Heal the Family, Heal the Nation

Our Nation is broken, falling apart, crumbling.  Our government is corrupting into a monstrous mess of unprincipled and dishonest actions and choices.  The morality of our society is declining rapidly, with such intensity that almost all of the modesty, propriety and decorum which defines a civil and refined society, are being dashed to pieces by that which is vulgar, base, and carnal.  We face all around us a Nation full of broken individuals; we see hurt, sorrow, heartache, loneliness; we see individuals with wounds gaping so deep and so severe that despair becomes all-encompassing with no hope of curing or healing these terrible wounds.  Why?  Why is there so much pain and suffering?  Why is our moral compass completely falling apart?  What is it that we are missing?

Family.  The Family is being destroyed.  Our Nation has sunk into a popular culture¹ which is destroying the very foundation upon which a free and productive society is built² .  How can “we the People”3 stand strong and firm upon a foundation that is crumbling to dust and being swept from underneath our feet?  The Family is the most basic, fundamental unit of society.4  It is the unit which all other units in society are built upon.  Pope John Paul II said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.”  A strong and healthy family unit is the best place for individuals to find true joy; it creates the best environment to teach and to learn, to love and be loved.  The Ideal family unit – a man and a woman committed to each other through marriage and to their children through sacrifice – sacrificing to stay together, sacrificing to bring children into their family and sacrificing to rear and nurture those children5. This unit produces well-rounded, morally strong, principled people and contributing members of society.  The success of other organizations in society – such as businesses, schools, communities, local and federal governments – are all dependent upon such people who have been raised in a family that taught them to be honest and hard-working, to love and serve neighbors, to be fiscally responsible and to obey the laws of the land6.  Of course, this is best accomplished in an ideal family, but it is completely understood that, “disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.”7 

            

However, instead of our Nation being strong, because its foundation of families is firm and fortified, our great Nation has been severely weakened by a Popular Culture of ever-shifting morals and values;8 a Culture that has forsaken the Almighty God; a Culture that focuses primarily on selfish individualism;9  a Culture that is destroying families.  We see evidences of the trail of slime and filth that follows wherever this Popular Culture of our day leads.  The most blatant example is in the messages of the media as we see seductive, saucy, socially-aggressive women10 slink across the TV and movie screens and even popular magazines11 in attempts to convey the message that looks are everything, that “it's my body, I can do what I want,” that marriage is inconvenient, and children are obstacles and stumbling blocks in the way of self-glamorizing fulfillment.

            

These Popular messages are aimed most powerfully at young women12, because young women are the future mothers and wives, the critical keystone for creating successful families, the future bearers and nurturers of life and family.  This Anti-family Culture submerses us in messages of selfish individualism13, calling good evil and evil good.14  Instead of being viewed as the Noble calling that it is, this popular culture deems Motherhood to be burdensome, tiring, dirty and essentially a bad decision that should be shunned.  While on the other hand, the vulgar and murderous act of abortion is esteemed to be liberating and good, even an essential that should be embraced.  Pope John Paul II also said, “The first and most fundamental of all human rights is the right to life, and when this right is denied, all other rights are threatened....A society will be judged upon the basis of how it treats its weakest members; and among the most vulnerable are surely [those] unborn.”  This selfishness that is so celebrated in our popular culture is not only killing our unborn children but killing the very sanctity and sacredness of life in our great Nation.  It is creating a generation of women, future mothers, who are being deceived into selfishly sacrificing their unborn-children on the Alter of Vanity, to the Idol of Superficial Materialism. 

             

I would submit to you that the power and influence that this popular Anti-Children15, Anti-Family Culture has over our society and Nation is incurring the indignation and wrath of God16, and that the further disintegration of the family will undoubtedly bring upon our Nation great calamities17 from the Sword of Justice18 that is swinging over the head and body of our Nation.

            

Throughout all the History of the world, there has never been a greater need to heal and protect this divine institution of the Family than there is now.   Our Nation is calling and pleading for a generation of healers to rebuild, to defend against the destroying messages of the Popular Culture, to protect at all costs this sacred Family unit.   Great is the task, and great is the call, but I believe that even greater is the generation that will rise to the occasion and accept the call to duty that beckons so earnestly to be honored by a faithful generation.  The family is the most basic, fundamental unit of society, and we need a valiant generation of virtuous young women and young men who know19, and who are committed to living their divine roles of Motherhood and Fatherhood, of Husband and Wife, lawfully wedded, willing to welcome and nurture children in their homes20.  Our Nation is calling for a generation of warriors who know21 and understand the sanctity of life22, and who will step up to the front of the battle lines with that understanding, and engage in the persuasion of defending the unborn and their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness23.  A generation of young women properly prepared in the art of motherhood to teach, to heal and to defend families from the influences of the distorting and destructive messages of sleazy popular culture; and a generation of young men valiantly armed to provide for and protect families against any plague24, any weapon, and any culture that could cause harm to vulnerable families. 

            

Our Broken Nation has sounded its call.  Who will answer?  Will you?  When we Heal Families, we will truly Heal our Nation.

---

1. See M. Russel Ballard, “Women of Righteousness,” Ensign, April 2002, 66-73.

2. See Julie B. Beck, “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family,” Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Satellite Broadcast, Aug. 4, 2009, page 5.

3. The Constitution, preamble.

4. See, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102.

5. See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

6. See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

7. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

8. See Gordon B. Hinckley, “Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World,” Nov. 1995 Ensign.

9. See Spencer W. Kimball, "Families Can Be Eternal", Ensign, Nov. 1980, 4.

10. See Ballard, “Women of Righteousness.”

11. See M. Russel Ballard, “Mothers and Daughters,” Ensign, May 2010, 18-21

12. See Beck, “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family,” page 5-6.

13. See Dallin H. Oaks, “Unselfish Service,” Ensign, May 2009.

14. See 2 Nephi 15:20.

15. See Beck, “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family,” page 6.

16. See D&C 101:10-11; section 29, especially verse 17; section 43, especially verse 26

17. See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

18. See Alma 60:29; Helaman 13:5-6

19. Julie B. Beck, “Mothers Who Know,” Ensign, Nov. 2007, 76-78

20. See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

21. See Beck, “Mothers Who Know.”

22. See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

23. See The Declaration of independence.

24. See Jeffry R. Holland, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Ensign, May 2010, 44-46.

Struggle for Freedom - The Federalist Papers

Mankind has always sought for freedom.  It has done so since the beginning of recorded history.  We read countless examples in history books of men and women across the world who have consistently sought to throw off the chains that hold them in bondage.  They do this because they want greater freedom: the freedom to rule themselves, to do what they want, and to be who they want to be.  It is an ongoing struggle that has not ceased, and probably never will.  Simply put, all of mankind wants to enjoy freedom.  For us living here in the United States of America, the Constitution guarantees more freedom than any other document in the history of the world has been able to do.  That’s why it was so critical for the Constitution to be ratified.  The Federalist Papers played a key role in persuading people to believe in the Constitution.
 

The Federalist Papers are a series of eighty-five articles written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.  Seventy-seven of these were published in the New York newspapers The Independent Journal and The New York Packet.  These articles, as well as eight others, were published in 1788 under the name The Federalist.  Alexander Hamilton, who was well known for his support of a strong central government, wrote most of these essays.  All of them were signed as Publius.

 

Hamilton realized that these essays were needed because, according to W. Cleon Skousen, it became apparent “. . . that the state of New York was probably going to reject the Constitution” (226).  The founders had worked tirelessly in drafting the new Constitution and to have a state reject it would have proven detrimental.  It was essential that every state be united in accepting the Constitution.

 

The Constitution changed the country in many ways.  Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was much too weak. Congress didn’t have the power to tax, regulate trade, or force states to fulfill their obligations (Rakove 1:759). Congress had the power to declare war, but its control over the military was very weak.  It could not force any state to supply troops or funding for the war.

 

Historian Bruce Chadwick wrote, “The delegates could not draft soldiers and had to send requests for regular troops and militia to the states. Congress had the right to order the production and purchase of provisions for the soldiers, but could not force anyone to supply them, and the army nearly starved in several winters of war” (Wikipedia).

 

In the Federalist Papers, numbers 15-22, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison specify why the Articles of Confederation were insufficient.  Hamilton writes in Federalist No. 21: 

The next most palpable defect of the subsisting Confederation is the total want of a SANCTION to its laws.  The United States, as now composed, have no powers to exact obedience, or punish disobedience to their resolutions. . . . There is no express delegation of authority to them to sue force against delinquent members; . . . we shall be obliged to conclude, that the United States afford the extraordinary spectacle of a government, destitute even of the shadow of constitutional power to enforce the execution of its own laws.  (117-18)

General Henry Knox, the country’s first Secretary of War, criticized the Articles of Confederation.  He said, “As the present Constitution is so defective, why do not you great men call the people together and tell them so; that is, to have a convention of the States to form a better Constitution” (Wikipedia).

 

The great men of the period did just that.  They met together and carefully crafted a political document that created a government strong enough to be successful, but still guaranteed the rights of all men.  They created a government that secures the blessing of liberty to all who live within its boundaries, while still giving government the proper power it needs to enforce justice.  It’s a fine line and our founders knew that.  They knew that the government must answer to the people, not the other way around.
 

Federalist No. 51, one of the most famous and often quoted of all the Papers, says the following: 

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.  If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controuls on government would be necessary.  In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to controul the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to controul itself.  A dependence on the people is no doubt the primary controul on the government. . . . (316)

This principle – that the people are the supreme authority – is what makes the Constitution unique.  The Federalist Papers are significant because they form the pillars that support the Constitution.  They were needed to persuade the people to ratify the Constitution.

 

This is not the only reason why they are significant, however.  They provide us with great insight as to the meaning and intent of the founders.  Thomas Jefferson called the Federalist Papers the “best commentary on the principles of government which ever was written.”  Additionally, the French political commentator Alexis de Tocqueville referred to it as “an excellent book, which ought to be familiar to the statesmen of all countries” (America.gov).  Through the Federalist Papers, we are able to glance into the minds of the founding fathers and see why they did the things they did.  We can see what arguments were put forth in favor of, not only the Constitution, but the freedom of all people.
 

As we go throughout our individual lives, we need to be sure that we are maintaining the rights we have been guaranteed.  We need to be informed of what is going on in our country and use our knowledge to elect responsible congressmen.  We need to make sure that those who represent us are voting on the laws we truly believe in, and fighting against the laws we don’t think are right.

 

The Federalist Papers are just as important to us today as they were for the people in whose time they were written.  Because the authors “. . . analyzed almost every phrase of the Constitution” (Skousen 226-227), we can see and understand why the Constitution is both relevant and important to us.

 

We owe much to these three men, as well as to all the founders, who dedicated their very lives to perpetuating the freedom of each individual. They didn’t have to do this.  They could have only given it a partial effort.  Or worse, they could have forged a government in which the average citizen was denied most of his rights.  They could have created a government in which the relatively few ‘elite’ rule the many, but they didn’t.  Instead, they created a nation where all people are equal.  They created a nation where people have the freedom to try, the freedom to succeed, and the freedom to sometimes fail. They were able to successfully craft and ratify a document that is strong enough to control the citizens of this country, while still protecting their God-given rights.  They made it so that the people are the ultimate authority, not the government.

 

America became, as Ronald Reagan called it, “...a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere” (SourceWatch). We are a great country and we have been so greatly blessed.  We enjoy freedoms here that so many people across the world only dream of having.  We live in a land where - among other things - we are free to say and think what we want.  We are free to practice the religion that suits us.  We have great reason to be thankful.

 

However, along with that comes a great need to be vigilant.  The mantle that has been passed down to us is a great one.  We cannot allow ourselves to forget the sacrifices that our forefathers made in order to secure freedom for us.  We cannot take our freedoms for granted.  Doing so would lead to our eventual loss of freedom.  We must continually take the necessary steps to defend our freedom.  We cannot allow it to slip from our grasp.

 

The cause for which our Constitution was drafted - and the Federalist Papers written - is a great one.  The struggle for freedom is something that we cannot procrastinate.  Thomas Paine, in his momentous book Common Sense, wrote, “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.  ‘Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now.  Now is the seed-time of continental union, faith and honor” (137).

 

The Federalist Papers were part of the great step our founders took in securing liberty and justice for all.  They did their part to advance the cause that all people struggle for, and that is the struggle for freedom.  It is now our responsibility to do our part.  We must follow in their footsteps and do all that we can to preserve our great blessing of freedom.

  

Works Cited

“America is a Shining City Upon a Hill.”  SourceWatch. 25 June 2007. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=America_is_a_shining_city_upon_a_hill>

“Articles of Confederation.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 4 Mar. 2011.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_Confederation>

“Explaining the Constitution: the Federalist Papers.” America.gov. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, 29 May 2008. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. <http://www.america.gov/st/usg-english/2008/May/20080628181523eaifas4.714608e-02.html>

Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers. Bantam Classic ed. New York: Bantam Classics, 2003. Print.

Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997. Print.

Rakove, Jack N.  “Articles of Confederation.”  The World Book Encyclopedia.  1993 ed. Print.

Skousen, W. Cleon.  The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution.   3rd ed.  United States of America: National Center for Constitutional Studies, 1985.  Print.

In Defense of Freedom

We often hear people speak of freedom.  From our early childhoods, we have been taught that we live in a free country; we have the freedom of speech and are free to worship how we want.  

    

We should ask ourselves, “What exactly is freedom?”  Why do we value it so much?  The definition of freedom has meant different things to people in our history.  To the colonists living in early America during the eighteenth century, freedom was the right to live and worship the way they wanted without the British government telling them how to lead their lives.  To the slaves working in the south during the nineteenth century, freedom meant the emancipation of all those who were forced to live and die within the chains of bondage.   

