Happy Independence Day

As we take some time to reflect on the great country of which we are a part on its Independence Day, I hope we can all read, and reflect on the words of our nation's most important documents - the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.

Ezra Taft Benson spoke of the declaration's signers:
"At the conclusion of the Declaration of Independence, they wrote, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” This Declaration was a promise that would demand terrible sacrifice on the part of its signers. Five of the signers were captured as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War; another had two sons captured. Nine died from wounds or from the hardships of the war. The Lord said He “redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (D&C 101:80). Nephi recorded that the Founders “were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations” (1 Ne. 13:19)." [Ezra Taft Benson, “Our Divine Constitution,” Ensign, Nov 1987, 4]

Several of the Constitution's framers wrote of the a divine hand that intervened in the country's affairs; how the document would not have come about without that divine guidance:

Alexander Hamilton, famous as the originator of The Federalist papers and author of fifty-one of the essays, said: “For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interest” (Essays on the Constitution of the United States, ed. Paul L. Ford, 1892, pp. 251–52).

Charles Pinckney, a very active participant and author of the Pinckney Plan during the Convention, said: "When the great work was done and published, I was struck with amazement. Nothing less than the superintending Hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war … could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole” (Essays on the Constitution, p. 412)."

"During his first inaugural address in 1789, President George Washington, a man who was raised up by God, said: “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency” (First Inaugural Address, 30 Apr. 1789).

Certainly, we live in a great nation. Let us give thanks to God for the freedoms we enjoy every day. Let us use those freedoms to continue improving the country each day in whatever way we can.

As the month of July opens, I also am brought to reflect on the sacrifice of our pioneer forbears. Those people that gave so much to keep the Church together, who crossed the great plains and suffered tremendous losses because of their great faith. I hope we can pay tribute to them and be grateful for their lives. Suzy, Camden, Charlize, and I have been singing pioneer songs all week, and it really is great to remember them and sing about their lives together.

I leave you with a great quote from President N. Eldon Tanner:

"It was all part of God’s plan—the coming of Columbus, the colonization, wise men raised up to frame the Constitution, Joseph Smith prepared for his part in the restoration of the gospel, even the persecution which drove the Saints to the Rocky Mountains where the Church could continue to grow.

"What does all this mean to you and me as individuals? It means that God, as our Father, made all these arrangements for you and me. We were part of his eternal scheme. And so it is not enough merely to observe these various anniversaries, but we must recommit and rededicate ourselves to uphold the convictions and the principles upon which the blessings we enjoy are predicated. We too must be prepared to sacrifice, where necessary, to keep our freedoms inviolate. My father used to say: “The true way to honor the past is to improve upon it.”

"Therefore, we should love God more. We should serve our fellowmen better. We should keep all the commandments. We should be better prepared as parents to teach our children to pray and to walk uprightly before the Lord, and to assume their responsibilities. It would be tragic if for fear of the challenge involved the descendants of those who gave so liberally and sacrificed so much shrank from the duties of their day and time.

"On the other hand, a willingness to work for needed reforms and a better world would guarantee for us a special place in history as it did for them. We should be constantly striving for improvement of ourselves and our surroundings." [N. Eldon Tanner, “Pioneers Are Still Needed,” Ensign, Jul 1976, 2]

Happy 4th of July and Pioneer Day everyone!!

Ignorance Still High in Popularity

In a day when we are inundated with absolutely endless wells of information, it seems like human nature still wants to limit us to picking information that suits us, and avoiding the rest.

I don't care if you think 9/11 was a conspiracy, if you think the Church is wrong for speaking out against gay marriage, if you think the Iraq war is a worthy cause, if you think the minimum wage should be $10/hr. There are certainly valid arguments to be made for and against each position. Yet jump in the middle of a debate between sides, and you inevitably find one side demonizing the other - usually for being ignorant, bigoted, old-fashioned, moronic, evil, etc, etc.

The result usually ends up finding us just as ignorant as people in other times who were not blessed with information at their fingertips like we have currently at ours. Taking a side, and then only trumpeting the virtues of your beliefs, while attacking those who have opposing views may make us feel more comfortable. But saying we are more enlightened and knowledgeable than our progenitors is more than likely going to be untrue.

The sad difference is that many of the ancients probably had no way to know any better. Lack of understanding because it is unavailable is one issue. Lack of understanding because of a refusal to see multiple sides of an argument, when they are right in front of you, is a more reprehensible type of ignorance.

Take the issue of gay marriage in California. The supporters of same-sex marriage seem to overemphasize their virtuous tolerance for those that are different than them. That is, unless you oppose gay marriage. The tired, trite phrase may follow - "but we cannot tolerate intolerance." And on the one hand, they are right - only they fail to recognize the intolerance on both sides.

Just as those who oppose gay marriage can be ugly, hateful, and bitter, so can those who support the embattled group of same-sex couples. But not tolerating hate is one thing. Not tolerating someone's position even, and maybe especially, just because someone disagrees with you ends up being the same intolerance condemned in one side, but not in the other.

What I say on this issue, could probably be extended to any other: just because you oppose gay marriage does not mean there are not valid arguments to be made that gay marriage is okay, that it is a good thing. However, the converse is also true: just because you support same-sex marriage does not mean there are not intelligent arguments to be made against the issue.

These words - intolerance, bigotry, tolerance, love, marriage, and so forth, all tend to shield the real problem that is hiding in the background: we refuse to acknowledge the virtues of the other side, whichever side that may be. And it is not because there is no virtue on the other side, it is because we choose to be ignorant. And of all the ignorance, that is the worst degree possible. Human nature is a powerful force.

