What Can Be Learned from Daniel?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to the book of Daniel in a lesson titled “There is No Other God That Can Deliver” (Daniel 1-7). The following material introduced the lesson. 

Most likely no one will threaten to throw you into a fiery furnace or a den of lions because of your faith in Jesus Christ. But none of us get through this life without a trial of faith. So we can all benefit from the examples of people like Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who were taken captive as young men by the mighty Babylonian Empire (see 2 Kings 24:10-16). Surrounded by an unfamiliar culture tradition. Yet they remained true to their covenants. How did they do it? By doing those small and simple things God asks of all of us – praying, fasting, choosing good friends, trusting in Him, and being a light to others. Like Joseph in Egypt and Esther in Persia, Daniel and his friends in Babylon kept their faith in God, and God worked miracles that still inspire believers to this day.

The scripture block teaches numerous lessons, including the following principles with scripture references. Think about how these principles can strengthen your faith.

·       I can trust in the Lord when my faith is tried (Daniel 1; 3; 6).

In a sense, we all live in Babylon. We often face temptations to compromise our standards and turn away from faith in Christ. Daniel, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-nego were pressured to do things they knew were wrong. We can learn from how they were pressured to do things that they knew were wrong and how they responded to their situations. Their faith led to great miracles, but it was also strong enough to accept whatever happened.

·       The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth (Daniel 2).

Through revelation, Daniel saw that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream foretold future worldly kingdoms, as well as the future kingdom of God, which “shall never be destroyed’ (Daniel 2:44). “The Church is that prophesied latter-day kingdom,” President D. Todd Christofferson taught, “not created by man but set up by the God of heaven and rolling forth as a stone ‘cut out of the mountain without hands’ to fill the earth” (“Why the Church,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 111). What is your role in helping this prophecy come to pass?

·       Receiving revelation requires spiritual preparation (Daniel 2:1-30).

Daniel 2 talks about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, one that the king himself could not remember but which troubled him. When his wisemen could not tell the dream to the king, he ordered all of them to be killed, including Daniel and his friends. When Daniel heard of the decree, he went to the king to ask for more time. The king granted him more time, and Daniel went to share the situation with his three friends, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah (their Jewish names). They went to the Lord, and Daniel received the dream and the interpretation.

Daniel went to Arioch (the man who was tasked with destroying the wise men of Babylon) and told him not to destroy the wisemen and to take him to king because he could interpret the dream.

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. Daniel told the king that the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers could not interpret the dream, but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets to His servants. He told Nebuchadnezzar that his dream was what shall happen in the latter days and that the interpretation came to Daniel to save the lives of the wise men. Then Daniel described the dream and gave the interpretation.

·       Jesus Christ is the Son of the Eternal Father (Daniel 7:13-14).

During the Savior’s earthly ministry, many Jews considered the title “Son of man” from Daniel 7:13 to refer to the coming Messiah. The Savior often referred to himself as “the Son of man numerous times. He used this title on the last day of His mortal life. Just as Jesus was hated for declaring that He was “the Son of man,” we might also face persecution for declaring the truth. What can you learn from Daniel that will help you?

  

How Can We Properly Teach Civility, Community, and Trying Again

Families are stronger when parents model how to lose with civility, and strong families strengthen communities, states, and nations. In his article published at Deseret News, Samuel J. Abrams, professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, discussed a loss in a recent championship soccer game.

Abrams explained that the soccer team representing his daughter’s high school “lost its championship soccer game last week.” He continued: 

…The high school team had been ranked number one, and the girls had every reason to believe they could win. They had worked hard, played well all season and earned their place in the championship [game]. But when the final whistle blew, they had lost a very close match.

My daughter and I watched the players fight for every ball and refuse to give up. We watched them maintain their composure, even as the game slipped away in overtime. My daughter was disappointed, as was I. We wanted her school to win, and there was no point pretending otherwise. But as we talked about the game, I realized that what we had just witnessed was an important teaching moment, one that had very little to do with soccer.

Is it really ‘just a game’?

My first instinct was to tell my daughter that it was just a game, that losing wasn’t important, and that it really didn’t matter….

