Some Thoughts on Pres. Obama’s Inauguration

It's great to see the country energized by the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama. While we did not vote for him, we wish him and our country well, and pray that God will guide him and grant him wisdom and the humility to listen to the people of this great land. We also pray that all of us will work together to help America fully achieve its potential, and that the leaders and peoples of countries around the world will work together for true freedom, justice, and equality.

We are grateful that this country's government is based on the Constitution and the teachings of Jesus Christ. About 1600 years ago, Moroni, the last prophet of an Israelite civilization in the Americas that had just been destroyed, wrote these words to us (because the Lord had shown our day to him):

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… (Book of Mormon, Ether 2:12).

If not, Moroni warned:

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 fullness come, that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done (Ether 2:11).

We are concerned that the idea of pluralism in our society has been elevated to be a greater good than truth and the "right." Yes, people do disagree about what these ideals are, but the search for them is what helps our country progress. Not striving for the truth, the "right" things to be and say and do—and not having the courage to live by and defend what we find—result eventually in dust and ashes for people and civilizations.

Ms. Star Parker of the Scripps Howard News Service recently wrote ("Obama's views could hardly be more different from Lincoln's," Deseret News, 19 Jan 2009, p. A11):

Beyond his trademark "change we can believe in," Obama's defining theme has been unity and inclusiveness….

Obama, of course, does not suggest that we don't have differences. His point is that those differences are not critically important and they're getting in our way. Let's put differences aside, get practical and solve our problems.

The inaugural ceremonies have pastors for everyone. A white evangelical who opposes same-sex marriage, a white homosexual, a left-wing black male and a left-wing black female.

His economic stimulus plan has large government expenditures to please Democrats and tax benefits to please Republicans.

Lincoln, too, sought unity. But Lincoln's notion of where national unity would lie was far different from Obama's.

He prophetically stated the challenge after accepting the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1858.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure half slave and half free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved. I do not expect the House to fall. But I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."

As historian Harry Jaffa points out, "For Lincoln, as for Jefferson and for all genuine supporters of the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the distinction between right and wrong is antecedent to any form of government and is independent of any man's or any majority's will."

Lincoln knew that some principles are so fundamental they cannot be compromised. He knew that we couldn't ignore our key differences. Unity could only come from facing them and making the hard choices.

We pray that God will guide leaders and the citizens of this country and others throughout the world to search for truth and the "right" and to have the courage to make the hard choices and defend them until these principles are established.

Draper Temple Open House

We enjoyed attending the open house for the Draper Temple on January 15th and 16th -- the 15th with some friends of ours and the 16th with our young grandchildren!

It was really fun to see a temple from "new eyes"--none of these people had ever been inside a temple before. Each person was interested in the concept that temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints represent a re-establishment of principles and ordinances. Our loving Heavenly Father has revealed these things throughout history to His children, whenever they have prepared themselves to receive such knowledge and make such promises--covenants--with Him. Now in our day, in fulfillment of prophecies (see, for example, in the Bible, Acts 3:19-21), God has re-established what He revealed before to bless us when we need His help so much.

Of special interest on the tour were the:

• Baptismal font (e.g., in the Bible, 2 Chronicles 4:2-5) where baptisms will be performed by proxy for ancestors who have lived before (e.g., in the Bible 1 Corinthians 15:29).
• Ordinance rooms with their beautiful murals of mountain scenes where those who attend the temple after its dedication are taught more about the plan of happiness for this life (e.g., in the Book of Mormon, Alma 42:8).
• Celestial room, filled with light, symbolizing the light and peace which we will enjoy again in the presence of God.
• Sealing rooms, with altars where husbands and wives kneel across from each other to be married for this life and for eternity (e.g., in the Bible, Matthew 16:19), and with mirrors on the walls in which images of each person are reflected back and forth to infinity.

We appreciated feeling the peace and love that were evident in such a beautiful building, and we're happy that others could learn some of what temples mean to us. We are very grateful that we could be married in a temple, sealed by someone having the proper authority from God (e.g., Hebrews 5:4), so that through the Savior's Atonement we have the promise of being together as a family forever. We are also grateful that our children have been sealed to us, and that our parents and other ancestors are all sealed as well. We look forward to being together as families in God's presence throughout eternity.

Why we created this blog

This Christmas (2008) we decided that we want to make some of our thoughts and experiences available to anyone who wants to know how our lives have been affected by trying to live the teachings of Jesus Christ.

We are only posting what we feel appropriate to make public. We are also wary about making personal information widely accessible. But while the information we post is condensed, it is the truth as far as we honestly know how to express it.

