I am sure that Jeff loves that I share this but it is too great not to record somewhere. This was all him, his thoughts, and totally a strike down his alley.
I love the constitution and U.S. history. I spend as much time as I can studying them. Something that has always fascinated me about our country's history is that the struggle for freedom and choice is not unique to us. It has been the struggle of all mankind. It was fought for even before the creation of the earth.
Revelations teaches that there was war in heaven.“Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The war did not end there however. The adversary came to earth dedicated to frustrating God’s Great Plan of Happiness. The greatest weapon in his arsenal would be the destruction of freedom.
Whether the Founding Fathers of this country knew it or not, they were on the front lines in their day of the war in heaven. Satan from the beginning desired to destroy liberty and halt our eternal progression. He understands that “taking away our liberty will greatly hurt our chances of attaining eternal life.” “So far he has been extremely successful with taking over nations, raising up dictators and tyrants, and using their military might for his own evil purposes.” Every tyrant in history may not have controlled every aspect of their citizens lives, but they have done a great job of limiting religious freedom enough to keep priesthood, covenants, and temples out of many places. Experts predict less than 5% of mankind have lived under the banner of freedom. We only need to look at recent history to see some of the adversary’s greatest successes. There’s the powerful Soviet Union, Communist China and Cuba, Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Saddam’s Iraq, Gaddafi’s Libya, all the countries that fell behind the Iron Curtain, and many more.
So what was our Father in Heaven to do about this? He chose a land far away from his enemies where he could plant and raise a righteous people. He chose a place where he could bring to pass the “eternal life of man.” A place where ideas could be discussed. A place where churches, prophets, and temples could thrive. He chose a place where his priesthood could be restored.
This land has been prophesied about for years. Nephi writing of Christopher Columbus said “I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters: and I beheld the Spirit of God, and it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters.
On August 3rd 1492 Columbus set sail from Spain with 3 ships. Once underway, Columbus benefited from calm seas and steady winds that pushed him steadily westward. However, the journey was long, longer than anticipated by either Columbus or his crew. The earth was a lot larger than they had anticipated. As the trip drug on his crew grew impatient and Columbus feared a mutiny. In order to buy himself some time he promised the 2 captains of the other ships that they would turn back if land was not sighted within 48 hours. He then went to his cabin and in his own words “prayed mightily to the Lord.” The very next day land was spotted. Columbus often gave credit to God for his discovery. In a letter to Spanish leadership he wrote “Our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Who heard of my enterprise, called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?”
God would take his small band of followers, who would later populate this promised land, and make a powerful nation out of them. A nation powerful with tools and weapons of war to combat the evil of tyranny that always seems to strike. Our Father in Heaven will do this to protect His prophets and priesthood. He will give them the necessary protection and liberty to do His work. He provided prophets of old with similar protection. Samuel sought protection for the promised land in David. The prophets Alma and Helaman were protected by Captain Moroni while they did their work.
History however has shown that it is extremely difficult to raise a government that will protect its citizens freedoms while at the same time keeping them safe from the threat of their enemies. How was God to create such a government to be ran by flawed human beings who crave power and grasp for it any chance they get? He called upon a great group of men. The Founding Fathers.
Many people have wondered why these great men took the actions they did. A lot of these Founding Fathers were not ordinary people. They were extremely wealthy and successful. The 1 Percenters of their day. They were highly intelligent and respected men. They were high up in the social order. Some were famous all across the Colonies and Europe. Some of them were celebrities in their time. And aside from their own personal wealth, those living in the colonies enjoyed a higher standing of living than anywhere else in the world. Including those living in Great Britain.
So why would these men risk it all? They could have continued building their economic kingdoms. They could have continued paying their high taxes and still be extremely wealthy and ride off into the sunset in comfort and bliss. No one would have thought anything of it.
They did it because they were called to do so. They were moved upon by the Spirit to accomplish a work far greater than themselves. They pledged to each other and this country their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They often called the work they were about “the cause of all men.” They knew if they were successful they would change not just their country, but the lives of their posterity for generations to come, and the world.
Our Founding Fathers were hand picked by our Father in Heaven to lay the foundation of this country. They were men who were raised up by God for this very purpose. In 1877 many of these men appeared to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Temple. They told him “we laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.” Speaking of these men President Woodruff declared that “those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits and were inspired of the Lord.”
These choice spirits had a great task to accomplish before they could establish the government God desired. They had to take on the most powerful military the world could muster. It would take the divine intervention of God to accomplish such an impossible task and our founders knew it.
Our Father in Heaven is absolutely willing to step in and help us in our struggles. But we must be worthy of his intervention. So was the case in the Revolutionary War. Nephi speaking of this conflict wrote that he “beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.”