In many respects, it was just a game, but the match itself and the season absolutely mattered: to the girls who had worked so hard, to their coaches and classmates, and to my daughter, who already felt such a strong connection to her school after just a few months. The disappointment was real, and there was no reason to dismiss it.

In fact, it was precisely because the game mattered that there was something important to learn from losing it. Sometimes you can do everything right and still lose. That’s a difficult lesson for adults, let alone children, and I have trouble remembering it myself.

We tell our kids to work hard, practice, listen to their coaches, support their teammates and give everything they have. Do those things, we suggest, and good things will follow. And often they do. But not always. Sometimes the other team plays better, or a ball takes an unfortunate bounce. I don’t think we should rush to tell disappointed children that they are all winners when they lose a hard-fought match. They know the score, and they deserve more respect than an adult’s attempt to make an uncomfortable moment disappear. What we as parents and adults can instill in them is the idea that losing a game and failing as a person are two very different things.

The importance of school sports

This is one reason school sports are so important today, and why we shouldn’t forget that schools are far more than places where children go to learn reading, writing, mathematics and history. They learn to be civil, collaborative and human. Schools are among the most important institutions we have for teaching children how to live with other people and handle moments of both euphoria and sadness.

Of course, some of those lessons happen in classrooms, in assemblies, and in formal activities like Model U.N., but many require more social and inherently collaborative environments. They happen on playgrounds, in hallways, in lunchrooms, during school performances and on athletic fields and courts. They happen when a child doesn’t get the part in the play or the spot in the school orchestra, or when a team that everyone expects to win loses the championship. These experiences are not distractions from formal education; they are core parts of a balanced education.

We often forget that a good coach teaches far more than how to pass a soccer ball or hit a target. Good educators, including teachers, coaches and others who support and lift up our youngest generations, help children understand that being disappointed doesn’t excuse treating others poorly. And a truly enlightened school community teaches children that they have obligations to one another, whether things are going their way or not.

Sports are one way [that] schools can achieve this because they help young people learn to compete under a common set of rules, respect the judgment of referees, cooperate with teammates and recognize that their opponents are not their enemies. Students can want to win and still shake hands with the people who beat them. Losing, however painful, is not the end of the world. You get up, return to practice, and try again. Seasons end and begin again, and there is always room for growth.

There is an important lesson about civility here. Our polarized times and rage-filled culture have created a social and political climate where disagreement often becomes personal, opposition is regrettably treated as something to be hated, and losing is treated as something intolerable. The other team wants to win just as badly as you do, but that doesn’t make them the enemy. Both sides agree to play by the same rules, and those rules don’t become illegitimate simply because you side loses.

That lesson matters in civic life, where we have to accept that our side will sometimes lose but we must still find a way to keep participating. Being disappointed with an outcome doesn’t mean we have to resent or eventually hate the people who prevailed. Nor does losing mean that we should abandon the institutions or rules that made the contest possible in the first place. We can debate and disagree, sometimes fiercely and still embrace the civic obligations that we have to one another. Those are habits our schools must help children develop long before they are old enough to vote.

Schools are more than just the classroom and test scores.

I think we often forget that schools have responsibilities far beyond the classroom and test scores. They are engines of social formation and civic education, and some of that work happens precisely when things don’t go our way.

 

What Do Prophets Say About Freedom and Liberty?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns prophetic teachings about liberty, freedom of choice, and America being a promised land. In 2 Nephi 1, the prophet Lehi reminded his family that they were living in “a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands” (verse 5). He continued by saying that “there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord” (verse 6). Second Nephi 1:7 states:

Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.

Jacob continued teaching his family about freedom of choice, or agency, which is essential for progression and growth. In 2 Nephi 2:25-27, Lehi teaches the following:

25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

These verses tell us that each spirit child of God comes into mortality with agency, the freedom to choose how they will live on earth. Each is given the opportunity to choose to live righteously and keep the commandments of God, or to choose captivity and death. Anyone who is addicted to something – drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, or any number of other things – is in captivity to whatever point that they can choose to not partake of the substance.

Other prophets and leaders taught about freedom and liberty. Captain Moroni was the military leader during a time of war. Evil men were seeking to destroy the church and to take away freedom of liberty. Alma 46:11-13 explains the actions of Captain Moroni.

