Happy Birthday, America!

                    Tomorrow we will celebrate the birthday of our great nation.  Last year I wrote about the difference between celebrating Independence Day or just observing the Fourth of July.  This year I feel a need to write about the men who performed extra-ordinary deeds in discovering, founding, and organizing the United States of America.  I believe that our younger generations have not been taught properly the importance of these men - and the women who supported them - and the events they shared.  I believe that each of these men became great because they were led by God in the best performances of their lives.  They each exhibited great "human virtues such as courage, reason, and strength of character" in their roles in the establishment of the United States of America.

                    I want to start with Christopher Columbus because he played a very important role in what eventually became the establishment of our great nation.  Columbus was a God-fearing man as well as a "scientifically-oriented" sailor.   People in the time of Columbus called the Atlantic Ocean "the Sea of Darkness" because they "believed that huge, dangerous sea-dragons lived there."  They also believed that the ocean sloped downward and that people could go so far down the "hill" that it would be impossible to go back to the top.  The people considered the sea to be a "dangerous and terrifying place."

                    Columbus was convinced that the world was a sphere and that he could find a shortcut to Asia in order to avoid traveling through country controlled by the Ottoman Turks.  After many years of searching for sponsors for his mission, he finally convinced Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to fund and support his journey.    Columbus eventually acquired three ships - the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria - and crews for the ships. 

Columbus, an Italian, captained the Santa Maria while two Spanish brothers captained the other two ships.  The crews of all three ships were Spanish.  The ships left Spain on August 3, 1492, and about one month later the Spanish sailors (approximately ninety) became anxious because they had been at sea so long without finding land.   Columbus did not disclose to the men how far the ships had traveled, but the men continued to become more anxious.  "Threatened with mutiny by his crew, Columbus was forced to promise his captains on October 9 that if they failed to sight land within three days, they would all turn about and head back to Spain" (Bennett, America, p 4). 

                    The sailors soon started to see land-based birds, coastal seaweed, and other signs of land.  The three ships landed on an island in the Caribbean Sea (named San Salvador - Spanish for Holy Savior) on October 12, 1492, - the date we now celebrate as Columbus Day (Lunenfeld, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 860).

                    Why did Columbus choose three days?  Why didn't he choose two days or five days?  Was he simply guessing or did he have divine knowledge?  I believe that he was being guided by divine revelation.  "And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 1 Nephi 13:12).

                    We know that the Spirit of God does not interact with wicked men; therefore, we know that Christopher Columbus was a good man.  We also know that Columbus had a great impact on the history of the Western Hemisphere.  His search for a westward route to Asia changed the ideas of Europeans about the world and led to contact - good and bad - between Europe and America.  The Native Americans were freedom-loving people who exhibited personal liberty, and this new idea of man governing himself formed the foundation of the American Revolution and influenced the structure of the government for the future United States of America.

                    The Puritans and Pilgrims were also led to the Americas by the Spirit of God in order to enjoy freedom of religion.  "And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

                    "And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 1 Nephi 13:13-14).

                    The people who came to the Americas worshipped God, and God continued to bless them.  "And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; ….

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

                    "And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.

                    "And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.

                    "And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.

                    "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land…." (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 1 Nephi 13:15-20).

                    There were many brave and courageous men and women who played major roles in the fight for American independence, and there were hundreds, maybe thousands, more who played minor but important roles.  I consider George Washington to have been the star performer. He was raised up by God and chosen by his peers to lead the colonial army because the people trusted him and would follow him.  He led the American army - a bunch of volunteers dressed in rags - against the strongest and best-equipped navy and army forces in the world at the time and won.  This was no small achievement!  In fact, I consider it to be a grand miracle!  There were times when General Washington placed his life in danger while leading his men.  There are reports that he had two horses shot out from under him and that he had bullet holes through his hat and his jacket but was not hurt.  He was offered the opportunity to be the king of this new nation, but forcefully rejected the idea.  [This is particularly interesting because Nephi prophesied hundreds of years previously that "this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 2 Nephi 10:11).]  The Constitutional Convention happened because George Washington was willing to attend it and later became the "president" of it.  He was unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States of America.  He was a great man who was surrounded by other great and honorable men and women.

