Fate of America Not Riding on November 3rd 2020 Election

I have been restrained by a self-imposed aversion to politics in more recent years, but I want to associate myself with a recent poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen and published this morning in the Deseret News. He maintains in his polling that culture in America always leads and that politicians lag far behind, yet it seems the politicians always garner the most publicity and in my opinion it is unwarranted.

The title of the article is "The fate of America will not be decided on Nov. 3." We are all bombarded in election cycles by the Red Team and the Blue Team, and no, we're not talking here about the U of U and BYU. The transitory nature of politics is nothing we should be investing in if we are sane citizens. 

There are types and shadows of former inhabitants of this land documented for our review in the Book of Mormon, and as a Church we have recently studied their disastrous fates in the Come Follow Me outlines when those earlier inhabitants were decimated by internal civil wars. We can be smarter than they if we will choose a better path.

Rasmussen has a lot of interesting findings in this latest poll. Among them:

- many voters agree with my key underlying assumptions: 69% agree that politicians aren’t nearly as important as they think they are

- 57% share my view that the culture leads and the politicians lag behind

- earlier polling showed that 76% recognize that American society isn’t nearly as polarized as American politics

- 71% of white voters agree that politicians aren’t nearly as important as they think they are

- that view is shared by 67% of Black voters and 64% of Hispanic voters

- 58% of Democrats agree that the culture leads and politicians lag behind

- so do 56% of Republicans and 55% of independents

- a strong majority of every measured demographic group believes American politics is more polarized than American society.

"For me," observes Rasmussen, "those views are consistent with a belief that almost all positive change in America begins far from official Washington and outside of the political process. That’s the story of America. Whether we look at the struggles for independence, women’s suffrage, civil rights or any other great movements, they began and grew in the popular culture. They rumbled beneath the surface and gained strength long before overcoming the resistance of our political system."

How refreshing is that? A voice of reason at long last, reverberating through the souls of most Americans who know what politicians always seem to ignore. There is a collective wisdom associated with the average American that far transcends the collective wisdom of Washington insiders. 

Just take a look at what they did with Social Security. Remember the "lock box" that was designed to keep the funds invested by those average Americans out of the hands of the spendthrift politicians? Yeah, we all know how that worked out, don't we? Now those trust funds are nothing more than a part of the general fund for spending amounting to trillions in deficits with no end in sight. The runaway spending freight train will not stop, it now appears, until it comes to the end of the tracks overlooking that vast chasm up ahead. Nobody in this election cycle has even mentioned a balanced budget. 

But let's not focus on the negative, something that is so easy to do.

"So," concluded Rasmussen, "I am not counting on the Red Team or the Blue Team to swoop in and save the day. That’s not their job. Yes, elections do matter. But there’s more to life and the nation than politics and elections."

Let me underscore that conclusion by my own observations. The POTUS cannot be held responsible for everything that happens or does not happen during their administrations. George W. Bush was handed his head politically over the government's seemingly inept response to the Katrina hurricane that hit New Orleans several years ago. Lyndon Johnson was blamed for not ending the Vietnam War sooner, and decided not to run for re-election. Jimmy Carter was guilty of surrendering in the war against the American economy triggered by Middle East aggression over oil prices, and went on to lose in a landslide election to Ronald Reagan. More recently, Donald Trump has been pilloried for the government response to handling the COVID-19 pandemic? Who in their right minds could possibly ascribe responsibility for all these happenings to one occupant of the Oval Office? That is the very definition of insanity - to think that a single individual could muster that much power to affect events outside their control.

And yet, we want to believe in some altered parallel universe that it is still possible. That's insane.

We live in a day when we are among a diverse and culturally heterogenous society. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are in the boat with everyone, and we are a tiny little faction in the whole fabric of God's tapestry worldwide. We will be in for a raucous and rough ride from here on in until the Second Coming of the Lord. Things will unquestionably get worse before they get better.

"These are days of great spiritual danger for this people. The world is spiraling downward at an ever-quickening pace. I am sorry to tell you that it will not get better.

"I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds the wickedness and depravity which surrounds us now.

"Satan uses every intrigue to disrupt the family. The sacred relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, through which mortal bodies are conceived and life is passed from one generation to the next generation, is being showered with filth.

"Profanity, vulgarity, blasphemy, and pornography are broadcast into the homes and minds of the innocent. Unspeakable wickedness, perversion, and abuse — not even exempting little children — once hidden in dark places, now seeks protection from courts and judges. . .

