A Learning Process

Today was the last day of my American Government and Society class. It was this class that made me start this blog. To conclude the assignment, we were asked to write a short essay critiquing the requirement to post on our blogs weekly. While writing this essay, I questioned the point of this assignment and even the point of this class. Why would BYU require us to take a class on American history? What could be gained by learning about our American heritage? The answer is simple, "We can learn tons!"
For example, our independence was won with the help of our Divine Creator. There is no way that our mediocre, unskilled army could have defeated the world power of the time without divine help. We should have lost the war, but we didn't. That's the key. Also, the men who wrote the beloved Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were God-fearing men. They used the ten commandments and a conviction of the difference between right and wrong as they set up our government. John Adams said, "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Because God had a hand in its founding, the success of our nation and our government is dependent upon the righteousness of the people. Once the nation forsakes God, he will forsake us.
Another thing we learn is that we must be united in all things. Abraham Lincoln wisely stated, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." We saw the affects of a divided government just prior to the Civil War, and we know of the blood that was spilt as a result of this division. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln mentions how both the north and the south prayed to the same God for victory and that both of them were not answered fully. Even after victory was imminent, Lincoln did not bash the south, he set them on a stage equal with the north. He did not let the differences continue to divide the country. We must follow Lincoln's example and have "malice toward none."
Basically, this class is required so that we can learn from the examples of the past. We see that we must remember God, for we owe him all our freedoms; we must remember that the government is contingent upon our righteousness; and we must remember that we must be united in all things. These are not the only lessons learned from the past, but we must study it again and again to learn new lessons and refresh our minds of the ones we already hold in our minds.

How Sweet the Sound

Amazing Grace (How sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snare,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall profess, within the vail,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be for ever mine.

I'm sure many of us have been greatly touched by the words to this spiritually uplifting song written by John Newton. Not much is known about Brother Newton besides what is made known in the famous movie Amazing Grace. John Newton was a slave trader as the movie points out. In the middle of one of his voyages, a massive storm hit, and John prayed that God would have mercy on him, and He did. From this experience John realized that even he, "a wretch," could be saved by the grace of God. We are all wretches in our own ways. We all have moments where we forget God and sin. Despite this, God still loves us, and we can be saved by His grace and mercy, but it is only after all we can do. Like John did, we must seek to rectify our wrongs and strive to do the will of God. And, Yes, even after the sun refuses to shine, that God who called us to this earth "will be forever [ours]."

The Battle Against Mediocrity

Sometimes I find myself wasting hours of time while playing stupid computer games.  It's different if it's Scrabble or something where you are at least using brain cells, but this game, Trio, involves no brain activity whatsoever.  Three at a time, little bubbles of color fall on this 2-D plane.  When three of the same color line up (either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally), they burst and disappear.  I have become obsessed with this game, so much so that I play it repeatedly in the hopes of beating my old high scores.  What's even more pathetic is the fact that I haven't gained a high score in over a month!  I don't even have that to show for my wasted time!

My situation/obsession is not uncommon to the average American.  We waste hours of our time being entertained with little or no growth gained from it.  We watch hours of TV and movies, play video or computer games, and seek easy ways out of doing work.  We are always looking for a "cheat" to help move things along.  Where is our patience?  Where is our desire to learn?  Why don't we play outside any more?  America is hurting itself.  While other countries give value to education by making it competitive and desirable, America allows its citizens to get as little out of education as possible.  Mediocrity is now accepted and even rewarded because we don't want anyone to feel badly about themselves.  I'm all about having high self-esteem, but sometimes you need to fail in order to be motivated to work harder.  Why would I wear myself out if just passing is acceptable?  Is an "A" really worth the work?  I'd rather play Trio.

And we ask why we don't have people like the Founding Fathers.  Can you tell why?  Back in the day, people had to work to survive.  And, they read books . . . . for fun!!  Many of the founders had extensive libraries full of books from all over the world.  They had a desire to learn and study philosophy and economics.  They looked beyond themselves and sacrificed so much for our good.  We must not let their sacrifices be in vain.  Let us work a little harder to do our best.  Why settle for anything less? Let us turn off the TV and computer and go outside or read a book.  Let us help teach our children the value of hard work and patience.  Let us strive to end the epidemic that is sweeping our nation.

Divine Protection

Not only was the Book of Mormon a history of the people who once inhabited the Americas, it is also very applicable to us today because it was written for us and our times.  We are meant to look to its pages for guidance on many doctrinal things (revelation, faith, the atonement) and on how we can prepare for the Second Coming when our Savior, Jesus Christ, will come again to the earth.  

One of the things we can apply is found in the Nephite people.  Whenever they were righteous, the Lord protected them, but when they forgot the Lord and became caught up in their wickedness, he would no longer protect them.  The main thing they needed to fear was not attack from the Lamanites, but pride and dissension among their own people.  If wickedness prevailed, they would be cut off from the Lord and destroyed.  

In the book, Just and Holy Principles, Orson Pratt relates a similar concept to the people of the United States.  He says, ". . . may we not be fearful because of the oppressor and the wicked, but trust in the living God, and He will continue to protect us all the day long, and no power can prevail against us. . . . All that we have to fear is our own wickedness, and corruptions, and liability to depart from the true faith" (24).

