Father of all earthly life

This is a hymn dealing with the tragedy of abortion. Murder is a horrible sin because it not only deprives someone of their choice to live, but also because of the spiritual damage it does to those who commit the murder. The zeal with which people rationalize murder in any form, but particularly when it is practiced against babes in the womb, should drive all of us to pray for divine healing and change. None of us but God knows the end of this scourge on the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of our brothers and sisters worldwide. But as God has seen fit to use imperfect men and women to bring about his purposes before, might he not do so again as we pray to him and cheerfully do all in our power?

Let us not smother the cries of the wounded and dead; let us work with the great Healer of souls till every life is precious and every soul has felt the strength of the love of God.

Father of all earthly life,

Lord of worlds enthroned,

Sacred blood defiles our land;

Heaven’s pillars groan.

Father we are pained for sin,

Deeds time cannot heal;

How shall we abide the wrath

Of thy wounded zeal?

Even Christ the Lord of all

Shrunk ’neath sin’s great weight;

Who shall this unworthy land

Save now from her fate?

Healing and compassion come

Lord alone from Thee.

Oh Deliv’rer of the meek,

Hear our anguished plea!

Send a message from above

That will peace afford,

Purge unclean and bloody hands,

By Thy Spirit’s word.

O Lord if it may be so,

Let our children dead,

Know the sorrow that we feel

That their blood was shed,

And may we through Jesus’ grace,

Which surpasses all,

Meet them one day face to face,

In Thy hallowed hall,

Cleansed from every wicked thought,

Knowing as we’re known,

Born again to never die

Through thy grace alone.

1 Cor. 13:12; Mosiah 27:25-26; Alma 34:6, 12

Link to sheet music

Happy Father's Day!

Hi everyone! I wanted to wish my dad a happy father's day. Here is a short poem I wrote in his honor today:

I asked my daddy what he'd done
That really made a difference.
I asked my daddy what he'd done
That really made him glad.
He turned to me and looked at me,
And when he caught my eye,
He said to me, The greatest thing
I've done is being dad.

The world would end tomorrow
If men refused to love;
Raise up sons and daughters
As they're given from above,
Foster home and family and
Teach the way to be:
By your good examples
You will touch eternity.

I love you Dad! I especially love how you fostered my love of writing at an early age. Few things in my life to this point have given me more joy than sharing the inspiration I receive through creating. I've published a few poems on a free poetry site here: http://a.allpoetry.com/poems/by/chessfan. I'll end with one of those today:

If time were a thread,
I would weave a sweater
Of the glowing ambitions of youth
And the experience of sires;
Of a thousand tales of valor
And of vibrant memories
To warm the cockles of my heart
And plant undying fire
For the deeds that stand
Apart in space and 
Light the pilgrim's weary march
To Calvary and beyond.

Bright Star of Morning

1. Bright Star of morning, Light of our dawning,
Send Thy sweet presence here, we pray.
Child of the Father, born of the water,
Blessed among men be Thy name this day.

Chorus:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Worthy the Lamb Who was slain to give life!
Alleluia! Praise ye His name!

2. Men from all nations join now to praise Him,
Blessed of man and of God above!
To all the earth He brought a new birth,
To all that live He brought the Father’s love.

3. Giver of breath, conqu’ror of death,
Sweet be the news o’er the mountains You bore.
Tidings of goodwill ring o’er the hills,
Never to be silenced by sorrow more.

4. O my soul take flight; fly to the Light
Who bore you His child and still bears you along.
Heav’n and earth mingle; let the notes tingle
In all the ears that hear our glad song!

Rev. 22:16; Mosiah 15:18-20; D&C 88:49-50

Defending the People

 Alma 48:13 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.

The word “people” occurs over 1400 times in the Book of Mormon. By contrast, “friend” appears 23 times and “family” 31 times. It's not too much to say that Nephite prophets were obsessed with “people.” (See e.g., 1 Ne. 4:6; 15:5; 2 Ne. 1:5-12; 33:1; Jacob 1:4-8; 4:3-4; Enos 1:9-19; Jarom 1:3; Alma 45:13-16; Morm. 7; and many more.)