11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.

12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it – In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children – and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land --

There is a difference between spiritual agency (choices between good and evil) which is a gift from God when we enter mortality, and civic freedom (political liberty and government). However, agency and civic freedom come together at certain times. We exercise our agency when we enter a voting booth or otherwise fill out election ballots. We are free to choose whoever we desire to represent us; however, we are not free to choose the consequences of our choices. 

When people vote for socialists or radical Islamists over constitutional principles, they should not be surprised when they start losing freedoms. The further the United States goes down the road toward socialism, communism, or Islamic principles, securing true liberty will be more difficult. Once freedom is lost in America, it can be regained only through the shedding of blood.

Articles of Faith 4: What Are the First Principles and Ordinances of Gospel?

Article of Faith 4

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This is the first essay about the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This week’s discussion will use the words of Elder James E. Talmage to discuss the nature of faith and the difference between belief, faith, and knowledge (Articles of Faith [1913], 96-100).

Nature of Faith – The predominating sense in which the term faith is used throughout the scriptures is that of full confidence and trust in the being, purposes, and words of God. Such trust, if implicit, will remove all doubt concerning things accomplished or promised of God, even though such things be not apparent to or explicable by the ordinary senses of mortality; hence arises the definition of faith given by Paul: “Now faith is the substance [i.e., confidence, or assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence [i.e., the demonstration or proof] of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is plain that such a feeling of trust may exist in different persons in varying degrees; indeed, faith may manifest itself from the incipient state which is little more than feeble belief, scarcely free from hesitation and fear, to the strength of abiding confidence that sets doubt and sophistry at defiance.

Belief, Faith, and Knowledge – The terms faith and belief are sometimes regarded as synonyms; nevertheless each of them has a specific meaning in our language, although in earlier usage there was little distinction between them, and therefore the words are used interchangeably in many scriptural passages. Belief, in one of its accepted senses, may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction between the two, according to present usage in English; and this authority defines belief as a mental assent to the truth or actuality of anything, excluding, however, the moral element of responsibility through such assent, which responsibility is included by faith. Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief.

Certainly there is great difference in degree, even if no essential distinction in kind be admitted between the two. As shall be presently demonstrated, faith in the Godhead is requisite to salvation; it is indeed a saving power, leading its possessor in the paths of godliness, whereas mere belief in the existence and attributes of Deity is no such power.

… Again, an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Jerusalem implored Christ not to use His power, crying in fear and agony: “I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). Christ was once followed by a multitude made up of people from Idumaea and Jerusalem, from Tyre and Sidon; among them were many who were possessed of evil spirits, and these, when they saw Him, fell down in the attitude of worship, exclaiming: “Thou art the Son of God” (Mark 3:8-11). Was there ever mortal believer who confessed more unreservedly a knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ than did these servants of Satan? Satan knows God and Christ; remembers, perchance, somewhat concerning the position which he himself one occupied as a Son of the Morning; yet with all such knowledge he is Satan still. Neither belief nor its superior, actual knowledge, is efficient to save; for neither of these is faith. If belief be a product of the mind, faith is of the heart; belief is founded on reason, faith largely on intuition.

We frequently hear it said that faith is imperfect knowledge; that the first disappears as the second takes its place; that now we walk by faith but some day we shall walk by the sure light of knowledge. In a sense this is true; yet it must be remembered that knowledge may be as dead and unproductive in good works as is faithless belief.  Those confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of God were based on knowledge; yet the great truth, which they knew, did not change their evil natures. How different was their acknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master’s question “Whom say ye that I am?” replied in practically the words used by the unclean spirits before cited: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15, 16). Peter’s faith had already shown its vitalizing power; it had caused him to forsake much that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution and suffering, and to put away worldliness with its fascinations for the sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His knowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, was perhaps no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to them that knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation to him it was a means of salvation.

