Pledging My Heart and My Hand Again

I learned this little song in Primary as a very young child. It is still a favorite. I am glad that I was privileged to learn about God and about His hand in giving us this great Country. I'm glad that my parents valued teaching me these things. They didn't set aside my learning until they thought I could understand everything or make decisions for myself. They didn't set aside my learning, giving me the “freedom” to choose to learn whatever I wanted to at some future date.

My parents are not natives to this Country, but they are Americans and United States citizens in every other way. They value the opportunities that this Country has given them in the way of religious freedom and individual enterprise. They are thankful for the privilege of rearing their family on the blessed soil granted by God to those who claimed the Lord as God. Their generation is indeed representative of the workers. And we are the beneficiaries of their work.

In third grade, I had a teacher named Miss Nakahara. She was of Japanese descent, and she was one of the most patriotic teachers I've ever met. We learned so many songs about our Country that year. Each day we would begin class with The Pledge of Allegiance and two or three patriotic songs. I learned to love this Country at church, in my home, and at school. And I learned to love God in those three places as well. I am thankful that my school teachers and Primary teachers were able to provide me moral direction.

I remember looking forward to 1976! It was a great big deal. We looked forward to that Bicentennial of The United States of America for many years. What a wonderful milestone for us to witness and to be a part of. I don't know of anyone who didn't love this great land. We rejoiced in it, in the history of it, and in those who safeguarded our freedoms.

I also remember looking forward to the Sesquicentennial of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wouldn't describe the feelings that I had for these two events as pride; at least, not in the way pride events are celebrated today. I had a sense of security in the history and celebrations of our Country and our Church. There was a sense of belonging and unity, despite diversity. I felt a quietness and a reverence, as well as a thrill and exuberance. I still feel those things when I think about God and country and what those two things mean to me.

Our lives experiences shape us to a great degree. We form a schemata, our personal knowledge storage bank. The things that we learn in our first few years of life can become important tools to us throughout life. The guidance that we receive from parents, leaders, mentors, and teachers can be an invaluable endowment in aiding our ability to form into healthy and happy human beings. Ultimately, it is our personal choices and desires to do well that can propel us forward in our path and progress. If we are taught to love both God and Country, if we are given healthy doses of scripture and history, will these things help mold us into better people, or will they serve to trap or indoctrinate us?

Were my rights infringed upon because I was taught to love God and Country? Absolutely not. Because I had the security of knowing God, of feeling His love for me, and because I had the assurance that this land was a blessed land with a moral destiny, I had the calmness and peace of knowing that I myself could succeed and be happy.

As a very young child, I'd place my hand on my heart and sing the words, “I pledge my heart;” then, I would draw my hand out away from me and sing, “I pledge my hand;” continuing on, “to God, and to my native land. To both of them, I will be true; for, that is what I ought to do.” I could feel the truth and power that these words invoked back then. I could feel the peace and security of making a covenant with God back then, a covenant concerning being faithful to Him and faithful to the cause of freedom that He ordained for me in this great land. I feel it still.

May we all bless the name of our God, and may God bless America.

What Do I Think of Today's Decision?

What do I think of today's decision?

I think that The Constitution is not failing us because it was poorly written; rather, it is being poorly interpreted and stretched beyond its frame.

Even so, life continues to be what we make it. We can use our agency to be angry or to continue in love. “Perfect love casteth out all fear.” If we continue to teach and uphold correct principles in our families, we as the little leaven will be blessed to raise the whole lump through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I think that we now have a state-imposed religion in our Country, by a government who claims that we should not mix church and state. Will there be implications following? Of course there will. I'm not a prophetess, so I will not say "Mark my word" or any such nonsense; but, I believe that all churches whose beliefs are founded in the moral tradition of marriage being between a man and a woman will be in jeopardy of losing their tax-exempt status if they do not bow to the demands of those who desire same-sex marriages in their congregations, as these people will appeal to the government in the name of equality. And I no longer trust our Republic to represent the virtuous principles on which this country was founded.

I don't fear losing tax-exempt status. I think that this can serve to make believers even stronger. Yet I do hope that our Country, which was founded upon the Judea-Christian Tradition by great men of faith, will not become a country that persecutes those who hold to that tradition and strip them, or anyone else, of their freedom of religion.

I think that we were all expecting the outcome of today's decision. It has been years in the making. I think that awareness of same-sex relationships has been good and bad, because we all need to learn to inhabit this earth as brothers and sisters; and, we all have our own challenges. But none of them are terribly unique. On the plus side, we have sought to engage in better conversation and become more understanding. On the minus side, there are those who will not measure anything by religious belief, because they have abandoned any beliefs that won't condone their or their friends' personal choices. To deny the right of religious freedom is one of the biggest evils ever perpetrated, and religion freedom is something that our Founding Fathers demanded for us as a people in The Bill of Rights.

I think that the rainbow itself is a token of the covenant God made with Noah to never again flood the entire earth. To flaunt that token in living the kind of life led by those who were destroyed in the flood shows open rebellion to God. He cannot continue to bless those who curse Him.

Before this earth life, we all lived with our Heavenly Father. There He presented His Plan for our progression, and He chose His Firstborn Son to be our Messiah. We accepted His Plan, we accepted Jesus as our Savior; and we were given the opportunity to come to earth, receive a body, and learn obedience. Why? So we can become like our Father.

Lucifer and one-third part of the host of heaven rebelled against God and His Anointed. They did not want to live by God's laws, and so they were kicked out of heaven.

Every human being who has lived on this earth, who is now here, and who will yet be born, accepted our Father's Plan for our Happiness and His Chosen Son. But if we turn from His laws, we cannot expect to receive heaven's blessings any more than the one-third who lost out for the same reason.

I think that those who are cheering today's decision will one day find themselves weeping. Then it won't be up to us to say, I told you so,” but to feel sorrow with them in their pain and loss and do the best we can to bring comfort and restoration.

It is interesting to me that people think that they can be moral without a moral code. Yes, time-tested marriage is based in the moral traditions of the people who lived according to their books of Holy Writ, no matter what religion they were.

It is also obvious to me that when people turn their backs on scriptures, history, and the Lord and His prophets, that they lose their moral compass; and, they don't even realize that they've lost it.  

The scriptures were so important to Lehi's family, that Nephi and his brothers were sent back to Jerusalem, at the peril of their lives, to get the plates. Why? Because without the scriptures, they would have dwindled in unbelief, as the Lamanites did, and perished.

Unfortunately, in today's world, people turn their back on God. They still think that they can be just as kind and loving. I, myself, am more capable of loving my neighbor when I put the commandments in the order the Lord gave them: First, to love the Lord God with everything that I have; and second to that, to love my neighbor as myself. I believe that those who put themselves and their neighbors first, before God, fall far short in finding the joy that they can in their own lives or in giving joy to others through their service. 

When we forget God, we become self-serving and lost.

With all that said, I did not feel any particular anger and concern in today's ruing. Why? Because we were expecting this. And God is at the helm. If we continue to teach and live the gospel, we can become the leavening agent that will invite and draw others to Christ as we prepare for His return.

Every single one of us accepted God's Plan of Happiness in our pre-mortal realm. Agency was a gift in the plan, and so was the Atonement. I hope that we will all use our gifts to accept God's grace.

I think that because human emotions are involved by those who support traditional marriage and by those who are in favor of the legalization of same-sex marriage, we need to make sure that we respect human dignity. I think that we need to remember that God made us all just a little lower than the angels. When some take God out of the equation, they are denying our roots and that we have a Father who is Diety; in so doing, they also are denying the deity within themselves and within others. We cannot afford to do that. We need to respect each other as children of God even when we do not agree.

The Lord allows for agency in this life, where men are allowed moral interpretation. Sometimes our governments legalize those things which are not lawful. But God's laws remain constant, and I am happy that the Church reflects that.

It's nice to have the surety of God's love and His Plan for our Happiness. This we need to teach; this we need to live; this we need to pass on to the next generation, and the next.

I think that it is still important to stand up for family values, for traditional marriage, for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for religious freedom in general. Why? Because these things are still important to us, and their value will not change because of temporal legislation. Remaining faithful means something to me, and it means something to God. If we can hold on faithful to Him and to His laws, I believe that one day even those who are fighting against us will actually thank us. We can never serve our fellowmen properly by abandoning God. And we can best love our neighbors when we remember to put the first commandment first.

I choose to be positive, and I seek to do as the Spirit guides. But I do think that today's ruling will have a profound effect in damaging society further and in lessening the credibility and security of us all. Soon, the only safety to be found will be in the Stakes of Zion and in the walls of the homes of the righteous, be they of whatever religious persuasion they may.

I also firmly believe that now is the time for us to bear strong and positive testimony of the things which we believe and most assuredly know to be true, rather than engaging in petty arguments that testify of defeat; for, we are not defeated. God is at the helm. 

Gathering Israel

I enjoy being a ward missionary. With that call, I have the opportunity to teach Gospel Principles every other Sunday. Last Sunday, Sister Fisher taught about the Gathering of Israel. It is clear that there are both a physical gathering (Judah to homeland, Joseph to the Americas, and the 10 tribes eventually to be gathered in more fully as well); and a spiritual gathering (which happens when we make our baptismal covenants and enter the waters of Judah, and become part of covenant Israel). And the Church today asks that as we are gathered, we remain in the countries we reside in, and build up Zion there.

As Saints gathered in these last days, we have the opportunity to unite in worship and instruction twice a year at conference time. I am so grateful for that. Under the leadership of a prophet of God, we will receive our marching orders for the next six months. That's a beautiful blessing. We can trust those things that are taught to us as if spoken directly from God's own mouth.

I am also grateful for the privilege of belonging to the Relief Society. Here we should be learning to be one in heart. We are all at different ages and different stages, but like we heard in our Women's Meeting last week, we all matter, and we are all needed.

So under Jesus's constant call, we hear again the words, "Come, Unto Me," and "Come, and See." His words are words of the gathering. His words are not ones of turning us away or saying that some are more important than others. I will look to the Shepherd as the True Gatherer of Israel, and under His direction I will seek to be united with my brothers and sisters; because, it is He who said, "If ye are not one, ye are not mine."

With that, I hope that we are all wary of unauthorized invitations to unite or to gather under any other Head than Christ's. No person or persons have the authority to ask us to gather in a Facebook setting whether or not they purport to believe as we believe or think ask we think. We are already gathered in our Church membership.

Jesus asked us to let the wheat and the tares grow together, because if we think we are "gathering" wheat, we might actually be disturbing the growth of wheat that we have mistaken for tares. I for one would not want to be responsible for that. We need not take on being a catalyst for the latter-day sifting process. Our goal should be to invite all to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him, because this is the mission of His Church.

Have a happy conference weekend.

Reclaiming the Rainbow

Reclaiming the Rainbow

                                                             (Original Web Photo)

The rainbow has been a
token of the covenant
which God made with Noah,
and it remains a token
of that covenant today.

"And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."

(Genesis 9:12-16)

(Orginal Web Photo)

The rainbow has been a token of the covenant which God made with Noah, and it remains a token of that covenant today.

During Noah’s time, the world was in an awful disarray of wickedness which is mirrored in today’s world. Noah preached repentance to the people and warned them that the floods would come if they did not repent. The people chose to not listen to the words of the prophet. And while they lived to see the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy, they could not remain on the earth to enjoy the fresh new world.

While many adopt the rainbow as a symbol for their particular causes, because it is indeed a sign of something beautiful; today, when we see the beautiful rainbow, we should remember that not only is it a covenant of God’s grace in not flooding the world again, but it is also a reminder that the prophets’ words are verified, and that there can only be lasting beauty and peace in obedience to God’s commandments.

So while Satan would adopt a thing of beauty to promote his own dominion and flaunt that there is no virtue in keeping God’s commandments, and there will be no repercussions for broken laws because the Lord has promised that He will not flood the entire earth again; we should reclaim the rainbow as a token of God’s covenant with Noah, and we should determine to become a part of His covenant people through making and keeping covenants with Him, and by being obedient to His commandments and adhering to the words of His prophets, for indeed their words will all come to pass as the Lord has so promised. And if we are faithful and obedient, we can be a part of the ushering in of His new and beautiful world and enjoy with Him His peaceful Millennial Reign.

I love the rainbow;
and as a covenant people,
we should cherish
this token of the covenant
God made with Noah.

(http://tinyurl.com/odezgqd)