Who are the people?

A people is a gathering of individuals who are united by blood ties, shared values and traditions, and often shared geographic location.

In Christian theology, all human beings are spirit children of one Heavenly Father, and physical descendants of one earthly father, Adam. The first recorded division among men occurred when Cain and his wicked followers split from the followers of Adam. A still greater division occurred when the Lord confounded the languages of the people at the tower of Babel, resulting in many nations scattering to different parts of the earth.

In all times, God established covenants with those who were willing to serve Him. Because these covenants were taught and passed down with other family traditions, we sometimes substitute “family” for “people” in the phrase, covenant people. But it is worth noting that making and keeping covenants, and not lineage, is ultimately the defining characteristic of a covenant people (See 2 Ne. 30:1-2; 1 Ne. 14:1-2; 15:14-18; 2 Ne. 10:18-19). In like manner, all peoples share core values, often rooted in historical events that the founders of the nation participated in.

What do the people need to be defended against?

This question is much too broad for a single blog post, but I will address what I consider some of the greatest threats to my people.

Internal threats

As noted previously, people are defined in large part by their shared values. (This is easily seen in the extreme case: a people who no longer share any values will cease to be a nation.) I accordingly consider some of the deadliest threats to our continued status as a united people to be attacks on the values that Americans share.

By unanimous declaration of the American representatives in 1776, the people of America share a belief that God endows all men with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that governments are created to protect all men in those rights. In addition, we believe government should be limited to the rule of law, equally applied to all people. When we sacrifice the right of others weaker than ourselves to their life and their freedom, we strike against the core of our shared values. As Martin Luther King has it, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Yet, in our supposedly civilized nation, the threats to innocent life and liberty are greater than ever before.

In 2008, approximately 1.21 million lives were ended by abortion in the U.S. The Supreme Court decisions which “legalized” abortion in the seventies clearly overstepped the boundaries of constitutional law and judicial authority, yet the federal government refuses to return power over this issue to the states, where it belongs. In general, the federal government has followed a policy of stealing power from the states almost at every opportunity, either directly (as in the case of abortion) or indirectly (by taxing Americans and returning the money only to those states who comply with federal regulations: e.g., public education). Historically a pillar of capitalism, the United States has fallen steadily in its economic freedom ranking as the size and power of the federal government have bloated.

Beyond the threats to life and liberty, our shared respect for and trust in God have been publicly called into question and legally challenged, especially by activist judges. We cannot continue to exist as a united people if we are not equally protected in our religious liberties. I applaud the work of institutions like the Becket Fund who are working tirelessly to defend these liberties, but I am appalled by how many of the lawsuits they face are backed by our own government.

External threats

In closing, I will say a brief word on the subject of foreign enemies. No great nation is ever conquered solely from outside; and America will be no exception to this rule. The Jaredites, the Canaanites, the Nephites, the peoples of Israel, Babylon, Carthage, Greece, Rome, and countless other nations have fallen prey to invading armies, but in every case that outcome was preceded and facilitated by a cankering and rotting of the principles on which great nations are built (2 Ne. 25:9; 1 Ne. 17:35; 2 Ne. 1:9-11; Alma 46:18). All the bombs in the world cannot save a nation that has lost its core values, and that is the greatest threat to America today. My personal suspicion is that many (if not most) of our foreign entanglements abroad, which Washington so presciently advised us to avoid, have created heightened levels of conflict and discontent and weakened our national security far more than strengthened it.

Conclusion

Defending one’s people is a serious and sacred obligation. It is not easy to fathom, and it is not easy to fulfill. It is my hope and prayer that Americans of this day will find the flame of patriotism that burned so brightly in previous generations has not died in our own hearts; and that once found, we never cease to kindle it till we have fulfilled our responsibilities to our families and our nation or our hearts beat no more.

