may also cost us blood before we are through. It is my conviction, however, that when the Lord comes, the Stars and Stripes will be floating on the breeze over this people.. May it be so, and may God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives and fortunes that we might be free.”

May we maintain our freedom and independence from the will of men by obeying the laws of God. Happy Independence Day!

"There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives..."

"...It is no blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings."  Mohandas Gandhi

I don’t understand those who put God and science at odds with each other. Our modern understanding of the world around us indicates that ‘nature’ follows certain constant laws. The laws of physics, the laws of mathematics, the laws of chemical interactions, and many more all govern our physical world.  Many would use these laws to argue that there is no God or indicate that if He does exist, God somehow operates outside of these laws. I’ve heard many say that God can do what ever He wants if He is God. I believe that this could not be further from the truth. God is God because He is perfectly obedient to every true law. Therein lies His power. Because He knows, understands and adheres completely to eternal law, He has endless power to use these laws to accomplish His purposes. Think of a musician, whose degree of knowledge of the intricacies and the mathematical laws of music has that much greater freedom to create works of music that awe and inspire. Or a chemist whose understanding of the laws governing chemical reactions can create compounds that would not otherwise exist.

It is commonly believed that freedom is simply doing whatever one wants.  However, true freedom is found in perfect obedience to God’s laws (both physical and moral). Obedience to law gives us freedom, first, because we are then free from the natural consequences of those laws and secondly because we then have the knowledge and power with which we may operate to our full capacity. For example, an understanding of the law of gravity gives us the knowledge that we shouldn’t walk off the edge of a cliff (we know what the consequences of this would be). However, a greater understanding of the laws of aerodynamics and physics allows us to create a device by which we might walk off the edge of a cliff and drift safely to the ground.

The science of man is simply an attempt to understand the laws by which God operates and is in no way contrary to His existence. The greater understanding of eternal law and more self-discipline to obey we achieve, the more freedom we obtain.

"To prefer Evil to Good is not in human nature..." - Plato

Everyone is familiar with the concepts of “Good” and “Evil.” They are the subject of almost every storybook and every movie. And every one of us (except the truly malevolent) hope and expect that the “good guy” will win.  While there is some discrepancy about what qualifies as “good” and “bad,” few will argue about their existence.  Those who do argue that morality is all a figment of our imaginations and created to help us make sense of the world will only contradict themselves in the process.

What is known by most as a “conscience” was called the “Law of Human Nature” by C.S. Lewis, or the “Law of Nature” by other philosophical thinkers.

C.S. Lewis taught: “This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that every one knew it by nature and did not need to be taught it… Taking the race as a whole, they thought that the human idea of decent behaviour was obvious to every one. And I believe they were right. If they were not, then all the things we said about [World War II} were nonsense. What was the sense in saying the enemy were in the wrong unless Right is a real thing which the Nazis at bottom knew as well as we did and ought to have practised? If they had had no notion of what we mean by right, then, though we might still have had to fight them, we could no more have blamed them for that than for the colour of their hair.” (Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis)

Example after example could be mentioned to prove that we ALL believe in good and evil and that we all have at least some sense of what fits in each category. Good and Evil is not a relationship that exists only on this earth. It is an eternal principle.

I’ve always loved fairy-tells. Stories of a princess and her white knight finding true love and conquering evil are prevalent within our society and stir something in our hearts. As children we believe in fairy-tells – and then we grow up and begin to doubt that they are real and could EVER really happen. The difficulties, the suffering, and the bad things in life overtake us and we lose sight of the simplistic goodness we once believed in as children. However, I believe that fairy-tells do exist and that the “good guy” WILL win. Good will conquer evil. Our desire for it be so proves that it is. One of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes is this:

“Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy. I am not now speaking of what would be ordinarily called unsuccessful marriages, or holidays, or learned careers. I am speaking of the best possible ones. There was something we grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in the reality. I think everyone knows what I mean. The wife may be a good wife, and the hotels and scenery may have been excellent, and chemistry may be a very interesting job: but something has evaded us… Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water… If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same."(Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis)

We could not have imagined good and evil or right and wrong. You cannot imagine something out of nothing. You cannot see a reflection in a mirror if there is no object off of which the light might reflect. If there were no sugar, we could not crave it. If there were no heaven, no God, no real joy- we would not desire those things. Good is real. God is real. Happily-Ever-After is real…it just may not be meant for this life. 

“You can bend it and twist it... You can misuse and abuse it... But even God cannot change the Truth.” - Michael Levy

Throughout human history, men and women have been in search for meaning in life; in search of truth. Questions about the existence of God and the why’s and how’s of life pervade every society. There are those who for centuries have argued that everything is relative to our experience. A group of philosophers known as “constructivists” argue that truth is not constant, but is only a result of our own individual experience and perspective. This belief seems to be held by many today. While it is true that we each have varying VIEWS of the world that have been impacted by our individual experience, there MUST be one constant reality. Truth must be absolute or we would not exist.

“Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God as placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29-30)

Our understandings of truth are imperfect, because we are imperfect. But because we simply fail to see the big picture, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

In today’s world, it seems that everything is relative. Morality is no longer believed by many to be an unchanging constant, but a value system unique to each individual and always up for debate. I refuse to accept this belief. I believe in black and white, in right and wrong, and in good and evil. I may be imperfect and therefore have an imperfect understanding of truth. However, I know with absolute certainty that truth exists and is not subject to revisal, re-interpretation, or adaptation according to our whims. And it certainly cannot be determined by a vote or a poll or be compromised. God and truth are real. It is simply our responsibility to discover them and align ourselves as closely as we can with the truth.

This is a subject that has been spoken of by great men and women throughout history: prophets, leaders, philosophers, and teachers. Their names are familiar to us, yet few have actually studied what they said and what they discovered.  In school we read ABOUT them, we read textbooks that dilute the meaning found in their actual words. As Socrates taught, we live as if in a cave. We are shown images on the wall that have been projected by those in power with the intent of maintaining and increasing their power. Instead of seeing the world and truth for what it is, we see images that reflect the truth, but that have lost their true meaning and are often twisted and manipulated by others.

We have two tools with which to discover truth: our minds and our hearts. Our minds and logical thought are powerful tools, but only of use when we listen to our heart as well. We must listen to the whisperings of the Spirit of God. We must not ignore the gentle voice that speaks to our heart of things “as they really are, and of things as they really will be.” (Jacob 4:13, Book of Mormon) God has told us through His prophets that with faith and “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”(Moroni 9:23, Book of Mormon)

Once we discover these “truths" or principles, we must then apply them to our lives. If a principle is true then it can be applied to EVERY aspect of our lives including family, friend, and business relationships; politics; raising children; our conduct in private and in public; etc… I would like to use this blog as a tool for personal study. The main source for this study will be *scripture and the word of God as spoken to His prophets. However, philosophers and secular scholars also have taught much that is of value. I would like to also apply the truths that are uncovered to today’s society, politics, religion, culture, etc and attempt to find meaning in what seems to be a very confusing, amoral, and contradictory world.

*"Scripture" includes: King James versions of the Old and New Testaments, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price; "word of God" includes the words of modern-day apostles and prophets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.