My Reaction to the Democrats' Big Election Night: Trying to Stay Positive

Wow.  I am in shock and bewilderment the President was re-elected and the Senate retained for Democrats (I think they may have even gained a seat or two).  I greatly fear the looming consequences of Obamacare, a sputtering economy, reduced religious liberty, the fiscal cliff, and additional calamity, all descending ominously upon the greatest nation on earth.

I thought the voting electorate would be about D+0 or even R+1.  Looks like Gallup and Rasmussen both missed the mark, or perhaps the Obama turnout machine simply revved up the engine beyond belief.

While I am filled with anxiety about the future of our country for the next four years and even after (can Obamacare and the government takeover of health care ever be reversed, now?), I take solace in knowing I determine how happy I will be.

In my view, our country is going down a very dark and disastrous path.  Perhaps the ultimate outcome is more and more people will be forced to choose between God and Mammon.  Again, my level of happiness and optimism is up to me.  Said President Thomas S. Monson, "Your future is as bright as your faith."

You might want to watch this message from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf on resolutions and regrets, below.  Here is a brief excerpt:

"The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don’t really matter or determine our happiness.

"We do matter. We determine our happiness.

"You and I are ultimately in charge of our own happiness . . .

"Let us resolve to be happy, regardless of our circumstances."

May we do so, and may God bless the United States!

Happy Thanksgiving!

First, let me say to one and all, Happy Thanksgiving!  I really enjoyed my day off with family and friends.  My daughter ran around (trying to escape her parents' restrictive arms) so much, she fell asleep with pie in her mouth, on the way home.  Good times.

In addition to my family, I'm very grateful for this nation and the religious freedom we enjoy.

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

To that end, I highly recommend this article on the pilgrims and religious freedom, from the LDS newsroom.

Today's Spiritual Message: In Memoriam, 9/11

Today, my heart is full of pondering, of remembering that fateful day, from ten years ago.  I will always remember watching the events of 9/11 unfold, from the remote TV in my physics classroom, in high school.  I'm so grateful for those who gave their lives to save and rescue others.

Remembering those who gave their lives.

Tom Brokaw and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will air a special 9/11 broadcast, today.

In remembering 9/11, I invite you to watch a special memorial broadcast, recorded by Tom Brokaw, who was a news anchor detailing the events of 9/11, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, who quickly performed a memorial service.  The broadcast will be aired throughout the day.

Finally, invite you to read two different articles reflecting on 9/11, one by Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (in the Washington Post) and the other by Emory Cook, of BYUtv.

May we be a better people as a result of the 9/11 tragedy -- more full of love and compassion, and may God bless America.

Today's Spiritual Message: The Sting of the Scorpion

Our actions all have consequences.  Some of them really sting.

 

The Savior Jesus Christ reaches out to all of us who have felt the stinging consequences of sin, pleading, "[W]ill ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?"

Click here to read more of the message behind the video.

Today's Spiritual Message: Reversing Our Moral Decay

The other day, I read an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Rabbi Lord Sacks, the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth (in the United Kingdom).

Many have blamed moral decay for the recent riots in the UK

Rather than summarize the entire article for you, I will excerpt a few points and strongly urge you to read the rest:  In the recent British riots, of those charged with crimes,

60% had a previous criminal record, and 25% belonged to gangs.

This was the bursting of a dam of potential trouble that has been building for years. The collapse of families and communities leaves in its wake unsocialized young people, deprived of parental care, who on average—and yes, there are exceptions—do worse than their peers at school, are more susceptible to drug and alcohol abuse, less likely to find stable employment and more likely to land up in jail.

The truth is, it is not their fault. They are the victims of the tsunami of wishful thinking that washed across the West saying that you can have sex without the responsibility of marriage, children without the responsibility of parenthood, social order without the responsibility of citizenship, liberty without the responsibility of morality and self-esteem without the responsibility of work and earned achievement.

Indeed, I'm unsure whether many would agree there even is an objective morality, anymore.  On the other hand, there used to be.  Consider, for example, the words of President Thomas S. Monson, 84:

We have come to the earth in troubled times. The moral compass of the masses has gradually shifted to an “almost anything goes” position.

I’ve lived long enough to have witnessed much of the metamorphosis of society’s morals. Where once the standards of the Church and the standards of society were mostly compatible, now there is a wide chasm between us, and it’s growing ever wider.  (Priesthood Power, April 2011 General Conference.)

So what is the solution to this moral decay and ever widening chasm?  According to Lord Sacks, a return to religion.  According to British Prime Minister David Cameron, and as I understand it, a return to families.

The family must be the focus of our efforts to reverse moral decay

I am in favor of both solutions, with particular emphasis on the family.  In 1995, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made a prophetic statement on the family, which reads, in part:

Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.  (The Family:  A Proclamation to the World.)

So, what can you and I do to reverse moral decay, in promoting the family as the fundamental unit of society?  We can vote, we can write letters to the editor, we can blog, we can tweet, we can email, we can shut off the vulgarity and violence found on TV, the Internet, and countless movies.  We can stand up and say, "enough is enough, and this is where I draw a moral line in the sand that I refuse to cross."

In closing, I love this quote, shared by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words."  (Waiting on the Road to Damascus, April 2011 General Conference.)

What else are God's prophets and apostles teaching about the family and other important topics, today?  "Come and see."  (reference to John 1:45-46.)

Today's Spiritual Message: And This Be Our Motto: "In God Is Our Trust"

Have you ever sang the second and fourth verses of The Star Spangled Banner?  I had that privilege at church, today, and really got choked up:

In God is our trust.

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

To me, this photo says it all.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n 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!

I'm really touched by the second verse's reference to the sacrifice and suffering of our heroes of war who gave their life to gain and protect our freedom.  I know a number of brave men who have served our country in war and were also willing to give their lives.  I honor them.

I'm also moved to think back to a time when the whole nation stood up together and "Praise[d] the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation."  How I wish we would have that same reverence and veneration, today!

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Ether 12: 2.  I hope and pray that we will, as a nation, return to praising the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Many of our forebears crossed the Atlantic in an outright
trust and general dependence on God.  How much can
the same be said about this nation, today?

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home

God bless America, My home sweet home.