The mere possession of knowledge gives no assurance of benefit therefrom. It is said that during an epidemic of cholera in a great city, a scientific man proved to his own satisfaction, by chemical and microscopical tests, that the water supply was infected, and that through it contagion was being spread. He proclaimed the fact throughout the city, and warned all against the use of unboiled water. Many of the people, although incapable of comprehending his methods of investigation, far less of repeating such for themselves, had faith in his warning words, followed his instructions, and escaped the death to which their careless and unbelieving fellows succumbed. Their faith was a saving one. To the man himself, the truth by which so many lives had been spared was a matter of knowledge. He had actually perceived, under the microscope, proof of the existence of death-dealing germs in the water; he had demonstrated their virulence; he knew of what he spoke. Nevertheless, in a moment of forgetfulness he drank of the unsterilized water, and soon thereafter died, a victim to the plague. His knowledge did not save him, convincing though it was; yet others, whose reliance was only that of confidence or faith in the truth that he declared, escaped the threatening destruction. He had knowledge; but, was he wise? Knowledge is to wisdom what belief is to faith, one an abstract principle, the other a living application. Not possession merely, but the proper use of knowledge constitutes wisdom.

  

Why Is Veterans Day Celebrated?

Tomorrow is Veterans Day 2026, a national holiday that originated as Armistice Day, a day marking the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday in October for six years (1971-1977), but it returned to November 11 in 1978. The holiday is officially spelled “Veterans Day” without an apostrophe because it is a day to honor all veterans and not a day belonging to veterans. The above information came from this site. The site also provides the following information. 

History & Background

Veterans Day 2026 falls on Wednesday, November 11 – the 108^th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice signed in a railroad carriage in the Compiegne Forest at 5:45 a.m. French time, taking effect six hours later at 11:00 a.m., the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month. November 11, 2026 also marks 100 years since the official establishment of U.S. Route 66 on November 11, 1926, and 50 years since President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-53 on September 18, 1975, returning Veterans Day from the fourth Monday of October back to its historical November 11 date, effective 1978. The 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act (Public Law 90-363) had moved the observance to the fourth Monday in October from 1971 to 1977, but citizens and veterans’ groups objected, citing November 11’s symbolic tie to the 1918 Armistice. Congress made Armistice Day a federal holiday on May 13, 1938 (Public Law 75-510), dedicated to world peace; the 1954 expansion, signed by President Eisenhower on June 1, 1954 (Public Law 83-380), rebranded Armistice Day as Veterans Day to honor all American veterans following World War II and Korea. The civic campaign for that expansion was led by Birmingham, Alabama, shoemaker Raymond Weeks, who had organized the first National Veterans Day Parade in Birmingham on November 11, 1947 – the 79^th annual Birmingham parade takes place in 2026. President Reagan honored Weeks in 1982 with the Presidential Citizens Medal, designating him the ‘Father of Veterans Day.’ Veterans Day 2026 arrives with approximately 18 million veterans living in the United States, according to Department of Veterans Affairs estimates. The American Battle Monuments Commission, established in 1923, maintains 26 permanent American military cemeteries and 32 memorials across 17 foreign countries, including the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France, where 14,246 American war dead from World War I rest – the largest American military cemetery in Europe.

How Americans Celebrate

If you’ve ever stood at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 11 a.m. on November 11 and watched the President lay a wreath to mark the hour the 1918 armistice took effect, you’ve witnessed the centerpiece of the national Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. The Tomb is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by sentinels of the 3^rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as ‘The Old Guard,’ who march 21 steps down a mat behind the Tomb, turn, pause 21 seconds, march 21 steps back – symbolizing the highest military honor, the 21-gun salute; continuous guarding began on July 2, 1937. The Veterans Day National Committee, established by President Eisenhower in 1954 under Executive Order 10570, coordinates the Arlington ceremony. The New York City Veterans Day Parade, organized by the United War Veterans Council, marches up Fifth Avenue from 26^th to 52^nd Streets – the largest Veterans Day parade in the nation, drawing approximately 25,000 participants and 500,000 spectators annually.

The Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, created by Public Law 106-380 in October 2000, collects oral histories, photographs, and documents from U.S. military veterans; as of 2026, the project holds more than 120,000 collections. National park entrance fees are waived on Veterans Day for all visitors, not only veterans, under a National Park Service policy established in 2006. Many chain restaurants – including Applebee’s, IHOP, Chili’s, Olive Garden, and Denny’s – offer free meals to veterans and active-duty service members on November 11.