                    Several miracles happened to help the Americans win the battle for independence.  When the Americans were trapped in New York, fog rolled in and covered their retreat across the river to safety.  The Americans crossed an ice-choked river and surprised the enemy on Christmas Day.  When the British army was cornered at Yorktown, weather conditions arose that kept the navy from rescuing them and thus causing them to surrender.

                    Heavenly Father raised up George Washington and his associates in order that they could establish independence and liberty in this land; He also inspired the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution to prepare the land and its people for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  God decreed that America would be His latter-day base of operations for His church.  Nearly two thousand years before the founding of the United States of America, our Savior Jesus Christ visited this promised land and told the ancient inhabitants of the land:  "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 3 Nephi 21:4).

                     We know that our Founding Fathers believed and trusted in God because the Declaration of Independence affirms this knowledge.  "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

                    God inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith to write:  "We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life" (Doctrine and Covenants 134:2).  The three great gifts of God to mankind were decreed by God:  life, liberty, and property (the pursuit of happiness).

                    Thomas Jefferson and his associates concluded the Declaration of Independence with these words:  "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."  The Signers knew that their Declaration would demand great sacrifice, but they signed it any way.

                     Nephi recorded that the Founders "were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 1 Nephi 13:19).  The Prophet Joseph Smith recorded the following words of the Lord:  "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 101:80).

                    The years between 1783 and 1787 were not easy years due to the fact that the Articles of Confederation were not adequate to govern the new nation.  Delegates were appointed to attend the Constitutional Convention, and the attendees spent four hot, miserable months in Philadelphia before the new Constitution was completed.  Nearly ten more months passed before the required nine states ratified it.

The new document was described by Gladstone as being "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man" (William Gladstone, North American Review, Sept.-Oct. 1878, p. 185).

The Prophet Joseph Smith called it "a glorious standard … a heavenly banner" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, 1938, p. 147).

The delegates understood that they had been the recipients of heavenly inspiration.  James Madison - known as the father of the Constitution - wrote:  "It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution" (The Federalist, no. 37).

                    Alexander Hamilton, originator of The Federalist papers and author of fifty-one of the essays, said:  "For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interest" (Essays on the Constitution of the United States, ed. Paul L. Ford, 1892, pp 251-252).

                    In his first inaugural address in 1789, President George Washington said, "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States.  Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency" (First Inaugural Address, 30 April 1789).

                    The new Constitution received the approval of God.  When the Kirtland (Ohio) Temple was dedicated, the Prophet Joseph Smith gave the dedicatory prayer - previously dictated by the Lord:  "May those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever" (Doctrine and Covenants 109:54).

                    The men and women who discovered, founded, and established our nation were good and honorable people.  We know that they were great people for two different reasons:  1) Nephi saw them in vision and saw them following the Spirit of God; and 

2) They recognized the importance of temple work and wanted their work to be done.

                    President Ezra Taft Benson  shared the following experience.  "Shortly after President Spencer W. Kimball became President of the Church [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], he assigned me to go into the vault of the St. George Temple and check the early records.  As I did so, I realized the fulfillment of a dream I had had ever since learning of the visit of the Founding Fathers to the St. George Temple.  I saw with my own eyes the record of the work which was done for the Founding Fathers of this great nation, beginning with George Washington. 

                    "Think of it:  the Founding Fathers of this nation, those great men, appeared within those sacred walls and had their vicarious work done for them."

                    The Founding Fathers appeared to President Wilford Woodruff, and he shared his experience with these words quoted by President Benson:  "Before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them.  Said they, `You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us.  We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God'" (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham, p. 160).

                    President Woodruff spoke about his experience in General Conference in the Fall of 1877 and stated:  "Two weeks before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them.  … These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights.  … I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McAllister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others."

                   The following is another version of President Woodruff's experience: "These were the Founding Fathers, and they waited on me for two days and two nights.  I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them.  The thought never entered my heart, from the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives.  I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon brother McCallister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others; I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three; and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them" (source unknown).

                    After President Woodruff became the President of the Church, he declared that "those men who laid the foundation of this American government were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth.  They were choice spirits … [and] were inspired of the Lord" (in Conference Report, April 1898, p. 89).

                    After relating the words of President Wilford Woodruff, President Benson added:  "Unfortunately, we as a nation have apostatized in various degrees from different Constitutional principles as proclaimed by the inspired founders.  We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said:  `Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction' (19 July 1840, as recorded by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray; ms. in Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City).

