Take Back America

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that America is located on choice ground and the Constitution of the United States was written by wise men raised up by God for that very purpose.  The United States is not the first nation to occupy this land, but it will be the last, particularly if we continue to worship the God of this land who is Jesus Christ.

                Long before Lehi and his family left Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Lord revealed began telling them that He would take them to a “promised land” where they would “prosper.”  “And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands” (Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 2 Nephi 2:20).

                The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that he should continue to petition the U.S. Government for “redress” and “redemption.”  Joseph was to do this “According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles….

                “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:77, 80).

                I have known the above information for most of my life, but I have become a cynic about our government.  It seems that no matter what the people demand, the Obama administration does what it chooses.  I know that Jesus Christ will return to earth sometime in the near future, and I thought the conditions in our nation were simply in preparation for His coming.  When I read the following quote attributed to Robert L. Millet, I felt renewed hope for America.

                “There is so much for us to have faith in, not the least of which is the future of the United States of America.  `Men may fail in this country,’ President Harold B. Lee affirmed to Ricks College students in 1973, `earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds; there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail.  This is the cradle of humanity … the place of the New Jerusalem ….  I have faith in America; you and I must have faith in America, if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.’  I plead with you not to preach pessimism.  Preach that this is the greatest country.  This is the favored land.  This is the land of our forefathers.  It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through” (Living in the Eleventh Hour).

                Not long after I read that quote, I read the following excerpt from a speech that Herman Cain http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/61785  presented to the Western Conservative Conference.  “Most people can quote the part of the Declaration of Independence that speaks to our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The Founders had a conviction that anybody in this great nation should have the right to pursue happiness as long as you don’t infringe on somebody else’s liberty or life from conception.

                “But the Founding Fathers went farther.  It goes on to say that if any form of government becomes destructive of these ideals, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.  We have some altering and abolishing to do.  And in order to achieve that, there are three things we need to do:

                “Stay informed.  Because stupid people are ruining America.  And if they’re not stupid, they’re gullible.  How in the world can people allow a president and elected leaders to lie to the American people and look the other way unless they are stupid or gullible?

                “If you like your doctor, you can keep it.  If you like your insurance, you can keep it.  Your insurance rates will go down.’  All lies.  And now they’re trying to stay as far away from those lies as they can.  That’s why they want to talk about the minimum wage, or the Keystone XL pipeline, or this phony concept called `income inequality.’

                “I have a breaking news announcement for you.  There is no income inequality in America.  There is skill inequality and ability inequality.  The government cannot legislate equal results.  But they have the gullible and the stupid believing they can make them happy.

                “They want you to believe the unemployment rate is 6.6 percent.  No it’s not!  It’s between 12 and 13.  But the stupid and the gullible will walk around believing its 6.6 percent even though they can’t find a job.  They want you to believe this economy is in a recovery.  No it’s not.  The average GDP has been around 2 percent for the past five years annually.

                “You have to stay informed so you won’t just swallow what the government is trying to feed you, and that doesn’t mean watching the NBC Nightly News.

                “Stay involved.  You’re here because you want to get information, and because you are involved.  That is a good thing.  You do what you do and I do what I do the way I can do it, because we are not ready to give up and throw in the towel.  I don’t like to lose.  And you don’t want to lose the ability to pursue your American dream.

                “Stay inspired.  They want you to believe we cannot change things in Washington, D.C.  They want you to believe that the socialist/communist regime is going to continue.  They want you to believe that Hillary Clinton is the Democrat nominee and she’s going to be the next President of the United States in order to continue this socialist/communist regime over the people.  They want you to think this is inevitable.

                “They want you to believe that 3 million conservatives are going to stay home again in November.  But I don’t believe 3 million conservatives are going to stay home again this time.  You know why?  Last time they didn’t think it would matter if they stayed home because they couldn’t imagine the American people turning out and voting for a president with a record that bad.  But they did.  Why?  Because they got caught up in the historical significance of this president and they lost sight of the actual record.

                “We cannot afford to repeat that mistake.  We can take back this country.  And we can restore the ability of the people to pursue their American dreams.

                “Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that our lives begin to end when we remain silent about things that matter.  The American dream matters.  Let’s make some noise and take back America!”

                I believe that Herman Cain gave good counsel when he counseled us to “stay informed, stay involved, stay inspired.”  I believe that more and more Americans are becoming informed and getting involved.  I believe the better counsel, even the best counsel, was given by President Lee.  We must remember that we live in the promise land, a land choice above all other lands, a land preserved for our time and for our nation.  We must have faith that God is in control of what happens in our land.  We must put our faith in Jesus Christ.  We must have the faith that He will continue to help us preserve our liberties that our Constitution guarantees to us.