"The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were localized. They are now spread across the world, wherever the Church is. The first line of defense — the home — is crumbling. Surely you can see what the adversary is about." (President Boyd K. Packer, "On the Shoulders of Giants," BYU, J. Reuben Clark Law Society devotional, 28 February 2004, 7-8).

President Dallin H. Oaks in April of 2004, spoke at General Conference in a similar vein:

"We are living in the prophesied time 'when peace shall be taken from the earth' (D&C 1:35), when 'all things shall be in commotion' and 'men’s hearts shall fail them' (D&C 88:91). There are many temporal causes of commotion, including wars and natural disasters, but an even greater cause of current 'commotion' is spiritual.

"Viewing our surroundings through the lens of faith and with an eternal perspective, we see all around us a fulfillment of the prophecy that 'the devil shall have power over his own dominion' (D&C 1:35). Our hymn describes 'the foe in countless numbers, / Marshaled in the ranks of sin' (“Hope of Israel,” Hymns, no. 259), and so it is.

"Evil that used to be localized and covered like a boil is now legalized and paraded like a banner. The most fundamental roots and bulwarks of civilization are questioned or attacked. Nations disavow their religious heritage. Marriage and family responsibilities are discarded as impediments to personal indulgence. The movies and magazines and television that shape our attitudes are filled with stories or images that portray the children of God as predatory beasts or, at best, as trivial creations pursuing little more than personal pleasure. And too many of us accept this as entertainment.

"The men and women who made epic sacrifices to combat evil regimes in the past were shaped by values that are disappearing from our public teaching. The good, the true, and the beautiful are being replaced by the no-good, the 'whatever,' and the valueless fodder of personal whim. Not surprisingly, many of our youth and adults are caught up in pornography, pagan piercing of body parts, self-serving pleasure pursuits, dishonest behavior, revealing attire, foul language, and degrading sexual indulgence.

"An increasing number of opinion leaders and followers deny the existence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and revere only the gods of secularism. Many in positions of power and influence deny the right and wrong defined by divine decree. Even among those who profess to believe in right and wrong, there are 'them that call evil good, and good evil' (Isa. 5:20; 2 Ne. 15:20). Many also deny individual responsibility and practice dependence on others, seeking, like the foolish virgins, to live on borrowed substance and borrowed light.

"All of this is grievous in the sight of our Heavenly Father, who loves all of His children and forbids every practice that keeps any from returning to His presence."

Those are but two examples from a host of prophetic warnings about the specific conditions in which we live. In my experience the living prophets among us have been warriors of truth, not counting the "political coin of the realm" before speaking out. It has ever been thus, and it will ever be so in the days ahead.

Here is President Russell M. Nelson giving counsel to us on the day he was sustained in a Solemn Assembly as the Prophet, Seer and Revelator:

"I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that 'if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things — that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.' (D&C 42:61).

"Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, 'To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!' (Neal A. Maxwell, “Meek and Lowly” [Brigham Young University devotional, Oct. 21, 1986], 9, speeches.byu.edu).

"Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, (2 Nephi 32:3) and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

"To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you — even miracles — will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.

"I am optimistic about the future. It will be filled with opportunities for each of us to progress, contribute, and take the gospel to every corner of the earth. But I am also not naïve about the days ahead. We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages. If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation.

"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

"My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation." (President Russell M. Nelson, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives," Ensign May 2018).

And so, I end where I began this post - there is no need to get caught up in the rhetoric of the political free-for-all that pummels us each election cycle in America. Take for your guide instead the admonition of a living prophet and seek to increase your personal revelation through the Holy Ghost. I am a witness that miracles do and will happen as we petition the Lord in faith, even though it may take much longer than we anticipate. But the answers will and do come. 

President Nelson reminds us we must "patiently honor the Lord's timetable." Remember that America, for all her faults and weaknesses is made up of average folks like you and me who do their level best to make individual and wise decisions about their lives in the best way they know how. Let's respect one another despite whatever differences may exist among us.

Let us learn to disagree better, maybe not less.

America, The "Good Spot of Ground" (Jacob 5:43)

On the eve of July 4th, eighteen months ago, I wrote a post entitled "Pilgrims, Patriots and Prophets." It went on to become one of the most popular posts on this page. The back story of the celebration of Thanksgiving is outlined here in another recent post, and both are linked to the freedoms we enjoy in this great country of America.