                    "For centuries our forefathers suffered and sacrificed that we might be the recipients of the blessings of freedom.  If they were willing to sacrifice so much to establish us as a free people, should we not be willing to do the same to maintain that freedom for ourselves and for future generations?

                    "Only in this foreordained land, under its God-inspired Constitution and the resulting environment of freedom, was it possible to have established the restored church.  It is our responsibility to see that this freedom is perpetuated so that the Church may more easily flourish in the future."

                    The Lord said, "Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land" (Doctrine and Covenants 98:6).

                    The men and women who labored over hundreds of years to discover, found, and organize our nation were choice people who followed inspiration from God.  We should honor them for their extra-ordinary accomplishments.  They are the reason why we can celebrate the founding of America.  We can thank them for their efforts by protecting and defending the nation they founded as well as truly celebrating Independence Day.  My hope and prayer is that the United States of America can always remain "the land of the free and the home of the brave."  Happy Birthday, America!

                   

                                

Holiday Celebrations

Parents can strengthen their families by teaching the "higher way" to celebrate holidays. While studying and writing about Independence Day, I came to the conclusion that there are different ways or levels in how we celebrate holidays. Let me share a few of my thoughts with you about just a few holidays.

Thanksgiving: We can celebrate Thanksgiving by eating a lot of food and watching football games, or we can choose a higher way of celebrating this holiday. Even though there is nothing wrong with eating lots of food and watching football on Thanksgiving, we can choose to "feast" with an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude. Every Thanksgiving celebration should include a history of the holiday and an opportunity to express gratitude for our current blessings.

Christmas: This holiday has a lot of different levels for celebrating. There is the lowest level of "what am I going to get" to a higher level of "what am I going to give" to the highest level of celebrating the birth of the Savior of the world who is Jesus Christ. There is the Santa Claus level to Christmas as compared to the story of the Nativity and the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

Easter: The fun part of this holiday is coloring Easter eggs and hiding them, filling Easter baskets for children and loved ones, and reading stories about an Easter bunny. We can choose to stay at this lower level or we can choose to teach our children that the reason we celebrate Easter is because Jesus Christ made His atoning sacrifice and then was resurrected.

Independence Day: We can go camping or to baseball games and never consider why the Fourth of July is a national holiday. We can pull our American flag out of the back of the closet and hang it in our front yard to show that we are true patriots and then forget about the patriotism thing. We can treat Independence Day like we do Christmas: We can fly our flag everyday as well as on Independence Day. We can play patriotic music both before and after the actual holiday. We can decorate our homes in patriotic colors. All these activities impress on our family and friends that this is an important holiday. We can spend some time with reading or hearing the history of why we celebrate Independence Day and the Declaration of Independence, patriotic music, parades, etc.

I was surprised and very pleased early on Independence Day when I received a telephone call from my daughter in Kansas. She and her family sang the national anthem (Star Spangled Banner) to me and then they took turns telling me that they had done the following things to emphasize the real reason for the holiday: They had a red, white and blue breakfast (red and blue pancakes with white milk). They said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang patriotic songs. They read about the Founding Fathers and other books about why we celebrate Independence Day. After building a foundation by teaching the real reason why we celebrate the Fourth of July, they planned to spend the rest of the day strengthening their family by fun activities such as swimming and going to a park. I could tell that their holiday celebration made a good impression on the children.

I personally started my celebration of Independence Day long before the actual holiday. I fly my American flag every day - and notice when any of my neighbors put their flags out. When I planted my flower gardens and pots for the front porch in May, I chose to plant red, white and blue flowers for a patriotic theme and added a patriotic door decoration. During the last week of June I set my Independence Day table with a centerpiece of Uncle Sam and red, white and blue placemats and napkins. I added other red, white and blue accents throughout the living area including some small American flags in the main bathroom along with a red clock and red linens. I attended Church on July 3rd where I heard testimonies of the importance of Independence Day and sang The Star Spangled Banner and other patriotic songs. I invited family members over for dinner on both Sunday and Monday so I could use my patriotic table setting. On the Fourth of July my husband and I watched the Independence Day parade and joined with many other people in hearing some American history recited, singing patriotic songs, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and listening while the Declaration of Independence was read. Since Alaska became a state on July 4, 1959, we heard some history about how the Alaska State Song was written by a young native boy named Benny Benson and then sang the song. We had a real American dinner - on our fancy table setting - of hot dogs, potato salad, root beer floats, etc. Then we attended a double-header baseball game between the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and the Anchorage Buccaneers. We decided to come home at 10:30 rather than wait until after midnight to watch the fireworks. It was an extremely satisfying and enjoyable day!

There are higher and lower ways to celebrate other holidays such as Martin Luther King Day, Columbus Day, etc, and I encourage you to look for the higher ways. As we celebrate holidays in a higher manner, we can strengthen our families by teaching by word and example the important reasons why we celebrate our holidays. I know that the higher level is much more satisfying and enjoyable!

Keeping Our Republic

After the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787 and the delegates left Independence Hall, Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Benjamin Franklin did not hesitate in his reply, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it" (as recorded by Constitution signer James McHenry in a diary entry).

Our Constitution states: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; .…" (Article IV, Section 4, paragraph 1)

Even though our Pledge of Allegiance went through a period of evolving [www.homeofheroes.com] and has changed four different times since it was first written for the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America on October 12, 1892, it has always referred to our system of government as a Republic. Francis Bellamy is often given credit for writing the original pledge, but no one seems to know for sure whether he or James Upham wrote it or whether it was a joint project.

The original Pledge, dated October 11, 1892, was "I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all." This pledge was recited by school children as a "daily routine" for almost twenty-five years but received little additional attention. On Flag Day, June 14, 1923, the first National Flag Conference was held in Washington, D.C., and one of the agenda items was a careful look at the wording in the Pledge. The attendees were concerned that confusion may arise over the words "my Flag" and altered the pledge to read: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."

A year later on June 14, 1924, the Pledge was changed again: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."

"The Pledge of Allegiance continued to be recited daily by children in schools across America, and gained heightened popularity among adults during the patriotic fervor created by World War II. It still was an "unofficial" pledge until June 22, 1942 when the United States Congress included the Pledge to the Flag in the United States Flag Code (Title 36). This was the first Official sanction given to the words that had been recited each day by children for almost fifty years. One year after receiving this official sanction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite the Pledge as part of their daily routine. In 1945 the Pledge to the Flag received its official title as: The Pledge of Allegiance."

The Pledge of Allegiance received its last change on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his approval to add the words "under God" to the Pledge. In authorizing this change, he said, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."

Each time we say the Pledge of Allegiance, we are committing ourselves to defend our Republic. The wording in our current Pledge states: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."

When we say the Pledge of Allegiance, we commit ourselves to uphold both the Flag and the Republic. The words of the Pledge express the following thoughts: "I Promise to be faithful and true (Promise my loyalty) to the emblem that stands for and represents all 50 states, each of them individual, and individually represented on the flag yet formed into a UNION of one Nation. And I also pledge my loyalty to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are sovereign, this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty. These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, `our most powerful resource' (according to the words of President Eisenhower) and can not be separated. (This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 30 years after the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that divisive period in our history.) The people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue `life, liberty, and happiness,' and each person entitled to be treated justly, fairly, And according to proper law and principle, And these principles afforded to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria. Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be divided or separated, this Nation represents millions of people who can not be separated or divided." (www.homeofheroes.com)

When I was in school, students had the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day and to commit themselves to being loyal to the United States of America. Understanding the reasoning behind the words in it, I am not surprised that our Pledge is currently under attack from people within our own nation. There have been numerous court cases where people who do not believe in God want the words "under God" taken out of the Pledge. There are others who are trying to convince us that our Republic is really a "democracy." There are still others who are attempting to destroy the entire Pledge in an effort to cause Americans to forget our heritage. School districts in various parts of the nation have stopped having the Pledge recited daily. Apparently, Benjamin Franklin knew human nature very well when he questioned if we would be able to keep our Republic.

Yesterday America and her friends celebrated the 235th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America. We celebrate our independence on July 4 because the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. More than eleven years passed before the Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and even more years passed before the Constitution was ratified by nine states and adopted as the supreme law of the land. The U.S. Constitution has been described as the instructions on how to implement the Declaration of Independence. Both documents are precious and noble to true Americans!