From what I've seen of the world, I'm beginning to get scared.  Even the former prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley, has stated that "we as a nation are forsaking the Almighty, and He is forsaking us."  It is only a matter of time before our nation becomes so ripe in iniquity that it will be brought down by its own doings.

Going Back in Time

This past week, I was able to visit the Crandall Museum in Provo, UT.  From the outside, this old-fashioned building does not give the impression that behind those brick walls lies the world's largest and most accurate Gutenburg printing press exhibit.  On the contrary, it appears to be an old house, but oh, how I was wrong.  As you enter the side door, you are greeted by four elderly gentlemen (all of which are experts in the history of the printing press).  At least two of these gentlemen had been printing with one of these old-fashioned presses since he was 14.  

The tour began in Europe with Gutenburg.  We learned how hard it must have been for him to create the press.  Trial after trial each led him a step closer to his final product.  He not only had to create the machine, but he had to figure out how to hold the paper, keep it aligned, create each letter, make a thick ink, create a way to get the ink onto the mold evenly without going into the crevices of each letter, and so much more.  This man was a genius!  He was truly inspired with what he did.  We still use the same formula for ink, and the same metal alloy to create the letter molds.  In these hundreds of years and with our technology, we have not evolved much.  It's impressive.  

After we learned about Gutenburg and the first printing of the Bible, we traveled "across the sea" to America to learn about the role the printing press had on the American Revolution.  It was the press that really helped the revolution progress.  Papers and pamphlets could be printed to spread ideas and news about independence.  Also, the Declaration of Independence was able to be printed and circulated.  

Nearly 5o years later, the press was used to circulate something of even greater importance, The Book of Mormon.  In lightning speed over a period of around 8 months, 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were able to be printed.  This helped spread the religion and contributed to the conversion of thousands.  We owe so much to Gutenburg and his wonderful printing press.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  My church is similar to most Christian churches.  We believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father and that he is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.  We believe that the only way we can get back into the presence of our Heavenly Father (and thus have eternal life) is through utilizing Jesus Christ's atonement.  

Despite this similarity, my church is actually quite different.  One of the major differences is that we believe that the heavens are still open, that God still speaks to His children, and that we can receive guidance for ourselves.  Closely coinciding with this belief is the knowledge that we have a prophet on the earth today.  See, we believe that the priesthood (or power of God) left the earth when Jesus Christ's apostles died.  Also, that the early Christian church corrupted some of the doctrines that Christ taught.  Because the authority to act in God's name was no longer on the earth, apostasy occurred.  There was still truth on the earth in the Catholic and Protestant churches, but the fullness of Christ's gospel was removed from off the earth.  This made it so that some sort of restoration was necessary.  This was to be a restoration of prophets and apostles, of doctrines and truths that were lost, and essentially of the same church that Jesus Christ himself organized during his short time on the earth.

We believe that the heavens were indeed opened and that Joseph Smith, an ignorant 14 year old farm boy in New York, was visited by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ while he earnestly prayed for guidance.  Isn't this miraculous?  A 14 year old boy?  But this did indeed occur.  Joseph Smith was called by God to be His servant and restore Jesus Christ's church again to the earth.  Through the power of God, Joseph Smith unearthed and translated a record of the peoples that inhabited the Americas.  These were some of the "other sheep" whom Jesus referred to when he said, "other sheep I have, which are not of this fold" (John 10:16).  This book, The Book of Mormon, is too historically accurate and complex to be written by someone who had a third grade education.  There is no way that he would have been able to create such a complicated plot-line with different narrators and views that were contrary to the common views of his times.  This book was inspired by God.  There can be no doubt.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true.  I know it is!  I have prayed to my Father in Heaven, and I have felt the peace and comfort that the Holy Ghost can bring.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it literally was translated by the power of God.  I know that the priesthood has been restored and there are prophets alive today that give us guidance from God.  These things I know.  I invite you to learn more about them through LDS.org, mormon.org, the LDS missionaries, and even through your LDS friends. 

Jefferson's Government

Government exists to ensure that its people have all of their "unalienable" rights, and if it infringes on those rights, the people have the duty to abolish it and implement a new form of government. This is Thomas Jefferson's view of the purpose of government present in our Declaration of Independence. It is very interesting to note that he does not specify which type of government should be enacted. A democracy? A republic? Or, perhaps, a monarchy? Did he not know which type would work best? Did he think it was so obvious that it need not be said? Or, did he recognize the faults of man in implementing government ideas, so he left it open for the people to decide?

I'd like to think it was the last question. No one knows what he was thinking, but it's kind of fun to guess. Perhaps he knew that a new government would start off right, but then the habits of men would lead to corruption of that form, and thus a new government would be created. Maybe he wasn't that cynical (is that the right word?). Back then, there were truths that were recognized like honor and integrity that he thought would never come into question especially among the leaders of our country. Political positions were never supposed to be a career goal. They were supposed to be occupied by good citizens who were willing to sacrifice out of duty and loyalty to our country. I wonder what it would be like if that would have been the case. We would have elections, but not with all the hullabalooh of fancy campaigning and deceptive slogans and promises. I'm sorry to say, but I think I'm the cynical one here.