I am routinely assailed from all sides with predictions of the demise of America, or America in decline, or the end of America as we know it. To the critics and the naysayers I say, "Phooey." Become an optimist. Choose to believe that America was, still is, and will yet prove to be unstoppable. America is an idea whose time has come once again to renew and rise from the dire predictions. She may be chastened for a season, but if she will remember her underpinnings and keep God enthroned as the Sovereign, she will never fail.

We are divided now as a nation, much as we were when Abraham Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War in 1863, issued his proclamation with these pleading words, ". . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him that, for such singular deliverances and blessings; they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union."

George Washington, in 1789, offered his own Thanksgiving Day proclamation. When you read his and Lincoln's words, they leave no doubt these men were devout in their belief in Almighty God.

So today on Thanksgiving 2011, how are things with us, America? I say they are never better, and most certainly better than they were in 1863 by contrast. We just need to be reminded that the lessons learned from the failed collectivist experiment in Jamestown still have merit and are worth remembering when our federal government threatens to become the tyrannical oppressor like the English throne once was in the seventeenth century. We learned lessons early in our history about the need for individual enterprise, self-reliance and personal exertion. Those skills were once honed and enthroned as the means for survival as the colonists carved an existence out of the forests of a continent with nothing but promise and unlimited opportunity as far as the eyes could see. Increased productivity after the near collapse of Jamestown was the result of giving every man a plot of ground (individual property ownership) coupled with the freedom to grow his own crops and work the land his way.

The Plymouth Plantation, once individuals were enthroned rather the collective, became the model for the future destiny of America.

However successful that model was for two hundred years, during the past hundred years or so of American history we have seen the very vocal minority of Americans rise up. They have railed against the American tradition of individual enterprise. The reason? Free enterprise, they say, has not provided an equally successful outcome for everyone. It is as if the statement in our founding documents that "all men are created equal" must also guarantee or ensure an equal outcome for all. This vocal minority has defied the American tradition. They will tell you wealth inequality is not the desired outcome from a free society. They would have us return to a communal experiment like Jamestown.

When we cross the threshold of a belief that wealth belongs to the government to be distributed by benevolent dictators to ensure an equal outcome, we have then reversed course. That is not the American experiment at all. It is a return to the failed policies of the past. We can never assume that anyone in government, even a benevolent dictator, has the requisite wisdom to redistribute wealth. No one is that wise, especially when they are dealing with the wealth others have earned through their own diligence and persistence.

When we cede our American heritage to that vocal minority, we have ceased to live in the American way. The argument was framed long ago, even before the foundation of this earth was laid in the pre-mortal world. Christ acknowledged there would be risk if moral agency were granted to all. Some would abuse their agency. Some would fail. Success could not be assured for everyone. Satan's appeal was attractive -- an equal outcome for all was on the table for a vote. All in favor? One-third put up their hands for Satan, and were cast out. The rest of us put up our hands to sustain the Father and the Son. Jesus Christ would become the Redeemer for all who would voluntarily come unto Him. There was to be no compulsion, no assurances of exaltation. It would be risky and it would require individual exertion and faithful obedience to the covenants of the gospel.

In America we believe in the sovereignty of the individual and private property rights under the Sovereign the founders consistently referred to as "Divine Providence." Though we are perilously close to it in 2011, we as a people, free Americans, have never yet adopted an idea that crowns the sovereignty of the collective. Since the dawn of Earth's organization we have upheld the individual. We have accepted the risk of failure. Until recent years in a desperate attempt to preserve the status quo, as a country we have never said, "They are too big to fail." We traditionally have never embraced the notion that people needed to be bailed out when they failed. Failure was and always has been part of the plan of salvation because moral agency is in play. The idea of government-mandated social safety nets has quietly but persistently lulled us to sleep in the last hundred years.

So on this Thanksgiving Day 2011, I give thanks to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for the bounties of this "good spot of ground. . . even that which was choice above all other parts of the land of my vineyard." (See Jacob 5:43). There was intentional design involved to provide bounties in natural resources. There would be a place on Earth where the blessings of freedom could take root and flourish, and those blessings are mentioned in the preamble of the greatest document ever penned by the hand of man, the Constitution of the United States of America.

My thanks this year flow to God for enabling us to continue preserving our liberty. This is still a unique and exceptional country of ours. It was designed to be so if we could apply the choices of our agency to prevent those who would undermine and erode the stated goals of enthroning individual sovereignty here. When we permit the vocal minority who threaten to destroy the foundation upon which America was built, our free-enterprise, private-property system, and displace it with the collective redistribution of resources to equalize wealth, we have forsaken our heritage and squandered our agency.

