Looking at the United States of America, a country that I would be willing to fight tooth and nail to the death for, it is obvious that something is lacking. It's arguable what the cause is; if there could be a single cause laid out.

In the beginning was the Revolutionary war. Many brave young men, like Joseph Plumb Martin (who was 16 when he enlisted), went off to fight for the freedom that they wanted. They faced starvation, freezing weather, a force much larger than their own, and of course death. In the 1800's we saw the Civil War, which put Americans against themselves in a fight to keep the country together (or a fight for freedom in the other side's case). WWI and WWII saw Americans come together again for a great cause. Virtually everyone sacrificed something for the cause of freedom and righteousness being spread. Even the Indian-American war, a campaign that anyone can look back on 100 years later and say wasn't the brightest idea, was supported by most Americans. People were proud to be Americans and they were proud to be part of a cause that would help other people be free.

This used to be a country that cherished freedom and righteousness.

Rewind a few billion years (or however long ago you believe this went down) to our premortality. There was a huge meeting and two plans were brought forth. One plan would allow us to choose how we live our lives. We would be provided with inspired people to teach us and help us to become good people, but in the end it would be up to us to accept those teachings and work out our own salvation and exaltation. We would be provided a way to make amends when we screw up, and the ability to do good or evil. The second plan would guarantee to each of us salvation and exaltation. We would need no churches or countries or Gods or Messiahs or anything of that nature. This is because we would have no disposition to do evil. Everyone would live righteously because there would be no other option. It sounds great on the surface; no sorrow, no crime, nothing bad. The downfall, though, is that we wouldn't have any negative experiences. We would know no good because we would know no evil. We would have no choices to make, and therefore no opportunities to grow.

I think it's obvious which plan 2/3 of us chose to follow. We chose freedom. We chose a plan that would require us to be charitable and kind by our own will, not because a higher power was dictating our every move. We chose a plan that would require us to stand up for what we believe in and to fight, to the death if necessary, to protect and promote truth and righteousness.

These are the same principles that America has been about since the start. These are the same principles that, until about 50 years ago, a huge majority of Americans supported. But then things changed. The person who presented the plan that would force people to do good, in his jealousy, gained power over many people. He convinced thousands that freedom isn't for everyone. He convinced people that those who choose to do good by their own will are inferior to those who believe that happiness and material things should be for everyone, regardless of the choices that they or their ancestors make. He convinced people that they were entitled to the same blessings of those around them, regardless of how hard they work for them. He convinced people in power that they could get away with anything as long as they keep it covered well enough.

He promised people lavish houses, nice cars, $100 dinners every night, luxurious vacations, and designer clothing. All they have to do is stop thinking about others. All they have to do is become selfish and think only of their own welfare and the nice worldly things that they could have (and they wouldn't even have to put forth an effort!) He convinced people that it would be okay for them to enter into bondage in order to show the world that they are better than their neighbors. He was allowed into the hearts of powerful men, telling them to keep themselves in mind as they raise their own wages and benefits, at the cost of the livelihood of those around them. The government will take care of those people... Or maybe they can just work 3 jobs (McDonalds, Wal Mart, and Pizza Hut... Sounds like a plan!)...

Do you see what I'm getting at here? Do you see how socialism and communism are contrary to the plan that we ourselves chose? Do you see now how this isn't simply a matter of making sure that everyone has food to eat and a safe place to sleep at night? It sounds great on the outside; this ideal world where there are no starving children and no wars and no corruption.

The country that I love is slowly, but surely, selling itself out to the banks and the car companies and a corrupt government. All around me, people are selling their freedom and agency in exchange for a false hope that the same corrupt government that so many of them chastise will provide their every need. We are selling our country, and in a way the plan that was laid out for us in the beginning, in exchange for the plan that we all vehemently rejected so many years ago. Our charity will soon be meaningless as people's love for others is replaced by strictly-enforced laws requiring that people give up their time and money.

I think the time is long overdue that we go back to the principles that this country was founded on. Let's follow the Constitution the way it was meant to be. Get rid of the corrupt judges and corrupt government officials who alter that document to suit their whims. Replace them with righteous men who truly care about the country. Let's go back to God.

Ezra Taft Benson said it best:
"First: We must return to worship the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. He has promised that the righteous will be preserved by His power (see 1 Ne. 22:17). But we must keep the commandments of God. We must pay our tithes and offerings, keep the Sabbath day a holy day, stay morally clean, be honest in all our dealings, and have our family and personal prayers. We must live the gospel.

Second: We must awaken to “a sense of [our] awful situation, because of this secret combination which [is] among [us]” (Ether 8:24). We must not tolerate accommodation with or appeasement toward the false system of Communism. We must demand of our elected officials that we not only resist Communism, but that we will take every measure to prevent its intrusion into this hemisphere. It is vital that we invoke the Monroe Doctrine.

Then we must put our trust in Him who has promised us His protection—and pray that He will intervene to preserve our freedom just as He intervened in our obtaining it in the first place.

Third: We must do as the Lord commanded us by revelation in 1833: “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil” (D&C 98:10).

Men who are wise, good, and honest, who will uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, must be sought for diligently. This is our hope to restore government to its rightful role.

Last: We must study the inspired Constitution and become involved in the political process ourselves. I quote the First Presidency statement that was read in sacrament meetings on Sunday, 1 July 1979: “We encourage all members, as citizens of the nation, to be actively involved in the political process, and to support those measures which will strengthen the community, state, and nation—morally, economically, and culturally” (Letter from the First Presidency, 29 June 1979)."

Tags: United States Of America Patriotism Nationalism Freedom Gospel

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