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)

July 22 - Snippet 2

It’s 9 pm MST of July 22nd. Mary Alma and I have had a quiet, reflective day. I had breakfast at 7:30 – and I was the late bird! I made myself oatmeal with frozen blueberries, plus a green jello square. We left for Church about 8, with Grandpa driving Grandma’s car. I helped Grandma straighten her seat. (Inside, she has a plastic cutting board to sit on: she has to sit on something hard or lie down for her back.) Mary Alma had trouble getting carsick yesterday, so she got the front seat.

I enjoyed the joy of Julia McGirt, who provided the organ (and piano) accompaniment for the service. I rejoice in good music and she was brimming with good music, to overflowing. We spoke our parts, and shook hands with others, and enjoyed it. The sermon by visiting pastor Keith Geitner urged us not to become obsessed with getting everything perfect, since it is God’s grace, not our efforts, that perfect us. He urged us to free ourselves to try things (e.g., be like people with a digital camera vs a 24-shot film camera).

We ate a little and talked a little in the overflow following the meeting. A community garden where members could take food (and make donations) or donate their own garden produce occupied a large table. Grandpa told me that Duke Ellis (a Stephen minister) ran that program. Grandpa’s class was a lecture from the Great Teachers series by a woman archaeologist who recounted the basics and the debate over Josephus’ account of the mass suicide at Massada. Apparently Josephus’ audience (Romans) were not particular about historical accuracy. Josephus employed the mass suicide motif more than once, a motif which would have shown the Jews to be a noble, worthy foe for the proud Romans to have defeated.

After the Sunday school class (all of the regulars contributed money: apparently, they are their own “corporation?”), Aunt Shelly drove Mary Alma and me over to the Franklin 2nd ward building, by the Nashville temple. We were greeted by numerous people, and profited from the lessons. Sacrament meeting focused on answers to prayer, and I felt that I would receive important answers and guidance for my life in the next few days. I’m on the lookout now. Sunday school was taught by M.D. Dan Follenger (?), a BYU grad with a scholarly spin. He spent a lot of time on Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Kent Jackson’s theory is that it should be Anti-Nephi Lehies (not from Nephi, descendants of Lehi). Plausible. He also encouraged us to see what doctrines had most impressed the recent convert, King Anti-Nephi-Lehi, judging from his speech to his people. In elders quorum, we had a thoughtful lesson on applying Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk: The Merciful Shall Obtain Mercy. One way to avoid getting mad is to note when we usually get mad and arrange our lives to avoid these situations (e.g., leaving early for work so we won’t be impatient).

At 2:06, Aunt Shelly picked us up, but we had to go to Sam’s for Uncle Billy (who was buying watermelon), so we didn’t get home till quarter to 3. We had a light lunch of sourdough bread, toasted cheese and Fleischman’s margarine, pepper and tomatoes + Gatorade (for me: Grandpa had bought me some at a gas station during our trip to New Johnsonville Saturday). We did Sudoku and I did show and tell with our photos from the first half of the vacation with Unc. At 5:45, we had dinner (soup, bread, crackers, tomatoes, and more of the frozen vanilla yoghurt + gluten-free peach/cherry cobbler – I was surprised to find cherry even better than the peach!).

Just like Christmas, I don’t want today to end. Do you know the feeling?

After dinner, Grandma showed me photos on their digital slide show that Andy had set up. I’m a little sad we haven’t seen more of Aunt Shelly and Uncle Billy, but they are understandably stressed with school and work, respectively, and I don’t want to be a drag on their time. Plus, I have a feeling my real happiness will not depend on making others do a single activity. I wonder if I am a vanishing breed, as I do not find as much pleasure in pursuing things that make me “busy” as I do in having people that I can become busy with doing things we all find worthwhile. I would rather give up what makes me busy to be busy with people I want to be my friends (and who want to be my friends, if there are any – I have hope).

To all my readers, what else should I tell about our vacation? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook or email, or when you see me in person. :) I'm going to do (at least) one or two top ten's in my next post: feel free to suggest what they should be about.