Driving the point home one other way: ignorance is probably just another symptom of a very corrosive characteristic that destroys people, families, and nations - pride.

"Compare the world in which we live with ancient Jerusalem and with Sodom and Gomorrah. Our world is filled with abundance and pride and haughtiness. Many people today are filled with so much pride and arrogance that it becomes almost impossible to reason with them. Hate has become so contagious among nations and individuals that reconciliation seems an impossible goal."
------Theodore M. Burton, “A Disease Called Pride,” Ensign, Mar 1971, 26------

Unfortunately, pride leads to ignorance, and not many of the "warriors" on the political battlefield are looking for reconciliation. But it is certainly not a conservative defect - it is a malady besetting too many on both sides. Until we recognize this is true, and acknowledge this is the root of any real change we might seek, the destructive influences of pride and ignorance will continue to tear us all down.

But hey, whatever's popular, right?

Cookie Monster on Colbert

I am glad to know Cookie Monster still loves cookies!

The NEW Age of [Gossip] Forwarded Emails

I am going to commit to sending this post to each person that sends me a forwarded email attacking Muslims, Barack Hussein Obama, John Sidney McCain III, (Incidentally, isn't Sydney a girl's name? I can't vote for a candidate with a GIRL'S name!) the Golden Compass or pretty much what or whomever.

Maybe the most aggravating thing about these emails is that people send them and then think they are not responsible for the information contained therein because someone else authored it, and the sender is just relaying the message. I disagree with this assumption wholeheartedly. If you forward it, you should be responsible for the information.

If you disagree, please explain to me how sending an electronic lie is any different than spreading gossip about someone in your church, or about your neighbor? The shame of it all is, now we can gossip to dozens (yea, literally hundreds) of people all at once. Yet when the information proves false, no one is there to admit they were wrong. No one is there to apologize for the backbiting.

There have been times when reading forwarded emails from God knows whom caused my head to tremble. However, it is now a fact of life, and I must keep my sanity. So I take deep breaths and remind myself people are still free to be ignorant in this country if they so choose.

Currently the majority of said messages seem to be bashing liberals or Obama, but that is not even the (or even a) reason I oppose sending the messages to everyone in your address book.

I started opposing them after I actually determined to double-check the accuracy of the statements often made in the mass-mailings. Exhibit A: The owner of the Portland Trailblazers supposedly wrote a letter to a local newspaper defending the Latter-Day Saint faith. A quick check finds that it was a person with the same name, but in fact NOT the NBA ball club's owner.

Exhibit B: Jay Leno allegedly wrote a long email talking about how good we really have it in the United States, and that we should quit whining so much. Double-checking reveals that Leno never penned any of the words in the email.

In fact, you can find how the myth actually got started, and even though many of them are several years old, trust me, you will probably receive this one again. After all, only one grandfather, one auntie, one cousin, or sibling has forwarded them along. You have many more relatives who will still think it's the first time you've seen the message.

The accumulated effect on this individual is that every time I get a forwarded email, I tend to roll my eyes, gag with gastrointestinal contractions threatening dry-heaves, and clench my fists in a Kimbo Slice fit of rage.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. However, as I have read email after email, especially those that besmirch the character of Barack Obama, Muslims, the Koran, or "liberals," I immediately want to respond, "why do you wish to endorse and perpetuate lies, hatred, stereotypes, and bigotry en masse?"

Now, I realize they do not mean it in that way. They just see it more as: Barack Obama scares me, so whatever information saying anything negative about him should be forwarded so I can scare others into not voting for him as well.

However the ultimate result is I, who originally would not even think of voting for Obama, am tempted more and more to do just that: support him. If you want to debate policy, and specific important issues, that is fine. If you think sending various unsubstantiated emails are grounds for being scared of a presidential candidate, or a religious group, then you need to rethink your mentality.

I recommend two excellent discourses on the matter: "Your Name Is Safe in Our Home" by Elder Cree-L Kofford, and also "Instruments of the Lord's Peace" by Elder Robert S. Wood.

I do not count myself perfect in this matter. I am sometimes guilty of bitter stereotyping and judmental thinking as well. However, these talks help me remember that passing on fear-inducing, sometimes hateful material about anyone, is not the way of raising the level of public discourse in an election year. No, the MSM do not help at all, but let's be adults - men and women - about the matter, and admit most of us are just better than that.

The next time you think about hitting the forward button, think about this: how many forwarded emails have been sent with lies about something you believed in strongly? How many lies about the LDS faith have been perpetuated to incite fear in those otherwise curious about the church? I hope we are not guilty of indirectly encouraging and fostering ill-will and suspicion toward non-offending parties because we failed to review the material and confirm its accuracy.

So please, if you're going to send out the emails, double-check your facts. Or you can expect to get a link to my website. Or at least be willing to call it what it really is: hurtful, despicable, gossip.

Baracknophobia

I am not much of a fan of Barack Hussein Obama at all, but this video is very true. If the mainstream "liberal" media are in Obama's corner, why are they bringing up all these so-called unsubstantiated charges against him? In the end, we still do not know who Obama even really is because of all the wasted time talking about lapel-pins and pictures of Barack when he was six.





I found an article from Media Matters that addresses this issue as well. Have a read.

After a couple dozen debates (and I have watched a good number of them), can many of us really even state briefly what John McCain or Barack Obama stand for on key political issues? And NO, "McCain's a conservative and Obama's liberal does not answer the question.