Why Is Religion Essential for Freedom?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the need for religion in our constitutional republic. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. President George Washington and President Donald Trump believe religion is essential to freedom.

President Trump believes, according to his State of the Union address on February 24, that the United States could be in the midst of a spiritual revival. However, a recent Gallup survey says that the data is mixed. In his article published at The Daily Signal, Andrew Fowler states: 

Nevertheless, for the nation to prosper and bind together, religiosity is not only a crucial aspect of civil society, but vital to its sustainability. This sentiment was express by none other than the country’s first president, George Washington.

Fowler explained that Washington was “private in his own religious convictions and skeptical of fanaticism.” However, he gave a “prescient warning to contemporary and future Americans – on national and international affairs – definitively emphasized that ‘[o]f all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.’ Moreover, to ‘subvert’ such ‘great pillars of human happiness’ – like the freedom of religious expression – would be considered unpatriotic.” Fowler continued his explanation.

Indeed let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

Fowler explained that Washington “was not the only Founding Father to stress religion’s intrinsic importance to the new republic.” He then quoted a famous statement by the future President John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He quoted a third Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, as saying: “[God] ought to be worshipped” and “the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to his other children.”

Fowler continued by quoting “Thomas Jefferson, the most notable deist among the Founding Fathers.” He “warned about the consequences of abandoning religious conviction entirely.” Jefferson advocated for a “wall of separation” between church and state, but he also said: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

Fowler explained that the rationale of the above Founding Fathers “was not without historical precedent.” He continued by explaining that Christianity has served for centuries “as the basis for establishing institutions that we take for granted, such as universities, hospitals, economic systems, and – most importantly – the philosophy undergirding the truth that ‘all men are created equal.” It was Alexis de Tocqueville, a 19^th-century political scientist, who observed and then wrote in his “Democracy in America” that “religion is the ‘companion of liberty’ and a ‘safeguard’ in preserving the ‘pledge of freedom.’”

Fowler then shared his thoughts about how religion is doing in America today and the consequences that have followed.

Today, however, American religiosity is struggling – and the consequences borne from this sociological trend have reverberated across civil society and political dynamics.

In the early 1950s, 75% of Americans found religion to be “very important” in their lives. Now, that is 47%. Moreover, the March Gallup survey shows that “in each year since 2022, 28% of Americans have said religion is ‘not very important’ in their lives,” which is the “highest proportion” in this trend and “more than double the rate seen as recently as the early 2000s.” Concurrently, as a recent Pew Research Center survey discovered, the United States is “the only place” where “more adults (ages 18 and older) describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad (53%) than as good (47%).”

The relationship between these trends may not be purely coincidental. Religious affiliation has historically declined since the 21^st century’s outset; meanwhile, the importance of one’s political party affiliation has risen and, in some cases, supplanted not only religion as an identifiable characteristic, but race, culture, and even language.

Additionally, in recent years, Americans have shifted their self-defining characteristics to better align with their politics; in effect, a political platform has increasingly informed one’s values and principles, instead of one’s beliefs being rooted by families, churches, and communities.

Psychologically, this identity shift heightens emotional reactions toward political criticisms since debate – or opposition – now challenges the core of a person’s personality. Even brain activity confirms political conflict has a similar effect as being physically attacked and/or threatened. It should be unsurprising then, as a result, America has seen increased polarization and even violence against political adversaries.

At the same time, American civil society has receded. Fewer opportunities exist for neighbors to gather together, regardless of political affiliation, and pursue a common goal. In the past, religious organizations and charities were cornerstones for such activity; today, however, as religiosity fades – which had been a motivating impulse propelling communal outreach – a void has formed. Indeed, the less religious are less likely to be civically engaged.

This massive disconnect between an individual and society at-large presents an existential crisis in the modern United States. Civilizations cannot survive without a firm foundation. In an American context, morality was not borne from thin air nor from moral relativism – but formed by Western philosophy and the Judeo-Christian religions.

President Trump is launching initiatives like “America Prays” and establishing the White House Faith Office. In addition, there are signs that the rising generations are seeking spiritual guidance. Will this trend continue?

Fowler offers “Washington’s fatherly advice” given in his Farewell Address as being “relevant to modern audiences: “when religiosity disappears from the public square, the moral framework supporting civil society wanes and weakens. A transcendent set of principles, however, unifies and moors the nation in common principles.”

Fowler suggests that this year -- America’s 250^th birthday anniversary – is a good time for Americans to return to what has been called the “indispensable” pillars that hold up society: “prayer, worship, and charity.” He wonders if faith is powerful enough to “reverse every sociological problem.” He suggests that religious commitment must be revived if we are to “renew the civic bonds that sustain, safeguard, and preserve a free society.”

This year is a suitable time for all of us to pray for America and for our political leaders.

 

How Important Is Religion to National Sovereignty?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns faith, religion, and freedom. There are two underlying principles for this discussion. Please keep them in mind as you read the following information.

The first principle comes from the Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is: The prayers of righteous people protect righteous and unrighteous people alike. (See Alma 10:22-23.) The second principle is that citizens of all nations should have religious liberty and be allowed to worship God as they choose. (Article of Faith 1:11.)

An article written by Mariya Manzhos and published in the Deseret News shared some interesting profiles about how religion and culture intersect. 

When researchers study people’s relationship with religion and faith, they cast a wide net of questions that get at both inner beliefs and outward practices.

Some questions focus on attitudes and identity: Do people see religion or spirituality as important? Do they identify as Christian? Do they believe animals have spirits – or do they believe in God? Other questions explore lived practices: How often do they pray, attend church, meditate, light candles or read scripture?

Together, these answers sketch the contours of how individuals, and entire nations, experience religion and spirituality.

