Vice President Presides

The principle for this Constitution Monday is found in Article I.3.4, "The Vice President shall serve as the presiding officer over the Senate." A Vice President is elected to serve all the people and has the responsibility under this provision to preside over the Senators who represent individual states. The Vice President is the only federal officer whose duties are in both the legislative and the executive branches. With the responsibility to preside over the Senate, the Vice President has a specific duty to perform. The Vice President cannot take part in any debate or vote except to break a tie.

Service

The principle for our discussion on this Sabbath day is service. Jesus taught the importance of service when He explained, "I am among you as he that serveth" (Luke 22:27). It is a fact that true followers of Jesus Christ serve other people. Service can be defined as giving assistance to someone else. Giving Christlike service comes from a genuine love for the Savior as well as love and concern for those we have the opportunity to serve. Since love is more than a feeling, we want to help those that we love. Service is something that can be given by anyone regardless of income, age, or social position. Service can be helping others economically, socially, physically, and spiritually. Service takes place when we share food or other articles, be a friend to someone new in the community, help an elderly or sick person, or comfort someone who grieves. Service can be either small or large acts, and small acts of service can be just as important as large acts of service. Just as the Savior gave up His life in serving us, we may be required to sacrifice greatly to serve someone. God wants us to do service because His work is done through the acts of service done by men and women, boys and girls. President Spencer W. Kimball explained, "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 82). We all depend on others for help throughout our lives. As babies, we were fed, clothed and cared for by our parents or else we would have died. As we grew up, other people taught us skills and attitudes. Many people have needed nursing care during illness or money during a financial crisis. We are all dependent upon God. Blessings come to those who serve others. One of the greatest blessings coming through service is the increased ability to love the person we serve. As we help others with their problems, we become less selfish and our problems seem less serious. Those who desire to live with God must love and serve His children (see Matthew 25:34-40). People who serve unselfishly usually gain much more than they give. President Spencer W. Kimball said, "We become more substantive as we serve others - indeed, it is easier to `find' ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!" (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 85-86). Jesus Christ commands us to love and serve everyone, and He gives us many opportunities to serve (see Mosiah 4:15-19). There is much service to be given in a family situation between husband and wife and between parents and children. There are also many opportunities to serve our neighbors, our friends or even strangers. If God has given special talents to us, we should use those talents to serve other people. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of service. He told His followers that He came to earth to give His life for us and not to be served. He loves each of us very much, even more than we can understand. During His life on earth, He served the poor, the ignorant, the sinner, and the despised, and He taught His gospel to all who would listen. He fed crowds of hungry people who came to hear Him, healed the sick, and raised the dead. When we willingly give service to other people, we develop more Christ-like love for them as well as become more like Christ.

Prepare for Unexpected

Families are strengthened when they prepare for undesired or unimaginable events to happen. No one knows what the future holds, but families can put in place certain plans that will help them through unplanned and undesired events. Some friends of my family recently had to face the fact that their beautiful, 22-year old daughter was stabbed to death. This event came suddenly into their lives without any possibility to "plan" how to handle it. This family was able to handle this terrible ordeal because the parents had previous plans in place to help their family deal with unplanned emergencies. I realize that most families will not have to deal with having a loved one murdered, but all families lose loved ones to death - whether illness or accident. My friends made sure that their family could be together always, even after death. When they were married, they went to a temple where they were sealed together for time and all eternity along with any children that later joined them. When families are sealed by proper priesthood authority, death cannot separate them. In addition to having their marriage sealed by proper priesthood authority, my friends also sealed their family together through love, knowledge and testimony that their family will continue after this life. There are other ways that families can prepare for the unimaginable and undesired events that seem to come into our lives. It is important to have insurance to cover the various areas of our lives - home, vehicle, life, health, etc. - because insurance can help relieve the stress of the emergency. There are many different ways to "insure" against emergencies. One way that my husband and I insure against expensive airline tickets is to maintain a bank of airline mileage. Tickets can be obtained quickly using mileage with little additional expense. We have used many mileage tickets in the past and expect to use more in the future. There are many ways that families can prepare for the unexpected. Parents can think about and discuss many events that could happen to them and decide how they would handle the situation in advance. It is important that we all do something to prepare because it is the unexpected stresses that can divide and destroy family members. Proper preparation for emergencies can strengthen all families.

General Education

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is that a system of general education is necessary in a republic in order to survive as a free society. The American colonists understood the necessity of having an educated people. In fact, America was the first place on earth that attempted to educate everyone. As early as 1647 Massachusetts legislated that a free grammar public school was to be set up in every community withy fifty or more families. The schools were to teach the fundamentals of reading, writing, history, geography, and Bible study. Communities with one hundred families were required to have secondary schools to prepare young men to attend Harvard. The people as a whole were responsible for the education of all levels of society. John Adams said, "A native of America who cannot read and write is rare,… as a comet or an earthquake…." The American colonists wanted all children to be taught basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic in order that they would become life-long learners and well-informed citizens. This is one of the reasons why all of the Founding Fathers were well-read even though some had limited formal education. They learned the basics well and then continued learning through self-study. The American people as a whole were the "most enlightened in the world" according to Alexis de Tocqueville of France who visited the United States in 1831. Americans understood that they had a wonderful and new experiment in liberty, and they wanted their children to receive instructions in political science. A popular textbook called "Catechism on the Constitution" was used to teach the children about the political system in America. The book was written by Arthur J. Stansbury and published in 1828. Tocqueville wrote, "… But if you question [an American] respecting his own country …; his language will become as clear and precise as his thoughts. He will inform you what his rights are and by what means he exercises them; he will be able to point out the customs which obtain in the political world. You will find that he is well acquainted with the rules of the administration, and that he is familiar with the mechanism of the laws…. The American learns to know the laws by participating in the act of legislation; and he takes a lesson in the forms of government from governing. The great work of society is ever going on before his eyes and as it were, under his hands. "In the United States, politics are the end and aim of education…." (Ibid, 1:329-330). Many of the great leaders of our nation, such as Abraham Lincoln, developed their eloquence in speaking by extensive reading of the Bible because the American colonists insisted that the Holy Bible be taught in their schools. Today's students are not even permitted to read the Bible in many public schools. They are being deprived of the opportunity to learn the linguistic habits of the people, their moral standards, and their behavior patterns. Taking the Bible and God out of the classroom is just one of the ways that education in America is being dumbed down. In order for the United States to survive as a republic, its citizens must receive a broad program of general education. An educated citizenry is necessary in order to keep our inalienable rights from being eroded. Ideas and quotes for this post came from The Five Thousand Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen

Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell is a treasured relic from the beginning of the American fight for independence. Along with church bells, the Liberty Bell was rung on July 8, 1776 to announce the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. It rang on every successive anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration until 1835. The bell cracked on July 8, 1835, while being rung during the funeral of John Marshall, the chief justice of the United States. The Liberty Bell was first cast in England in 1752 at an approximate cost of $300 paid by the colonial province of Pennsylvania. It was inscribed, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," a quote from Leviticus 25:10 in the Bible. It broke after its arrival in America and was recast in Philadelphia in 1753, using the same metal and the same inscription. It weighs more than 2,080 pounds. The relic was known as the Old State House Bell until about 1839 when abolitionists began to refer to it as the Liberty Bell. The bell hung in Independence Hall for over two hundred years from 1753 until January 1, 1976, when it was moved to the Liberty Bell Pavilion, just north of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell is no longer rung, but it has been struck on important occasions. One such occasion was on June 6, 1944, when Philadelphia officials struck the bell in honor of the Allied forces landing in France and sound equipment broadcast the tone to all parts of the United States. The Liberty Bell is a good reminder to all of us to "let Freedom ring" throughout our land. Facts and quotes for this post came from an article by Theodore Hershberg in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, pp 232-233.

Tea Party

The Tea Party movement continues to be in the news for various reasons. The modern Tea Party is a grass roots movement comprised of individuals who are concerned about the direction our nation is headed and has no real leader. It takes its name from "taxed enough already," but it is about freedom, independence, and liberty. The historical tea party took place on December 16, 1773, when people referred to as "radicals" boarded three East India Company ships and threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The "radicals" were actually members of a secret organization of American Patriots called the Sons of Liberty. This event in protest of oppressive British taxation and tyrannical rule, became known as the Boston Tea Party. James Madison stated, "The people of the U.S. owe their Independence & their liberty, to the wisdom of descrying in the minute tax of 3 pence on tea,, the magnitude of the evil comprised in the precedent. Let them exert the same wisdom, in watching against every evil lurking under plausible disguises, and growing up from small beginnings." Today we find ourselves subject to unjust taxation once again. Even though we technically are represented in Congress, we continue to be taxed for purposes that are not authorized in the Constitution and that we loudly proclaim that we do not want. The tax burden being levied on Americans will eventually kill free enterprise and collapse our economy. American Patriots have mustered once again to form a Tea Party movement. This movement is gaining in strength and is about restoration to first principles and Rule of Law rather than revolution. All patriots must stay the course and hold our ground as we try to maintain the independence and liberty provided to us by our Founders.

John Hancock

John Hancock (1737-1793) was leader in the American Revolution and the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He signed his name in large and bold strokes in order that all could see it. His famous signature is referred to today when people say that they have "written their John Hancock," meaning they had signed their names. Hancock was born in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. His father was a minister who died when John was a young boy. John was adopted by his uncle, Thomas Hancock, one of the wealthiest merchants in Boston. John joined his uncle in business after he graduated from Harvard College in 1754. Upon his uncle's death in 1764, John inherited the company. John became known as a revolutionary after an incident in 1768 known as the Liberty Affair. One of John's vessels, the Liberty, arrived in the Boston Harbor to unload a shipment of wine and to take on new cargo. British customs officials seized the Liberty and charged Hancock with disobeying regulation. This action angered the citizens of Boston, and mobs rioted. The British government sent soldiers to bring order to the area. The Liberty Affair was one of the events that led to the Revolutionary War. Hancock was elected to the Massachusetts General Court (the lower house of the colonial legislature) in 1769. In 1774 the General Court became the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and Hancock served as president in 1774 and 1775. Tensions between the Americans and the British grew, and Hancock used his influence and wealth in the independence movement. The British regarded him as one of the most dangerous revolutionaries. John Hancock and Samuel Adams, another Revolutionary leader from Massachusetts, came close to being arrested by the British in 1775. A fellow patriot named Paul Revere took his famous ride in order to give them warning and help them to escape. Hancock was president of the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777. Because of his position of president, he had the honor of being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence when it was adopted by Congress. Hancock wanted to lead the Continental Army in the fight for independence during the Revolutionary War and was disappointed when Congress chose George Washington. Hancock, however, had the opportunity to serve in the military when he led about 5,000 soldiers from Massachusetts in an unsuccessful attempt to free Rhode Island from British control. Hancock was president of the convention that adopted the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. He also became the first person to serve as governor under the new charter. He served nine terms as governor, from 1780 to 1785, and again from 1787 until his death in 1793. Facts for this post came from an article by William Morgan Fowler, Jr. in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, pp 38-39.