How Do You Remember the Lord?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Helaman 7-12 in a lesson titled “Remember the Lord.” The lesson was introduced with the following information. 

Nephi’s father, Helaman, had urged his sons to “remember, remember.” He wanted them to remember their ancestors, remember the words of the prophets, and most of all, remember “our Redeemer, who is Christ” (see Helaman 5:5-15).

It’s clear that Nephi did remember because this is the same message he declared years later “with unwearyingness” to the people (Helaman 10:4). “How could you have forgotten your God?” he asked (Helaman 7:20). All of Nephi’s efforts – preaching, praying, performing miracles, and petitioning God for a famine – were attempts to help the people turn to God and remember Him. In many ways, forgetting God is an even bigger problem than not knowing Him. And it’s easy to forget Him when our minds are distracted by “the vain things of this world” and clouded by sin (Helaman 7:21); see also Helaman 12:2). But, as Nephi’s ministry shows, it’s never too late to remember and “turn … unto the Lord your God” (Helaman 7:17).

This scripture block teaches several principles, such as “Prophets reveal the will of God to the people” (Helaman 7-11); “My faith in Jesus Christ must be built on more than signs and miracles” (Helaman 9; 10:1, 12-15); “The Lord gives power to people who seek His will and strive to keep His commandments” (Helaman 10:1-12); “The Lord wants me to remember Him (Helaman 12). However, I feel impressed to discuss this principle: “Pondering the word of God invites revelation” (Helaman 10:2-4).

Have you ever felt downtrodden, anxious, or confused? Nephi, the son of Helaman, felt “cast down” (Helaman 10:3) because he was doing his best to call the people to repentance, but nothing was working as it should. Here are the applicable verses.

2 And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him.

3 And it came to pass as he was thus pondering – being much cast down, because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities – and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying:

4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou has done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments (Helaman 10:2-4).

When Nephi was “cast down” – downtrodden, anxious, or confused – he “pondered” what the Lord had already shown to him. As he pondered, the voice of the Lord came to him to bear him up. The Lord is the best Person to help us when we are “cast down.”

The word ponder means to think about something deeply and thoroughly; to consider something carefully before reaching a conclusion; to weigh a problem carefully before deciding what to do; to meditate.

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints explained, “When we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit” (“Serve with the Spirit,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 60).

The question is, “how might you create a habit of pondering?”

Why Would Trump Be Good for Pennsylvania?

Parents should teach their children to always be themselves and to put forth their best words and behavior. By doing this, they will not need to hide their words and actions from yester year. When individuals have integrity, other people will know who they are and what they stand for, and they can strengthen their families, communities, and nations.

The United States is currently in a presidential election between Democrat and current Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican and former President Donald Trump. Harris and her vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz have held exactly one joint interview in more than forty days. Trump and his vice-presidential candidate JD Vance have been in at least one joint interview, but they have also been in solo interviews, townhalls, and news conferences nearly forty times in the same period of time.

One set of politicians are open and available to speak to anyone at any time, and the other set avoids reporters, interviews, and news conferences. There is one presidential debate and one vice presidential debate scheduled, so the candidates will face off on the same stage at least once for each pair of candidates. The presidential debate will take place next week on September 10 on ABC News that was scheduled by the President Joe Biden campaign before he “dropped out of the race in July.”

Trump spoke “about a wide range of issues” during the town hall event. Fred Lucas shared six takeaways from the town hall that should have been a debate. If it had been a debate, news anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum would have hosted it. Trump indicated that he would have preferred a debate. 

1. ‘More Terrorists’ in 3 Years Than 50 Years

Trump talked about the border policies under the Biden-Harris administration, noting that 21 million illegal immigrants have entered the country – “larger than New York.”

“More terrorists have come into the United States in the last three years than I think probably 50 years, there has never been anything like it,” Trump said. “If they won, you would have not 20 million, you would have 100 million people.”

“You won’t have Social Security, you won’t have Medicare, you won’t have anything,” Trump continued….

Trump also talked about the high crime by illegal immigrant gangs in Colorado [and discussed how Venezuelan gangs are taking over the city of Aurora] ….

