Thoughts about America

I love the United States of America. I feel blessed to live in this country and to have the freedoms that we enjoy. I am humbled and grateful when I think of the many great men and women who have fought and continue to fight so that we can have freedom. The price of freedom is not free. It is bought with the blood and tears of many. We must not take it for granted, but do all that we can to protect and preserve the liberties we have so that we can pass them to future generations.

With Election Day less than a week away, I feel like I should make my voice heard. Okay, it may only be heard by a handful of people and it probably won't change any ones mind if they feel differently, but hopefully it will inspire you to think about how you feel about America and what is really important to you.

At BYU Education Week I attended a class by Richard Robbins where we discussed the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty from the Book of Mormon. The main thing that I got out of the discussion was that there are 3 things that are important enough to fight to the death for. They are Faith, Family and Freedom. It rang true to me, and reinforced the positions I already believed.

I believe that this country is blessed by God and that the constitution was inspired by God. While there is separation of Church and State, meaning that there is no Government sanctioned religion, I believe that citizens have the right to freely worship how ever they see fit. It bothers me that so many people are trying successfully to take God out of our country.

I believe that the family should be upheld and preserved according the "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that marriage is between a man and woman. I believe that families are essential to society. I believe in the sanctity of life, including the lives of unborn children.

There are so many of our freedoms that are under attack. There are many who wish to take away our freedom of speech (the fairness doctrine). There are many who wish to take away our right to keep and bear arms. There are many that wish for the government to be in control of our economy, health care, housing, banking etc (Socialist). There is an enemy that would like to destroy our entire way of life and have our country governed by Islamic law. If we are not vigilant we may loose the country we know and love.

Today I started reading "Clear As The Moon" by Chris Stewart. I came across a passage that reminded me of the up coming election and how critical it is that we elect honorable men and women that uphold our values, and that love our country. This is a fictional story, but the message is good. The background is that there was an attack on America, the President and most government officials are dead. There is a group that is trying to take over the country and dissolve the constitution. The man who should rightfully be the president is in hiding, because the others want to kill him He is talking to his friend and says that "we made a mistake" and "we should have known" because (see page 10): "The president we elected. He was good and smooth and said all the right things. But he didn't love his country, at least not like you and I do. Not like our fathers. Not like our grandfathers. He saw our country as not that much different from all the others, not much better, in some ways maybe worse. He saw our sins and determined they precluded us from any further greatness. It wasn't that he had an evil heart, he just couldn't see or didn't choose to see the good that was our country."

I don't think that John McCain is the perfect candidate, but I believe he loves the country the way that I do. I believe that Sarah Palin loves the country the way that I do. I am absolutely positive that Barack Obama does not love the country the way that I do. And for those of you in my district, I personally know LaVar Christensen and know that he loves the country the way that I do.

This is a critical election. America is great because the people have the freedom to do great things. The American dream is that you can have and be whatever you want if you work for it. Government is not for "redistribution of wealth," and we don't want to "break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution" like Barack Obama has said. The Constitution is what protects our freedoms, and we need to vote to protect the Constitution.