Pew Research Center asked some of these questions in a recent study about the religiously unaffiliated, or “nones,” held across 22 countries. The findings show that many people who don’t identify as religious still hold different beliefs or engage in spiritual practices, but the strength of those ties varies widely.

In Brazil, for example, 92% of the unaffiliated say they believe in God, compared to just 10% in Sweden. Similar divides are seen between Latin America and South Africa on one end of the spectrum and much of Europe and Australia on the other.

According to Manzhos, researchers found that countries are individual in their stages of secularization. There are three stages of religion decline: Participation-Importance-Belonging.

First, religious practices like service attendance decline, often among younger generations….

In the second stage, people are questioning religion’s personal importance and weakening their sense of belonging….

The final stage marks the shedding of religious identity altogether for the younger generations….

These religious transitions show that secularization isn’t a single story of religious decline. It also reveals the many ways faith lingers through belief, identity and practice.

Tracing these patterns may help us understand how faith still influences broader values, culture and politics – even as religious affiliation fades.

For leaders of congregations, understanding how secularization works may point to a central challenge in halting it – how to create religious communities where more young people feel that they belong.

In her article, Manzhos indicated that the United States is in the second stage where people are questioning the importance of religion to them personally. “The United States fits this pattern today: younger adults attend services less often and are 45% less likely than older generations to claim a religious affiliation, although a recent report from Barna Group challenged this pattern with its finding that Gen Z and millennials now go to church more often than older adults.” Other nations placed in this stage are Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Greece, Italy and Canada.

Freedom

                Freedom!  What does freedom mean to you?  To me, freedom means the opportunity to go, say and do whatever I desire as long as I do not infringe upon the freedoms of others.  Freedom gives me the opportunity to worship the God of my choice in any way I choose.  Freedom gives me the opportunity to go wherever I choose and whenever I choose.  Freedom gives me the opportunity to speak the words I choose to speak.  Freedom gives me the opportunity to write what I choose to write.  Freedom gives me the opportunity to assemble with the people I desire to meet.  Freedom gives me the opportunity to make choices, but it does not free me from the consequences for those choices.

                Some time ago – months, maybe even years – I read a book entitled Agenda 21.  The book described a compound where the “authorities” imprisoned all the citizens of what once was America.  The leaders of the “Republic” made all the decisions as to food, clothing, marriage, childcare, career, etc.  I do not remember if the book explained how the people came to these circumstances. The people who were older teens or adults at the time of imprisonment remembered true freedom.  If they taught their children about freedom, they were punished.  Those too young to remember what it was like to be free as well as those who were not taught about freedom simply assumed that their leaders knew best.  One by one the older people died or were killed because they were no longer productive, and the knowledge of freedom died with them.  The more time that went by, the less the people knew about what freedom means.

                Every once in a while I have read of something about “camps” being made by FEMA.  Is our own government making “compounds” to imprison Americans?  I know not but believe it is possible with the present administration.  What I do know is the importance of the older generation passing knowledge of freedom to the rising generation.  Freedom will last only as long as we protect it and preserve it.

                President Ronald Reagan understood our need to protect and preserve our freedom and spoke often about it.  “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”  The only way the rising generation will know the value of freedom is for us to teach them.

                Viktor Emil Frankl knew a thing or two about freedom and the loss of it.  He was a neurologist and psychiatrist in Austrian, and he survived the Holocaust.  He wrote a best-selling book entitled Man’s Search for Meaning about his experiences as an inmate in a Nazi concentration camp.  From his experiences there, he discovered “the importance of finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most brutal ones, and thus, a reason to continue living.”  

                Frankl understood the meaning of freedom, especially the last freedom:  “The last of human freedoms [is] the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.” 

                Frankl also stated, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”  Evil people can take everything away from us except our choice of how we will respond to their wickedness.

                President Abraham Lincoln left a warning to Americans:  “America will never be destroyed from the outside.  If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

                I had the privilege of growing up in a nation with more freedoms than what we presently enjoy.  I know we are losing freedom bit by bit.  We have lost a lot of freedom over the past six years.  Are we going to stand by and allow our last freedoms to be taken from us?  I am not.  I teach my children and grandchildren about our great nation and the freedoms we enjoy.  I am apparently doing a good job because one of my six-year-old grandsons saw a patriotic sun catcher in the store at his school and gave it to me for Christmas.  He knows I love our nation and the freedoms we enjoy.  I hope and pray that all of my children and grandchildren understand the importance of freedom and the need to fight for it and to protect and preserve it.  Remember, freedom is “just another word” until we give meaning to it!

Agency, Freedom, Independence, Liberty

What is the connection between agency, freedom, independence, and liberty? Do these words all basically mean the same thing or is there a difference?

The prophets and scriptures teach us that we had moral agency in our premortal home with Heavenly Father. "Thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee" (Moses 3:17). We used our agency in the premortal Council in Heaven when a conflict arose between the followers of Jesus Christ and the followers of Satan. Heavenly Father presented His plan for the happiness of His children; His plan included the use of individual moral agency and a Savior. Lucifer - also known as Satan - didn't like our Father's plan and presented an alternate plan. "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor" (Moses 4:1). When he made this statement, he "rebelled against [God] and sought to destroy the agency of man" (Moses 4:3). We were given the opportunity to vote for either Heavenly Father's plan or for Satan's plan. We know that we supported the plan of our Father in Heaven because we are here on earth with bodies. Satan's plan was rejected, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven without the opportunity to ever obtain bodies. (See Doctrine and Covenants 29:36-37.) Our choices in heaven made us worthy to come to earth.