The country needed a leader that would be the face of courage and humility. A man with great wisdom, but who also acknowledged his weaknesses and who was always willing to learn from others. Most importantly the country needed a man who knew God and completely relied on him. The Continental Congress in their wisdom found that man. A soft spoken gentleman from Virginia named George Washington. In their wisdom, and i’m sure with the inspiration of God, they made him the leader of the Colonies tiny and seemingly hopeless army. It was an interesting choice to some. Washington had very little formal education. He had very little military experience. As historian David McCullough put it “he was by no means an experienced commander. He had never led an army in battle, never commanded anything larger than a regiment. And never had he directed a siege.” Washington was exactly what God needed. A man that he could mold into the leader that he needed.
Before Congress sent Washington to Boston, a city completely controlled by the British Military, the American Congress said a prayer. Reflecting on the prayer John Adams said the prayer was one “heaven had ordained.” He said “it was enough to melt a heart of stone.” This powerful prayer moved many of those in attendance to tears. It was said that Washington was on his knees.
Washington and Congress had humbled themselves before God as Nephi had prophesied and Washington set out for Boston. Upon arrival in war-torn Boston, Washington wasted no time. He needed God’s help and so did his troops. He quickly gave the order to ban “all profane cursing, swearing and drunkenness” among the troops. He instructed his soldiers to have “a punctual attendance on divine service, to implore the blessings of Heaven upon the means used for safety and defense.” He also went on “to forbid gambling and religious intolerance.” Congress followed these declarations by Washington by calling on a national day of prayer. They asked for the country to “confess and deplore our many sins.” It was around this time that John Adams said “millions will be upon their knees at once before the great Creator, imploring his forgiveness and blessings; his smiles on American councils and arms.” Now the nation as a whole was fulfilling Nephi’s prophecy. They had humbled themselves before the Lord, and now the power of the Lord could be more fully with them. A series of absolute miracles followed and the British were driven from Boston. They were headed for New York. Washington humbly gave thanks to the Lord and prepared for the next battle.
Throughout the war the Colonies, their congress, and their small army continually humbled themselves and called upon God. He without a doubt was touched by this humility and responded. Nephi saw this and wrote “I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them. And I beheld the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle. And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.”
Now that the colonies were free of British tyranny God could send these men to work on building a great government. The government that was in place at the end of the war was weak and incapable of carrying out necessary duties. The American’s realized this and its leaders called for a Federal Convention. The Convention enjoyed very little success for the first little while. There were many issues that could not be resolved. It seemed like a proper government would never be properly instituted. Benjamin Franklin in his wisdom reminded the delegates that they needed to pray and rely on God as they had during the war.
After much debate and inspiration from on high the Constitution was finally written, ratified, and made the supreme law of the land.
President Ezra Taft Benson said “the coming forth of the constitution is of such transcendent importance in the Lord’s plan that ancient prophets foresaw this event and prophesied of it. In the dedicatory prayer for the Idaho Falls Temple, President George Albert Smith indicated that the Constitution fulfilled the ancient prophecy of Isaiah that “out of Zion shall go forth the law.” The Constitution was inspired by God, and God himself has placed his stamp of approval on it.
So here we are today. We are blessed to be in the 5% of people who have lived under the banner of freedom. We are blessed even more to be the minority within that 5% who have the fulness of the gospel. And we are blessed even more to live in a time that this country prospers so much that we have so many tools to help further the Lord’s work. We truly have a great work to do. We have a temple within an hour of us and all the necessary priesthood keys to fulfill the work there. Not just for ourselves, but for others. Truly this is the supreme purpose of this Promised Land.
95% of the human family thus far have not enjoyed the freedoms that we have. They lived in times and places where the Gospel was not right there for them to grab. I’m sure they look down upon us now and envy the time that we live in. They need our help. They desire greatly for us to go to the House of the Lord and do their work for them. The Lord himself pleads with us to go to His house and assist in the work. Are we willing to step back and look at what a marvelous time we live in? Do we fully realize what a unique opportunity we have to do God’s work under the great protection of the constitution? Do we realize how truly blessed we are, and because of those blessings how much is required of us? I personally hope that when we meet our Creator we can all, with complete honesty, report that we took full advantage of this time that we live in, and we did everything within our powers to do the work of those who did not live in such times.
We as Latter Day Saints also have a sacred duty to defend the Constitution and freedom. President Benson declared “A citizen of this republic cannot do his duty and be an idle spectator.” While performing the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer Joseph Smith said “May those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever.”
I’d like to end with the bearing of my testimony. I know that the Constitution of the United States is a document inspired by God. It was written by men of God who were under his watchful eye and direction. I know that it was established with the purpose of furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a sacred obligation to carry on that work. I pray that we might do so, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment