From my talk on Sunday, in case you missed it...
(it was a good one, by the way...) ;-)
In July 1776, the people living in what would later become known as the United States of America decided that they had had enough. In a sweeping document we would come to know as the Declaration of Independence, these brave men severed ties with their King and country and a nation was born. Integral to this document, and to the beliefs of the men who signed it – putting their own lives at stake, was the idea that there is a Creator, a divine Source of all rights as human beings, and that these rights are worth dying for.
Many of them would be given that privilege.
The British Empire, loath to relinquish its claim on these colonies, fought long and hard for the control that had already slipped away. The revolution had begun, and the shackles which bound America to Great Britain were cut. The revolution continued to progress and a decade later the Constitution was formed, bringing together many disparate goals and desires in one binding and adaptable document. The Constitution has proven to be of worth, not only as the oldest document of its kind in the world, but as a model for governments throughout the world.
This revolution would be tested many times in the ensuing years. In 1812, Great Britain would find itself again at odds with the upstart, rebellious colonies. Perhaps the British never fully understood that the revolution started in 1776 was destined not only for permanence, but for greatness and eventual dominance. The new nation was tested in battle again – even the White House was burned by the British. As the battle turned north, towards Baltimore, the British found there a very different reception.
Located at the top of the enormous Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore holds a strategic position. It is an important sea port and route to the interior of the United States. In the early 1800s, this position was of military importance as well. The British Navy was the most powerful force on earth, and they ranged with relative impunity all across the globe. This explains why there were a series of forts built to protect the important Port of Baltimore. Of these, the most famous is Fort McHenry. It was on the night of September 13, 1814 when the British began an attack on the fortifications at Fort McHenry. Throughout the night, brave defenders of the fledgling nation strived to keep the fort from falling into British hands.
On the deck of one of the attacking ships was Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Maryland. He witnessed the battle from the ship and the next morning translated his elation at seeing his country’s flag still flying defiantly above the ramparts into the poem now known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This hymn of justifiable pride in the freedoms we espouse was later adopted as our country’s National Anthem. It reads:
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
It was into this crucible of democracy, where among the most basic guaranteed rights were that of assembly and worship, and a scant six years after this battle, that a young man entered a grove of trees to ask Almighty God in humble prayer which church he should join. The response to that prayer shines like the sun across the world, a testimony of God’s blessing on this land, for nowhere else on earth could such an answer have taken root, sheltered in the freedoms espoused and protected by the law of the land. The result of that prayer is a reflection of the freedoms Joseph Smith enjoyed then. Those freedoms are the same freedoms we enjoy at this very hour, meeting in peace and harmony in a land which protects our right to do so.
In 1861, tensions resulting from bad feelings on both sides of the conflict erupted. The attempted secession of several southern states from the Union led to the American Civil War. This war, which would ultimately cost the lives of over six hundred thousand Americans – by far the most deadly conflict in American history, considering both sides of the conflict as American casualties – was more than just a struggle over property rights or state’s rights. It was a literal tearing of the fabric upon which our nation was founded. Those who fought – on both sides – did so from a belief that the way of life they defended was the best. We have learned, since then, that there is a forum for discourse of such grievances. That forum is the United States Congress. But at the time, the southern states felt that their voice was limited, and their options also limited.
Following one particularly bloody battle, later known as the battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln came to dedicate a portion of the battlefield as a final resting place for those who gave their lives there. Lincoln said that the purpose of the war, and the purpose for which they gave their lives, was to test whether any nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal could endure the tests and trials of time. He noted, however, that those who gave their lives there in the struggle for freedom and right consecrated the land far above the living’s poor ability to add or detract. He said that:
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Brothers and sisters, I would suggest that, even 150 years later, the work is not yet finished. We are engaged in conflicts throughout the world, both since the time that Lincoln spoke, to the present day, which test whether or not we are prepared to advance the cause of universal liberty. It is important enough for us to die for. It is important enough to live for.
When I was 17 years old, I joined the military myself. I did not perhaps understand exactly what the importance was of what I was doing. I knew of our country’s history, of our ideals and the importance of helping others to achieve that for themselves. I was not savvy in geo-political matters. All I knew at the time was that I loved my country and I was prepared to fight and die for it. I raised my arm to the square to take the oath of enlistment, swearing that:
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
In my mind, I have never been released from that obligation. While my enlistment is over, and no one is ordering me around like when I was in the military, my desire and personal obligation to strengthen the standing of the Constitution, bearing true faith and allegiance to the same, remains in tact. If called upon, I know I would join many of you in bearing arms to defend my country.
But in a larger sense, we are called upon each day to do this. We live in a country of laws, where order and harmony are established through the careful execution of federal, state, and local ordinances enacted to preserve our quality of life and defend freedoms. Joseph Smith taught: Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land (D&C 58:21). There are those who would state that there is the potential for laws to be unjust or perhaps unjustly applied. In that case, there is a method for correcting those laws. Having been a part of writing several laws myself, I can attest to the fact that these are iterative in nature, requiring several (constant, really) revisions before they are correct. The fact that a law is not a good law is cause for correction of the law, not for rebellion and sedition. If we cannot influence elected leaders to correct improper laws, perhaps we ought to consider running for office ourselves.
How we live our lives is as much a reflection of our respect for sacred, religious things as it is for sacred, secular things. Showing proper respect for civil officers and the laws which govern our land is but an extension of our deference and reverence for God. We believe that the Constitution was a divinely inspired document. We regard the founders of our nation as worthy men who did their best to create laws that would benefit all. We also believe that those who have perished, giving their ultimate and final all for the defense of those laws which protect our liberty and ensure justice, did so because they believed that they were in the right. We show respect towards them when we keep the laws of the land, as well.
As Latter-Day Saints, we have an even higher obligation and responsibility. Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Ensign, November 2009) noted:
“The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that “gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior. …
“Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Our increased reliance on laws to regulate behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we’ve become” (Walter Williams, Laws Are a Poor Substitute for Common Decency, Moral Values, Deseret News, April 29, 2009, A15).
In most of the world, we have been experiencing an extended and devastating economic recession. It was brought on by multiple causes, but one of the major causes was widespread dishonest and unethical conduct, particularly in the U.S. housing and financial markets. Reactions have focused on enacting more and stronger regulation. Perhaps that may dissuade some from unprincipled conduct, but others will simply get more creative in their circumvention. There could never be enough rules so finely crafted as to anticipate and cover every situation, and even if there were, enforcement would be impossibly expensive and burdensome. This approach leads to diminished freedom for everyone. In the memorable phrase of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, “We would not accept the yoke of Christ; so now we must tremble at the yoke of Caesar” (“Bishop Fulton John Sheen Makes a Wartime Plea,” in William Safire, sel., Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, rev. ed. (1997), 478.
President James E. Faust cautioned:
There is a great risk in justifying what we do individually and professionally on the basis of what is ‘legal’ rather than what is ‘right.’ In so doing, we put our very souls at risk. The philosophy that what is legal is also right will rob us of what is highest and best in our nature. What conduct is actually legal is, in many instances, way below the standards of a civilized society and light years below the teachings of the Christ. If you accept what is legal as your standard of personal or professional conduct, you will deny yourself of that which is truly noble in your personal dignity and worth. (“Be Healers,” Clark Memorandum, spring 2003, 3).
At the end of the day, each of us is given opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the ideals we espouse. We are a country of idealists, optimistic and hopeful about the future of our families, our nation, and the world. We lead in faith, we live in love, and we look always to the God of this Land, who is Jesus Christ. We worship the Father of us all in His Holy Name, grateful for the chance to do so and to teach our children to do so in a country where we may.
Let us remember the sacrifices of those who have given their all. Let us find in them and in their examples renewed strength and dedication to the laws of the land we live in. And let us be rededicated to the proposition that we are all created equal and work so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people will not perish from the earth.
Above all, let us see in our sacrifices echoes of the great sacrifice made for all of us, which sets us free from the chains of death and hell. Jesus Christ is who makes us free. Knowing Him will enable us to attain freedom from everything that would bind us down.