            The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designed by Maya Lin and dedicated on                November 13, 1982, draws more than 5 million visitors annually and bears the names of 58,181             service members who died or remain missing. 

Who Is Stephen Miller?

My VIP for this week is Stephen Miller who was elevated from deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser to chief of staff in the Trump administration. He replaced Susie Wiles, the first women to serve as White House chief of staff. She resigned on Wednesday.

Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell reported on the change in her article published at the Daily Signal:

“Miller is the founder of America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit law firm that aims ‘to unapologetically and boldly defend the rights of everyday Americans,’ according to its website.

While expressing gratitude for the friendship and work of Susie, Vice President JD Vance said, “Stephen Miller is an amazing patriot and will do great things…. Congrats to him on a well-deserved promotion.”

Ford McCracken reported the following information in The Hill. 

Former Sessions staffer

Miller started his career in Washington working as a press secretary for Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) in 2007 and later for Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.). In 2009, he served as Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions’s press secretary before moving up the ranks – becoming his communications chief.

Miller pushed Sessions to become more outspoken and combative, especially on the issue of immigration. He helped Sessions kill a bipartisan immigration reform bill in 2013 by writing a handbook to help lawmakers defeat it.

Behind the scenes, Miller carved out an inside-the-Beltway reputation as a hard-charging press aide, frequently battling with reporters and others in Washington.

When Trump announced his run for the presidency in 2015, Sessions became the first senator to endorse him. The Alabama senator went onto to serve as the president’s attorney general during his first stint in the White House.

But Sessions eventually fell out with Trump after recusing himself from investigations into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and election win.

Miller, in contrast, became a part of Trump’s inner circle and was a confidant to the president for the rest of his first term, his years out of office and during his second term.

Hardline immigration enforcer

Miller is considered the architect behind much of Trump’s immigration policies – most recently his administration’s mass deportation efforts.

As deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller pushed the administration to suspend habeas corpus rights, which allow people in custody to challenge their detention, and triple its daily immigration arrest goals to 3,000….

Consummate Washington insider

Before his promotion to chief of staff, Miller was already in the president’s ear as a key policy adviser. He will now be one of the top voices in the Trump White House and among other influential people in Washington.

Miller is one of the only aides from Trump’s first term to be serving in a high role in his second term. He has a deep understanding of how Washington runs, and is known to dig deep into policy matters. His background as a Senate aide gives him a strong understanding of how Congress works, and on how executive authority can be used to assert presidential power.

During debates over legislation affecting immigration, Miller was seen as having a big influence on the stance Republicans took. He is known as a detail-oriented aide who reads briefs, asks questions and demands results.

As chief of staff, Miller will be able to have his fingers on everything the White House touches….

The chief of staff works closely with the president on day-to-day operations and manages the White House staff. It can be a gatekeeper role for [who] sees the president and can be a position involved in all policy decisions, depending on the individual chief of staff.

It is a role that does not require Senate confirmation….

Early Trump loyalist

Many in the president’s orbit have come and gone over the past decade – including Wiles, who had a brief falling out with Trump before returning to run his campaign in 2024.

But Miller has remained loyal the entire time, from the 2016 campaign to both his terms in the White House.

When Trump lost reelection in 2020, Miller co-founded America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit advocating for dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, enforcing immigration laws and protecting election integrity.

Miller rejoined Trump’s 2024 campaign and returned to the White House right away as deputy chief of staff for policy and an adviser on homeland security.

Divisive GOP figure

While most of the criticism around Miller’s promotion came from Democrats, some Republicans questioned whether Trump was making the right choice in light of sweeping midterm losses….

What Will Republicans Do After Midterm Setbacks?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the constitutional principle that “We the People” are the power behind the government. Nothing shows this principle more clearly than the way that any election flips the power switch. Whereas Republicans were in control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, the mid-term election switched power in both houses to Democrats.

In his article published at the Daily Signal, Rob Bluey discussed what comes next for Republicans in his article titled “What Conservatives Are Planning After Midterm Defeat” as they regroup after midterm setbacks. 

Conservatives are wasting no time regrouping after this year’s midterm election setbacks. Next week, hundreds of movement leaders will gather in a Washington, D.C., suburb to plot their comeback in 2028.