One of the purposes for our lives here on earth is to learn to use our moral agency correctly and to show Heavenly Father that we can make correct choices. The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that we are free to choose liberty and eternal life by following the teaching of Christ; we are also free to choose captivity and death by following Satan. (See 2 Nephi 2:27.) This right to choose either good or evil and to act for ourselves is called agency.

Our life on earth is a period of testing. When planning for the mortal creation of His spirit children, our Heavenly Father said, "We will prove [or test] them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" (Abraham 3:25). Without this wonderful gift of agency, we would not have the ability to pass the test or to show Heavenly Father that we will do all that He commands us to do. Because we have been given the gift of agency or the ability to choose, we are each responsible for our own actions. (See Helaman 14:30-31).

We can strengthen our agency by choosing to live according to God's plan for us. When we make right choices, we increase our ability to make more right choices. We also grow in wisdom and strength of character and faith. Our ability to make right choices increases. Our Heavenly Father gave us commandments to help us choose righteousness. He wants us to grow in faith, power, knowledge, wisdom, and all other good things in order than we can become like Him. (See Doctrine and Covenants 93:28.)

In order for us to choose righteousness, there must be opposites of good and evil. Lehi, a great prophet in the Book of Mormon told his son Jacob, there must be "an opposition in all things. If not so, … righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad" (2 Nephi 2:11).

God allows Satan to oppose righteousness. God said of Satan, "I caused that he should be cast down;
"And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice" (Moses 4:3-4).

Satan does all that he can do to destroy the work of God for he seeks "the misery of all mankind…. He seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:18, 27). Satan does not love anyone; he does not want us to find happiness or to have anything that is good in our lives. (See Moroni l7:17.) In fact, Satan wants us to be his slaves, and he uses many disguises to deceive us and to enslave us.

When we make bad choices and follow the temptations of Satan, we limit our choices. We are free to choose our actions, but we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions. Consequences, whether good or bad, follow as a nature result of any choice made. (See Galatians 6:7; Revelation 22:12.)

God's commandments help us to use our agency wisely and to move away from the dangers of wickedness. When we choose wisely, we enjoy perfect happiness and move toward exaltation and eternal progression.

Agency is a gift from God that we were given in our heavenly home. We used it there to make correct choices, and we can use it on earth to make righteous choices. In order to use our agency, we must be able to choose between good and evil, good and better, or better and best. This opportunity to choose comes through freedom and liberty.

Freedom, independence, and liberty are often used interchangeably. Freedom is described as "the condition of being free of restraints; liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression; political independence; exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition; the capacity to exercise choice; free will; ease or facility of movement; … a right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference" (The American Heritage College Dictionary, fourth edition, p. 552).

The same dictionary defines liberty as "the condition of being free from restriction or control; the right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing; the condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor; freedom from unjust or undue governmental control" (p. 798).

Independence is described in the same dictionary as the quality of being "not governed by a foreign power; self-governing; free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliant" (p. 704).

Using these definitions, I conclude that moral agency - the ability to choose between right and wrong - is a gift from God. We brought this great gift with us when we came to earth. Freedom is the condition of being free from anything that would bind us or control us. Liberty is freedom from unjust or undue governmental control. Independence is freedom from foreign powers. As individuals, we can exercise the gift of agency only when we are living in a state of freedom or liberty such as we have in the United States. Under these circumstances, we can become self-reliant and independent by the choices we make. Therefore, independence and self-reliance are built upon freedoms and liberty and come by exercising agency.

Our founding fathers and mother understood the importance of liberty and the responsibility of agency in obtaining it. They also understood that independence was not going to come without a difficult struggle. The Declaration of Independence closes 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."

Samuel Adams told those who were loyal to England, "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."

Benjamin Franklin spoke the following truth: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

John Adams understood that there are certain requirements we must meet if we want to have liberty and independence. He said, "Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among people." He also said, "While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader…. If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security."

There is little doubt about the feelings Patrick Henry held toward liberty: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

As we continue in our efforts to maintain our freedoms, liberty and independence, it is important that we understand the truths written by William Boetcker, a German-born Presbyterian clergyman (1873-1962): "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves" ("The Ten Cannots" (1916) - often falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln) [http://www.cincinnatiskeptics.org/blurbs/Lincoln-cannots.html]

We cannot build ourselves up by tearing someone else down, but by working together we can become united and independent. Our Heavenly Father wants His children to be free in order to exercise their God-given agency. We will remain free and independent as long as we worship the God of this land who is Jesus Christ. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can obtain true liberty.

Freedom to Choose

Families grow stronger as they understand that the foundation for freedom and liberty is moral agency – the freedom to choose. We had agency when we lived as spirits in heaven before we came to this earth. While we lived with our Father in Heaven, He presented His plan for our happiness. He explained that He had prepared a new home for us where we would receive physical bodies and learn many things that we could not learn in heaven. He told us that we would have the ability to choose how we wanted to live our lives on earth. He said that we would one day return to live with Him if we made good choices.

After Father in Heaven presented His plan, another plan was presented to us by Lucifer. Lucifer's plan would insure that we all returned to heaven. To do this, our agency would be taken from us - and we would be forced to be good. There was a war in heaven (Revelation 12:7) because those who chose to follow Lucifer's plan wanted to force everyone else to choose it also. Those who wanted to keep their agency or freedom to choose won the war in heaven and were allowed to come to earth, receive bodies, and learn new things. Those who wanted to use force were cast out of heaven without bodies.

Among those who came to earth are some people who think they are so intelligent that they want to tell others how to live their lives. These people are sometimes called social engineers. They like to use the force of the government to change mankind and to cause them to fit a master plan. These plans are very much like the plan we rejected in heaven.

