"Eat, drink, and be merry"

“Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God--he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 28:7-8).

In my early years of scripture study, teachings on this point conjured up in my mind images of what life in Sodom and Gomorrah might have been like. I envisioned scenes of human debauchery that were to take place at a time far into the future, truly in the very last days. However, I came to realize sometime ago that the days of eating, drinking, and being merry were already a reality, and that examples of this behavior were all around me. Likewise, I have come to more fully understand and appreciate the prescribed consequences of such behavior.

My wife and I attended a major league baseball game recently and one of the young men sitting behind us informed the other members of his party that he had calculated how much it would cost him to get drunk given the ballpark’s price for a cup of beer. It was not many days later that I learned that jewel-encrusted cell phones are available for purchase at $70,000 a piece, and that one man owns four of them. That suffices. The point has been made. Whether speaking of the affluent or those of fewer means, the examples of worldly excess abound about us. Just how much of the world’s bounties ought we to possess? If we place life’s importances into proper priority, then the obtaining of the world’s riches is important in order that we may be safe and live healthy and orderly lives thus enabling us to accomplish that for which we were placed upon this earth.

Speaking personally, from my youth my motto has been “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). This truth has been a guiding principle during my life.

Far too many of this and the next generation are being reared without the advantage of religious instruction. Some religion in a person’s life even if it cannot lead to true salvation is better than no religious training at all. Someone asked years ago, “Why Christ?” His family had purposely ignored discussing the subject of religion with him during his maturing years. His parents’ position was that if he wanted religion in his life, then he could make that determination better when he was mature. As a result of this parental approach, today he understands almost nothing of Christian doctrine.

It is understandable to me that those who were never taught the fulness of the gospel in their youth would as adults not understanding God’s plan for His spirit children. Even those individuals who were or are being reared within the “mainstream” Christian churches are hardly better off on this point. Nevertheless, after all that we as true Saints can do to make the unaware aware of the restored gospel, we may take comfort in knowing that the day is coming whether in this life or the next that everyone will have the opportunity to be taught the gospel.

However, my heart truly aches for those who were reared in a home in which the true gospel was taught and practiced. Their religious training included an understanding of their Heavenly Father’s expectations for them as well as the path they must follow if they desire to return to Him. How painful it is when they reject the blessings of heaven both for this life and forever in order to enjoy the immediate gratifications they hope to derived from worldly pleasures.

For years, I have asked myself why this is so, and the full answer is still beyond my mental reach. I suspect this troubling behavior is rooted at least in part in a lack of faith. The first and most fundamental principle of the gospel is faith. Faith is a gift of God, a gift of the Spirit. If one cannot exercise the required faith on their own, it is unnecessary to throw aside the gospel and its attendant blessings. The Lord taught concerning an alternative means. “To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:14). Those who cannot muster from within the requisite degree of faith required, must only “believe” on the faith and the works of others, and if “they continue faithful” the prize will be theirs also.

It is often the case that those who set their hearts upon the accumulation of the material things of this world embrace and profess the notion that what they have come to possess belongs to them because they have earned these things. They do not understand a fundamental truth of living in this world namely, they have produced nothing on their own, and in reality, they own nothing. Everything they possess is a gift from God, and they possess nothing more than a stewardship over that with which they have been blessed. Moreover, they will be judged by God according to the manner with which they manage the particulars of their stewardship. King Benjamin said it thusly, “I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. . . . And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you” (Mosiah 2:20-26).

True to the Prophet Nephi’s teachings, many of the earth’s inhabitants mistakenly believe they will only be punished lightly for their disobedience towards God’s commandments, and that afterward, they will be saved in the kingdom of God. How foolish they are. The day is coming when these will find that they were seriously mistaken. The blessings they thought they would acquire in spite of their rebelliousness are gone and out of reach forever. Indeed, they may be separated from their loved ones for eternity because essentially they lacked the required faith, a proper understanding of the gospel, and a history of faithfulness to higher principles, all of which they were taught from their youth.

The Atonement

Note: The material for this writing comes from a lesson I taught several weeks ago to our High Priests Group from our current study guide, Gospel Principles.

Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, the creation and peopling of this earth would have been for naught. The Prophet Malachi confirms this truth. Had mankind failed to accomplish God’s purpose for their being here, then “the whole earth would be utterly wasted at [the] coming” of His Son, Jesus Christ (Joseph Smith -- History 1:39). Thus, it is not incorrect to believe that the atonement was the single most important event in the earth’s history.

“For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made” (Alma 34:9).

Central to an understanding of why men and women everywhere “are fallen and are lost, and must perish” in the absence of an atonement being performed in our behalf are the relevant events that took place in the garden of Eden. By partaking of the fruit from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” contrary to God’s commandment, Adam and Eve suffered two major consequences of eternal importance. The first of these, spiritual death, they suffered apparently without much delay. They were shortly to learn that they would no longer have the opportunity to converse face to face with their Father in Heaven as they walked in the garden. Their only contact with Him would be through prayer, inspiration, and messengers sent from His presence to instruct them from time to time concerning His will pertaining to them.

The second personal consequence of their misbehavior would not be experienced ultimately for many years to come, other than for the deepening effects of the aging process. Physical death had been introduced into the world as a result of their actions. Consistent with God’s warning and contrary to what Lucifer told them, they would eventually die. In the mean time, they would live in their fallen state of mortality having been responsible not only for their own fall but for the fall of all fauna and flora on the earth as well as the earth itself from a terrestrial to a telestial order of things.

Absent the atonement wrought by Jesus Christ, our first parents and all of their descendants would have of necessity perished as Amulek taught. To perish in this sense does not mean to cease to exist. Rather it means that we all would have found ourselves in hell with Lucifer as our leader for the duration of eternity. The world would have been destroyed, and mankind would have become devils, “angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself” (see 2 Nephi 9:7-9).

The atonement of Jesus Christ is “[t]hat he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him ” (D&C 76:41-42). How are all saved because of the atonement? The answer is a multi-faceted one. In fact, in only one sense are all of mankind saved by the Lord’s atonement.

The Father communicating through His Son instructed Moses concerning His plan for His spirit children namely, “For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Immortality and eternal life are not synonymous terms. Immortality refers to the duration of life while eternal life refers to the quality of life we may enjoy in the future. “Eternal” is one of Elohim’s names, thus eternal life is the quality of life that Elohim lives and is one of the subjects of Section 131 in the Doctrine and Covenants.

As stated, the effects of the atonement concerning who is to be saved are many. To the extent that every human being who ever calls earth home will be resurrected and not spend eternity as a disembodied spirit, it may be truly said that all are saved through the Lord’s atonement. This is the unconditional result of the atonement. All will be resurrected. None may opt out. However, if by saved we mean to say that all of God’s spirit children will return home to live with their Heavenly Father, then by no means will that be the case. And here the situation becomes somewhat complex. Enter the subjects of salvation and damnation. If we assume salvation to mean that an individual has been saved, then clearly, not all who live upon this earth will be saved or inherit salvation. Those who will clearly not be saved in this sense are the sons of perdition. They are they who alone will experience the “second death” and go away to live out eternity with Lucifer and his minions. However, they will keep their resurrected bodies making them superior in nature to the father of lies (D&C 76:43-45).

All of God’s remaining children will inherit some kingdom of glory for eternity. Then what is it that those who inherit the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms have been saved from? Hell and Lucifer’s temptations and corruptions. Those who are resurrected to obtain the celestial kingdom are those who are saved to the degree that they will re-enter their Father’s presence. Thus salvation comes in varying degrees. This then is the conditional aspect of the atonement. It is within our power to determine through our worthiness the degree to which we will inherit salvation or damnation.

Indeed, the terms salvation and damnation may be used correctly to describe the conditions of those who will enter even the celestial kingdom. It is God’s hope for us that we will not only be found worthy to return and live with Him, but more so, that we will be worthy of the progression necessary to eventually live as He does. To obtain eternal life is the real purpose for our existence. Anything short of that is less than what our Heavenly Father hopes for us and will in time prove to be a damnation for us. For those who fail to receive eternal life will not be capable of “increase” which is the clearest distinguishing potential of those inheriting eternal life (D&C 131:4).

