The Path Toward Destruction

Being an American requires considerably more than a piece of paper saying you were born here; it means you understand and accept the responsibilities placed upon you and the moral obligation to maintain your liberties.  To know where you’re going you have to know where you came from.

Zig Ziglar used to tell a story about his brother, a brother who’d been struggling to be successful.  His brother said, “This year’s going to be the best year ever”, where upon Zig asked him, “So how much did you do last year?”  There was a long silence before his brother stuttered out, “…well, I’m going to have the best year ever”, without as much enthusiasm; he didn’t actually know how well he’d done the year before.

Zig suggested his brother keep a record of all he did, write down everything; how many people he talked to, how many liked his presentation, how many purchased, how many came back again; in other words, keep good records so you’ll know what you’ve done in order to improve.

The same holds true for being an American; except the records on our history have been kept already; where we came from, what we believed in back in the beginning, why we chose to separate, how our founding documents were formed and placed into action, defending our nation and everything up until yesterday’s headlines are all written down.  It’s our responsibility to learn why being an American is important; our core values and why they are not up for compromise.

Part of our history isn’t taught, at least not in our public schools as it’s tied so closely to our religious beliefs.  That wall called separation of church and state, a deception intended to bring down a righteous nation, permits only the teaching of dates and names while leaving out the core beliefs of those involved because those core beliefs involve a solemn dedication to our Savior, Jesus Christ’s teachings.  

At one time a goodly portion of our populous considered our nation as having been founded on Christian principles.  If you happen to fall toward the secular side then substitute man’s ability to discern good from evil and disregard how such discernment is a gift from a loving Heavenly Father unto all His children.

There are many who believe our founding documents were divinely inspired, that our Creator sought to have his children live in a country prepared for them wherein they might enjoy their individual agency to the fullest extent, that ability to choose for themselves which was not available under any other government.  The agency of man which has been fought for all the way back to the War in Heaven and which is under continual attack from those who follow the Great Deceiver, even Satan himself.

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“The adversary,” said Brigham Young, “presents his principles and arguments in the most approved style, and in the most winning tone, attended with the most graceful attitudes; and he is very careful to ingratiate himself into the favour of the powerful and influential of mankind, uniting himself with popular parties, floating into offices of trust and emolument by pandering to popular feeling, though it should seriously wrong and oppress the innocent. Such characters put on the manners of an angel, appearing as nigh like angels of light as they possibly can, to deceive the innocent and the unwary. The good which they do, they do it to bring to pass an evil purpose upon the good and honest followers of Jesus Christ.” (JD 11, 238-239.)  Ezra Taft Benson in his talk, Be Not Deceived.  

Deceptions only work if we permit ourselves to be led down the garden path with our eyes and hearts closed to righteousness…and yet, so many are easily deceived through their desire to cruise through mortality in the lap of luxury, never having to face the struggles which will improve their metal and refine them.

Take for example recent attempts to marginalize the 2^nd Amendment, an individual’s God given right to own and bear arms in defense of property and/or life from anyone who would place that property and/or life in jeopardy, to include his/her own government.

Senator Feinstein recently submitted a bill that would seriously limit the ability of individuals to own and purchase certain types of weapons which have arbitrarily been designated “assault weapons”.  The claim, which is without merit, is that by limiting the ability to own and purchase dangerous looking weapons, those which look similar to weapons used by the military and yet do not function in the same manner, that such a mandate would lead to the safety and well being of our nation. (a well known talk show host would at this time blurt out, “Barbara Streisand!”; perhaps the initials BS are involved)

If you looked for a definitive answer to, “What is an Assault Weapon”, it might take quite some time to find one; you see, the term is made up in order to facilitate political agendas.  Quoting from that article:

“As flawed as the AWB definition of assault weapons may be, the wording has found its way into many state codes, including that of Connecticut, site of the December Newtown school shootings. “The AR-15 that [shooter] Adam Lanza used was a legal weapon under Connecticut law,” wrote Sweeney.” 

(It should be noted with great interest, reports Lanza used an AR-15 were incorrect.  The left leaning new media, either by neglect or willful intent reported this as if it were true except that Lanza didn’t use an AR-15 as reported; he used a variety of pistols to murder his victims.)

Using this tragedy to advance their agenda, to remove firearms from the average citizen, politicians on the left immediately called for a ban on anything “scary looking” that could be called an Assault Weapon or Semi-Automatic. 

“Put simply, we cannot allow the rights of a few to override the safety of all. That is not the America that our founding fathers envisioned. And that is not the America I want my children and grandchildren to live in.”  Dianne Feinstein, Congressional Record for 1/24/2013 page S291. 

On face value it appears Senator Feinstein is concerned for the children; again, Barbara Streisand!  She is correct to some extent; this is not the America that our founding fathers envisioned.  Our founding fathers built in provisions to protect the agency of man, the ability to choose how to defend their property and/or lives and took great effort in limiting the government from infringing on that God given right.  Our founders saw the day when corrupt individuals would assume powerful positions in government and attempt to usurp powers reserved for individuals; the term is tyranny.

In an article published January 27, 2013 on the Fox News website, President Obama expressed his displeasure with those who refuse to violate the intent and purpose of the 2^nd Amendment by not going along with his draconian attempts to curtail an individual’s ability to purchase and own certain types of personal weaponry. 

“The president said he has a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that date back for generations.”  

Well isn’t that special, the president would have us believe the 2^nd Amendment is all about sportsmen and hunting Bambi; what a Crock!  (pardon my reference to a rather crude and demeaning term involving excrement)

“The president argued  that “the more left-leaning media outlets recognize that compromise is not a dirty word” and that party leaders, including Senate Majority Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, are “willing to buck the more absolutist-wing elements in our party to try to get stuff done.”’

That about sums it up if you’re paying attention; those in favor of scrapping our constitutional republic in favor of a more Utopian totalitarian form of government are more than willing to toss out our God given rights and hand powers over to the government.  This is tyranny under the guise of protectionism; it’s all about saving the children. (Barbara Streisand in bold block letters)

Getting back to Ezra Taft Benson’s talk, Be Not Deceived; he quoted yet another leader in the Church, Elder Marion G. Romney (hummmm…take a guess…), “. . . Free agency is the principle against which Satan waged his war in heaven. It is still the front on which he makes his most furious, devious, and persistent attacks. That this would be the case was foreshadowed by the Lord. . . .”

Free agency must be of great importance to mankind; why else has it been at the forefront of our conflicts throughout history?

‘“You see, at the time he was cast out of heaven, his objective was (and still is) to deceive and to blind men and to lead them captive at his will.’ This he effectively does to as many as will not hearken unto the voice of God. His main attack is still on free agency. When he can get men to yield their agency, he has them well on the way to captivity.”

Obama has already expressed a desire to “get around” Congress, a Congress that’s too slow to get behind his transformation of America via the use of Executive Orders.  Isn’t that the same as saying he has no desire to follow his oath of office, to support the constitution, the divinely inspired form of government which We The People have as our protection against corruption at the highest levels?  

Those we call progressives or the liberal left, which would include most Democrats and quite a few Republicans, have thrown in with the Great Deceiver to eliminate one of our most sacred gifts from on high, our free agency.  They do this a little here, a little there so as not to alarm us to the point of action.  Their strategy has worked very well and continues to erode our liberties.  We are being led down the garden path, all in the name of our safety and security, toward the destruction of a nation founded with God’s own blessing.  

This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.

Pure Dumb Luck

Harry Potter fans will remember a line from the Sorcerer’s Stone when boys brought down an Ogre in the rest room.  They were awarded five points each, “for sheer dumb luck”, whereas they might just have easily been killed.

Yesterday I ran into a job in which I was awarded my five points for “pure dumb luck”.

I was to go across town and make keys for a 2008 Dodge Ram truck and program the keys.  There had been no mention the door lock had been attacked by a screwdriver or that it was impossible for a key to enter the driver side door lock.  Dodge, like so many other manufacturers, has seen fit to limit exterior door locks as a cost cutting measure so if the driver’s door lock is damaged you’re options are limited to how to make an ignition key.

After studying the damage I decided to remove what was left of the weather guard to see how much deeper the damage went.  That took almost no time and, before doing anything else, sprayed the lock with a good lubricant.  I grabbed a key from the discard box to check the lock to make sure the wafers moved up and down, “So far so good”; isn’t that what the secretary on the 30^th floor heard from the man as he sailed past her window on his way toward the sidewalk below?

Not only did the key enter smoothly, the lock seemed to give a little to each side as if it wanted to turn.  Without forcing it; but guessing it had been quite some time since the lock had been used, I applied a little extra pressure and the lock actually operated as if it had the proper key. 

Having seen this before I figured the tumblers had all been crushed from the screwdriver attack and anything would turn the lock; but the lock turned more easily each successive time and the key didn’t seem to be bound up. 

I wondered…could it be?

I put the key into the ignition, an ignition switch that had not been damaged; it turned effortlessly.  Pure dumb luck; I’d picked up a key from the discard box which had the exact combination.  This would be a good time to purchase a Lottery ticket.

Attacks on 2nd Amendment - Cause for Concern?

Some folks sit back and analyze information that comes in from a variety of media to include the internet and wonder at the end of the day, is there cause for concern?  If taken to extremes some might be called alarmists; but even so, is there cause for concern?  Today I’ve been wondering about attacks on the 2^nd Amendment.

Obama stood in front of America today demanding an end to the means of violence, an end to military assault weapons and large capacity magazines as the solution.  This is the same Obama who refuses to explain Fast & Furious, a means of equipping Mexican drug lords with these very same military style weapons. (Can you say Hypocrisy?)   

“To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act,” Obama said, speaking at a White House ceremony with school children and their parents. “And Congress must act soon.”

As a historical note, there’s been a continuous push to remove individual God given rights to own and bear arms throughout the world.  Hitler pushed the same tune not too many years ago; surrounded by little children to add to the knee jerk reaction.  Hopefully there are enough reasoned minds who will make the connection.

There are factions among us who will stop at nothing to take away our 2^nd Amendment rights and our sovereignty as a nation by turning over governance to the United Nations.

Back in September of 1961 the U.S. State Department came up with publication #7277, under the title, Freedom From War, subtitled, The United States Program for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World.  In essence it proclaims how the United States has established a working plan to eventually disarm every individual in order to be in compliance with the United Nations plan to have a perfect Utopian World Order in which everyone is perfectly safe because the only folks who will have weapons will be United Nations Peace Keeping Forces.  (I can hear Church Lady from Saturday Night Live, “Well isn’t that special”)

“This can only be achieved through the progressive strengthening of international institutions under the United Nations and by creating a United Nations Peace Force to enforce the peace as the disarmament process proceeds.”

Hillary Clinton was sent to the United Nations by Obama to act on our behalf at the U.N. Arms TradeTreaty, to let the world know that America had changed its path and wanted to be part of the disarmament process, that Obama would sign off on such a treaty.  The agenda of the left has always included the destruction of our 2^nd Amendment because as long as we remain sufficiently armed our government must treat us with respect.

The right to own and bear arms was never intended to keep sportsman happy as so many would have us believe.  The 2^nd Amendment was very specific; it makes clear that individuals need to have sufficient force to keep government in check. That would mean having weapons equal to those used by those who would oppress them.  The idea of removing military style weapons from our citizenry isn’t some magnificent gesture to “save the children”; not by any stretch of the imagination, it’s intended to minimize the individual’s ability to defend against tyranny. 

Those “old white guys”, our Founding Fathers, were wise men of character with our best interests at the top of their writings.  They wrote down for all mankind the most concise framework for government which would accommodate a righteous people.  There’s nothing wrong with the plan they came up with; those in power now would rather not be confined by our Constitutional process.  Think about this as you wonder, is there cause for concern?

This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.

A Day of Fasting

The first Sunday of the month is set aside as a Fast for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; at least that’s the plan.  It’s called Fast Sunday; imagine that.  I always wondered why they called it that.  Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way; but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Fasting means different things to different folks.  For instance some fast to loose weight; depriving themselves of certain forms of nourishment in order to achieve a more perfect physical body while others associate fasting with an opportunity to become more spiritually in tune.  When linking Fasting with Church the latter is desired.

I remember sitting on the back row at church many years ago on a Fast Sunday and recognizing my back was trying to go out.  Fortunately I kept a prescription handy for sudden attacks and sent my daughter out to retrieve the magic little pills; the little pills that are supposed to be taken with food.

About fifteen minutes later my head was “buzzin”; that’s how you can tell you’re from Texas.   If you were from California or maybe New York it would have been “looped”, “stoned”, “wasted” or something else; you get the idea. 

I tried to explain the effect to my wife and a peculiar observation came to me.  Each time I spoke it was as if there’d been someone behind me who’d spoken and I was doing a lip sink; most disconcerting to say the least.  I kept looking behind me to see who it was; did I mention my head was “buzzin”?  Lucy wasn’t impressed.

I made it through the day and vowed not to ingest powerful narcotics on an empty stomach.  Lucy drove us home from church.

That brings us to the present, this being the first Sunday of the month; it’s also Fast Sunday. 

Our meeting hours change at the first of the year from starting at 2:30pm to much earlier, 8:30am.  We share our building with several Wards and to keep everyone on their toes we swap meeting times each year; next year we’ll begin at 10:30am and so on. 

My health took a hit this past week and I’ve been on pain medication nearly around the clock.  I’d have to skip Fasting this time and enjoy spiritual experiences shared by others as they stood at the pulpit to bear their testimonies.

I should also explain that testimonies are supposed to be short expressions which validate the truthfulness of the Gospel, that Jesus is the Christ or similar concise articulations of a personal nature. 

That said, often times folks stand at the podium and talk on and on about vacations that made them happy or other events unrelated to sharing a testimony.  Sometimes it gets awkward as folks in the congregation start looking down at their shoes wondering, “How much longer can this person talk?”, only to find they can talk on and on; seemingly forever.  By the time we’ve had the book of Isaiah explained as it pertains to semi-automatic assault weapons; well, so much for the Spirit being present…

I’d intended to bear my testimony this morning, an expression of gratitude for all the many blessings the Lord has presented me, something along the lines King Benjamin shared.  

“I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

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.”  Mosiah 2:20-21

During the night hours the pain medicine played tricks with my mind; here’s a glimpse into what went on in the shadows.

Upon reaching the pulpit I began singing an old Mac Davis tune, Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble; not making this up, that’s what happened in my dream.  I even had the congregation join in as if we were doing a concert version. 

Lucy’s wasn’t impressed.  Make a note; quit listening to the classic Country radio station while taking pain medication.  We stayed home from church this morning to recuperate. 

This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.