Many different programs are used to change mankind through the force of the government. Progressives are currently trying to gain control of the citizens in this nation by forcing some of these programs on our nation under the mask of health care reform, climate change, cap and trade, etc. Previous programs in other countries fell under the titles of Nazism, fascism, socialism, and communism. They were all administered under the control of a dictator such as Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Pol Pot, etc.

We fought a war in heaven over agency. Heavenly Father considered agency to be so important that He allowed one-third of the hosts of heaven - His children - to rebel and to choose to live another way.

Our nation was founded on liberty - the freedom to use our God-given agency to make choices. Our Founders fought and won a war that we might have liberty. Now we are in a war to see if we can retain our liberty. The words agency, freedom, independence, and liberty all describe the Right to Choose. Understanding the importance of moral agency helps all of us to be stronger.

Attitude of Gratitude

I am one of many people who set goals at the beginning of each new year. I like to keep my list to three or fewer goals because I actually intend to accomplish my goals. One of my goals for the coming year is to develop a better appreciation for my many blessings. I am convinced that I can recognize more blessings if I have an attitude of gratitude.

Numerous apostles and prophets have counseled us to be grateful. The Apostle Paul wrote, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, "In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things" (Doctrine and Covenants 59:21).

President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote, "The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way. Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who has done for you what none other in all this world could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help. Thank Him for His marvelous atonement. Confess His hand in all things" (Stand A Little Taller, p 338).

President Thomas S. Monson stated, "Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings" (Ensign, Nov. 2009, - 87).

I know that I have many blessings in spite of the fact that I experience my own tests and trials. I am grateful for all my blessings and especially for my family, my faith, my freedom, and my friends.

I am grateful for my family. As part of my effort to increase my gratitude for my many blessings, I would like to share with you some of the "tender mercies" that the Lord bestowed upon me as I celebrated the Christmas holidays with my children and grandchildren. I had a wonderful time with them and received many blessings from spending time with them.

Grandchildren are marvelous blessings in and of themselves! There is nothing better than receiving a big hug and a beaming smile from a two-year-old grandson or having a younger toddler lift his little arms in a desire to be held. I thoroughly enjoyed receiving spontaneous hugs from my four-year-old granddaughters and hearing the words, "I love you, Grammy!" I was pleased when my ten-year-old grandson brought his new travel Battleship game so that we could continue our annual tradition of playing Battleship. Each grandchild brought his or her own special and unique blessings into my life, whether it was a hug, a smile, or another way of showing love. I am grateful that they love each other and enjoy spending time together.

The simple experience of watching children grow in knowledge and develop different skills is a great blessing that I have enjoyed from the time that my children were infants. Even though my sons and daughters are now adults with children of their own, I still like to watch as they grow in knowledge and experience. It is especially enjoyable to watch as my sons and daughters deal with their own children. I am impressed with my daughters' willingness to love and serve their husbands and to teach their children with tenderness. I appreciate the way that my sons lead their families in righteousness and share the responsibilities of caring for the children.

I am grateful for children who love each other and enjoy spending time together. I especially appreciate the way that they care for each other's children with the same love and concern as their own. I was thrilled when one of my daughters voluntarily helped her sister by carrying a four-year-old niece piggyback down a steep hill - and then came back to carry her own daughter down the same hill.

I am grateful for my faith in God and for my knowledge and testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I am grateful to know that His gospel has been restored to the earth. I am grateful to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful for the fact that I can travel and still feel at home in any congregation of the Church. I find the same spirit in all the meetings I attend - even when a different language is spoken. I find the same type of leadership by Melchizedek Priesthood brethren and the same service given by members of the Aaronic Priesthood as they prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament. I find the same hymnals and the same lessons as I would hear in my own home ward.

I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy in this great nation. I am especially grateful at this time for freedom of religion, especially because Christians in other nations are being persecuted and even killed by members of other religions that claim to be "peaceful."

I am grateful for dear friends in my life and in the lives of my children and grandchildren. Friends are there in many different circumstances, whether it be happy or sad. Friends are the beautiful flowers in our lives.

I am grateful for family, faith in God and Jesus Christ, freedom and friends. I look forward to improving my attitude for gratitude during 2011.

Bondage of Debt

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is: Freedom can be destroyed by debt as easily and quickly as by conquest. Our Founders understood that debt corrupts and disables individuals and nations. They knew that borrowing in a time of emergency is honorable, but they also knew the necessity of repaying debt as quickly as possible. Debt has been described as trading an advantage today for an obligation tomorrow. It requires the payment of the original amount borrowed plus an added amount to compensate the creditor for the use of his money. An individual or nation with excessive debt loses the freedom to choose change or opportunity and pays more for an item than necessary. Our Founders understood that debt is evil and that frugality is a virtue. They knew that debt is a form of bondage. They avoided debt as if it were a plague because it causes a loss of spirit as well as a loss of funds. Our Founders understood that national debt was just as evil as individual debt. They also knew that a nation could be forced into a situation such as war when it would need to borrow funds. That is the reason that they wrote an authorization to borrow money in Article I of the United States Constitution. Nevertheless, they knew that freedom from debt and complete solvency is the way to prosperity. Thomas Jefferson stated, "I, however, place economy among the first and most important of republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared." Our Founders laid down a policy of incurring national debt as seldom as possible and paying off the debt as quickly as possible. They were particularly adamant that their debt should not be passed to their posterity because they wanted freedom for the rising generation - not bondage. President George Washington was very concerned about the debt of the nation and urged Congress several times to pay off the debt. Just before leaving office, he made a final plea: "Posterity may have cause to regret if, from any motive, intervals of tranquility are left unimproved for accelerating this valuable end." Every generation of Americans until our generation followed the policy of the Founders. Our slide into debt began when progressives started to dismantle the Constitution and the three branches of government started to overstep their constitutional authority in the era of the Great Depression. The people were told then just as we are being told now, "We have to spend our way out of the problem." It didn't work in the time of FDR, and it won't work in our day. Our national debt to our enemies is now in the trillions of dollars, but our President and Congress continue to spend unnecessary money. Many Americans are alarmed at the debt and continued spending. They are attending meetings and writing to their representatives in Congress with this message: Stop spending money! Our leaders appear to not be listening to the people; therefore, the people are starting to rise up and vote the big spenders out of office. I believe that the only way out of our current economical problems is a return to the fundamental principles of our Founding Fathers. The First Principles is a formula for economical prosperity. This formula can bring our nation out of debt without a major depression or war. Ideas and quotes for this post came from W. Cleon Skousen in The Five Thousand Year Leap, pp 205-214.

Rule of Law

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is that the rule of law is necessary to preserve freedom, not the whims of men. When a law is established, it states the rights and duties of every person. Each person then knows what is expected. This brings a sense of security to all. In comparison, when people are governed by the whims of men, the rights and responsibilities of the people depend upon whoever happens to be in power. Nothing is fixed, predictable, or secure. Individual families as well as society as a whole need a set of fixed and enforceable laws in order to be civilized. John Lock wrote, "The end of the law is not to abolish or restrain but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others, which cannot be where there is no law." (Second Essay Concerning Civil Government, p 37, par. 57.) Laws also need to be written in such a way that they are understandable and stable. Modern lawmakers could learn much from our Founding Fathers. The Declaration of Independence AND the United States Constitution are contained in less than fifty pages. The national health care bill took more than a thousand pages! The laws and regulations of our nation need to be less voluminous and less incoherent while also being more understandable and more supportable by the people. Ideas and quotes for this post came from W. Cleon Skousen, The Five Thousand Year Leap, pp 173-176.

Right to Govern

Today is Freedom Friday. The liberty principle for today is that the God-given right to govern is vested in the people. In other words the people have the divine right to govern themselves and exercise the power to select and/or depose their leaders. The leaders should understand that they are merely servants and are responsible to represent the will of the people as a whole. When an elected or appointed official misuses the authority of the people and form an abusive type of government, the people have the authority to "alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government…." (Declaration of Independence).

Unalienable Rights

For this Freedom Friday, let's discuss the principle of liberty that all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." We know from this statement in the Declaration of Independence that the Founders understood that the basic rights of mankind come directly from God and not from any government authority. These unalienable rights are also called natural rights. No one has the authority to take these rights from us without answering to God, but we can use our agency unwisely and forfeit them. It is important that we understand that our basic rights come from God and not from the government. Rights that come from God can be taken away only by God. Rights that come from the government are often taken away by the government. If we believe our unalienable rights come from the government, then there is a good chance that government will start to take those rights away from us. The rights created by governments are called vested rights. They include such rights as the opportunity to hunt in a certain area or season and the opportunity to use a certain highway. These are the kinds of rights that the government has authority to change or take from us. The Founders did not include all of mankind's unalienable or natural rights in the Declaration of Independence. Some other natural rights are enumerated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights: the right to self-government, the right to bear arms, the right to worship as we choose, the right to a fair trial, the right of free press, the right to petition our government, the right to speak freely, and the right to assemble. There are still other natural rights such as the right to choose our own mate, profession, and to have children. The phrase "pursuit of happiness" was well understood at the time it was written, but some people in our day question what it means. John Adams clearly explained it when he stated, "All men are born free and independent, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness." (George A. Peek, Jr., ed., The Political Writings of John Adams, Liberal Arts press, New York, 1954, p 96, as quoted by W. Cleon Skousen in The 5000 Year Leap, p 96).

Religion Is Essential to Liberty

This principle of freedom is that religion is essential to a government of free people. Most, if not all, of our Founding Fathers believed that religion and morality were essential for good government as well as happiness and that these topics should be taught in the schools. No specific religion was to be taught, but the universal truths, which were acceptable to all religions, were necessary. W. Cleon Skousen quoted Benjamin Franklin when he summarized basic religious beliefs as "fundamental points in all sounds religion" in a letter to Ezra Stiles, Yale University president: "Here is my creed: I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion." (Smyth, Writings of Benjamin Franklin, 10:84.) Skousen then explained Franklin's statement of the "five points of fundamental religious beliefs. 1) There exists a Creator who made all things and mankind should recognize and worship him. 2) The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes between right and wrong. 3) The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat each other. 4) All mankind live beyond this life. 5) In the next life mankind are judged for their conduct in this one" (The Five Thousand Year Leap, p 61). Even though the Founders considered these core beliefs to be America's religion, they wanted all religions to have equal protection under the Constitution. They wanted the citizens to have morality, religion, and virtue, but they did not want the federal government favoring any one religion or church. This is what Thomas Jefferson meant when he said that the Constitution created "a wall of separation between Church and State" (Beigh, Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 16:282, as quoted in The Five Thousand Year Leap, p 69).

Virtue and Morality

The second principle of freedom is based on the idea that a republican type of government needs virtuous and morally strong citizens to survive. The Founders had a great desire for independence but worried that they might not be good enough to make it work. They identified virtue and morality as being obedient to God's will, particularly the Ten Commandments. The Founders also understood that virtue comes only with effort and learning and that it must be cultivated and exercised. They wondered if their posterity would make the effort to teach the rising generations to be virtuous and moral. John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (Quoted in John R. Howe, Jr., The Changing Political Thought of John Adams, p 189). Let us be virtuous and moral and teach our posterity to be the same. This is one way that we can protect the freedoms we enjoy.

Freedom for All Americans

This week we celebrated the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., black civil rights leader. I must admit that I have very mixed feelings about this holiday. I recognize that civil rights for all Americans are very important, and I believe that Dr. King's participation in that achievement should be honored. I just don't quite understand why we have a national holiday named for him, especially because we have no other person honored with a national holiday. Consider that we have forty-three former Presidents of the United States, many of whom have performed great deeds. George Washington led our military troops to victory in the Revolutionary War bringing freedom to all Americans; he directed the convention where the United States Constitution was written, and he served our new nation as our first President. He was a great man whose love for his country kept him from accepting the proffered gift of being the king of it. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, approved the new Constitution even though he was serving our nation in France at the time it was written, and served as our nation's third President. James Madison wrote the United States Constitution and also served as the fourth President of our nation. Abraham Lincoln kept the country together during the Civil War and gave the Emancipation Proclamation while serving as our sixteenth President. Not one of these men and many others who accomplished great things for our nation is honored with a national holiday named specifically for him. There was a time when both Washington and Lincoln had national holidays named for them. In order to have one national holiday named for Martin Luther King, Congress took the two holidays named for Washington and Lincoln, lumped them together in one holiday and called it Presidents Day. Even though it has been twenty-five years since this happened, I have never heard a reasonable answer for the action. I personally believe the reason for this action was more to appease the African Americans among us than to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. I believe that this holiday was designated as part of a plan spear-headed by Lyndon B. Johnson and his cohorts to bring the black people into the Democratic camp. They achieved their purpose because African Americans have supported the Democrats for nearly fifty years since the civil rights acts were passed by Congress in the 1960s. African Americans do not seem to understand that the Democrats are simply using them to win elections. The latest revelations about statements by Senator Harry Reid and former President Bill Clinton prove that Democrats are racists, something that many conservatives have believed for years. I believe that Democrats pretend to be friends to poor people, African Americans and other minorities while actually trying to keep them "down on the plantation." I believe that the main purpose for the New Deal of FDR and the Great Society of LBJ was to get votes. In trying to keep blacks and others in the slavery mentality, Democrats enact legislation that keeps all of us under control. A great example of their need to control Americans is the "health care reform" that the Democrats have tried to force through Congress even though Americans are telling them in no uncertain terms that we don't want their reform. It is just a continuing progressive plan to enslave all Americans. One way that Americans of all colors, all religions, all cultures, etc. can gain more freedom is to vote all progressives out of office as soon as possible!

Free to Choose

For this Freedom Friday, I want to revisit the topic of moral agency. After I published my last post on this topic, I prepared a lesson for the five-year-old children that I teach each Sunday and realized that I had missed the most important reason why we should use our moral agency wisely. That reason is that it makes us happy to choose the right. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. Because They love us, They want us to be happy. One way that we can be happy is to have the opportunity to make choices. This is why Heavenly Father gave us the great gift of moral agency long before we came to earth. With the gift of moral agency, we have the right to choose how we will live our lives. Because we are able to make choices, we are responsible for our actions. When we make the right choices, our agency becomes stronger and our power to make right choices increases. One thing that we need to remember is that even though we have the power to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. In Matthew 5:6 it says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness…." To "hunger and thirst after righteousness" means to choose the right. Making right choices helps us to make more right choices. Choosing wisely brings peace of mind and freedom from feelings of guilt and remorse. Using our moral agency wisely brings happiness. If we want to truly be free, we must learn CTR - Choose The Right!

Progressive Movement

The progressive movement is destroying our freedoms and liberties. This movement started around the turn of last century and is very strong today. Progressives gave us the Federal Reserve. They brought redistribution of wealth through the progressive income tax. They brought us the League of Nations, then the United Nations. They brought in Prohibition to force people into better health by denying them alcohol. They brought in the idea that our Constitution is a flawed, living, breathing document and that our Founding Fathers were a bunch of rich racists.

Progressives today speak a different language. When they say "economic justice" they really mean "taking from the halves and giving to the have nots." When they speak of "social justice" they want "someone to step down so that someone else can have a turn." When then-Presidential Nominee Barack Obama said, "We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America" he really meant that he was on the verge of "collapsing the state as we know it and rebooting it as a progressive utopia."

What most people call socialism, progressives call social justice. They seem to really believe that they are making things better. There have been numerous attempts by progressives to take over the government of the United States, and the modern-day progressives have learned from the earlier attempts to transform America. The speed with which government has taken over private industry in the past year shows that there was a plan in place long before the election was held.

Progressives now live by these rules: 1) No debate is allowed. People like Al Gore have said things like, "The discussion is over." They know that truth will prevail if it is allowed out in the open. Look what happened at the climate change conference in December. 2) This transformation cannot be conducted in the open. Health reform is a good example of this. The leaders of both the House and the Senate denied all proposals that were not part of their plan to take over our health care system. Obama and the other elected stooges are now meeting in secret to determine the future of Americans' health care. 3) They never let a good crisis go to waste. They are just waiting for something really bad to happen in order to take over our country.

Those people who are truly listening to the words of the progressives and watching their actions recognize that these rules are in place and are being used. The people who are basically responsible for the overwhelming and possible collapse of our economic system are Richard Cloward and Francis Fox Piven, authors of the Cloward-Piven strategy. They wrote about collapsing the economy and how to do it in an article they wrote in the 1960's called, "Mobilizing the Poor: How it Could Be Done." It was published in The Nation, under the title "The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty." Cloward and Piven were radical professors at Columbia in the 1960's. They believed in "change" and "social justice." They wrote a plan to put Saul Alinsky's social change for America into effect. Their plan was to overwhelm the system and cause capitalism to fail. To do this, they would overload the government bureaucracy and bring on economic collapse by impossible demands. In a ten-year period, from 1964 until 1974, the total number of people on welfare rose from 4.3 million to 10.8 million. New York City alone had 1 million welfare recipients in 1975 and declared bankruptcy.

More than twenty years later, Mayor Rudy Giuliani was still trying to deal with some of the problems. He referred to the Cloward and Piven strategy while describing the economic sabotage. He said, "This wasn't an accident; it wasn't an atmospheric thing; it wasn't supernatural. It was the result of policies, choices and a philosophy that was embraced in the 1960's and then enthusiastically endorsed in the City of New York." He went on to say, "This is the result of policies and programs designed to have the maximum number of people get on welfare" (Video Clip dated July 20, 1998).

Hard-working American taxpayers grew tired of providing money to able-bodied welfare recipients generation after generation, and welfare reform was begun. After the welfare reform bill was signed by Bill Clinton in 1996, millions of people were taken off the welfare rolls. Meanwhile, the progressives turned to other means to overwhelm the system. One way was to register all the dead-beats to vote. Bill Clinton signed the Motor Voter Bill into law in 1993 and invited Richard Cloward and his wife, Frances Fox Piven to the signing. Now they are working on a plan to provide amnesty to all undocumented workers who are in our country illegally.

Numerous Presidents of the United States have been progressives, including Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. John McCain is a progressive and would have taken us down the same path that Obama is taking us but at a slower pace. Obama's speed has caused many people, including myself, to wake up to what is happening.

Progressives have become part of the system of our national government. Hilary Clinton wrote her college thesis on Saul Alinsky and has proclaimed herself to be a "modern progressive." I encourage everyone to study and learn more about how progressivism started and where it wants to take our country. A good place to start is by listening to Glenn Beck interview Matthew Spalding, director of the Heritage Foundation's Center for American Studies. This interview explains a lot about progressivism.

Today I was listening to an address given by Ronald Reagan at the 1964 Republican National Convention. He was talking about Russia and the threat of communism, but I was shocked by how much his words apply to our nation right now. I really recommend that you listen to the entire speech. Here is just one quote from it: "This is the issue of the election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves."

The freedoms and liberties that we enjoy are being threatened right now. Our economic system is on the verge of collapse due to the massive national debt. Each American citizen - man, woman and child - now owes more than $340,000! Americans must wake up and realize what is happening or it will be too late to stop the progressive program before it destroys our nation.

Airport Security

Are terrorists becoming bolder or are we less secure under the Obama Administration? Official sources tell us that there have been twenty-eight terror attacks, either successful or attempted, since 9/11. Twenty-eight divided by nine averages out to about three per year. I understand that there have been six attacks during 2009. So, what's up? One fact is very clear, and that fact is that the United States and the world's airways remain vulnerable to terrorists. I believe that one of the reasons that we are so vulnerable is that our liberal left wants everything to be politically correct. I understand that our newest terrorist now has an attorney and will be tried in our court system - just as if he were a United States citizen. When are our leaders going to understand that our enemies are using our humanity to destroy us? The question that I want to discuss today is, how much freedom will we need to surrender in order to be safe? I do not have any problem with profiling for security reasons. If older, Caucasian women were to become known for blowing up airplanes, I would expect everyone to wonder about me, and I would try to be as cooperative as possible with those in authority. I don't particularly enjoy the experience of having dogs sniff around my private parts, but I think that I prefer dogs sniffing around than being patted down. I know that I prefer dogs to full body scans in public. I think that my second choice would be to be patted down by a same-sex employee. This seems less intrusive to me than a body scan. My last choice would be a full body scan. I am very uncomfortable with the idea of somebody - anybody - taking a detailed look at my body. I endure physical examinations by my doctor simply because I consider them necessary to preserve my health. I suppose I could endure body scans to preserve my life, but I wouldn't like it! I like freedom and privacy as well as being innocent until proven guilty. I do not like the fact that my life, liberty, property and privacy are being threatened because some deranged people from another country think it necessary. The more freedoms I give up, whether voluntarily or by force, the more determined I am to win this war against terrorism. I hope that Obama gets his act together soon!

Agency

I want to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. I hope that we all have a great year! On this Freedom Friday I want to discuss the foundation of freedom and liberty. That foundation is moral agency - the freedom to choose. We had agency when we lived as spirits in heaven before we came to this earth. While we lived with our Father in Heaven, He presented His plan for our happiness. He explained that He had prepared a new home for us where we would receive physical bodies and learn many things that we couldn't learn in heaven. He told us that we would have the ability to choose how we wanted to live our lives on earth. He said that we would one day return to live with Him if we made good choices. After Father in Heavenly presented His plan, another plan was presented to us by Lucifer. Lucifer's plan would insure that we all returned to heaven. To do this, our agency would be taken from us - and we would be forced to be good. There was a war in heaven (Revelation 12:7) because those who chose to follow Lucifer's plan wanted to force everyone else to choose it also. Those who wanted to keep their agency - the freedom to choose - won the war in heaven and were allowed to come to earth, receive bodies, and learn new things. Those who wanted to use force were cast out of heaven without bodies. Among those who came to earth are some people who think they are so intelligent that they want to tell others how to live their lives. These people are sometimes called social engineers. They like to use the force of the government to change mankind and to cause them to fit a master plan. These plans are very much like the plan we rejected in heaven. Many different programs are used to change mankind through the force of the government. Progressives are currently trying to gain control of the citizens in this nation by forcing some of these programs on our nation under the guise of health care reform, climate change, cap and trade, etc. Previous programs in other countries fell under the titles of Nazism, fascism, socialism, and communism. They were all administered under the control of a dictator such as Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Pol Pot, etc. We fought a war in heaven over agency. Heavenly Father considered agency to be so important that He allowed one-third of the hosts of heaven - His children - to rebel and to choose to live another way. Our nation was founded on liberty - the freedom to use our God-given agency to make choices. Our Founders fought a war that we might have liberty. Now we are in a war to see if we can retain our liberty. The words agency, freedom, and liberty all describe the Right to Choose. Let's keep this Right and fight against any body and every body that wants to take away our agency!

True Freedom

I wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS today. I hope that you are wearing blue in support of our troops even as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Many of our troops are in danger and difficulty to insure that we have the safety and security of being with our families and friends as we celebrate. As you celebrate today, please consider the appropriateness of celebrating Freedom Friday on Christmas Day. It was Jesus Christ who gave every mortal being who ever lived freedom from death. Because of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we will all one day have our bodies and spirits united in such a way that they will never be separated again. Jesus Christ also gave us freedom from sin through the power of His Atonement. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and goes through the process of repenting for his/her sins will have the sins forgiven. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the principle of repentance, we can all enjoy freedom from sin. Freedom from death and freedom from sin are not the only freedoms that we all have received or can receive from God. The very first freedom we received is agency, the freedom to choose how we will live our lives and the freedom of choice in what we do. Other freedoms come from living in obedience to the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ. By living as God wants us to live, we can be free from causing abuse or divorce or contention or war. Jesus Christ is the great Peace Maker. Those who follow His teachings receive peace in their lives no matter what happens around them. Please enjoy your celebration today even more because you know that Jesus Christ has given us the greatest freedoms of all the many freedoms we enjoy.

Protect Freedom

Today is Freedom Friday. Are you wearing blue in support of our troops? We must be ready and willing to protect freedom at all times and at all levels. Our local governments are just as capable of destroying freedom as our federal government is. An example of this situation happened in the Sussex Square community in western Henrico County near Richmond, VA. Colonel Van Barfoot, a 90-year-old veteran of World War II and the Vietnam War, is fighting for the opportunity to have a flag pole in his yard. His homeowner's association is trying to force him to remove his flag pole. The homeowner's association allows flags on porches and doesn't explicitly forbid flag poles. They insist that any flag pole be "aesthetically appropriate." According to family members, Barfoot is the most decorated American combat veteran alive. He has received more than 20 medals, including three Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, and the Medal of Honor. The homeowner's association gave Barfoot until Friday, December 11, to remove his flag. He has stated that he is willing to go to court if necessary to keep his flag pole. I have often longed for a flag pole from which to fly my flag but continue to fly it from my front deck. I wonder if my homeowner's association has any regulation prohibiting a flag pole. I guess I better check before I start pouring cement! Does your home association allow flag poles?

Education and Freedom

Today is Freedom Friday. Are you wearing blue today in support of our troops? I believe that education is very important for obtaining and retaining liberty and freedom. I particularly believe that girls and women need education in addition to boys and men. I once heard a statement that went something like this: "When we educate a man, we education only a man. When we educate a woman, we educate an entire family. I believe this statement is true, particularly because mothers do most of the teaching of their children. I believe that it was the educational level of our Founders that assisted them in writing the United States Constitution as they did. I believe that it is because of their education that they knew about and understood the evils that bad government could bring upon the Americans. The Founders used their knowledge in a way that is a blessing to us today. Afghanistan is a good example of what happens in a country that does not encourage education for both their boys and girls. In the mid-1990s about 20 percent of "all Afghanistan's people 15 years of age or older can read and write. The law requires all children from 7 to 10 years old to go to school. However, many of these children cannot attend school because the country does not have enough schools or teachers" (Riffat Sardar, World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p 95). In 1993 Greg Mortenson staggered into Korphe, a tiny village in Pakistan. He describes how he "watched 82 children scratch their lessons in the dirt with sticks" (Parade Magazine, No. 22, 2009, p 8). A young girl asked him to come back to her village and build a school that would be open to all children. Three years later he returned to Korphe and built that school. His organization, the Central Asia Institute (CAI) now has 91 school houses in the mountains of rural Pakistan. There are 19,000 students - three-quarters of them girls - being taught in those schools. CAI crossed the border into Afghanistan and opened its first school there in 2004. The 39th school was opened this year. Including tent schools in refugee camps, there are 39,000 Afghan children, mostly girls, being educated there. "Yet my commitment to educating girls has only grown stronger. Indeed, we hope soon to complete a 200-mile line of girls' schools directly through the heart of Taliban country. "Young women are the developing world's greatest agents of progress. Just one year of schooling will dramatically raise a girl's later economic prospects, and where girls get to fifth grade, birth rates and infant mortality plunge. Teaching girls to read and write reduces the ignorance and poverty that fuel religious extremism and lays a groundwork for prosperity and peace. In military parlance, educating girls is a `force multiplier.' Thus the flame that burns at the center of my work, the heat around which I cup my hands, are the stories of girls whose lives have been changed by education" (Parade, p 8). Mortenson reported that in 2000 only 800,000 Afghan children were in school - no girls. Now there are 8.5 million Afghan children in school, including nearly 2 million girls. The people of Afghanistan recognize the importance of education and are willing to pour scarce resources into schools. Mortenson is the author of two books. His first book, entitled Three Cups of Tea, published in 2006, is now required reading for all Special Forces soldiers deploying to Afghanistan. Military leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, have turned to Mortenson for guidance in improving relationships with tribal and village leaders. Mortenson's second book, entitled Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was published December 1 by Viking. I saw copies of this book in Costco yesterday. "I have observed with my own eyes how America's welfare is tied to that of our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world - and, in particular, that of our youngest sisters. Their dreams of progress rest in our hands; our desire for peace rests in theirs" (Parade, 10).