The Admonition of Paul

The thirteenth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul gave the new Saints words of comfort as well as direction as to some of the hallmarks that ought to typify the behavior of a follower of Christ not only for their own betterment but also for the improvement of the society in which they lived. “Don’t be unduly concerned about anything; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9). This would have been wise counsel for a Saint living in any of the dispensations.

Quite obviously, we do not literally “believe all things.” If such were even possible, that condition would illustrate the height of foolishness and be more than contradictory. The statement has reference to truth. As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek after those things that have been made manifest by His Spirit, the light of Christ. For this is the source of all truth whether in this world or in the universe. The opposing spirit that makes possible the exercise of agency for the purposes of making choices of eternal importance, the spirit of untruth, emanates from the father of lies, Lucifer. Consistent with God’s plan, all advancements in the fields of discovery, enlightenment, and beauty, with reference to the arts, for example, that are intended for the benefit of His spirit children are made known through the light of Christ. As lovers of truth, we should seek truth wherever it is to be found and embrace it whenever we do.

Our hope ought not to be ultimately concerned with things of this world. The hope of the Saints is rooted in the power and knowledge by means of which we may obtain eternal life. However, our reality is that while in mortality, we must concern ourselves also with earthly temptations and obstacles that have the potential to deflect us from our intended path and goal. The persecutions levied against God’s work in all generations were in reality persecutions levied against individual believers. As such, we hope and prepare ourselves in order that we may be able to endure all that we individually will be called upon to bear whether at the hands of our fellowmen or as a result of the vicissitudes of life being able to maintain our individual worthiness. The ultimate test we face is to determine whether each of us “will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command” of us (Abraham 3:25). Simply stated that means entering into all of the covenants God holds out to each of us and then living worthy of the promised blessings.

"Honoring and Sustaining the Law"

The twelfth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reads, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”

My familiarity with the Articles of Faith began many, many years ago while I was a Primary student. Of course like everyone else, my graduation from that Auxiliary was in part dependent upon my being able to quote all thirteen of them to my leaders from memory.

For an eleven year old in 1951, the twelfth one seemed benign to me. Why would I or anyone in my restricted circle of friends and relatives seriously think about doing anything contrary to the laws and interests of the United States government? Most of the other Articles of Faith were gospel centered, and their subject matter was intended to motivate the believer to pursue further study of the topic. Other Articles made reference to personal behavior that would require many years or possibly a lifetime to realize. However, sustaining our various levels of government and obeying their dictates only seemed like the natural thing to do. At that age, I knew almost nothing about the reality of other members of the Church who lived in foreign countries, and of the practical and at times life-threatening difficulties they faced while struggling to live by the dictates of this pattern of belief.

At that age, I also had not made the connection between the era in which the Articles of Faith had been penned and the realities with which those Saints were in fact contending. In 1842, the horrors of mob violence that had succeeded in driving them from their homes, businesses, and lands in Ohio and Missouri were still very fresh in their minds as they gathered to Nauvoo. The Prophet and his fellow prisoners had made their way to Illinois after their escape from Liberty jail, where they had been held unlawfully for months in very inhumane conditions. Appeals to their governmental leaders in the Nation’s capital for redress of their many injuries stemming from unconstitutional and illegal persecutions fell on deaf ears and not understanding minds. In spite of being so rebuffed, the Saints were accepting of their condition and thanked God for the forms of government that had treated them so wretchedly. In human terms, such behavior is amazing and normally unexpected.

What are our circumstances as Saints today? Given that our membership in some numbers has spread into almost all areas of the globe, the dictates of the twelfth Article of Faith provide varying challenges to its adherents. One of the hallmarks of the value systems that dominate in socially stable and economically advanced nations is the attempt to enumerate and protect personal or civil liberties. In such lands, supporting the established governments and obeying existing laws is relatively easy and almost always results in an absence of personal threats. At the other end of the social and political continuums are systems that are incapable of maintaining stability or in fact seek to further ends that are chaotic. These seem hardly worthy of the public’s support. Into such areas generally, the gospel is not taken in any organized fashion, and in such where the Church has been established, missionary and temple activities are at times curtailed. While the substance and expectations of the Articles of Faith in such conditions remain the same as otherwise, the resulting conduct of the members most likely will need to be appropriate to their circumstances.