We have been a Republic for more than 200 years and have been a source of strength and courage for many people worldwide. Our current President appears to be ashamed of the strength of America and has taken actions to lessen our power. Obama and his progressive friends are attempting to "fundamentally change" our nation; their statements and actions show that they apparently have not studied or understood history.

Our Founding Fathers did study history as well as different types of government; they understood which forms of government were lasting and which were not. They had the opportunity to establish a democracy and chose to give us a republic instead. The Founders understood that a democracy operates on the direct vote of the people and runs on the feelings of the majority. They knew that the most famous majority vote in history took place when the people cried, "Give us Barrabas." The Founders also understood that a republic differs from a democracy in the fact that the citizens elect representatives and then the representatives run the government based on the rule of law, knowing full well that the supreme power of the government rests in the People. Our Electoral College is just one example of how a republic works.

From their studies our Founders knew that ancient Greece was the first democracy and was destroyed by the situations ethics of democracy where each person voted for what he wanted rather than for what was best for the nation. The Founders also knew that the Roman Empire began as a republic and remained powerful until it became a democracy, then a dictatorship, and eventually ceased being a world power. The Founders wanted to establish a government that would be lasting.

Our Founders had the opportunity to establish a democracy and chose not to do so. From some of their statements, we know that they had strong feelings against forming a democracy. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, said, "A simple democracy … is one of the greatest of evils."

Fisher Ames, Author of the House Language for the First Amendment, stated, "A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. These will produce an eruption and carry desolation in their way. The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness [excessive license] which the ambitious call, and the ignorant believe to be liberty."

John Adams said, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." He explained,
"[D]emocracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy; such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit, and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable [abominable] cruelty of one or a very few."

John Quincy Adams in later years taught, "[T]he experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived."

The views and understanding of our Founders came from their studies of the Bible, and they used the natural laws found in the Bible as the foundation of the new Republic. Founder Noah Webster stated, "[Our] citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament, or the Christian religion."

President George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

President James Madison, also known as the Father of the Constitution, said, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

I especially find the following words of President James A. Garfield to be appropriate for our day: "If a Republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect their divine commands and elect bad men to make and administer laws."

The laws of our Republic are based on the laws given by God to Moses and handed down to generation upon generation. Is it any wonder that godless people in our nation claim that our Republic is a democracy? Is it any wonder that they want to take the Pledge of Allegiance out of our schools? Is it any wonder that they want to take God out of our government and public affairs?

The words of Benjamin Franklin ring loudly in my ears: "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."

Ideas and quotes are from www.homeofheroes.com [http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfc_pledge.htmal],
www.timetracts.com [http://www.timetracts.com/republic_vs.htm], and www.wallbuilders.com [http:www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=111].

Israel Salutes America

I was excited and grateful to see the following Fourth of July message to America from the Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His words increased my good feelings this morning. I want to spread his message and share his good news.

"July 4th is, of course, a special day for Americans, but we Israelis celebrate it as well. Happy Independence Day! We celebrate with you because America's independence is essential to Israel's independence. Your love of liberty is the same as ours and our reverence for democracy is identical. We rejoice because your Founding Fathers were inspired by our Founding Fathers.

"Back in 1776, American patriots compared King George III to the ancient Pharaoh who enslaved the Jews. George Washington, in their minds, was Moses and John Adams was Joshua steadfast by his side. The Atlantic Ocean was like the Red Sea - an obstacle but also a corridor to freedom, and the thirteen colonies were the twelve tribes that united and triumphed. Ezra Stiles, the great Hebrew scholar and president of Yale University, calculated that the population of the United States at the time of its independence - three million - was precisely the number of Jews who received the Law at Mount Sinai. And Alexander Hamilton saw America's history, like the history of the Jews, as part of a single providential plan.
"Fittingly, then, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin proposed that the Great Seal of the newly-declared United States should show Moses leading the Children of Israel out of slavery. Though the proposal was ultimately not chosen, the connection between the Exodus and America's march to freedom remained indelible.

"Today, 235 years later, Israel and United States are still bound by the same values first inscribed in the Bible. We are bound by the same vision of leaders who lead according to the law and never above it; a vision of people endowed with rights that no government can deny them. Americans and Israelis alike follow the Biblical injunctions to pursue justice tirelessly and to declare `peace, peace, both far and near.' Indeed, both peoples are committed to achieving justice and peace - for ourselves as well as for those in the Middle East who are rising up against tyranny.

