What Would You Fight For?

Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

~ Alma 48:13

Today, I had an interesting conversation with my roommate, Byran, about the status quo in America today. I was given the opportunity to express some things that have been weighing on my mind for some time regarding how the world works.

1. The devil's followers are shining examples of religious commitment to a cause, diligence, foresight, and faith. Their money is where their mouth is, and they believe they will win.

2. Everyone else, but particularly, the disciples of Christ, are far less organized, diligent, and committed than the followers of Satan. They question whether or not they can win.* They reason that because Christ and many of the churches that claim to follow Christ do not wage political battles that they should let others wage (and win) every battle that does not affect their day to day life (and even some that do). They pray for the coming of Christ, but do not labor to prepare (and preserve) free nations and peoples to receive Him when He does come.

3. The disciples of Christ have the truth on their side. Side note: Satan's side also has an unfair advantage (which will lead to their downfall in the long scheme of things): they will do anything in order to win. The rules of God and man are no obstacle.

This past Sunday, I was assigned to teach Lesson 31 from the Gospel Doctrine Book of Mormon manual. Probably not by coincidence, this lesson deals heavily with the war chapters and a fiery individual who figured prominently in preserving Nephite freedoms from threats domestic and foreign.

Latter-day Saints are used to quoting David O. McKay's profound statement: "No success can compensate for failure in the home."**

Are we equally familiar with these words of Ezra Taft Benson and David O. McKay?

Now it is not so much a case of a man giving up all his other duties to fight for freedom, as it is a case of a man getting his life in balance so he can discharge all of his God-given responsibilities. And of all these responsibilities President McKay has said that we have “no greater immediate responsibility” than “to protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.”

There is no excuse that can compensate for the loss of liberty.

Do we share President Benson's faith the Constitution will "be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom?" Have we labored "with all diligence" (Jacob 5:74, Moro. 9:6) to preserve our God-given freedoms? Are we prepared to live up to our God-given responsibilities? President Ezra Taft Benson 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" (Ether 2:10). 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... (Emphasis added)

In the talks I have referenced, Elder Benson expounds the principles in the constitution. He also questions if the elders' commitment to defend it is sufficiently great. Consider these words, comparing the prophet Moroni to elders today:

Now part of the reason why we don’t have sufficient Priesthood bearers to save the Constitution, let alone to shake the powers of hell, is, I fear, because unlike Moroni, our souls do not joy in keeping our country free and we are not firm in the faith of Christ, nor have we sworn with an oath to defend our rights.

The only way this statement fits in with his faith and conviction that we will help preserve the Constitution is that many of these shrinking souls are going to man up and take the steps they have to take to become  effective ambassadors for freedom. In future blog posts, I want to explore the relevance of Moroni's oath to our situation. Why did he swear to defend specifically "his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion?" I want to do this because I believe understanding and following Moroni's example could be key in our efforts to successfully change the status quo and fulfill President Benson's dream of a free America welcoming the Savior at His Second Coming.

* e.g., D&C 1:35 For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.

**This is a true statement: great nations can only be conquered from within. Families are the same. We can only win the war for our freedoms if we win the war for individual hearts and minds.

Vacation blog time! My two top ten lists and tons of pictures...enjoy and leave a comment.

Top 10 Surprises:

10. TSA is no slower or more invasive than my last flight (2004ish). The metal detector is bigger and fancier, and there are more signs explaining how they do their job (without invading your privacy), but everything else is the same as before.

9. Unc's gate opener barely opens his gate wide enough to get his jeep in.

8. The spruce tree: thicker than Unc's bear hug and covered in vines, this greenery was a massive monolith, and conquering it was a war in itself. I also forgot I wasn't programming in a cubicle in Utah and didn't wear sunblock....big ol' sunburn for the rest of vacation. Yeah...

7. Unc has been both secretary and president of the Optimist Club and has been going there for over twenty years! One thing he is not optimistic about? Politics (they're all bad, Daniel).

6. Getting to hear inspirational speaker Phil Timp share his true story with the Optimist Club inside a Food City! Phil has courageously fought through health issues for his daughter Beth and now himself (ALS), using the challenges as opportunities to inspire others. He was, as Unc aptly put it, a "driven" individual, and he brightened everyone's day.

5. Cobbly Knob is in Gatlinburg. And it's only about 2 hours from Johnson City. I don't know why I never knew these things before: but close friends will attest that I take awhile to become oriented, if it happens at all.
  Mom and Unc used to get taffy in Gatlinburg: and the store that made the taffy is still there, and still making taffy!

4. Unc was bursting (pun intended) to show us the Tennessee dams. We didn't even make it home from the airport before we were gawking at Boone Dam, and that was before the weir dams, the earth dam, and even a dam at the softball fields where he works!

3. The rain. Tennessee has been getting a good soaking. Our hosts were adamant that there had been a drought, but we saw green in bunchfuls everywhere we went. A torrential rain even slowed our Friday evening trip across I-40: the worst I've driven through in years, but oddly exciting in a way.

2. Grandpa still remembers going to USO shows. I had never heard of them before, but it's a great sidelight of American history, and I'm grateful to him for pointing it out to me. Part of war is being able to keep perspective: with humor, for example. "But it's comforting to know that while we're all here celebrating Christmas at home, that somewhere out on the lonely frontier, Elvis is defending us."

1. Unc's attic: yes, it was raining and yes I only had a flashlight and yes it went out on me. Brownie points if you can guess what I saw!

Honorable mentions
- Dirt zamboni
- Live sawtooth sharks
- Finding Herbie
- Meeting the world's tallest man

Top 10 Unsurprises:

10. Grandma, Grandpa, and Unc all took us places they had lived before. I wonder if I will feel the same affinity for old homes I've lived in. Then again, these houses are older than mine...and hence, cooler...

9. Grandpa taught us even more about the Civil War - this time it was the battle of Johnsonville. Nathan Bedford Forrest's men, unsurprisingly, out planned and roundly defeated the Union outpost. The Union commander was so overwhelmed that he decided to burn what was left of the town and run for the hills, or should I say, the woods?

8. Historical markers! We passed one several times on the road that said something about a mount: but to our Westerners' eyes, there was only a smallish hill. We found another one while touring the park grounds in Bristol.

7. Grandma's sourdough bread. "We like it, so I keep making it." You and everyone else! It goes well with toasted pepper jack and cheddar cheese...

6. Gardens. There are always delicious, enormous, soft tomatoes for us when we come. Anyone else get nostalgic about having a compost pile, or is it just me?

5.  Restaurants! I love eating out; it wouldn't be a vacation without sampling the local cuisine: Golden Corral, Shoney's, Maggiano's Little Italy, Papa John's, Wendy's, and somewhere with an Argentine flair (El Matador, perhaps?)

4. Uncle Billy beat himself at pool by calling the wrong pocket for the 8-ball. I still had two stripes to go at the time.

3. Playing the Wii with Andy. Beating Andy at the cows game, not so much! (He won the rematch.)

2. Piano time everywhere there was a piano, including Uncle Carl's (where a flattering Aunt Iona called for more between pieces!). Granddaddy's spirit lives on...

George & Daniel at age 26

1. Enjoying Boone Lake. I had learned my lesson from Tuesday and wore plenty of sunblock on our Thursday excursion. Over my vote, we started late (around 11:15 am). We were only able to get in one run before a storm chased us into an empty covered dock. I made it up and out of the wake, so it would have to be called a success.

Responsibly, Unc ended the outing as soon as the rain had cleared out (around 15 minutes later) so he could monitor the weather for the softball games. (They ended up getting canceled after 30-45 minutes of uncertainty and some rain and lightning.)
    We also spent two evenings on the dock: we wore plenty of bug spray and had a great time overall. There was a little tension when Unc had to discipline Maggie: unlike Shiloh (who fancies himself a bit of a fisherman), she ignored his commands to lie down and not bother us while we were eating.

Honorable mentions
- Punctual mealtimes (and unpunctual)
- Dust (and the absence of dust)