Freedom has never been free, after all. The warriors on the battlefields of this world have been forever the watchful and protective guardians of freedom's flame. I despise war. As Benjamin Franklin said, "There is no such thing as a good war, and no such thing as a bad peace." But peace has been taken from the earth because of the abuse of agency. That said, we must forever remain grateful to Americans who voluntarily serve us in all branches of the Armed Forces. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They have valiantly defended this Republic and all our freedoms. They've done it for 235 years and counting.

When we brashly launched the American experiment in 1776 with an audacious accusation against King George III, the British tyrant, our founders penned a "self-evident truth" in the Declaration of Independence. The document states boldly their belief that all men are created equal. Every man is born with the same opportunity to make of his life what he chooses.

That inspired declaration is consistent with every revealed jot and tittle of the plan of happiness we have received from our Father in Heaven. It was never intended either in heaven or here on earth that every man would take the opportunity equally. The inequality of results was always assured. Once you pick agency, outcomes cannot be guaranteed, nor should they be. Guaranteeing outcomes is stripping freedoms. May we never tire of permitting opportunity for success in this country and allowing everyone to keep the fruits of his labor without fear of redistribution by a federal government grown too big, too cumbersome, and too invasive.

Let us give thanks for the colonists who originally discovered the secret to productivity, wealth, and happiness. Let us be vigilant in preserving that exceptional American tradition. Lest we forget, let us all remember these truths today especially. Let us remember that socialism was never, is not now, and never will be the law of consecration.

I am grateful for many things on this Thanksgiving Day in 2011. Most of all I am grateful for the God who continues to bless this "good spot of ground," the America I love, despite the growing evidence we are less and less deserving.

Let us realign our thinking and preserve these precious blessings for future generations.

A Mormon Defines Israel in Today's World

As I have stated before, I do not speak for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), but I am a Mormon with an opinion. I have never been shy about sharing what I believe to be true.

Two facts this past week have prompted this post. 1) It was announced there will soon be 7 billion people living on planet Earth. Of course these numbers are difficult to nail down with precision, but "close enough" will have to suffice; and 2) according to a new poll by The Hill newspaper, 69 percent of Americans now believe the USA is in "decline." In addition, a whopping 83 percent indicate they are worried about America's future.

So how do those two seemingly unrelated facts intersect? They came together in my mind to suggest that very few people on planet Earth today understand, know or even believe these facts are part of the Grand Design of our Father in Heaven who knows the beginning from the end and has made ample provisions for His children because He loves them all and is no respecter of persons.

The Prophet Joseph Smith has delivered this plain and simple truth: "At the first organization in heaven we were all present and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it." (TPJS, 181).

The "we" in his statement includes everyone currently living on the Earth today. Everyone. All 7 billion of us. In fact, it includes everyone who has ever lived on the Earth since the dawn of Earth's creation (more properly "organization," since matter is neither created nor destroyed, but is eternal - see D&C 131:7).

Unlearned Joseph Smith could not possibly have understood the first law of thermodynamics during his lifetime, but it was obviously revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, as he states below, and he shared this insight at a funeral for his good friend, a man named King Follett:

“Now I ask all who hear me, why the learned men who are preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in the things of God, and have not the gift of the Holy Ghost; they account it blasphemy in any one to contradict their idea. If you tell them that God made the world out of something, they will call you a fool. But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow, and He is within me, and comprehends more than all the world: and I will associate myself with Him.
“You ask the learned doctors why they say the world was made out of nothing; and they will answer, 'Doesn't the Bible say He created the world?’ And they infer, from the word create, that it must have been made out of nothing. Now, the word create came from the [Hebrew] word baurau which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence, we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos — chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and re-organized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end.” (TPJS, 350-52).

Abraham was shown all these spirit children before we were born, and he saw that "among all these there were many of the noble and great ones." The Lord then said, "Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born." (Abraham 3:22-23). "The noble and great ones" were all of Abraham's future posterity - referred to as "the elect," those who would hold the priesthood, those who are Lord's "chosen people," those whom we know today in the broad definition as "Israel." Abraham would become "the father of the faithful." (D&C 138:41).