"As in the past, Israelis and Americans face many challenges and, once again, we will overcome them. But on the Folurt of July, we can turn our attention from our weighty tasks and enjoy the fireworks. We can lift a hotdog and raise a glass and join with our closest friends in the world and wish a happy birthday to the United States of America."

Source: The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Independence Day

Happy Birthday, America! Happy Independence Day to all Americans! The Fourth of July is called Independence Day because our Declaration of Independence was adopted that day 235 years ago. It was signed by fifty-six brave men who signed it knowing that their signatures would place their very lives in danger as well as their families, fortunes, and honor.

The document written by Thomas Jefferson is one of the greatest statements of freedom, liberty and independence ever written. It started with, "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…." It continued: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…." It ended with the men agreeing to "… mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Benjamin Franklin commented at the signing, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

On Independence Day 2011 we still hold these truths to be self-evident. Independence Day is not just another holiday because independence and freedom are not free. Our liberties and freedoms are very expensive in terms of life, health, and family life, as well as money and time. I hope that as you celebrate Independence Day you spend some time thinking about all those men and women who have sacrificed so much in order that you and I can enjoy liberty and independence.

Independence Day commemorates the birthday of the United States of America. It is celebrated on July 4 each year in every state and possession of the United States. The Continental Congress declared the American Colonies to be free and independent states on July 2, 1776. Two days later the delegates finally came to an agreement for a formal document to announce their action. Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, which has been celebrated as the nation's birthday since that day.

The founders of this new nation believed that Independence Day was an important occasion for celebrating. John Adams said, "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore."

The first observance of Independence Day was held in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. The Declaration of Independence was read, bells were rung, bands played, and the people rejoiced. Independence Day has been observed throughout the country since then even though Congress took until 1941 to declare July 4 as a federal legal holiday.

The early celebrations of Independence Day consisted of shows, games, sports, military music, and fireworks. Hundreds of deaths were caused each year by fireworks and the firing of guns and cannons. Since the early 1900's the sale and use of fireworks has been forbidden by law in many cities and states. Some communities hire professionals to do fireworks for their celebration. This year many cities and towns are considering canceling their fireworks display for economic reasons and/or fire hazards. Independence Day is a major holiday in the United States, and it is celebrated with programs, pageants, games, plays, athletic contests, camping, picnics, etc. It is a day for families to celebrate and be together.

I hope that all Americans choose to spend some time today in gratitude for the blessings of living in this free nation and for those who established and those who continue to maintain freedom, independence, and liberty. I ask that you also spend time in prayer for our nation, Israel, and the world because there is serious trouble worldwide at this time - economic, political, and spiritual. We are citizens of the greatest nation on earth. If freedom fails here, there is no place else to go. We live in a choice land and have the responsibility to keep the freedoms and opportunities that are ours.

A prophet in ancient days on this continent wrote, "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ" (Ether 2:12).

President Gordon B. Hinckley, a latter-day prophet, declared, "I marvel at the miracle of America, the land which the God of Heaven long ago declared to be a land choice above all other lands.
"I love America for her great and brawny strength . I love her for her generous heart. I love her for her tremendous spiritual strengths. She is unique among the nations of the earth - in her discovery, in her birth as a nation, in the amalgamation of the races that have come to her shores, in the strength of her government, in the goodness of her people.
"God bless America, for she is His creation."

I join with President Hinckley in asking God to bless America . I hope that all of you will spend some time today expressing gratitude for the freedoms that God has given to you in this land which is still choice above all other lands.

Facts for this post came from an article by Jack Santino in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol 10, pp 106-107.

Fourth of July vs. Independence Day

          Families are strengthened when parents teach the real reason why we celebrate the Fourth of July. Children need to know that Independence Day is much more than a holiday to watch parades and fireworks, have a barbecue or go camping. They need to be taught that the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, and why this knowledge is important to them.

          When I was a child, our family celebrated the Fourth of July - one of the few summer days when we were not actively working on the farm, but I do not remember ever hearing it called Independence Day. Early each July 4th, my father would use some dynamite to blow up the stump of an old tree. The resulting BOOM would wake the rest of us. We would then do the morning chores of milking the cows and feeding all the animals. We would also haul a load or two of hay to the pasture where our farm animals would spend the day. By providing plenty of food for them, we did not have to worry about them escaping from the pasture.

