Uncle Sam put me up to this post. ;)
My feelings for this country have been poignant and mixed that last several weeks, so The Fourth of July was a unique holiday for me. I just wanted to share some thoughts with you.
I love this country. So dearly. The more I study and become involved in its affairs the more I am certain that this land really is "promised". There are so many admirable things being done in the United States--so much to praise and be proud of.
As an example, I attended a fireside just before the Fourth where they played the Armed Forces Medley and asked all those in the audience that were veterans or family of veterans to stand. This easily ranks on my Top 50 list of Favorite Things Ever. I get choked up as I see quiet old men with backs bent by age stand as they hear "Off we go into the wild blue yonder..." To any who may be reading that have served or have had a parent, grandparent, sibling, or especially spouse serve, thank you. Your gift is sacred and I appreciate it more than I can express. Readers of this blog may not know that my grandpa served in WWII. I've never stood during the Armed Forces Medley because I have felt myself too far removed to really be worthy to stand. But Grandpa Pike passed away a year or so ago, and shortly before The Army Goes Rolling Along, I had a very clear thought:
Stand. Just in case Grandpa is watching.
As the music started, I stood tall and straight with my head held high and a smile on my face. As I stood, I felt that somewhere, maybe even close by, my young, handsome, robust Grandpa was standing the same way in salute.
Again, there is so much to be proud of.
But as I said before, my feelings have been so mixed. While there's so much to be proud of, there have been many issues recently that concern me and make me hang my head. I'm concerned about the integrity of some (not all) elected government officials. I'm concerned about the recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld the mandated Health Care law and passed it as a tax. I'm concerned about the upcoming election, and the potential ramifications of the outcome.
I have also become increasingly concerned about the filth that is not only tolerated, but embraced and loved and worshiped in our country. Just prior to the Fourth, a "box-top hit" was released called Magic Mike. This proved to be the straw that broke my back.
The picture below was one of many posts like this on the facebook wall of one of my friends.
We went to high school together. And Girl's Camp. And church.
Actually, Unnamed Individual, I think it does matter what this movie's about (for those of you who don't know, it's basically about male strippers). And it matters that it's full of half- or full-naked men. Or that it contains pervasive sexual content and graphic nudity*. Or that it also includes approximately 156 F-bombs.** It's no surprise that Hollywood would come out with something this seedy--they've been doing it for years. The shock came as I saw all the people that I know that were heralding the coming of this blockbuster with a kind of crazed reverence. Unnamed Individual was not the only person raving about this movie for weeks prior to and following its release. A friend I had in seminary went and saw it with her mother. That breaks my heart.
What are we thinking?
This and other incidents had been weighing heavily on my mind as the Fourth approached. It did nothing to comfort my heart when on the Fourth of July, I happened upon this during my daily scripture reading:
Mosiah 7:29-31
"For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them. And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison. . .which bringeth immediate destruction."
How's that for a pick-me-up? In surrounding verses it says, "The promise of the Lord is fulfilled. . . Who wondereth that they are in bondage, and that they are smitten with sore afflictions?" My mind was cumbered with heavy thoughts on the Fourth of July, wondering if America--this country that I love and revere and cherish--would need to fall before or at the coming of the Savior. Wondering about the Constitution potentially hanging by a thread. What do you think?... Are the American people ripening for destruction?
I promise, I don't want to be a dooms-dayist or a doomsayer. I don't want to have a fatalistic, all is lost, "eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we burn" attitude. That won't help anything.
But what is to be done?
Like any smart girl, I went to my eternally smarter mother who has done 36 years more reading, more studying, and more living than I have to see if she had any words of wisdom. As always, she did. She led me to a talk/booklet by President Ezra Taft Benson entitled The Constitution--A Heavenly Banner. If you've made it this far in the post, I would strongly recommend you read it. It can be bought at the BYU Bookstore, Deseret Book, or on Amazon.com for just a few dollars. Or you can read a much less pretty version here. Either way, it'll take less than an hour to read but it will leave you filled with fresh insights on freedom, agency, and our country. Even more, I hope you'll have a greater understanding, as I did, of what you can do to fulfill the duty you owe to your country.
The closing lines of President Benson's address left me feeling the peace, hope, and determination to press onward that I had been searching for:
"I testify that the God of heaven sent some of his choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and he has sent other choice spirits—even you who hear my words this day—to preserve it. We, the blessed beneficiaries, face difficult days in this beloved land, "a land which is choice above all other lands" (Ether 2:10). It may also cost us blood before we are through. It is my conviction, however, that when the Lord comes, the Stars and Stripes will be floating on the breeze over this people. May it be so, and may God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives and fortunes that we might be free."
May it be so.
Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blessed with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
*MPAA Rating
**KidsinMind.com
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