Barring some great religious reformation (heretofore unforeseen), if Donald J. Trump wins the U.S. presidency, he will (at best) only forestall the capsize of America’s ship of state into a sea of greater tyranny, insolvency and martial chaos. (For a “full end of all nations” has been decreed. See Doctrine and Covenants 87:6.)
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people,” second U.S. president and founding father John Adams wrote in 1798. “It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Thus lacking morality and religiosity, either in her people or in her leadership — and who will deny that such traits are now in short supply in U.S.? — America has no hope of enduring (as originally intended) in any material, demographic, political, or philosophical sense.
For those who cannot be ruled by law will be ruled by men.
When Mrs. Powell asked Benjamin Franklin, at the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin replied without hesitation, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
We are well past the point of keeping that republic. All anyone speaks of nowadays is “democracy” — a word nowhere found in the Declaration of Independence (1776), the U.S. Constitution (1787) or the Bill of Rights (1791). Indeed, “democracy” is not referenced in any of our original 50 state constitutions. “Democracy” is a throwback to a failed order of the past -- a playground for despots, tyrants and villains -- “resurrected” for our time…and our undoing.
In 1814 Adams opined to John Taylor: “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”
Our founders were men and women of great character, acumen and wisdom. Can we say the same of ourselves?
The Book of Mormon states that this land [which I conclude to be America] was reserved for those who worship Jesus Christ:
Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. (Ether 2:12.)
We are, however, no longer “one nation under God”, but many nations worming under government.
But not for long.
We have proven that we are almost entirely unfit to govern ourselves. Our leaders reflect U.S. and our general desire and propensity to circumvent the laws — both natural, economic and divine — for short-sighted, material and personal gains.
It’s no longer “ask not what your country can do for you” but “what’s in it for me?” Lies, distortions, illusions, disinterest, ignorance and self-interest now rule the day. For the most part, we seem unwilling or unable to discern and discriminate the truth. Or, if we do, we refuse to embrace it. The road to hell is thus paved and populated by those who love and make a lie. (Revelation 22:14-15.)
We are blissfully laughing our way toward our own ignorance, captivity and, ultimately, destruction.
This, too, was prophesied by Lehi, the first prophet of record in the Book of Mormon:
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he [the Lord] shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.
8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.
9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.
10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things by faith; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise—behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them.
11 Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten. (2 Nephi 1:7-11.)
A divine judgment befell those whom we now call the "native" inhabitants of this land. They were conquered and (for the most part) swept away by newly arriving “Gentiles”, who came by their millions and their tens of millions (see any similarities to the present day?) motivated, as they were, by God, glory and greed. (Not necessarily in that order!) The way for them was prepared by a divinely inspired sailor (see 1 Nephi 13:12), followed by conquistadors who slaughtered and subjugated whole races of pagans (who themselves were cannibals, slaughtering, skinning and wearing the pelts of their subjects). By this means new-comers from the Old World established themselves here and were delivered from economic, political and religious captivity inasmuch as they called upon Jesus Christ for their salvation and deliverance. (See 1 Nephi 13:13-19.)
Thus our forebears bequeathed to us a “Christian” nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” (Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863.) Ironically, that man who liberated slaves — and who, only in his later years, turned to Christ — ushered in a great loss of “government of the people, by the people, for the people," establishing in its place a tyranny of federal government that now rules with aristocratic authority, wealth and power, often in familial dynasties. Like a monarchy.
(If Hillary R. Clinton is elected U.S. president and serves eight full years, a member of just two families will have presided over this nation for 28 years!)
Our “Gentile” nation has reached a tipping point: will we “turn a blind eye” and conscientiously elect leaders we KNOW to be morally and ethically corrupt, unfit to serve? Or will we turn from our wicked ways and demand that our leaders do likewise?
The last prophet to write in the Book of Mormon (Moroni, Mormon’s son) saw our day. He wrote:
11 And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. (Ether 2:11-12.)
Our forefathers proclaimed: “We have no king but Jesus!”
Will we?
Amen, Brother!
ReplyDeleteIn reading your post, I reflected on the words of Robert W. Peck, in describing the history of a flag carried by our founders which had the title, “an Appeal to Heaven.”
“An Appeal to Heaven.”
“The concept comes from English philosopher, John Locke. In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke explains that once all human avenues for seeking justice (judges, legislatures, executives, etc), or relief from tyranny, have been exhausted, only an appeal to Heaven remains. At that point, men become justified to seek relief by their own actions, appealing to the God of Heaven to sustain their endeavor, as no earthly mediator is left to them.”
“…where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment.” (John Locke)
“It would appear that God’s people in America today have fallen into the same trap as Israel of old. We are calling on God to deliver us with the assumption that our side is in the right. However, our political priests have lead us into compromise, taught us to worship at the alters of political expediency and to give the virtue of our vote to candidates who cast off constitutional restraint and serve the gods of statism.”
We must question if this country again is at that point...
This is a hard thing. For some reason we can see the fault in others and not in ourselves.There are so many things that made America great. I constantly pray that enough Americans see what it is that they actually have. And then go forward with that understanding, allowing others countries to remain autonomous, making their own decisions....Loving people doesn't mean loving them because we do what we think they should do....It mean loving them and supporting them, even when we think they don't.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's true even in our personal lives. Thank you!
DeleteIt seems to me Americans are begging for a king. They demand a king. They believe they are unhappy without a king who can compel everyone who disagrees to obey or get thrown in a box.
ReplyDeleteAmerica was only ever as "great" as it ensured liberty. Our involvement in war has been the worst infringement of liberty on earth, and it has been the precursor for our own disdain for liberty within our own borders.