A brief consideration of the experiences of the Saints living in the communist German Democratic Republic may be instructive here. As a rule, what we as a Church consider normal missionary proselytizing activities were very seriously limited by the laws of that nation. Yet full-time missionary work continued with many young members accepting calls to serve. As one of them, Sister Linford served for twenty-six months. Church meetings were often observed by members of the Stasi, the East German secret police, who sat among the congregations. Teaching manuals and other printed materials from the Church that we take for granted were not allowed into the country for many years. Through all of this, the members remained respectful of the communist government and its suppressive laws. Because the government of the GDR came to realize that the Saints living within its borders were not carrying on subversive activities, indeed, they were obedient citizens, the government invited the Church to build a temple. In fact, the temple in Freiberg is the only temple the Church has constructed inside of a communist nation. Had the Saints not conducted themselves in a manner consistent with the twelfth Article of Faith, it is highly unlikely that miracle would have happened.

As the end draws closer, wickedness in the world will increase. That is a given. It is thus reasonable to assume that the world’s populated areas will experience in numbers and intensity an increase in civil disobedience. Organized government’s natural response to such depreciating conditions will be to exert more and more authority. Both the increase of civil disobedience and the expansion of governmental authority in the hopes of restoring and maintaining order will have the effect of limiting ever more the personal liberties of the denizens of these societies. In such instances, attempting to live in accordance with the tenets of the twelfth Article of Faith will become more and more trying and dangerous. The fallback position for those caught in such circumstances and who seek to obey these increasingly authoritarian governments may well be the dictum that social order maintained by even autocratic governments is generally a better course of action than attempting to live within a society marked by chaos and anarchy.

On Liberty

“Liberty is by no means an invitation to indifference or to irresponsible power; nor is it the promise of unlimited well-being without a counterpart of toil and effort. It supposes application, perpetual effort, strict government of self, sacrifice in contingencies, civic and private virtues. It is therefore more difficult to live as a free man than to live as a slave, and that is why men so often renounce their freedom; for freedom is in its way an invitation to a life of courage, and sometimes of heroism, as the freedom of the Christian is an invitation to a life of Sainthood.”

Georges Lefebvre

The Coming of the French Revolution

This quote having been integrated into some of my lectures over the years impressed one of my students sufficiently that he had it beautifully reproduced and framed for me. For many years, his gift hung on the wall of my office. Now it has a similar place at home. Recently, a friend of many years wrote to see if I was still in possession of this quote as his copy had been misplaced. His request reminded me of the appropriateness of this topic given our expanded consideration of the eleventh Article of Faith. Sometimes, things happen this way.

The exercise of personal agency is very much bounded by the rules, customs, and biases of organized and unorganized societies. Liberty, as discussed here, pertains directly to the degree of protection and furtherance or, to the contrary, restraint organized societies place on the ability of their individual members to exercise their God-given right of personal choice.

The desire to protect the degree of personal liberty that had evolved in most of the American based British colonies from the growing encroachments of the Parliament was at the heart of the American revolutionary movement. Historians have argued and it was very likely the case that the American revolution was over before it began. At least in the minds of its leaders, the separation of the colonies from the Mother Country was a fait accompli before the first shot was fired in Massachusetts. The success of this revolution provided support and direction for others. The desire to expand and protect the basic notions of personal liberty was a powerful motivator in the coming of many subsequent revolutions in two hemispheres that successfully overthrew forms of monarchal government beginning in France.

Given the natural affinity between the true gospel of Jesus Christ and true forms of representative government regarding the necessity of providing and protecting substantive personal liberties for their citizens, our recent experience in the former communist area of Germany was an eye opener. The Marxian socialist value system that dominated the region for approximately fifty years had significantly curtailed its citizens’ ability to exercise independent behavior. On the other hand, it had provided a “social safety net” whereby its citizens were guaranteed such basic necessities as housing, employment, and medical care. This was the trade-off. Restricted personal liberty made possible the satisfying of certain basic human needs. When their system collapsed in 1989, their safety net was gone, and the former citizens of Eastern Germany found themselves largely responsible for providing for themselves in the absence of government guarantees. This was very unnerving to many of these individuals, and we as citizens of the United States were the brunt of verbal attacks by many as we mingled with them. The dissatisfied were generally displeased with the role our government had played in the fall of their communist system. Even more troubling were the confrontations we experienced on this subject from Church members. After experiencing political domination and restricted personal liberty for so many years, they had substantially lost their vision of the importance of exercising personal agency in all of its possible forms.

Marxian socialism overtook Eastern Europe so quickly that the populations of those lands were powerless to prevent themselves from being inundated. However, in the Americas, socialist thought, laws, and institutions are spreading at a more incremental pace, and in their wake the personal liberties of the impacted citizenry are slowly being eroded. How did Professor Lefebvre put it?

“Liberty is by no means an invitation to indifference or to irresponsible power; nor is it the promise of unlimited well-being without a counterpart of toil and effort. It supposes application, perpetual effort, strict government of self, sacrifice in contingencies, civic and private virtues. It is therefore more difficult to live as a free man than to live as a slave, and that is why men so often renounce their freedom; for freedom is in its way an invitation to a life of courage, and sometimes of heroism, as the freedom of the Christian is an invitation to a life of Sainthood” (Georges Lefebvre).

Personal Agency

The eleventh Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reads, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”

Agency is an eternal principle. It is through the exercise of agency that personal progression in the gospel sense is possible. It was the Prophet Abraham who reported God’s purpose concerning the exercise of personal agency: “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” (Abraham 3:25). So integral is agency to God’s eternal plan for us, that the presentation of a counter proposal that would have subverted the agency of God’s spirit children while they were living in mortality was in and of itself an important factor in Lucifer’s fall.

Only in an environment that permits mankind to exercise the requisite degree of freedom of thought and action is each individual able to work out their salvation. Given its importance, the use or misuse of agency at times gives rise to effects of enduring consequence. Among the rebellious are those who believe that the exercise of their agency gives them the right to obey or not to obey the commandments of God, seemingly without personally harmful consequences. If by this they mean to suggest that agency provides them the right to determine what is right or wrong, they are seriously mistaken. As Elder Charles Didier taught in one of our stake conferences, “Agency is given to us to choose between right and wrong and not to decide what is right and what is wrong” (April 28, 2002).

The most defining moments in an individual’s life are those wherein substantive choices are presented, and a decision is made that has the potential to alter the person’s subsequent course through not only mortality but also throughout eternity. President David O. McKay spoke to this point when he said, “There are three great epochs in a man’s [or woman’s] earthly life, upon which his happiness here and in eternity may depend, his birth, his marriage, and his choice of vocation.” However in reality, the potential effects of the defining decisions made by a single individual in mortality will be perhaps limitless. For whether the course followed is consistent or contrary to the will of God, future generations will tend to reap either the blessings or the heartaches inherent in the course of life upon which their feet are set. This says nothing about the nature of the multitudinous relationships in which each of us is involved with non-family members and in consequence the potential we have to effect them for good or for ill.

Given our understanding of the centrally-important role agency should play in each individual’s life, we ought to support those institutions, actions, and beliefs both domestic and foreign that possess the power to provide, protect, and further the exercise of personal agency among the largest possible number of God’s children. In so doing, we encourage the realization of an environment wherein as many as possible will be free to live and worship “according to the dictates of [their] own conscience.”

American Exceptionalism

The confluence of two trains of thought have brought me to this writing. Recently, we celebrated Memorial Day which is intended to direct our thoughts toward our dead. In my youth, we often referred to this holiday as Decoration Day for a portion of our time was spent caring for and decorating the graves of our relatives in the city cemetery. As a nation, we use Memorial Day as an opportunity to remember and give thanks for the sacrifice of those who have served in the armed services in the defense of our country thus reaffirming thereby the importance of the liberties and safety that we enjoy daily as a result of our continuing history.

My other thoughts are a product of having recently read Brother Hugh Nibley’s work entitled Lehi in the Desert and The World of the Jaredites. Among other things, I was reminded again of just how clearly both the followers of Lehi and the Jaredites were informed by the Lord as to the exceptional status of the land to which they were being led and of the conditions that would apply there. This is a promised land, and the Lord will not tolerate indefinitely abuse of His will by those He has permitted to live here. When the cup of the Lord’s forbearance is full, the unrighteous are swept from this land. The descendants of both of these migrations experienced in due time the devastating full measure of this warning. It is interesting to consider in this context, that not all who are allowed to live here are of Israel. Certainly, Lehi’s followers were, but the Jaredites were not given that their story as reported by the Prophet Ether began with the confusion of languages following the tower of Babel debacle.

One of the many paradigms used to interpret particularly the history of the United States is known as “American Exceptionalism.” It may be worth noting that while American Exceptionalism applies specifically to the United States, the term “America” does not. There are those in the United States who experience some personal discomfort at the thought that say Canadians, Mexicans, and Brazilians, for example, rightfully may also refer to themselves as “Americans.” True is it not, this entire hemisphere is America? If so, then all who are citizens of the various nations which comprise this hemisphere are Americans.

From which source did the notion of American Exceptionalism spring? While the answer to this question is debatable, a popular and defensible answer is Alexis Charles Henri Clerel de Tocqueville. De Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, and his traveling companion were sent by France to the United States in the early 1830s to report on our penal institutions as the French were considering reforms in their houses of correction. In addition to making the report the purpose of which had brought him here in the first place, de Tocqueville wrote a two-volume work entitled, Democracy in America, which provides all future generations a window into this dynamic period of early United State history. His understanding of republican government, democracy, equality, and liberty and what he believed their long-term effects would be on our nation’s history are a fertile seedbed for important elements of American Exceptionalism.

In general terms, this paradigm of United States history assumes that the fundamental institutions of our society and government are different from those of every other nation in the world in at least small but identifiable ways. These institutions and their underlying value system have produced a nation that is not only destined to be an example to others but is expected by a majority of its citizens and countless others living abroad to be a world leader. This was not always the case. It took time for this nation’s institutions and citizens to mature through the processes of trial and error. However, it may be argued that for about a century, the United States government has shouldered well its domestic and international responsibilities in spite of expected missteps.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know what the vast majority of the world’s citizens does not namely, that God has declared the land of America to be a promised land, and He expects that those who live here will serve Him. If they do not, in due time their offenses will be the cause of their destruction. As for the United States specifically, we know that our Constitution was written under circumstances determined by God. “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:80; see also verses 76 to 80).

It is not my purpose here to become embroiled in a contest of philosophies or opinions. However, it does seem apparent to me that more and more forces are at work without and within this nation seeking to challenge its unique role in the modern world and to cause both its leaders and its citizens to question ever more critically the propriety of continuing on our historic course. For me, our challengers fall into at least two major categories. First, there are those who sincerely desire to rid our societies both domestic and international of notions or philosophies they deem to be inherently divisive. Notions such as “political correctness” and “I’m okay, your okay” are general approaches whereby many of this group attempt to accomplished their desired ends. The other major group of challengers appears to have less than honorable ends in mind as they seek to dissuade policy makers and their supporters from continuing on a course whereby the United States plays a leadership role.

For those of us who have an understanding of God’s assumptions pertaining to America, both of these groups are problematic. Whether the rejection of American Exceptionalism is rooted in ignorance or in evil intent, the results may eventually be the same. When a people rejects God’s ways long enough, their lives are made more difficult through external means. An example of this concerns the inhabitants of Western Missouri in the 1830s who rejected the coming of the Latter-day Saints to that area. The Lord said, “I, the Lord, am angry with the wicked; I am holding my Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth. I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man;” (D&C 63:32-33).

Given God’s expectations for both His Kingdom as well as the United States in America, the inherent responsibilities for those of us who are citizens of both would seemingly deny us the right to believe we are no more enlightened than those who have not been so blessed. By what right do we seek to opt out of setting an overt example to others of God’s children of those values, behaviors, and truths that are most consistent with gospel goals? In other words, by what right do we seek to hide our light under a bushel?

In addition to our regular study of the Book of Mormon and latter-day published revelations, a thoughtful reading of our history for the past century should serve as a timely reaffirmation of our various opportunities, blessings, and commitments relative to this subject. In these last days, maintaining clarity of purpose and direction will become more and more difficult as the noise with which we are bombarded becomes more intense and its effects more confusing.