(it was a good one, by the way...) ;-)
In July 1776, the people living in what would later become known as the United States of America decided that they had had enough. In a sweeping document we would come to know as the Declaration of Independence, these brave men severed ties with their King and country and a nation was born. Integral to this document, and to the beliefs of the men who signed it – putting their own lives at stake, was the idea that there is a Creator, a divine Source of all rights as human beings, and that these rights are worth dying for.
Many of them would be given that privilege.
The British Empire, loath to relinquish its claim on these colonies, fought long and hard for the control that had already slipped away. The revolution had begun, and the shackles which bound America to Great Britain were cut. The revolution continued to progress and a decade later the Constitution was formed, bringing together many disparate goals and desires in one binding and adaptable document. The Constitution has proven to be of worth, not only as the oldest document of its kind in the world, but as a model for governments throughout the world.
This revolution would be tested many times in the ensuing years. In 1812, Great Britain would find itself again at odds with the upstart, rebellious colonies. Perhaps the British never fully understood that the revolution started in 1776 was destined not only for permanence, but for greatness and eventual dominance. The new nation was tested in battle again – even the White House was burned by the British. As the battle turned north, towards Baltimore, the British found there a very different reception.
Located at the top of the enormous Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore holds a strategic position. It is an important sea port and route to the interior of the United States. In the early 1800s, this position was of military importance as well. The British Navy was the most powerful force on earth, and they ranged with relative impunity all across the globe. This explains why there were a series of forts built to protect the important Port of Baltimore. Of these, the most famous is Fort McHenry. It was on the night of September 13, 1814 when the British began an attack on the fortifications at Fort McHenry. Throughout the night, brave defenders of the fledgling nation strived to keep the fort from falling into British hands.
On the deck of one of the attacking ships was Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Maryland. He witnessed the battle from the ship and the next morning translated his elation at seeing his country’s flag still flying defiantly above the ramparts into the poem now known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This hymn of justifiable pride in the freedoms we espouse was later adopted as our country’s National Anthem. It reads:
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
It was into this crucible of democracy, where among the most basic guaranteed rights were that of assembly and worship, and a scant six years after this battle, that a young man entered a grove of trees to ask Almighty God in humble prayer which church he should join. The response to that prayer shines like the sun across the world, a testimony of God’s blessing on this land, for nowhere else on earth could such an answer have taken root, sheltered in the freedoms espoused and protected by the law of the land. The result of that prayer is a reflection of the freedoms Joseph Smith enjoyed then. Those freedoms are the same freedoms we enjoy at this very hour, meeting in peace and harmony in a land which protects our right to do so.
In 1861, tensions resulting from bad feelings on both sides of the conflict erupted. The attempted secession of several southern states from the Union led to the American Civil War. This war, which would ultimately cost the lives of over six hundred thousand Americans – by far the most deadly conflict in American history, considering both sides of the conflict as American casualties – was more than just a struggle over property rights or state’s rights. It was a literal tearing of the fabric upon which our nation was founded. Those who fought – on both sides – did so from a belief that the way of life they defended was the best. We have learned, since then, that there is a forum for discourse of such grievances. That forum is the United States Congress. But at the time, the southern states felt that their voice was limited, and their options also limited.
Following one particularly bloody battle, later known as the battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln came to dedicate a portion of the battlefield as a final resting place for those who gave their lives there. Lincoln said that the purpose of the war, and the purpose for which they gave their lives, was to test whether any nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal could endure the tests and trials of time. He noted, however, that those who gave their lives there in the struggle for freedom and right consecrated the land far above the living’s poor ability to add or detract. He said that:
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Brothers and sisters, I would suggest that, even 150 years later, the work is not yet finished. We are engaged in conflicts throughout the world, both since the time that Lincoln spoke, to the present day, which test whether or not we are prepared to advance the cause of universal liberty. It is important enough for us to die for. It is important enough to live for.
When I was 17 years old, I joined the military myself. I did not perhaps understand exactly what the importance was of what I was doing. I knew of our country’s history, of our ideals and the importance of helping others to achieve that for themselves. I was not savvy in geo-political matters. All I knew at the time was that I loved my country and I was prepared to fight and die for it. I raised my arm to the square to take the oath of enlistment, swearing that:
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
In my mind, I have never been released from that obligation. While my enlistment is over, and no one is ordering me around like when I was in the military, my desire and personal obligation to strengthen the standing of the Constitution, bearing true faith and allegiance to the same, remains in tact. If called upon, I know I would join many of you in bearing arms to defend my country.
But in a larger sense, we are called upon each day to do this. We live in a country of laws, where order and harmony are established through the careful execution of federal, state, and local ordinances enacted to preserve our quality of life and defend freedoms. Joseph Smith taught: Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land (D&C 58:21). There are those who would state that there is the potential for laws to be unjust or perhaps unjustly applied. In that case, there is a method for correcting those laws. Having been a part of writing several laws myself, I can attest to the fact that these are iterative in nature, requiring several (constant, really) revisions before they are correct. The fact that a law is not a good law is cause for correction of the law, not for rebellion and sedition. If we cannot influence elected leaders to correct improper laws, perhaps we ought to consider running for office ourselves.
How we live our lives is as much a reflection of our respect for sacred, religious things as it is for sacred, secular things. Showing proper respect for civil officers and the laws which govern our land is but an extension of our deference and reverence for God. We believe that the Constitution was a divinely inspired document. We regard the founders of our nation as worthy men who did their best to create laws that would benefit all. We also believe that those who have perished, giving their ultimate and final all for the defense of those laws which protect our liberty and ensure justice, did so because they believed that they were in the right. We show respect towards them when we keep the laws of the land, as well.
As Latter-Day Saints, we have an even higher obligation and responsibility. Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Ensign, November 2009) noted:
“The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that “gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior. …
“Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Our increased reliance on laws to regulate behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we’ve become” (Walter Williams, Laws Are a Poor Substitute for Common Decency, Moral Values, Deseret News, April 29, 2009, A15).
In most of the world, we have been experiencing an extended and devastating economic recession. It was brought on by multiple causes, but one of the major causes was widespread dishonest and unethical conduct, particularly in the U.S. housing and financial markets. Reactions have focused on enacting more and stronger regulation. Perhaps that may dissuade some from unprincipled conduct, but others will simply get more creative in their circumvention. There could never be enough rules so finely crafted as to anticipate and cover every situation, and even if there were, enforcement would be impossibly expensive and burdensome. This approach leads to diminished freedom for everyone. In the memorable phrase of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, “We would not accept the yoke of Christ; so now we must tremble at the yoke of Caesar” (“Bishop Fulton John Sheen Makes a Wartime Plea,” in William Safire, sel., Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, rev. ed. (1997), 478.
President James E. Faust cautioned:
There is a great risk in justifying what we do individually and professionally on the basis of what is ‘legal’ rather than what is ‘right.’ In so doing, we put our very souls at risk. The philosophy that what is legal is also right will rob us of what is highest and best in our nature. What conduct is actually legal is, in many instances, way below the standards of a civilized society and light years below the teachings of the Christ. If you accept what is legal as your standard of personal or professional conduct, you will deny yourself of that which is truly noble in your personal dignity and worth. (“Be Healers,” Clark Memorandum, spring 2003, 3).
At the end of the day, each of us is given opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the ideals we espouse. We are a country of idealists, optimistic and hopeful about the future of our families, our nation, and the world. We lead in faith, we live in love, and we look always to the God of this Land, who is Jesus Christ. We worship the Father of us all in His Holy Name, grateful for the chance to do so and to teach our children to do so in a country where we may.
Let us remember the sacrifices of those who have given their all. Let us find in them and in their examples renewed strength and dedication to the laws of the land we live in. And let us be rededicated to the proposition that we are all created equal and work so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people will not perish from the earth.
Above all, let us see in our sacrifices echoes of the great sacrifice made for all of us, which sets us free from the chains of death and hell. Jesus Christ is who makes us free. Knowing Him will enable us to attain freedom from everything that would bind us down.
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