Every Day Follower of Jesus Christ

Would we want to live without a free press?  Absolutely not!  However, while first amendment rights are broad enough to protect the rights of unpopular minorities, originally the historical and structural core was to safeguard the rights of the popular majorities against a possible unrepresentative and self-interested Congress.   Congress was singled out to be re...

Voltaire once said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it!”  We would all be wise to echo Voltaire.   We must not be part of what  Professor Arthur C. Brooks  of Harvard’s Kennedy School describes as “a culture of contempt — a habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect or misguided but as wort...

In its clearest statement to date, the court said that if a state uses taxpayer money to pay for students attending nonreligious private schools, it must also use taxpayer funds to pay for attendance at religious schools. For all practical purposes, the decision thus invalidates provisions in 37 state constitutions that ban the direct or indirect use of  taxpayer dollars for private reli...

Modern day prophet, Ezra Taft Benson, clearly conveyed a message from God, when he said: It would be erroneous for us, however, to conclude that the document was the sole genius of the Founding Fathers. Theirs was a combined wisdom derived from heavenly inspiration, knowledge of political government from ages past, and the crucible of their own experience.

“We may define a republic to be a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure for a limited period or during good behavior.  It is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an  considerable proportion or...

Avoid delusion. The Constitution of the United States is a miracle that saved America. Its founders were men and women who sought God in holy scriptures, many of who studied the Geneva Bible. The founders who sought inspiration from heaven. They prayed, they studied, they listened and followed the promptings of God through the Holy Spirit. They put their trust in God. They asked the question we wr...

"it was immoral for one generation to pass on its extravagance to another in the form of debt. We shall consider ourselves unauthorized to saddle posterity with our debts."

History is not an accident. Events are foreknown to God. The past, present, future are one eternal round. His superintending influence is behind the actions of his righteous children, because those seeking God's will are also seeking God's help, or in other words exercising their agency, to ask for His aid. This is an important reminder to each of us.

"The first principle is popular sovereignty, the principle that the government’s power comes from the people being governed. “Sovereignty in the people necessarily implies  responsibility  in the people,” he said. “Instead of blaming their troubles on a king, on a cabal of military leaders, or on some distant group of wise men, citizens who are sovereign must share a measure of the burde...

As James Madison wrote in the preface to his notes on the Constitutional Convention: “There never was an assembly of men, charged with a great and arduous trust, who were more pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted to the object committed to them.”  Truly, the U.S. Constitution was established “by the hands of wise men whom [the Lord] raised up unto this very purpose....

Every September 17 we observe Constitution Day. While it is not filled with parades, barbecues, and fireworks, it is hopefully filled with each of us studying this document more deeply. We are the only nation on earth that has a Constitution over 230 years old. It is the fundamental law we point to that is the foundation of our national life.

Today, tyranny surrounds us and these are times that will require each and every follower of Jesus Christ, to determine where the Lord's side of the line is and where we find ourselves, in mists of darkness or on the covenant path of Christ.

The Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States—rest on the bedrock of the love of the Lord and of liberty, became the foundation of our Republic. From this foundation has come the greatest civilization on the face of the earth.

" Man is a spiritual being, a soul, and at some period of his life everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the Infinite. . . . There is something within him which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world. "

" When the issues are determined, whether we stand with the winners or the losers, of this we may be sure: To make the proper choice on any issue is of far more importance to us personally than is the immediate outcome of the issue upon which we make a decision. The choices we make will affect the scope of our agency in the future. As of now, we have the right of decision. What we will have tomorr...

Deborah’s greatness lay not in her physical strength but in her moral leadership, in the confidence she inspired that the Lord would aid those who fought for a righteous cause. She spoke the language of faith in all conversations. Can we not follow her example and do the same?

Finding joy in the moment is often heightened by two companion virtues to joy. Forgiveness and love. The depth of joy is found in the feelings that flow through us when we pause and breathe in beauty. It is found in that moment when you release the old baggage you have been carrying around from past mistakes, impressions or self-images that really are not you. It is found in the ability to receive...

“The living of one protective principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ is better than a thousand compensatory government programs—which programs are, so often, like ‘straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic.’”

A dear colleague of mind consistently stated, "choose not to be offended." In other words, keep your head up and realize that someone else's words or actions are about them, so choose what you think and do.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house , we will serve the Lord.

This wonderful life can change in the blink of an eye. How good it is to know that one shall live after death and the plan of salvation continues. Shall a man live after death? I stand with the billions of others who echoed, Yes! There is hope shining brightly in the knowledge that has been known since the time of Adam and Eve.

Since the beginning of time and the billions of people who have walked on this planet, there has never been another with your mind, your heart... Never before and none that follow think exactly like you, talk exactly like you, dream exactly like you, nor love exactly like you.

It is the stretching of our minds and utilizing the skills of our hands that lifts us from the stagnation of mediocrity. When we determine to be better in each moment of the day, we are leaving behind mediocrity.

If we are not willing to grapple with the frustration that comes from interpreting others actions as meaning one thing when it could be something else, we may never develop the kind of spiritual maturity that is necessary for our ultimate preparations.

An important truth about the spirit body: it is perfect, not hampered or hindered by physical defects or disabilities. At death the spirit body is liberated from the adverse effects of aging, disease, or handicaps.