Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Submit ALERTS or ACTION ITEMS on what we can do to support Freedom. (i.e. action regarding a bill or other important issue)
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lundbaek
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 11123
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by lundbaek »

American Independence Day is not far off. May I suggest that those of you who feel up to it suggest to your bishop that you or someone give a talk the last Sunday in June about the Declaration of Independence, about the Lord's hand in establishing the United States, and the duty of Latter-day Saints to preserve liberty. It took a bit of boldness, but such a talk has been scheduled in our ward. And it has worked in years past.

eddie
captain of 1,000
Posts: 2405

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by eddie »

Good idea, something we all need to hear!

lundbaek
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 11123
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by lundbaek »

Next Sunday, 17 September, will be the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. This is likely the best and most appropriate day of this year to bring to the attention of Latter-day Saints the following message, which I have persuaded the responsible member of our ward to include as an insert in our ward bulletin. May I suggest that you try to find a way to present this or a similar message to your ward.

"230 years ago today 41 delegates to a convention in Philadelphia, after nearly 4 months of deliberation and debate, signed the Constitution of the United States. Some of the signers of the U.S. Constitution, including George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, later testified in their own words of the divine assistance of "providential agency", that "Almighty hand", or the "finger of God" toward establishing the Constitution. And we Latter-day Saints have been told by the Lord Himself in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 101:80 that He established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom He raised up unto that very purpose. Since that revelation was given in 1833, almost every latter-day prophet and many apostles have testified of the importance of our understanding, upholding, and abiding by the principles of the U.S. Constitution."

One of those I shared this with added the following to it:
"President David O. McKay said it this way: “Other than being one in worshiping God, there is nothing in this world upon which this Church should be more united than in upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States. If members of the Melchizedek Priesthood allow the U.S. Constitution to be destroyed, they not only forfeit their rights to the Priesthood, but to a place in this highest degree of glory as well. (David O. McKay, The Instructor, Feb. 1956, p. 34)".

Silver
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 5247

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by Silver »

lundbaek wrote: September 12th, 2017, 8:58 am Next Sunday, 17 September, will be the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. This is likely the best and most appropriate day of this year to bring to the attention of Latter-day Saints the following message, which I have persuaded the responsible member of our ward to include as an insert in our ward bulletin. May I suggest that you try to find a way to present this or a similar message to your ward.

"230 years ago today 41 delegates to a convention in Philadelphia, after nearly 4 months of deliberation and debate, signed the Constitution of the United States. Some of the signers of the U.S. Constitution, including George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, later testified in their own words of the divine assistance of "providential agency", that "Almighty hand", or the "finger of God" toward establishing the Constitution. And we Latter-day Saints have been told by the Lord Himself in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 101:80 that He established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom He raised up unto that very purpose. Since that revelation was given in 1833, almost every latter-day prophet and many apostles have testified of the importance of our understanding, upholding, and abiding by the principles of the U.S. Constitution."

One of those I shared this with added the following to it:
"President David O. McKay said it this way: “Other than being one in worshiping God, there is nothing in this world upon which this Church should be more united than in upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States. If members of the Melchizedek Priesthood allow the U.S. Constitution to be destroyed, they not only forfeit their rights to the Priesthood, but to a place in this highest degree of glory as well. (David O. McKay, The Instructor, Feb. 1956, p. 34)".
Lundbaek, I added your words to the PowerPoint Presentation I use in my weekly Gospel Doctrine lesson. This coming Sunday a bunch of Texans will read and hear a brief message on the Constitution.

lundbaek
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 11123
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by lundbaek »

I was able to get the message on an insert into our ward bulletin, and also talk briefly about it during our HP class.

Silver, how did it go over in your Power Point Presentation.

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mirkwood
captain of 1,000
Posts: 1740
Location: Utah

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by mirkwood »

I got it to our SP and he had all 8 wards read it from the pulpit at the start of Sac Mtg.

lundbaek
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 11123
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by lundbaek »

From feedback, it looks like that message got to 13 different wards one way or another. One of the things that keeps me going on this is the prophecy attributed to Joseph Smith that "Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction." (July 19, 1840, as recorded by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray; ms. in Church Historian’s Office, Salt Lake City)

lundbaek
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 11123
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: Attn.: Supporters of Liberty

Post by lundbaek »

I am looking for an effective way to get this message, at least the first sentence of each paragraph, into our ward bulletin or into our ward elders quorum bulletin on Sunday, 15 September. Perhaps you can pull this off in your ward.


Wednesday, 17 September, will be the 232nd anniversary of the Constitution of the United States of America. In the October 1988 General Conference, the Prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson, stated: "I testify that America is a choice land. God raised up the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and established the inspired Constitution. This was the required prologue for the restoration of the gospel."

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord told us four very important things about the Constitution :

1.) He told us we are to befriend "that law which is the constitutional law of the land." (D&C 98:6). In that connection, in the October 1987 Church General Conference, President Benson asked: "How then can we best befriend the Constitution in this critical hour and secure the blessings of liberty and ensure the protection and guidance of our Father in Heaven?" His reply included
"First and foremost, we must be righteous...", Second, we must learn the principles of the Constitution in the tradition of the Founding Fathers.", Third, we must become involved in civic affairs to see that we are properly represented...", "Fourth, we must make our influence felt by our vote, our letters, our teaching, and our advice." "We must become accurately informed and then let others know how we feel..."

2.) He told us that this Constitution "belongs to all mankind" and "should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles." (D&C 101:77). According to this statement in the Doctrine and Covenants and recorded statements especially of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Melvin J. Ballard, J. Reuben Clark, Harold B. Lee, and Ezra Taft Benson, (too extensive to include here) it appears that God committed to Americans the task of learning and upholding the principles of the U.S. Constitution as it was intended to be understood by the Lord, such that by example those principles would reverberate to other nations "for the rights and protection of all flesh", where people would desire to live by its precepts and choose to be governed by them, and those principles would be established forever.

3.) He told us "I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose." (D&C 101:80). In that regard, President J. Reuben Clark, speaking in the April 1935 Church General Conference, stated: "To me...that statement of the Lord, "I have established the Constitution of this land," puts the Constitution of the United States in the position it would be in if it were written in this book of Doctrine and Covenants itself. This makes the Constitution the work of the Lord to us."

4.) He let us know that He intended that the principles of this Constitution "be established forever." (D&C 109:54). (From a prayer given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, which was spoken at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple).

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