Judge for Yourself

I want you, for the sake of my argument, to accept that there is a true church. If there is, and I give my word that there is, then I propose that Satan would strongly oppose that one true church. I think that any Christian would accept that statement. Now I am going to make a jump that most Christians will not accept.

That true church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the LDS Church or the Mormon Church. I have learned for myself that it is true. Not from physical proof, but from spiritual confirmation have I gained this knowledge. God will let every one that asks know for themselves if this church is true. He gave a promise through a prophet named Moroni in the last few pages of the Book of Mormon that says this:

   "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

  And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

  And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."  (Moroni 10:3-5)

Another prophet, Nephi, said this about the Book of Mormon:

 "“And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye, “for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things.”" (2 Nephi 33;11)

A Well Worded President

I know that George W. Bush was not a perfect president. I know that even the Republicans largely didn't approve of him. And I also know that I do not know everything about politics, but I do know some things. I know that the President of our country should be a good man. President Bush was a good man. I firmly believe that he loved this great Nation. He was a religious man, and a moral man, and I really believe that he is a good man.
One thing that I find to be less important than the qualification of being a good man (or woman) is the qualification of being a good speaker. It is interesting to me that President Bush was noted for his problems with public speaking, and that President Obama is noted for his charisma.. He was a decent, but not a great, speaker. Did this make him a bad president, or a bad diplomat, or a bad person? No, of course not. Certainly being a good speaker is not a bad thing. President Kennedy was a great speaker. His speeches helped to inspire Americans, and other citizens of this world. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill's speeches during World War II were powerful in keeping up the moral and the spirit of the Allies as we fought the terrible war against the Axis Powers. President Bush did deliver powerful speeches, but his numerous malapropisms and other things stopped him from being a great speaker.
There is a phrase that I think all will be familiar with. Actions speak louder than words. What has President Bush done for this nation? Many will say, nothing good. Did he make mistakes? I have already admitted this. Many mistakes? Perhaps. He did protect our nation for the past 8 years. Because of his actions, we did not have another September 11th. Because he took action, we were protected. And because of the thousands of brave men and women who stepped forward to protect our nation, we are still free, and we are still safe. He was the President during some very hard times in our nation's history, and I believe that he did a good job as our President. His actions, more than his words, inspired me. When he stood at Ground Zero after September 11th and spoke to our nation, through a megaphone that was then transmitted to news stations and to our homes, I was inspired. I thought to myself, "that is a good man."
What has President Obama done for our nation? I watched a great news program today on FoxNews. Sean Hannity titled his show tonight "Waste 101," and listed 101 ridiculous examples of government waste that have come about because of the Stimulus and Omnibus bills that President Obama has passed. I HIGHLY recommend watching it. It was terrifying. But I cannot say that waste is something unique to this President's term in office. Sadly, it is something that has been growing and growing since this country began. I also do not blame this recession on President Obama. But I do blame the very poor decisions that he has made since he was sworn in as the President of these United States. He is very literally marching us towards socialism. I hope that now, FINALLY, Americans are beginning to see past his smooth talking ways, and to realize that charisma and a knack for public speaking are not the top qualifications for a President. I think that FINALLY actions are speaking louder than words. I hope so. And this isn't a contest so much between President Bush and President Obama. And it isn't so much a contest between Republicans and Democrats. It has boiled down, really, to a game of survival now. And I thought that our government would be on our team. But they do not seem to be. Not when they are spending hundreds of billons of dollars and enslaving us, and our children, and our grandchildren with debt and taxes. We do not need millions of dollars for new bridges and roads, or for the study of honeybees or blackbirds right now. We need to be frugal. What would a person do if they were hitting rough economic times? Spend more money? NO! They would be frugal. That is what we need to do.
This has been a long blog with a lot of blabbing. What am I trying to say? I am trying to say that our government is not at all what it should be. I think that any of our Founding Fathers, placed in the present day, would not believe for a minute that they were in the United States of America. What happened to the Constitution? What happened to limited government? What happened to capitalism and the free market, systems that have made our nation successful since its creation? And most importantly, what happend to a belief in God? Many are rediscovering that belief now, but it is unfortunately because they are finding that they have nowhere else to turn, and not because they have been following and trusting in Him all along. Something needs to be done, and it starts with us as individuals. The corruption, and the greed, and the immorality and wickedness, is killing us as a nation. If we do the things that God has commanded us to do, and promised to bless us for doing, we will be blessed. And if we demand the type of government that our Founding Fathers intended, we will be in a much better state than we are now in.

I made this my rule.

I would like to share a quote that has probably impacted me more than any quote that I have read thus far in my life. It is by Joseph Smith, the first prophet of God in this dispensation. He said this:

“As my life consisted of activity and unyielding exertions, I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.”

“The object with me is to obey and teach others to obey God in just what He tells us to do. It mattereth not whether the principle is popular or unpopular, I will always maintain a true principle, even if I stand alone in it.”

I have taken this as my rule as well. When the Lord commands, do it. I cannot say that what God wants me to do does not fit in to my schedule, or that I do not have time for what He thinks that I should do. God is omniscient and omnipotent. He never desires to hurt me, but only to help me. I must trust in Him. I do. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.