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The land of the free, the home of the brave...

One of the recurring themes of the Book of Mormon is the idea that the land in which we live is a choice land above all other lands. Growing up, this was a source of pride to me - hey, I'm an American and proud to be one! Now that I am more seasoned, I realize that it's the LAND that is blessed, and that the people on the land are blessed only if they will follow the God of this land, who is Christ.

And since Christ is God of the entire universe, it seems just a little spurious to me to think that those in other lands who choose to follow Christ are not blessed equally. Having married someone from another country my eyes are open to that in ways that they were not before. And having spent time in a country that generally likes the United States and yet has some significant issues with the foreign policies and things that we are doing here was also very eye-opening.

Couple of things to note:

1. The land is blessed to be a land of freedom and superiority, conditioned on if the people who live here will have Christ to be their God. Choose otherwise and the result is destruction. Where are we headed now?

2. The Book of Mormon also makes clear that the "land" does not refer to a particular country or region - it seems to encompass all of the Americas, both north and south. Thus, it seems arrogant in the extreme to infer that it is only referring to the United States.

3. There is a reference to the establishment of a great nation on this continent. That nation is clearly the United States. There has never been a country in the history of the world that has enjoyed more freedom, more opportunity, more prosperity, and more blessings from God than has our country. It truly is the greatest nation on earth, established by God to be a light and a beacon of hope, freedom, and liberty to all the world. But with that blessing comes a great obligation to respond to the needs of those who are around us. For too long our foreign policies have been directed towards the control of our interests to the detriment of other nations' sovereignty. Ron Paul, my representative in Congress (with whom I generally do not agree) said in a recent meeting I attended that the United States has a great obligation to take care of our own domestic issues first, then we can become a good model for other countries to follow. He said that for too long our foreign policy has involved coercion and compulsion while our internal moral compass has been neglected. I agree with that and think we need to reevaluate our priorities...

4. We also learn from the Book of Mormon that God is mindful of all His children over all the earth. Those who are righteous are blessed and prosper, regardless of the land in which they live. It is true that the opportunities on this land tend to be greater than others, but it is also true that regardless of where you are you may excel and succeed through hard work, sacrifice, and with the help of the Lord. This help is only accessible on condition of righteousness. Further, opportunities to serve the Lord exist in equal measure across the world - a bishop serving in the United States deals with the same kinds of challenges and opportunities that a bishop does in Africa or Europe or Asia. People need to feel that God loves them and is mindful of them. Everything else is gravy.

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