    

What does freedom mean to us today?  Thankfully, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States grants many freedoms to us that are impossible in other nations.  We read that men “...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (US Declaration Ind.)  The Fourteenth Amendment also says that no State shall “...deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” (US Constitution Amendment XIV.) These freedoms have allowed our country to become one of the greatest nations on earth.  

    

Our founding fathers, who had recently fled from oppression, knew just how valuable freedom was to mankind.  They were willing to sacrifice all they had – indeed, they pledged “to each other [their] Lives, [their] Fortunes and [their] sacred Honor” – to defend freedom in their country, thereby setting a standard for all other nations to look up to. (US Declaration Ind.)

    

In American history, we have seen countless times when people were willing to lay down their lives so that they could achieve, or maintain, freedom and liberty.  Sacrificing everything that one has is a serious matter, and to pay such a price, one must be sure of what he is getting in return.  Would any man purposely give all that he has – even his life – in return for only a quick temporal gain?  Common sense tells us no.  Undoubtedly, he would make sure beforehand that what he was getting would be well worth the cost.  All the men who have fought and died for us, knew that freedom is not just a quick temporal gain.  It it something lasting and important to every generation.

    

Because of this great gift passed down to us, we enjoy the many blessings of freedom.  World War II veteran and hero, Bill Henderson, said it perfectly by saying, “We eat grapes from vineyards we did not plant, and I am enjoying a freedom that I did not earn, I owe it to past generations, all the way from Bunker Hill to Iwo Jima.  I owe it to those men for the freedoms that I now enjoy.”  

    

We should do all that we can to defend this legacy of freedom and pass it on to our children by teaching them what our forefathers have done and what our responsibilities are today.  Abraham Lincoln once said that the Declaration of Independence “[gave] liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time.”

    

Thomas Paine, who, starting in 1776, published sixteen inspiring pamphlets known as The American Crisis, wrote, “Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”  To be born into this country, and partake of its great freedoms, is a blessing that cannot be overestimated.

    

We must raise our voices in defense of freedom.  We have a duty to perform for our country.  Ever reaching toward us is the hand that would tear away our freedoms and destroy everything that makes this country great.  Today, we have many enemies within our borders, and even within our government, that seek to fundamentally change our nation.  They wish to turn us away from the freedoms set up by our founding fathers in an effort to gain more control over the citizens of the United States.  We must have vigilance, and stay alert.

    

Ezra Taft Benson, former Secretary of Agriculture, asked, “Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it?  Are we aware of its principles?  Are we abiding by these principles and teaching them to others?  Could we defend the Constitution?  Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound?”

    

Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was and never will be.”  

    

It is essential that the citizens of the United States are educated and informed of what is going on in the government.  They must be willing to stand up and do what is right.

    

A. Freeman, in a publication to the soldiers of the American army in 1775, wrote, “Never was a cause more important, or glorious, than that which you are engaged in.  Not only your wives, your children, and distant posterity, but humanity at large, the world of mankind, are interested in it; for if tyranny should prevail in this great Country, we may expect liberty will expire throughout the world... He that is a soldier, in defense of such a cause, needs no title.  His post is a post of honour... we have a glorious prospect before us, big with everything good and great.”

    

Not only are soldiers needed on the battlefield in foreign nations, but they are needed on the battlefield of ideas in our own nation.  We must have integrity, knowledge, and common sense in order for us to preserve this great heritage.  Let us raise our voices loud and clear, for all the world to hear.  We have a duty to perform, a legacy to pass on.  Let us protect and defend freedom, not only for ourselves, but for future generations.

Works Cited

 

“Ezra Taft Benson.” Latter-Day Conservative.com.  Internet:<http://www.latterdayconservative.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson> (February 27, 2010.)

    

“Jefferson, Education and the Franchise.” Early America.com. Internet:<http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/winter96/jefferson.html> (February 25, 2010.)

    

“League of Grateful Sons, The.” Doug Phillips. Dir. Vision Forum Ministries, 2005. DVD.

    

McCullough, David. 1776. New York City: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 2005.

    

Oates, Stephen B. With Malice Toward None. New York City: HarperCollins, Inc., 1977.

    

Paine, Thomas. The American Crisis; Number 1. 1776.

Video: How Much Do Americans Know (Part 1)

I conducted this video survey at a local university campus. The main purpose of this video was to show how much (or how little) the average college student or professor knew about the history of America and what's going on in the government today. The results, while somewhat humorous, are also quite shocking.

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