We learned there was a war in heaven, the theme was the contention over moral agency (or sometimes, "free agency.") Taught Joseph Smith: "The contention in heaven was — Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him. (Book of Moses — Pearl of Great Price, Chap. 4:1-4; Book of Abraham, Chap. 3:23-28.)" (TPJS, 357).

"The father of all lies" (see Moses 4:4, Ether 8:25, 2Nephi 2:18) is a perfect description of Satan. Notwithstanding his subtlety and brilliance, Lucifer lost the war in heaven, but he did not quit, nor did he surrender. Instead he took the hosts who followed him, denied the privilege of a physical body, and continues to wage the war against agency today on Earth. Those of us on Earth today saw through his craftiness because the evidence is we are here and we all have physical bodies - 7 billion of us.

At every stage of our existence, first as organized intelligences, followed by our existence as spirits during the war in heaven, then here on Earth today, and someday in the glorious world of spirits and the resurrection yet ahead, we are always granted that precious gift - our moral agency. We may choose freely without compulsion. Everything about our Heavenly Father's plan of salvation suggests it could not exist without moral agency. We are enlarged and our choices expand until they are as wide as all eternity if we are faithful in the correct use of our agency.

It was John who preserved this precious doctrine taught by the Savior: "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32).

If (it's a big IF these days) we learn the truth and obey it, we shall be free, even as free as God is.

President Harold B. Lee

President Harold B. Lee, in his pinnacle General Conference address (October 1973), said this:

"It would seem very clear, then, that those born to the lineage of Jacob, who was later to be called Israel, and his posterity, who were known as the children of Israel, were born into the most illustrious lineage of any of those who came upon the earth as mortal beings.
"All these rewards were seemingly promised, or foreordained, before the world was. Surely these matters must have been determined by the kind of lives we had lived in that premortal spirit world. Some may question these assumptions, but at the same time they will accept without any question the belief that each one of us will be judged when we leave this earth according to his or her deeds during our lives here in mortality. Isn’t it just as reasonable to believe that what we have received here in this earth life was given to each of us according to the merits of our conduct before we came here?
"Now there is another important understanding that we have from the scriptures. We are all free agents, which means to some people who manifest a spirit of rebellion that they are free to do anything they please, but that is not the correct meaning of free agency as the prophets have declared in the scriptures where free agency has been defined. I quote:
“'Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.'” (2 Nephi 2:27).

President Lee continued:

“Who are you? You are all the sons and daughters of God. Your spirits were created and lived as organized intelligences before the world was. You have been blessed to have a physical body because of your obedience to certain commandments in that premortal state. You are now born into a family to which you have come, into the nations through which you have come, as a reward for the kind of lives you lived before you came here and at a time in the world’s history, as the apostle Paul taught the men of Athens and as the Lord revealed to Moses, determined by the faithfulness of each of those who lived before this world was created." (Ensign, January 1974, 2-5).

Here's the important point as it affects Israel and all of God's children today: All God's children were of the foreordained spiritual family of Christ in the premortal world and were included in the broad family of Israel. They were all foreordained to join the eternal family of Christ during the days of their mortal probation. The gospel, it was agreed, would be preached to everyone, and they would all be given the opportunity to become the "chosen and the elect" during the days of their mortal probation. All these, we are told, "the Father had put into his [Christ's] power, and they were made by him." (D&C 76:42-43). All were good, and all were deserving of all the blessings they could obtain through their faithfulness in some degree of salvation.

All were given an opportunity to experience this second estate. The elect were foreordained to come into the world through the chosen lineage, and were foreordained to obtain eternal life. Significantly, and sometimes forgotten by all of us, everyone would be given an opportunity to obtain the very same blessings and promises to improve their station and to choose eternal life not only during the days of their mortal probation, but for as long as it took in the spirit world hereafter to fulfill the promises given to them in the premortal world. Whether by birthright lineage or eventual adoption into Israel, all were foreordained to exaltation who were worthy of a body in their second estate. Because God is no respecter of persons, ample opportunities are the sum and substance of His plan of salvation. The key is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Remarkable to me is that we perform all these ordinances vicariously for all in our family tree who have predeceased us. We give them the gift of the Holy Ghost vicariously here on Earth, so they may exercise its blessings in the spirit world where they reside. They are ordained vicariously to the priesthood so they may also minister to others in the spirit world as they advance in light and truth. All are alike unto God, and all have equal claim on all the blessings -- if they repent.

So what does all this mean about America's future? Freedom is the lynch pin that makes it possible for the gospel of Jesus Christ to exist on Earth today and to flourish in our lives. The United States of America is the bastion of freedom in the world today, so that all may come in at the front door of Israel's expansive tent. Yes, we are all kin to the state of Israel politically, but spiritually America's destiny is to provide and to protect freedom for all God's children living on the Earth today no matter where they reside on Earth. Zion is spreading forth globally. Satan's dominions, intimidating as they seem, are only an illusory passing night vision that will one day evaporate like the frost when the sun rises.

We may despair from time to time about America in decline, but truthfully, America will stand as long as the Earth itself stands, and as long as the hearts of freedom-loving people still beat in the breasts of those who reside in "the land of the free and the home of the brave," the outcome is assured.

The New Jerusalem is yet to be built before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and we know it will be established here in America and nowhere else. (10th Article of Faith; D&C 84:1-5).

All the doomsday talk notwithstanding, all the wars and rumors of wars, all the upheavals imaginable, all the filth and wickedness aside, the promises to the faithful remain:

"Zion shall be redeemed, although she is chastened for a little season." (D&C 100:13).

May we always prove worthy of the trust as the chosen seed of Israel and citizens of this great land of freedom as we build Zion together.

Political Quote of the Day

There are many voices on the political landscape today who openly ask, "Is there a massive deception at work, or can America be saved?" I am one who firmly believes the answer to that question is "YES!"

President Barack Obama

Here's another:

"It has been difficult and heart-rending to watch over the years what has happened to a nation we have all come to love. In order to awaken at least a part of the populace it has taken an imminent financial and societal disaster and the election of President Obama, who personifies the excesses of the past sixty years. He is someone steeped in radical re-distributionist ideology; he is dishonest, as he is a believer in the end justifies any means; and he is dominated by an overweening narcissism. Mr. Obama is the epitome of someone with a lack of character, as manifested in his indecisiveness and willingness to destroy America's future in order to permanently seize control over the citizenry.

"Replacing the President by electing politicians who will make some cuts in spending or modifying entitlement programs may delay but will not save America from eventually entering the annals of the rise and fall of great nations. The only factor that can truly alter the future is a change in the hearts and minds of the people and their leaders. The foibles of human nature are hard to overcome without a massive national catastrophe as a catalyst.

"The founders of the United States were aware of the failings of mankind and as a result tried to establish a government structure which mitigated those traits. That structure is still in place, but are there national leaders willing to risk their ambitions in order to tell their constituents the awful truth? That the future of the United States is dependent not only upon immediate changes in fiscal policy, but more importantly the people and their leaders must re-constitute American society wherein honor, integrity, self-reliance, restraint, and respect for one's neighbor are paramount. These attributes will also ultimately solve the nation's long-term financial woes and insure the future. Unless the country does so, it will inevitably join the likes of Rome and other nations on the ash heap of history." (Emphasis mine).

-- Steve McCann (click the link to read the whole article)

On other occasions I have commented about the need for optimism not pessimism in the face of the altering landscape of American politics. Here's one example. Here's another. And, yet another. I'm not Polyanna, but there's still plenty of room to be of good cheer.

Keeping faith with America in its promise for freedom, liberty and opportunity is what we must continue to fight for, believe in and be willing to work for. We cannot sit idly by and wring our hands over the depressing problems of war, debt and deficit spending we face. As long as we remain in "victim" thinking we are doomed. We can rise above it with a little faith, hope and optimism by controlling our "stinkin' thinkin'" that would destroy us.

Earlier this morning I tweeted an article I read about a young fruit vendor in Tunisia, one man, who touched off the revolutions now toppling dictators everywhere. The whole Muslim world is in an uproar in the Middle East. It all started with a humble street vendor who would suffer the abuse no longer.

So don't try to tell me one person can't change a nation. It's still happening, and it's still possible in America today. No one knows better than America how to bring about change for the better. Maybe it won't take a young man torching himself to bring us back to reality. But it will take everyone working to make constructive changes in the way we do business here. The transformative leaders in America are on the way, and not a moment too soon. The citizens are also finding their truth. It's an exciting time in American history, and we're living it! The Republic was designed for times like these!

There is hope, there is a future for America, and together we can achieve the seemingly impossible. It's been done before, and as long as America remains a nation it is still and always the last best hope of mankind as we collectively prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. (Click the link for a discussion about the Mormon beliefs in eschatology compared to other world religions).

Ultimately, that's where this is all going. . . get on board. You are among friends.