The inaugural event, called The Forum, will bring together disparate segments of the conservative movement for an honest reckoning about Tuesday’s results.

Policymakers will also debate solutions to some of America’s most vexing challenges, including affordability, China, Islamification, and socialism, with an eye toward shaping public opinion and countering an emboldened Left.

Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action, joined the final episode of the Daily Signal’s “Midterm Report” to share his aspirations for the event. He also diagnosed what went wrong for Republicans and explained why conservatives shouldn’t despair.

What Went Wrong

In the days following Republicans’ electoral drubbing, pollsters and pundits have analyzed exit polls for clues about voters’ dissatisfaction.

Roberts attributed the losses primarily to the war and lingering concerns about affordability. “The Trump-Vance coalition was put together on a lot of issues, but two of the most central ones were that there would be no new wars and that prices would go down,” Roberts said. “This is just Politics 101 in any representative government.”

Roberts said he still defends President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran but believes “the war went on too long,” particularly given its economic consequences.

Many of those voters were disillusioned by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ policies, which contributed to inflation not seen in 40 years.

Trump benefited from Americans’ frustration with the high cost of living two years ago when he defeated Harris. Despite inheriting an economic mess, Trump quickly went to work addressing affordability through executive orders and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the Working Families Tax Cut.

Americans responded favorably. By early February, more than a year into Trump’s presidency, 32% of voters said their finances were getting better, compared with 30% who said they were getting worse.

Pollster Scott Rasmussen, who has consistently asked voters about their personal finances in his RMG Research surveys, said those were the best numbers he had seen in five years.

Then the U.S. attacked Iran at the end of February. The numbers have only grown worse since then.

It’s why Roberts said affordability must be an important focus for conservatives over the next two years….

He also cited housing as an area ripe for action, pointing to regulations that restrict new construction and the large share of homes owned by corporations in some metropolitan areas.

Why Conservatives Shouldn’t Despair

Roberts, a historian, reflected on other moments in American history when presidents suffered midterm defeats, only to continue wielding great influence over the country’s direction.

He pointed to 1894, when President Grover Cleveland’s unpopularity helped Republicans pick up 130 House seats, as well as midterm setbacks suffered by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

“Some of our most high-profile presidents – FDR, Truman, Reagan, Clinton, Obama – have suffered these kinds of defeats,” Roberts said. “And it’s not as if their respective political movements cease to exist.”

More importantly, Roberts rejected the notion that Tuesday’s results represented an ideological rejection of the conservative movement.

“This is not a repudiation of conservatism or America First,” Roberts said. “In fact, the Left very successfully co-opted the messaging and some of the policies of America First, especially economic populism.”

The lesson, Roberts argued, isn’t for conservatives to abandon their principes but to make a stronger case for them.

“We need to talk about what we stand for,” he said. “We need to talk about affordability. We need to hammer that freedom is more important than socialism.”

The Forum

That effort will begin almost immediately at The Forum from Nov 10-12 in National Harbor, Maryland….

The gathering will feature leaders from government, conservative organizations, media, and business. Roberts cited Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and commentator Scott Jennings among the headliners, along with entrepreneur Palmer Luckey….

“The point is not just to sit around and talk, but to really cohere the movement around these big focus areas,” he said.

Those priorities include making life more affordable for everyday Americans, defending freedom against socialism, confronting the Islamification of the United States, and countering China….

What Americans Can Do

Roberts also had a message for conservatives wondering what they can do after a disappointing election: Get involved locally….

But political involvement doesn’t have to begin in Washington or with a national organization.

“The best way to kind of get back into the groove politically, or maybe into the groove for the first time, is to go to your local city council or local school board meeting,” Roberts said. “And just sit there. No one expects you to be an expert when you go there.”

What Americans will often discover, he said, is “a lack of transparency and competence and a need for good, virtuous, smart Americans to be involved.” …

“Find the one thing locally that excites you,” Roberts said, joking that it could even mean running for a homeowner’s association to defend private property rights. “Just go get involved.” For conservatives discouraged by Tuesday’s results, Roberts’ message was clear: The next election might be two years away, but the comeback starts now.