In Aurora, Colorado – a Denver suburb and sanctuary city – Venezuelans are about 40% of the immigrant arrivals. Members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua reportedly took over an apartment complex called The Edge at Lowry, which was the site of a shootout last month.

2. ‘Other Things Perhaps, But We’re Not Weird’

During the interview, Hannity mentioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate. Hannity said Walz “wants free college education, legal drivers licenses [for illegal immigrants].”

Trump noted that members of the Walz family endorsed him….

Walz was among the first to refer to Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.” …

“There is something weird with that guy. He’s a weird guy. JD is not weird. He’s a solid rock,” Trump said. “I happen to be a very solid rock. We are not weird. We are other things perhaps, but we’re not weird.”

 

3. The Debate and the ‘Most Dishonest Network’

Trump talked about the ABC News debate that will occur next week – so far the only debate that Harris has agreed to.

“They are the most dishonest network, the meanest, the nastiest, but that is what I was presented with….

4. ‘I Got Shot At. I Got Hit’

Trump made an almost joking reference to the assassination attempt against him from July 13 in Pennsylvania. He was making the case that he could have had better things to do than run for president….

5. ‘These Clowns … World War III’

Hannity showed clips of Harris saying she had the “courage” to not use the phrases “illegal immigrant” or “radical Islamic terrorist.”

“She wants to be politically correct, and we can’t be politically correct anymore,” Trump said.

He referenced the Hamas terrorist attack last year on Israel and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Iran having the money to fund terrorism groups….

“I understood nuclear for a long time, the power of nuclear weapons. You need a president that’s not gonna be taking you into war. We won’t have World War III when I’m elected. With these clowns that you have in there now, you’re gonna end up having World War III. It’s going to be a war like no other.”

6. ‘Even if You Don’t Like Me’

Hannity showed past clips of Harris saying that she wanted to ban fracking. She has recently reversed her position.

As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris said “there is no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”

But Trump said, “Pennsylvania cannot even take a chance” on what position she would take as president….

Trump stressed this is a case where voters might even put aside their personal feelings.

“You’ve got no choice. You’ve got to vote for me,” Trump said. “You’ve got to, even if you don’t like me, you can say I can’t stand that guy, but there’s no way I’m going to vote for her. You have to have fracking.”

Harris has flipflopped on many of her issues, and people with integrity do not flipflop. People with integrity will be themselves in all circumstances. By doing so, they will strengthen their families, communities, and nations.

What Are the Top 7 Lies of Tim Walz?

Why anyone even considers voting for Kamala Harris is beyond my understanding. Are such people blind to the damages done to the United States and world by the Biden-Harris administration? Are they so consumed with hate for Trump – drummed up by the media parroting the lies of Democrats – that they would vote for four more years worse than the last four? Do they understand that Kamala Harris is so far Left that she is further left than Bernie Sanders? Do they really want their children and grandchildren to live in a socialized nation?

Then there is the question of Kamala Harris’s choice for a vice-presidential candidate, Tim Walz. She could have chosen someone who would have pulled her administration more to the center, but she did not. She chose a vice president who is more far Left than she is and one who has ties with China. Besides, he is a purveyor of “a string of lies, errors, and prevarications stretching back to his earliest days in politics, fibbing about everything from his military service to whether he won an obscure award from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce as a 29-year-old man.”

In an article published at The Daily Signal, Ben Johnson shared “a far-from-exhaustive list of the mistruths Walz has communicated.” His list is as follows: 

1. Stolen Valor #1: Serving in War

Walz served 24 years in the National Guard, an honorable action worthy of praise in its own right. During his National Guard service, Walz was stationed in Norway and, when a different unit deployed to Afghanistan, he took its place in Vicenza, Italy from Aug. 3, 2003, until 2004, according to NPR. Walz retired in 2005, as the unit he led was about to be deployed to Iraq.

Yet over the years, he has implied he faced combat during the War on Terror, as well as allowing others to repeat the claim without correction. In a video clip the Harris-Walz campaign shared of a 2018 event calling for gun control legislation against law-abiding citizens in violation of the Second Amendment, Walz said, “We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.” The campaign muddied the waters, telling CNN, “In his 24 years of service, the [g]overnor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times. Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country.” A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson, Lauren Hitt, later claimed Walz “misspoke.”

Yet the errors had piled up for years….

2. Stolen Valor #2: ‘Retired Command Sergeant Major’

Walz has repeatedly referred to his rank as “retired command sergeant major,” including in the official Walz-Harris campaign biography. Yet Walz actually retired as a master sergeant, because he failed to complete required coursework at the U.S. Sergeants Major Academy when he quit his unit in 2005 to run for U.S. Congress….

3. Walz Claimed His Wife Conceived Through IVF

The Democratic Party has repeatedly claimed the 2022 Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade, has unleashed a torrent of pro-life laws that threaten everything from miscarriage care to in vitro fertilization. Walz claimed to have a very “personal” connection to IVF, claiming he and his wife, Gwen, owe their two children to IVF. In fact, Walz invoked the Lord’s divine providence for the controversial procedure. “Thank God for IVF, my wife and I have two beautiful children,” Walz told MSNBC in July. Walz weaponized the issue against Vance in August, alleging, “If it was up to him, I wouldn’t have a family because of IVF.” (Vane has spoken in favor of IVF, a controversial procedure in which 9 out of 10 children are never born and unknown millions have been “discarded,” aborted, or abandoned.)

But in an Aug. 19 interview with Walz’s wife, Gwen, Glamour magazine reported that the couple did not conceive via IVF at all. The Walzes participated in a different fertility procedure, known as intrauterine insemination, in which sperm are injected into the uterus. Gwen Walz thanked a nurse in her neighborhood who assisted her “with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process.” …

4. Walz Misled About His 1995 DUI

As a candidate for Congress in 2006, Walz apparently misled voters about his 1995 arrest for driving under the influence. Walz had claimed the entire arrest was a misunderstanding, based on hearing loss from his valorous military service. But CNN reported:

According to court and police records connected to the incident, Walz admitted in court that he had been drinking when he was pulled over for driving 96 mph in a 55 mph zone in Nebraska. Walz was then transported by a state trooper to a local hospital for a blood test, showing he had a blood alcohol level of .128, well above the state’s legal limit of 0.1 at the time.

Walz accepted a plea deal, admitting that he put himself and others in danger by getting behind the wheel….

5. ‘Outstanding Young Nebraskan’?

When Walz ran for the House of Representatives in 2006, his official campaign biography stated that in 1993, he “was named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce for his service in the education, military, and small business communities.” Yet he never won any such award.

“We researched this matter and can confirm that you have not been the recipient of any award from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce,” wrote Barry Kennedy, then-president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, in November 2006….

6. Phony Headlines

Despite the Democratic Party’s continual warning about misinformation – something Walz has erroneously said is not protected by the First Amendment – the Harris-Walz campaign has doctored headlines in its online advertisements.

The campaign reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on campaign ads that presented actual news stories from The Associated Press, USA Today, NPR, PBS, CNN, CBS News, and other outlets – but with glowing headlines written by campaign staffers. The intention is to convince readers the unbiased reporters heaped praise on the candidates….

7. ‘White Guy Tacos’

Walz appears to have even misled the American people about his palate. In an online video, he apparently stated that “black pepper” is the spiciest food he eats, although Walz has a taste for spicy food….

Is America Headed Towards a Second Civil War?

It is no secret that Americans are fiercely divided between liberals and conservatives with a few million people known as independents hanging out in the middle. The division is both wide and deep, and it is growing wider and deeper.

Neil Howe is a demographer, historian, and author, and he has remarkable success in predicting the future. According to Tyler O’Neil at The Daily Signal, Howe “says a civil war in the U.S. is far more plausible than most people think, and he dismisses the reasons Americans often discount that possibility.” 

In 1997, he published a book with Bill Strauss, “The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy – What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny.” In that book, he suggested five catalysts for a major crisis – and four of the five have already come to pass.

“One of our events was a crisis over the debt, which would issue forth in a new tea party movement,” Howe tells “The Daily Signal Podcast.” He calls it “just completely random that we happened to use that phrase,” which the tea party movement adopted in 2010.

“The other one was a WMD [weapon of mass destruction] attack on New York City,” Howe says, noting the eerie parallel with Sept. 11, 2001. “The other one was the [COVID-19] pandemic, and the fourth one was Russia invading a former Soviet republic,” such as Ukraine.

The final potential catalyst? “A nullification crisis, where one or more of the states would actually nullify federal regulation, which would lead to a new secession movement,” Howe says.

Howe has a generational theory that “America should expect a major crisis about every 80-100 years, and we’re due for another ‘rendezvous with destiny’ such as the Great Depression and World War II.” Howe calls these happenings “fourth turnings.” “They force society to create a new order in the civic ‘outer world’ about 40 or 50 years after ‘awakenings’ drive people inward, seeking order in their spiritual ‘inner worlds.’”

Howe notes that “our politics have taken on this kind of Manichaean style, where the red zone and blue zone are so mutually exclusive in their sense of themselves, their agenda for the nation’s future, that it hardly even matters who’s leading the party.”

(“Manichaean” refers to the tendency to view one side as perfectly good and the other side as perfectly evil, and it traces back to a world religion that arose with the prophet Mani in the 200s A.D., which taught that the physical world is evil and the spiritual world is good.)

He cites Carl Becker, who authored an essay in 1941, “The Dilemma of Modern Democracy.” When most of what you’re talking about is the width of sidewalks and the diameter of sewer pipes, just coordination issues, democracy works really well,” Howe says. “But when you’re talking about issues that virtually define who you are, it doesn’t work. He said no one is going to accede to a vote count that goes 51% against you.”

“You are not going to give up everything you believe in just because you came up three votes short,” he explains.

This is not the first time that there has been a great division in America. Howe claimed that similar divisions took place “in the 1770s, the 1850s, and the 1930s.” However, the current polarization does not have neat lines of division like that of the U.S. Civil War. When The Daily Signal noted this fact, Howe replied that “blue cities in red states actually makes conflict more likely.”

“There are two ways in which we enter this fourth turning very differently from earlier fourth turnings, which are worrying,” Howe says.

First, he notes, “government is so huge going into this fourth turning,” while most fourth turnings require government to ramp up in order to face existential threats.

Second, he notes “the size and global power of our military” make the U.S. a central player in world affairs, so a U.S. Civil War will have massive ramifications across the globe.

“If it requires our forces around the world to stand down for six months, the entire world will remake itself,” he says. “The entire world, for better or for worse, depends upon our presence to be what it is.”

Howe also notes that during a civil war, one side often asks for external help: “This is a rule through all civil wars.”

The discussion then considered when such a civil war would start. In fact, there was no civil war during previous “’mini starter crises’ of 9/11, the tea party movement, COVID-19, and the Ukraine war did not ‘catch fire’ and ignite the massive existential crisis that defines a fourth turning.” The author’s answer was, “The survival of the country has to be at stake.”

“With regard to World War II, I think FDR made the case – it was very persuasive for the country – we did not want to be the only democracy left on earth,” he explains.

“This is the way incentives work,” Howe says. “You’ve got to feel everything’s on the line to push you to do something.”

Things have to come to a head in order to force people to come together and create a new order in society. How exactly that will happen is yet to be determined.

With all the evils in the world – human trafficking, child sexual slavery, gangs, drugs, and the new axis of evil (Russia-China-Iran) to name a few, I wonder if the new order in society will be brought about by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The signs of the times are becoming more frequent and obvious.

One of the most obvious signs is the way that people – including a sizable portion of residents of the United States – and nations are blaming Israel for not doing more to solve the problem with Hamas. They do not seem to understand that Hamas could stop the war with Israel today or tomorrow, but they do not want to stop it. They want to destroy the nation of Israel and destroy all Jews. That is their goal, and they make it obvious.

God will never allow the Jews to be destroyed as a nation. The Jews are God’s chosen people, and He will protect them with His power.

How Do You Handle Anxiety?

Are you feeling anxious about the presidential election? According to an article written by Marjorie Cortez and published in the Deseret News, you are not alone. 

According to the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll, 73% of respondents reported feeling anxious about the upcoming national election.

A higher percentage of respondents said the election made them feel anxious than those who identified current events and gun violence. Only the economy, which 77% of the sample of more than 2,200 adults who responded to the poll said made them anxious, was higher. The poll was conducted April 9-11, 2024.

The poll also showed that adults are feeling increasingly anxious. In 2024, 43% of adults said they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022.

According to University of Utah Lifelong Learning instructor Debbie Leaman, writing is a good way to cope with anxiety. “Starting Sept. 7, she will be teaching a Lifelong Learning course on five successive Saturday morning titled ‘Writing as a Tool to Cope with Anxiety.’”

“The good news? Writing can help. Studies have shown that unloading persistent thoughts onto the page can alleviate anxiety, provide distance, and a new perspective. In my class, we’ll learn how putting pen to paper can help re-center us and calm our minds.”

The Lifelong Learning center offers seven classes this fall, with the other six classes being “The Voice of Reason: Writing Letters to the Editor,” “Beyond the Headlines: Fact-Checking and Media Literacy,” “Applied Somatics: Practices for Turbulent Times,” “A Change in Dialogue: Effective Communication,” “Adobe In Design: Creating a Basic Newsletter,” and “An Introduction to Antidiscrimination Response.” 

Lifelong Learning has been offering non-credit classes to the community for more than 60 years. Some of the classes are one-day workshops while others last up to eight weeks. Attendees are not required to enlist at the University of Utah.

The University Connected Learning is based in Salt Lake City and was founded in 1906. More than 25,000 learners enrolled annually, and they come from all over the world. You can learn more at this site. 

I suggest another way to handle anxiety or fear: keeping a daily journal. Writing down thoughts and feelings releases them from the mind and keeps the brain from building up more anxiety. I find that expressing daily gratitude is also helpful. At the end of my daily journal entry, I include five people, events, or things for which I am grateful, which can be anything from clean water and fresh air to my children and grandchildren to blessings from God.

Who Is Mike Rowe?

My VIP for this week is Mike Rowe for his stand about attendance at universities. In his opinion and in mine, a university degree is not for everyone – meaning that not everyone can become a teacher, nurse, doctor, scientist, or any other career that needs university training. High school students should understand that there are other honorable and needed jobs/careers that do not require a university degree but which provides well for families. There is a great need in our world for people who know the trades of plumbing, carpentry, electrical, car mechanics, heating technicians, and so forth.

Another reason high school students should know that there is another path to success is that the cost of attending a university is astronomical and getting worse. According to an article written by Ethan Xu, “Some families are paying upward of $90,000 a school year at some private universities, and graduates face sky-high payments on their student loans.” 

While some conservatives have argued that it’s time to abandon the four-year university and to invest in the trades, others think college is still beneficial for some. And some even want young conservatives to attend elite universities in hopes of reclaiming America’s institutions.

Rowe, Emmy Award-winning TV host, producer, author, and CEO of the MikeroweWORKS Foundation, discussed the state of higher education in America with James Poulos.

Even though more young Americans are attending college at unprecedented rates, Rowe thinks Americans are “overeducated but I also think conversely, or maybe perversely … underinformed.”

“I feel like we know a lot of things that we don’t necessarily do anything with. And the things we ought to know we don’t have at our ready disposal,” said Rowe. “No one talks about the fact that 41% of people who start don’t graduate. Like 85% of people who do graduate wind up not working in their chosen field.”

Rowe believes that college is not the best option for many young Americans. However, the idea of going to college has been ingrained into the minds of almost all Americans by society, so many families do not know what the other options are. “There are just so many things about the primacy of a 4-year transaction that don’t get laid out honestly and so parents and kids unfortunately have never, at least in my lifetime I think, had an honest chance to look at all the options,” argued Rowe.

All six of my children and five of their spouses are college graduates, and most of them have graduate degrees. My son is an emergency room doctor but makes more money with a blog and his associated business than in emergency medicine, but he still loves to work in the ER to help people and to stay current with his skills. He now employs fifteen or more people in his blog business, including two of his sisters.

One sister has a master’s degree in social work, and the other sister is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Both of them make more money working for their brother than they would in their field of training. However, all three of them use their degrees in numerous ways, such as serving other people or in their current jobs. Another daughter is a registered nurse and recently received certification as an emergency medical technician (EMT).

As stated above, I agree with Rowe that not everyone should go to a university. However, I believe that every single adult should embark on life-long learning. Whether or not a person has a university degree or graduate degree, he or she should continue learning. There are many ways that a person can gain helpful information on the internet, such as on YouTube. My husband and I often consult Dr. Google to gain better understanding about medical matters.

There are many how-to books on the market about numerous information. There are diverse types of classes that a person can take from cooking classes to quilting classes to gardening classes to carpentry classes to family history classes. Whatever one’s interests, each person should continue learning no matter their choice in a job or career.

Are Military Personnel Protected by the U.S. Constitution?

 The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the First Amendment right to speak freely as private citizens. The Idaho Army National Guard is punishing an unnamed Christian infantry officer for speaking his belief that LGBTQ+ ideology harms children.

Sarah Holliday wrote that the officer posted on “his private social media account while running for political office in his ‘private capacity’” in 2023. “According to Liberty Counsel, the legal group defending him, his posts included statements ‘against graphic, obscene children’s books in a library and the promotion of a ‘drag kids’ event and drag queens in schools.”  The officer also “posted statements such as ‘No child is born in the wrong body,’ males should not be competing in female sports, and against the medical mutilation of gender-confused children.” 

The punishment comes from “a subordinate senior enlisted man who claims to be homosexual” formally claiming discrimination. He also said that the posts show “just how much [the officer] truly hates the LGBTQ community.” In addition to his claim of discrimination, he also claimed that his work environment was “hostile” and “prejudiced behavior.” Therefore, the man feels that the officer “created an uncomfortable, unsafe, and a hostile work environment, making it increasingly challenging for me to perform my duties effectively.”

What is the matter with this man? The officer wrote about harm being done to children by the LGBTQ+ ideology, and he did not write anything about the gay people in the National Guard.

As a result of this complaint, the infantry officer was removed from command by the Idaho Army National Guard, “then illegally pressured … to resign without benefit of any counsel or notice.” However, he chose to rescind his notice shortly after he sought help from Liberty Counsel. As they summarized, “[A]s a Christian, the officer believes all people are made in God’s image and have inherent dignity and are worthy of respect. He is committed to serving those under his command, regardless of political or religious disagreements, and would give his life in defense of his state and nation.”

Additionally, Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver stated:

[Idaho] Gov. Brad Little must ensure that the Idaho Army National Guard upholds federal and state law and protects the free speech of enlisted personnel. This discrimination against an officer based on a frivolous complaint must be addressed and his record cleared and career restored.

To provide further detail, Liberty Counsel’s Associate Vice President of Legal Affairs Daniel Schmid joined Wednesday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” According to Schmid, “[I]mmediately upon receiving the complaint, some of the superiors in [the officer’s] chain of command brought him in and said, ‘You will resign, or we’ll make this ugly.’ Those were the words to him. They forced him to resign without counsel, without the presence of counsel, and without advice of counsel.”

Schmid went on to explain how “the complaint was not based on anything he did as a commanding officer.” It was about “a speech that he made outside of the military context, in the context of a political campaign. … He was making statements on various issues in the culture today, from a religious perspective, [and] the First Amendment affords him that right.” And yet, his statements are now “the subject of an investigation that’s ongoing even to this day.”

According to Schmid, this case is about making “sure that the individuals who sign up to defend our liberties, our constitutional rights, are [also] entitled to those same rights” – specifically, he clarified, the First Amendment. “You don’t surrender your constitutional rights or your statutory rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and others just because you sign up for military service.”

In the case of this officer, Schmid contended that he “was entitled to political speech.”

He was entitled to hold religious values and to espouse those values in life and in his speech. He didn’t surrender those. He’s entitled to the same Constitution that he swore an oath to defend, and we ought to stand up and defend him.

Guest host and former Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga) emphasized that this is not a battle for just the officer involved but “a fight for all Americans.” He continued that the case against this officer demonstrates a clear “disregard for the law.” He and Schmid both spoke of how this is not the first time that such punishment has occurred, and Schmid discussed how the military used the COVID-19 to purge “religious adherents for the COVID vaccine mandates.”