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes referred to as Mormons. (For more information about the beliefs and practices of this Church, please visit www.mormon.org and www.lds.org.)

We were both raised in the Church, and we both have learned for ourselves that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. We also both learned individually for ourselves that the Church that He originally established was lost after the time of His apostles, but it has been re-established on the earth. It is directed by the Lord Jesus Christ through modern-day prophets and apostles.

By the time that Lynn was 12 years old religion had become a matter of great concern for him. He had always felt that God existed and that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and the Redeemer. However, in the small farming community in Idaho where he grew up there were four different Christian churches, all of which had different doctrines and religious practices. He saw that good people belonged to these different churches, but while they shared many things in common, the differences in their teachings affected somewhat the way they lived, and led to different expectations about what life after this life would be.

Lynn knew from his own experiences that God answers prayers, and so he felt that if he studied the various religions in the world enough and prayed enough, at some point Heavenly Father could let him know which one was true. By age 12 he had read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, one of four books of scripture used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Lynn had begun praying to know whether or not this Church was true.

The Book of Mormon is a record of God's dealings with some of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The last prophet who wrote in the book stated:

"And when ye shall receive this things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not ture; 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 10:4-5).

Lynn looked for some powerful "manifestation" that would let him know that the Book of Mormon is true. It did not come immediately, so Lynn decided that he would continue doing what God led him to do until the time that his prayers were answered more fully.

As he became a teenager, Lynn was asked to teach others and to be increasingly involved in Church activities. He increasingly felt the need to know whether or not the Church was, as it proclaims, "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30). He knew that this knowledge was important for his personal salvation, and it was also needed so that he would not mislead others about religious truth.

He attended the other churches in his community and talked with their priests and ministers. He read anti-Mormon material that they gave him and other information he received from various people. He read about other religions in the world and thought about how their teachings affected the lives of their adherents.

An experience at this time reinforced for him that Jesus was the Christ, that He loved Lynn personally, as He does all people, and that He would guide him, as He will all people. One day while Lynn was walking by a creek that wound through his family's farm, he was troubled by feelings of inferiority and despair. As he thought about these things, he remembered that Jesus knew what it was like to be laughed at and to hurt. At that moment, Lynn knew in his heart that the Savior knew what he was feeling right then. Because the Savior had been mortal, Lynn realized that He knew all about those kinds of feelings. Most importantly, He also knew how to help and comfort Lynn and lead him along. He is an all powerful Protector and Guide for us all, and although there are some things we have to go through on this earth to gain experience and to be tested, we are never alone. As long as we will come to Christ and do as He asks, He will help us. That experience became a foundation upon which Lynn's eventual testimony was built.

As a high school senior, Lynn applied at several universities, and he was accepted at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He decided to attend that school so that he could continue examining the Church, which owns and operates BYU. He pleaded with Heavenly Father to show him the truth about the Church, promising that if He told Lynn that the Church was not true, he would accept whatever religion He wanted him to join--regardless of any problems that such a decision might cause.

All freshmen at BYU were required to take Book of Mormon religion classes during their first two semesters. Lynn had excellent professors who discussed details about the book and about the book's translator--Joseph Smith. The professor in Lynn's second semester said that grades would be based totally upon an essay question final. Each class period during that semester was devoted to discussing doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon. It was a thoroughly stimulating class--intellectually and spiritually--as this professor demonstrated over and over that any question about the Church comes down to: "Was Joseph Smith a prophet of God?" and "Is the Book of Mormon true?"

At the end of the semester, as Lynn prepared for his Book of Mormon class final, he reviewed the additional witnesses that the book gives for Jesus Christ and the understandings it brings about His Atonement and eternal mission--along with many other religious truths. As Lynn knelt in prayer, he felt the Holy Ghost bear a powerful witness that Jesus is the Christ, that He visited the people in the Book of Mormon after His resurrection, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that Heavenly Father wanted Lynn to proclaim to others the truths that had been witnessed to him.

Lynn is the first to admit that he is weak and has made mistakes in his life. He has been unworthy at times of the trust and blessings the Lord as abundantly poured out upon him. But this reality does not detract from what he has written above--in fact, it adds to Lynn's point. If the Lord would make known such things to a poor, weak, farm boy from Idaho, He will do the same thing for anyone, anywhere.

Louann tells her experience in much less detail: There came a time when she felt the need to really know whether or not the Book of Mormon was true. As she read it and prayed about it, she came to know that it was true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. The feeling was beyond any doubt at that time or since.