          After taking care of our animals, we loaded lots of good food in the truck and drove up into the Uintah Mountains to spend the day. Dad might have done some fishing, but I don't remember. I do remember that we always stopped by a river where we played in the cold water, and we also played some softball and other games. We thought "pine gum" was the best stuff! The food was special because it was something we did not usually have at our house - things such as watermelon, puffed wheat or rice to snack on, white Wonder bread for our baloney sandwiches, and other yummy foods. One important job that we did on these trips was to fill some buckets with good, dark mountain soil for Mom's houseplants to replace the alkali-laden soil at home. We always left the mountains in time to arrive back at the farm in time to milk the cows and do our other evening chores.

          My husband's family used the holiday to travel to Montana where they floated the Madison River fishing for big brown trout. This was such an important activity to his family that we spent part of our honeymoon floating the Madison River with them. We have a large brown trout hanging on our wall as a memento of our honeymoon.

          My husband and I continued the same type of activities with our own children. The Fourth of July always meant a camping trip for my children. On the rare occasions when we did not go camping, we watched the parade in downtown Anchorage and spent a lovely day together before watching the fireworks at midnight. Sometimes we attended a double hitter baseball game that ended shortly before midnight and the fireworks.

          My parents and my husband's parents failed to teach us the importance of Independence Day, and we continued this bad tradition. We followed the examples of our parents and never mentioned the real reason why we celebrate the Fourth of July. It is only in recent years that I have realized what a great opportunity I lost to teach my children about the birth of our nation, patriotism and love of country. This is one of the reasons why I write this blog - trying to make up for lost opportunities and to keep them from making the same mistakes.

          USA.gov tells us that the "Fourth of July is Independence Day. Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag."

          I was a little disappointed that our own government had so little to say about the day, but I felt better when I read further: "Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in `self-evident truths' and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country."

          The "shot heard 'round the world" started the Revolutionary War and took place long before the colonists declared independence. British troops went to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams on April 18, 1775. They were unable to capture them because of the famous midnight ride of Paul Revere to warn the two leaders. The warning by Revere brought out the Minutemen - men who were ready to fight in a minute - to meet the British soldiers in Lexington.

           Captain John Parker, commander of the Minutemen ordered: "Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they want a war let it begin here." The Americans were actually withdrawing when someone fired a shot, but no one knows who fired it. The British soldiers started to fire at the Minutemen and then charged with their bayonets. Some Minutemen were killed, and others were wounded. The rest of the Minutemen disappeared into the woods.

           The British learned that Hancock and Adams had fled so they marched towards Concord. They had received reports from spies that the rebels were storing weapons and ammunition at a nearby farm, and they marched to destroy the cache of arms. When the British reached Concord's North Bridge, they were met by Minutemen, and a terrible battle took place. Between the Battle of Lexington and the Battle of Concord, the British lost 273 soldiers while the Americans lost 94; 18 of the Americans died during the Battle of Lexington.

           John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776. This letter is now famous as it describes Adams' thoughts on how Independence Day should be celebrated. According to www1.american.edu, the "following is the exact text from his letter with his original spelling: `The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even although We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.' (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142.)"

          According to this letter from John Adams, we should celebrate with parades, shows, games, sports, bells, guns, bonfires, etc. Also according to this letter, Independence Day should be celebrated with "solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty." I believe that it is entirely proper for us to gather either in family groups, Church groups, or community groups to express our appreciation to God for our independence. Our gatherings could include prayer, music, and the spoken word as well as flying the Stars and Stripes and reading part or all of the Declaration of Independence. (Copy follows this post.)

           It is important that all Americans review the Declaration of Independence and renew their own commitments to maintain the freedom, liberty, and independence we enjoy. No Fourth of July celebration should take place without a discussion of the fact that we celebrate the Fourth of July because it is our Independence Day. Parents can strengthen their families by teaching the real reason for this holiday.



"THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE in Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. -Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

"He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

"He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

"He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

"He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

"He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

"He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

"He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

"He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

"He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

"He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

"For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;

"For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States;

"For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world;

"For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent;

"For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;

"For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences;

"For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies;

"For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments;

"For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

"He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

"He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

"He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

"Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor,
James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee,
Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton