Republican Civil War

                Skirmishes of a Republican civil war continue to take place between the GOP Establishment and conservative Republicans, a “war for the soul of the party.”  Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT) led a Tea Party effort to defund – or to at least delay – Obamacare in a budget standoff in October.  Barack Obama and Democrats shut the government down in an effort to protect the program.  When the Tea Party efforts were crushed and political damage began piling up for Republicans, long-time GOP Establishment party leaders lined up to chastise their Tea-Party colleagues for their “losing strategy.”  Among those piling on was Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) who said, “Let’s face it:  it was not a good maneuver.” 

                Then the Obamacare roll out proved disastrous to the Democrats and put them on the ropes.  Even though Republicans could use the Obamacare fiasco to win big in November 2014, Establishment Republicans continue to fight their conservative base for control of the party even though they should be focusing on beating the Democrats.  Why are they willing to destroy their party rather than work with their conservative base?  The reason is certainly not a desire to do what is best for our nation.

                Leading the battle against the Tea Party are two well-known organizations:  American Crossroads Super PAC led by Karl Rove and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  These organizations claim to be conservative, but they apparently despise the conservative movement.  These are the same organizations that brought in moderates John McCain and Mitt Romney to be the GOP presidential candidates.

                Jeffrey Lord at American Spectator  called the GOP Establishment “socialists” and said that filling Washington with Establishment Republicans will not make any difference.  “The Republican Party can control every last seat in Congress after 2014 and the White House in 2016 – and it will not make a lick of difference.  Because just as occurred when Rove was a man with clout in the White House and John Boehner was on an earlier ladder of the GOP House leadership passing No Child Left Behind with Teddy Kennedy – the Washington GOP Establishment will do everything they can to fight efforts to limit the size and growth of the federal government.

                “Why is this?  The answer is as simple as it is blunt.  Follow the money.

                “The major industry – the trough, if you will – in Washington, D.C., is the big, bloated federal government.

                “And groups like the US Chamber of Commerce wallow in this trough….”

                Conservative talk show host Mark Levin discussed the US Chamber of Commerce on his radio show, and his comments were reported by James Beattie:  “We need to shake up that place like it’s never been shaken before.  And the problem with groups like the United States Chamber of Commerce is they’re not conservative, they’re about business.  They’re not about capitalism, they’re about cronyism.  The reason there is a United States Chamber of Commerce is so they can get Congress to cut deals for them, or the White House to cut deals for them, or the bureaucracy to cut deals for them.  That’s what they’re there for.”

                Levin continued his comments:  “They’re part of the problem.  The idea that big companies are necessarily conservative is absurd.  Who do you think funds the left?  Who do you think funds the Democrat Party?  Or, all their little organizations?  Big businesses do.  Corporatists do.  They’re trying to buy favors.  That’s what they do.  So, you have to be discerning.  There are some good businesses and there’s some bad businesses.  Just like there’s some good people and some bad people.  Some good politicians and some bad politicians.”

                ABC news reported in the middle of December 2013:  “Years of growing friction between the Republican Party leaders and its Tea Party faction has erupted into what one conservative said today was `full-scale civil war.’”

                House Speaker John Boehner, “repeatedly thwarted by Tea Party revolts in recent years,” showed his frustration with Tea Party activists.  “Well, frankly, I think they’re misleading their followers.  I think they’re pushing our members in places where they don’t want to be.  And frankly, I just think that they’ve lost all credibility.”

                Tea Party conservatives believe their conservative leaders in Washington betrayed them.  “It’s just another example of D.C. elitism.  They think they know what’s best for the rest of the country and they want us to just sit down and shut up,” Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, told ABC News.

                I am a member of the Republican Party who is conservative but not officially a member of a Tea Party.  I have lost confidence in the Republican leaders in Washington because they tell us they are for something and then vote against it.  Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is guilty of doing this very thing so often that she might as well be a Democrat!  Conservatives fight for conservative principles just to see their fellow Republicans and leaders in Congress betray them.  If all the Republican Senators had stood with Senators Cruz and Lee, they might have been able to stop Obamacare before millions of Americans lost their health insurance.  If Republicans had stood tall and unitedly against any law signed by Barack Obama, Americans would have more liberty today!

                I believe strongly that we must weed out the Establishment Republicans if we are to save our nation.  I believe that the time has come to stop supporting politicians like John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Orrin Hatch, John McCain, etc.  They are progressives who believe in big government.  They claim to have conservative principles when they seek re-election, but they do not vote conservatively.  Instead of doing what is best for the United States, they seem to be more interested in their own financial situation.  We must learn to “follow the money” in order to know who can be trusted as well as who cannot.

                I entered into this Republican civil war by putting my money where my mouth is.  I refuse to send money to the Republican Party because the party does not support conservative efforts.  My money goes to organizations such as The Heritage Foundation, organizations that respect and support conservative principles and the US Constitution.  I have in the process of determining which political candidates are truly conservative.  When I learn where I can put my trust, I will also give them financial and physical support in their campaigns.  This year I will not only be working against Mark Begich, but I will be working to elect a conservative Senator in his place.  I hope other Alaskans will join me in this effort.

                The Republican civil war is not a war that conservatives can sit out.   When liberals, progressive and socialist ideas are measured against conservative principles, conservatives always win.  This is why liberals and progressives lie to us.  They cannot tell us who they really are and what their real plans are because they know they would lose.  We all must enter into the battles and support our fellow conservatives.  We must stand immovable on conservative principles.

Pieter (Peter) Stuyvesant

                There is no “Peter Stuyvesant” found in historical records.  The man known as Peter was actually Pieter Stuyvesant.  Pieter was born around 1612 in Peperga, Friesland in the Netherlands and grew up in Scherpenzeel.  His parents were Balthazar Johannes Stuyvesant (a minister) and Margaretha Hardenstein. 

                Pieter Stuyvesant studied languages and philosophy in Franeker and received a good education; he also served in the Dutch military.  He joined the West India Company about 1635 and was the director of Curacao, the Dutch West India Company’s colony from 1642 to 1644.  Pieter lost the lower part of his right leg to a cannonball when he attacked the Spanish-held island of Saint Martin in April 1644.  His right leg was amputated and replaced with a wooden peg upon his return to the Netherlands.  He supposedly used a “stick of wood driven full of silver bands as a prosthetic limb” and was given the nickname “Old Silver Leg.”

                In May 1645 Pieter was named the Director-General of the new Netherlands colony and arrive in New Amsterdam on May 11, 1647.  He made friends with the Native Americans but apparently punished them severely for intruding.  When his people complained of his treatment of the Native Americans, he imprisoned them.  He was appointed as one of nine men to sit on an advisory council as representatives of the colonists on New Amsterdam.

                Stuyvesant married Judith Bayard (c. 1610-1687) in 1645, and Judith nursed him back to health from the loss of his leg.  Her brother Samuel Bayard was married to Pieter’s sister Anna.  Pieter and Judith had a daughter named Judith who married Benjamin Winthrop, the son of John Still Winthrop and his second wife Elizabeth Shirreff; they also had a son, Nicolaes Willem Stuyvesant (1648-1698) who married Maria Beeckman, daughter of Willem Beeckman. 

                Pieter Stuyvesant and Theophilus Eaton, the governor of New Haven Colony, disputed over the border of the two colonies.  Another conflict started in 1648 between Stuyvesant and Brant Aertzsz van Slechtenhorst, the commissary of the patroonship Rensselaerwijck.  In 1649 Stuyvesant marched to Fort Orange with a military escort and ordered the burning of houses to better defend the fort in case Native Americans attacked.  Van Slechtenhorst refused, and Stuyvesant sent soldiers to enforce his orders.  The result of this controversy was the founding of Beverwijck.

                Commissioners met in Hartford, Connecticut, in September 1650 to determine boundaries.  The council of nine men was dissatisfied with the border arrangements who thought “the governor had ceded away enough territory to found fifty colonies each fifty miles square.”  The discord was settled in the Netherlands, and the area was named “New Amsterdam” on February 2, 1653.

                In 1655, Stuyvesant sailed into the Delaware River with a fleet of seven vessels and about 700 men; he captured all New Sweden, which included lands in what are now New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.  The area was renamed “New Amstel.”  While Stuyvesant was away, Native Americans attacked New Amsterdam.

                Stuyvesant did not tolerate full religious freedom in the colony.  Being strongly committed to the supremacy of the Dutch Reformed Church, he refused Lutherans the right to organize a church and passed an ordinance that forbid them to worship in their own homes.  The directors of the Dutch West Indies Company (some were Lutherans) told him to rescind the order and allow private gatherings of Lutherans.

                Stuyvesant refused to allow Jews from Northern Brazil to settle permanently in New Amsterdam (without passports) and told them to join the existing community of Jews who came from Amsterdam with passports.  He encouraged Jews “in a friendly way” to leave the colony.  In a 1654 letter to the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch West India Company, Stuyvesant referred to the Jews as “the deceitful race, -- such hateful enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ” and suggested that they “be not allowed to further infect and trouble this new colony.”  Called the Jews a “repugnant race” and “usurers;” he was concerned that “Jewish settlers should not be granted the same liberties enjoyed by Jews in Holland, lest members of other persecuted minority groups, such as Roman Catholics, be attracted to the colony.”

                The directors of the Company pressured Stuyvesant to rescind his decision.  He “allowed Jewish immigrants to stay in the colony as long as their community was self-supporting, but – with the support of the company – would not allow them to build a synagogue, forcing them to worship instead in a private house.”

                Stuyvesant continued to fight against freedom of religion when Quakers arrived in the colony in 1657.  Under his orders, Robert Hodgson, a 23-year-old Quaker convert and influential preacher, was tortured publicly.  He then made an ordinance against anyone found guilty of harboring Quakers and made it punishable by fine and imprisonment.  The citizens of Flushing, Queens, protested, and their action became known as the Flushing Remonstrance.  Some people believe the Flushing Remonstrance was a precursor to the United States Constitution’s provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

                Stuyvesant’s rule came to an end in 1664 when King Charles II of England ceded a large tract of land that included New Netherland to his brother, the Duke of York (later King James II).  Under the command of Richard Nicholls, four English ships bearing 450 men seized the Dutch colony.  On August 1664, George Cartwright sent Stuyvesant a letter demanding surrender.  The letter also promised “life, estate, and liberty to all who would submit to the king’s authority.”  On September 9, 1664, Stuyvesant signed a treaty at his Bouwerij house, and Nichols was declared governor.  The city was renamed New York City, and Stuyvesant was a major figure in the early history of the city.

                Stuyvesant was able to obtain civil rights and freedom of religion in the Articles of Capitulation.  The Dutch settlers mostly belonged to the Dutch Reformed church, a strict Calvinist denomination while the English settlers were Anglican, theologically closer to the Roman Catholic Church. 

                Stuyvesant went to the Netherlands in 1665 to report on his term as governor and returned to New York to spend the remainder of his life on his sixty-two acre farm – the Great Bouwerie – located outside the city.  Beyond his farm the woods and swamps of the village of Haarlem stretched.  He supposedly brought a pear tree from the Netherlands and planted it in 1647; it remained at the corner of Thirteenth Street and Third Avenue until 1867 and bore fruit nearly to the end of its days.  His house burned in 1777.

                Governor Stuyvesant died in August 1672, and his body was entombed in the east wall of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery in New York City at the site of the Stuyvesant’s family chapel on their former farm.  Augustus van Horne Stuyvesant, Jr. was the last direct descendant of Stuyvesant to bear his name; Augustus died a bachelor in 1953 at the age of 83 in his mansion at 2 East 79^th Street.   The 19^th century New York developer Rutherford Stuyvesant and his descendants are also descended from Pieter Stuyvesant; however Rutherford Stuyvesant changed his name from Stuyvesant Rutherford in 1863 to satisfy the terms of a will.

Supreme Law of the Land

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article VI, Section 2:  “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land….”  This clause is known as the Supremacy Clause and guarantees every American the right of to the protection of the Constitution and the laws.

                According to W. Cleon Skousen, there are three types of republics:  (1) The unitary republic that has a centralized government with “parliamentary supremacy” (England); (2) The confederation-of-states where several states are combined under a system of “state supremacy” (Netherlands, German states, and the USA under the Articles of Confederation); (3) A republic based on “constitutional supremacy” (USA).

                “To appreciate the difference between the first and third types, it is significant to note that the British Parliament can pass any law it wishes on any subject.  It even passes on the constitutionality of its own laws.  Furthermore, it is responsible for the well-being of the entire kingdom, top to bottom.  It is therefore called a `unitary republic.’  The United States, however, operates under the numerous restrictions of the Constitution.  No matter what Congress or the states might wish to do, they have to stay within the boundaries of the Constitution.  That is why the Founders are credited with the invention of a new kind of republic based on `constitutional supremacy.’  This makes the `supremacy clause’ the cornerstone of the whole American political structure.”  (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 657).

                Gary Lawson of The Heritage Foundation explained that any “federal system needs a strategy for dealing with potential conflicts between the national and local governments….

                “The Supremacy Clause embodies the third strategy.  It is a conflict-of-laws rule specifying that certain national acts take priority over any state acts that conflict with national law….

                “Federal statutes and other federal laws are, of course, `supreme’ only if made in pursuance of the Constitution….

                “The Supremacy Clause in its final form was adopted by the Convention without serious dissent….”  (See “Supremacy Clause,” The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p. 291.)

Nature of the Godhead

                Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the Godhead includes God the Eternal Father, the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost (Pearl of Great Price, Articles of Faith 1:1).  The members of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles, but they are one in purpose and work in perfect unity to do the work of God.  When we understand the Godhead, we can know who we really are.

                We learn from the Old Testament that God looks like us:  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).

                We learn from the New Testament that all three members of the Godhead were manifested at the baptism of Jesus Christ.  “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:  and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

                “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).

                The New Testament also tells us that the members of the Godhead are united as one:  “That they all may be lone; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:  that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).  This information was reconfirmed in our day by revelation to Joseph Smith:  “Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end.  Amen” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:28).

                We know the Father and the Son are separate beings because we have reports from two individuals who saw them.  Stephen saw the Father and the Son while he was being killed:  “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

                “And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56).

                Joseph Smith also saw the Father and the Son:  “… When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other – This is My Beloved Son.  Hear Him!” (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith – History 1:17).

                Still another report comes from the Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  Some ancient Americans heard a voice from heaven but could not understand it until the third time when they had both their eyes and their ears turned in its direction.  They heard a voice declaring:  “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name – hear ye him.

                “And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

                “And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

                “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (Third Nephi 11:3-10).

                The latter-day scriptures also describe the bodies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ:  “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit.  Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

                Elder Jeffrey R Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following about the three divine beings:  “Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is `We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.’  We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission.  We believe them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption.  I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true….

                “It is not our purpose to demean any person’s belief nor the doctrine of any religion.  We extend to all the same respect for their doctrine that we are asking for ours.  (That, too, is an article of our faith.)  But if one says we are not Christians because we do not hold a fourth- or fifth-century view of the Godhead, then what of those first Christian Saints, many of whom were eyewitnesses of the living Christ, who did not hold such a view either?

                “We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer just mentioned, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen – to name just four” (“The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hast Sent,” Ensign, Nov. 2007, 40-42).

                President Gordon B. Hinckley also taught the doctrine of the Godhead.  “And so I believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

                “I was baptized in the name of these three.  I was married in the name of these three.  I have no question concerning Their reality and Their individuality.  That individuality was made apparent when Jesus was baptized by John in Jordan.  There in the water stood the Son of God.  His Father’s voice was heard declaring His divine sonship, and the Holy Ghost was manifest in the form of a dove (see Matthew 3:16-17).

                “I am aware that Jesus said they who had seen Him had seen the Father.  Could not the same be said by many a son who resembles his parent? 

                “When Jesus prayed to the Father, certainly He was not praying to Himself!

                “They are distinct beings, but They are one in purpose and effort.  They are united as one in bringing to pass the grand, divine plan for the salvation and exaltation of the children of God” (“In These Three I Believe,” Liahona, July 2006).  

                I too believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate Beings united in the same cause.  I know we can learn to understand the true nature of the members of the Godhead and the roles of each in fulfilling Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.  I know that this knowledge will help us come to understand our own divine identity and our individual purposes as children of God.  

Abundant Life

                Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when adults teach the rising generation about how to live an abundant life.  The world today teaches children, youth, and adults how to rely on others for their well-being, and those who believe the world do not find success.  There are very few people who become successful without learning some of the steps from someone else.  That someone else should be parents, but teachers and other adults can be valuable resources.

                I recently accepted a new assignment to serve in the employment office for our region in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I quickly learned that the people who come into our office are those who do not know how to be successful and/or who have made some very poor choices in their past.  One young man apparently spent some time in prison because he was with the wrong people at the wrong time, and his friend used a gun to steal a car.  Another young man spent twenty years in prison because he was with the wrong kind of friends when a murder took place and did not try to stop it.  I think of these men as “young men” even though they are currently in their late thirties.  Because they are both felons, they will never be able to pass a background check and therefore will have to take whatever jobs they can find.  I know a third man about the same age who got hooked on drugs and has a record with the legal system because he supported his habit by stealing.  He is trying hard to straighten out his life but is fighting an uphill battle.            These cases touched me deeply because the men are about the same age as some of my children.  I am grateful beyond measure that my children chose the road to success rather than take the lower road.

                The following comparison is titled “The Success Indicator” and is attributed to MaryEllen Tribbey.  I found it very interesting and very true.  I believe the information in the comparison is well worth some pondering and should be taught to the rising generation.  I have a copy of this list where I can see it often and see some characteristics where I need more work.  How about you?

Successful People                                                  Unsuccessful People

Have a sense of gratitude                                         Have a sense of entitlement

Compliment                                                             Criticize

Forgive others                                                          Hold a grudge

Give other people credit for their victories             Take all the credit for their victories

Accept responsibility for their failures                    Blame others for their failures

Read every day                                                        Watch TV every day

Keep a journal                                                          Say they keep a journal but don’t

Talk about ideas                                                       Talk about people

Want others to succeed                                            Secretly hope others fail

Share information and data                                       Horde information and data

Keep a “to-be” list                                                    Don’t know what they want to be

Keep a “to-do/project” list                                       Fly by the seat of their pants

Set goals and develop them into plans                      Never set goals

Exude joy                                                                  Exude anger

Embrace change                                                         Fear change

Continuously learn                                                   Think they know it all

Operate from a transformational perspective          Operate from a transactional perspective

                The beginning of a new year  - or day or week or month – is always a good time to take inventory of where we are at the current time and if we are on the right “road” to reach the “destination” we desire.  Did you make some resolutions or set some goals for this new year?

                President Thomas S. Monson gave the following counsel about how to live the abundant life.  “At the advent of a new year, I challenge Latter-day Saints everywhere to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life – a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness, and blessings.  Just as we learned the ABCs in school, I offer my own ABCs to help us all gain the abundant life. 

                “Have a Positive Attitude.  A in my ABCs refers to attitude.  William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, `The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.’

                “So much in life depends on our attitude.  The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference.  To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment….

                “We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.  For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose  a positive attitude.

                “Believe in Yourself.  B is for believe – in yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles.  Be honest with yourself, with others, and with your Heavenly Father….  You can achieve what you believe you can.  Trust and believe and have faith….

                “Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do.  Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.

                “You can achieve what you believe you can.  Trust and believe and have faith.

                “Face Challenges with Courage.  C is for courage.  Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently….

                “Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

                “Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required…” (“Living the Abundant Life,” Liahona, January 2012). 

                Each of us can learn to do those things that will make us successful and give us the abundant life.  When we have internalized them, we can teach then these principles to the rising generation and strengthen our homes, communities, and nations.

Influence of Righteous Women

                We can bring the greatest of all liberties into our individual lives by living true and correct principles.  This liberty comes to us as we learn to live as though Jesus Christ were walking beside us.  We gain this freedom as we invite the Holy Ghost into our lives.

                  The liberty principle for today is number thirteen in a series of true principles suggested by Elder Richard G. Scott in his book

21 Principles – Divine Truths to Help You Live by the Spirit.  I will merely introduce the principle and suggest that you obtain Elder Scott’s book in order to truly understand this principle.  Elder Scott explained that principles “are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances.  A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and challenging circumstances.”  You can see principle #1 “True Principles of Freedom” here, principle #2 “Trust the Holy Ghost” here, principle #3 “Try New Things” here, principle #4 “Accept Promptings” here, principle #5 “Decisions Determine Destiny” here, principle #6 “Accept God’s Will” here, principle #7 “Power Limited” here, principle #8 “Discerning Answers” here, principle #9 “Mentors Help” here,  Principle #10 “Internalize Principles” here,  Principle #11 “The Why of Adversity” here, and Principle #12 “Power of God” here. 

                  Principle #13 is the simple fact that a righteous woman who puts principles before feelings of the heart has the power to influence her husband to accomplish good works and to bind her family together for eternity.  The second part of this principle is that women are natural nurturers and gain strength from helping other people but have the need to know that their efforts are appreciated.

                I love the way Elder Scott speaks and writes of his beloved Jeanene and the great influence she had on his life and continues to have even though she passed away many years ago.  Elder Scott explained that his father was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his mother was less active during his childhood and youth.  Even though his father later joined the Church, and both of his parents were active members and even temple workers, he had no idea what it meant to “have a patriarch in my home or a mother who would teach all of the things an active Latter-day Saint mother can teach her children.”

                While dating the future Apostle, Jeanene told him, “When I marry, it will be to a returned missionary in the temple.”  This statement had a great impact on him, and he was soon in his bishop’s office being interviewed for a mission.  Jeanene also served a mission before their temple wedding.  Her statement many years ago and her continuing righteous influence helped him to become who he is today.

                “So many of our sisters are disheartened, even discouraged, and disillusioned.  Others are in serious trouble because of the choices they make.  Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine destiny.  He well knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family.  He would focus their interests solely on their physical attributes and rob them of their exalting roles as wives and mothers.  He has convinced many of the lie that they are third-class citizens in the kingdom of God.

                “If there is any woman reading these words who wonders about how valuable you are, would you remember that you are the last created, you are the best.  He saved womanhood for the final magnificent creation, and you are not to feel otherwise.  We need to help those women around us recognize how precious they are.

                “The daughters of Father in Heaven are extraordinary.  Women are different from men in more than physical ways. Women just naturally want to help others, whether they are mothers or not.  They have joy in serving others.  But we as men must understand they need to know from us whether their nurturing is appreciated and beneficial.  I think many women worry about that.  So whether you are a husband or a son or a priesthood leader, tell the women in your life specific things that you appreciate in what they are doing so they can know that you are aware of it, and you are grateful for their nurturing that is a part of their divine nature.  You may even wish to put it is writing.”

                Elder Scott shared how Jeanene wrote notes to him and put them in unexpected places.  Her notes had an unexpected effect on him, and he began to write notes to her.  After her death he found where she had saved many of the notes so she could enjoy them time and again.  He encouraged men to write notes to their wives.

                Elder Scott also spoke about motherhood and how “Father in Heaven loves and appreciates those daughters who are willing to lay their lives on the altar to bring forth life and to nurture.”  He mentioned other ways that righteous women influence children:  sensing each child’s unique talents and capacities, being there at the teaching moments, reading scriptures to teach them the truth, teaching them to pray and to trust Heavenly Father.     

                “Mothers like those have a vision of the power of obediently, patiently teaching truth, because they look beyond the peanut butter sandwiches, soiled clothing, tedious hours of routine, struggles with homework, and long hours by a sickbed.

                “Let us be grateful to our Father in Heaven for His precious daughters.  Let us help them as much as we can.  Let us encourage every woman who questions her value to turn to her Heavenly Father and His glorified Son for a supernal confirmation of her immense individual worth.  I testify that as each woman seeks that assurance in faith and obedience, the Savior will continually provide it through the Holy Ghost.  That guidance will lead her to fulfillment, peace, and consuming joy through magnifying her divinely appointed, sacred womanhood” (pp. 62-67).

                I know that righteous women, particularly mothers, have great power and influence in the lives of other people.  When my husband and I moved to Alaska more than forty years ago, we had only one vehicle to drive – a pickup truck.  I had the use of the truck on most days because my husband drove a company car to and from work, but we had a growing family with growing needs for a vehicle with more seating capacity.  My husband’s parents came to visit, and his mother asked a simple question, “Why haven’t you bought a car?”  Within a matter of weeks we had a car!”

                I have a wonderful mother-in-law, but I also have a wonderful mother.  My mother was a quiet woman who said few words, but her actions spoke volumes.  She gave birth to twelve healthy children and served her family until her death.  I know now that she made many sacrifices of time and comfort for the good of her family and never complained.  I cannot remember ever hearing my mother speaking badly of anyone.  If she could not say something good about a person, she said nothing at all.

                I am blessed to have seven sisters by birth and five sisters by marriage.  Each of these women has influenced my life for good, and I am grateful for their influence.  I have wonderful daughters, both by birth and by marriage, who have impacted my life for good.  I continue to learn good things from each of them that help me become a better person.  I am so very grateful for my daughters and the good they bring into my life as well as what they do for my sons and grandchildren. 

                I know many righteous women who are influencing their families and other people to perform good works.  I appreciate their power for good.  I am also aware of many women who sell themselves short, and I grieve for them as they are missing many blessings.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be a woman with the capacity to nurture and bless others.  I am grateful for a husband who accepted the responsibility to provide for our family in order for me to be a full time mother, and I am grateful that my daughters have this same blessing.  I am grateful that my grandchildren are being reared by righteous women.  I encourage you to tell the women in your life how much you appreciate them.

Targeting Christians

                Christians in Iraq were forced to celebrate Christmas behind blast walls and barbed wire.  Two simultaneous bombs detonated in an outdoor market in the Christian section, killing 11 people and wounding 21.  Later a car bomb exploded and killed at least 37 people near a church after a service.

                No Christians were bombed in the United States, but other “attacks” took place against Christians during December.  Phil Robertson was given indefinite suspension from Duck Dynasty because he made comments that A&E did not like.  A&E reversed the suspension over the weekend and will allow Robertson back on the show.  Obviously, the financial realities hit A&E!

                The Veterans Administration decided to put strict controls on Christmas carols, Christmas cards, and even the wrapping paper on gifts at VA facilities.  Members of the American Legion attempted to hand out presents to veterans in Iowa City but were told that the wrapping paper could not say “Merry Christmas.”  Christian school students attempted to sing Christmas carols in Augusta, Georgia, but were told they had to limit their songs to “government-approved, secular songs.”  The students left without singing.  Children attempting to distribute Christmas cards to patients at a VA hospital in Dallas, Texas, were refused because the cards included phrases such as “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless You.”

                The American Legion is totally separate from any religion, and yet Daniel Dellinger, the National Commander of American Legion, was forced to make a statement about the censorship and restrictions being placed on Christian volunteers at VA facilities.

                “Every Christmas, every religious holiday, Christians are more and more often targeted for censorship and restriction at VA facilities.  Veterans in these hospitals fought to protect such freedoms.”

                Dellinger continued, “First of all, VA’s decision to prohibit the delivery of Christmas cards that mention Christmas is ludicrous.  Second of all, VA has been down this road before and recently.  VA has been warned through a federal court decree to stop denying freedom of religious expression at its facilities.  It’s pretty obvious the Dallas VA did not get that memo.”  The American Legion requested an explanation from the VA Central Office for why “Christians are being singled out for restrictions.” 

                What can we learn from the three examples above?  First, we should be grateful that Christians are not being bombed – but we should understand that violence follows rhetoric if bullies are not stopped.  Second, we should take a lesson from the Phil Robertson example and stand up for what we believe.  In the A&E experience, the power of the dollar took precedence over the agenda because enough Americans took a stand against A&E for the company to notice.  Daniel Dellinger called the Veterans Administration on their censorship.

                A “Chick-Phil-A National Support Day” is planned for January 21, and supporters are asked to dine at Chic-fil-A in camouflage gear.  The group behind this effort maintains they’ve “got a big battle ahead in the greater picture of this culture war being waged against us!”  In addition to supporting Chick-Phil-A Day, we can make sure that the Veterans Administration hears our point of view.  If enough Americans contact them to oppose their actions, we may have some effect on future occasions.

                There is a definite cultural war taking place in America, and Christian values of traditional marriage, family, and faith are being targeted on a regular basis.  Recent court cases have given us eighteen states that legalize same-sex marriage.  Why?  This happened because of our “tolerance.”  Christians must take a stand and stand together because “secret combinations” are at work trying to destroy our nation from within.  We must defend our positions or lose them in this battle for the very survival of our culture and nation.  It is time that every Christian puts on the armor of God and stands firm for His principles.  If we draw our line here and stand immovable, we may not get to the point of being bombed for our beliefs.  We are well past the time for “sunshine patriots” and must take a stand.  We must show our opponents that we will not simply sit and take their abuse.  Will you stand with us?