Washington DC or Constitution?

Constitution-- Will it be saved?

Ezra Taft Benson, former Secretary of Agriculture,
in 1986 shares thoughts on the U.S. Constitution,
stating it is a Heavenly Banner inspired by God for this nation.
That the federal government is trying to destroy it but at last
it will be saved but not in Washington.

 

Christian Election Guide from Bible Study

Study of these passages from the Bible and other scriptures can give us a Christian Election Guide.

Old Testament

The Proverbs

Chapter 29:2, 12, 18

When the wicked rule, the people mourn—The righteous consider the cause of the poor—Where there is no vision, the people perish.

2 When the ^arighteous are in ^bauthority, the people ^crejoice: but when the ^dwicked beareth ^erule, the people ^fmourn.
12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. 
18 Where there is no ^avision, the people ^bperish: but he that ^ckeepeth the ^dlaw, ^ehappy is he.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 8:4-19

Samuel’s sons take bribes and pervert judgment—The Israelites seek for a king to rule over them—Samuel rehearses the nature and evils of kingly rule—The Lord consents to give them a king.

4-6Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons ^awalk not in thy ways: now make us a ^bking to judge us like all the nations.¶But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the ^avoice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have ^brejected me9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet ^aprotest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the ^bking that shall ^creign over them.

 10 ¶And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.

 11-17 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you:

·         He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

·         And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ^aear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

·         And he will take your daughters to be ^aconfectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

·         And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

·         And he will take the ^atenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

·         And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, …

·         He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your ^aking which ye shall have ^bchosen you; and the Lord will not ^chear you in that day.

 19 ¶Nevertheless the people refused to ^aobey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

20 That we also may be like all the ^anations;

[Who is making our nation like the socialist nations of Europe?]

The Book of Mormon:

Another Testament of Jesus Christ

The Book of Mosiah

Chapter 29:6-7, 16-17, 21-27, 35-38

6 Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly belong has declined, and will not take upon him the kingdom.

 7 And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise ^acontentions among you. And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and ^bdraw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many people.

16-17 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a ^aking or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much ^ainiquity doth one ^bwicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

21-23 And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous ^aking save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood.

·          For behold, he has his ^afriends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God;

·         And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he ^acauseth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous ^bking doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.

24-25 And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such abominations should come upon you. Therefore, choose you by the ^avoice of this people, judges, that ye may be ^bjudged according to the ^claws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

26 Now it is not common that the ^avoice of the people desireth anything ^bcontrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the ^cpeople to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.

 27 And ^aif the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

35 And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored under, by having an unrighteous ^aking to rule over them;

 36 Yea, all ^ahis iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing, and the plundering, and the committing of whoredoms, and all manner of iniquities which cannot be enumerated—telling them that these things ought not to be, that they were expressly repugnant to the commandments of God.

37 And now it came to pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things forth among the people they were ^aconvinced of the truth of his words.

 38 Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal ^achance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins.

The Doctrine and Covenants

Section 98

5 And that ^alaw of the land which is ^bconstitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

 6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the ^aconstitutional law of the land;

 7 And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.

 8 I, the Lord God, make you ^afree, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.

 9 Nevertheless, when the ^awicked ^brule the people mourn.

10 Wherefore, ^ahonest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

Dinner Talk

Christian Election Guide from Bible and Scripture Study

1. What does Doctrine and Covenants 98:5-10 teach us about the Constitution of the United States? What kind of leaders should we support?

2. Edmund Burke said, “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” How does this usually apply to kings?

Biblical Guide to the Book of Mormon: Learn how the Book of Mormon verifies the Bible. Easy, Dinner- topic style. Non-doctrinal, understandable for all ages. 

A regrettable number of young people are losing their faith during their high school and college education. They are taught that the epic stories from the Bible are myths. Use this Biblical Guide to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, to prove the Bible is true and bring your children to Christ.

Epic Stories for Character Education

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Paperback

 

American Revolution: Compare to French Revolution

Tale of Two Nations

World History: Compare American Revolution and French Revolution

Dinner Topics for Independence Day

The Americans went on to create a Constitution that is a model of liberty for the rest of the world. This Constitution provides maximum freedom, limited power in the national government, and the majority of the power to the states and people. The success of the nation has been in proportion to the degree of fiscal responsibility and law-abiding character manifest by the elected government officials. 

Charles Dickens’ powerful novel, A Tale of Two Cities, is set during the French Revolution, involving characters in the cities of London and Paris. This moving tale gives one pause to consider a tale of two nations—the differences between the French Revolution and the American Revolution.

Only a few years before the French Revolution, colonial America had rebelled, not against poverty, but against the increasingly tyrannical rule of the British. In America, it was men of property and education, not the poor, who rebelled. For liberty, they invested their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Ironically, it was the French nobility who stepped in with naval support and saved the American Revolution from the brink of failure. 

The purpose of the American Revolution was to change the ruling laws, not to kill the king. Many colonists, including Benjamin Franklin, had close ties with England. Franklin was the leader in trying all possible avenues of diplomacy; revolution was the last resort. George Washington scrupulously avoided abusing military power by consistently deferring to the directives of the civilian government, and he always put the needs of his men before his own. He refused to be king. Noble of character he was; greedy and power-hungry he was not. American leaders did all they could to avoid anarchy. They sought the help of God in their endeavor, and received miraculous help when it was needed.

The French Revolution, on the other hand, appears to have been driven by vengeance and hatred. Without a doubt, terrible injustices existed, as vividly depicted by Dickens and in Victor Hugo’s magnificent novel, Les Miserables. The French peasants were at a great disadvantage, because their poverty seemed insurmountable, and they lacked education and money; therefore they had no power to exercise influence on their oppressors. It is unfortunate that they resorted to terror. The mass murder of innocents resembled the ethnic cleansing of evil regimes in the twentieth century. The mindless killing thoroughly disqualified them from any divine assistance. By killing the upper class, and their families, and their servants, and anyone remotely related, they also purged the society of education, law, culture, and other refinements necessary to civilized society.  Only anarchy resulted from their efforts. The old oppressors were merely replaced by a new tyrannical regime, more brutal than ever. It was bad enough that some even looked to figures like Napoleon to save them, but that really didn’t work well, either.

The Americans went on to create a Constitution that is a model of liberty for the rest of the world. This Constitution provides maximum freedom, limited power in the national government, and the majority of the power to the states and people. The success of the nation has been in proportion to the degree of fiscal responsibility and law-abiding character manifest by the elected government officials. Because America was free, she became prosperous. Like many other European countries, France learned the best governing principles from the United States Constitution, only after long years of struggle.

Copyright 2011 © by Christine Davidson

Obamacare: Repeal Is up to Congress

Morning Bell: Join the Fight to Repeal Obamacare

Ed Feulner, President, The Heritage Foundation

Many wonderful patriots are out in the trenches, fighting tyranny with all their hearts. Truth is our greatest weapon, and The Heritage Foundation works 24-7, educating American citizens. They are among the groups who have the most influence on Congress. CD

Fellow Americans,

Like you, I am disappointed by the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision. The Court misread and rewrote Obamacare in order to save it. Such contortions are not the proper role of judging. Most Americans are with you and me and deeply dislike this law.

We believe, however, that this is far, far from a time for despair. This decision will energize freedom-loving Americans to once again take matters into their own hands. Our republic has survived and flourished for more than two centuries because men and women—brave, determined, and deeply committed to the cause of freedom—were willing to stand, to march, and to make whatever sacrifices were necessary so that their children would know the blessings of liberty, the hope and opportunity that flow from living in “the land of the Free.”

They will receive this ruling as a clarion call to action. Once again, the people will have to rise to defend a fundamental American concept: that the power of government over individuals must be limited.

First, let’s acknowledge what was good in the decision. The Court recognized that there are limits to what Congress may do under the Commerce Clause. Big-government forces have for too long abused this clause’s grant of congressional authority, but the Court’s decision reaffirms that there are limits on their actions.

There’s also the fact that the individual mandate has acquired the official constitutional status of a “tax”—and if it is indeed a tax, then that is even more reason for the U.S. Senate to repeal it with the 51-vote threshold available under the Budget Act’s reconciliation process. It is a revenue provision. No filibuster problems there now.

Calling it a tax, of course, doesn’t make the heavy-handed policy in Obamacare any better for those who now have to buy a product they don’t like. And yesterday’s opinion makes clear that President Obama enacted a massive new tax on the middle class, breaking one of his repeated promises.

We must resolve to check this dangerous expansion of power.

The first step is to work harder than ever to fully repeal Obamacare. Now that the Supreme Court has had its say, Congress becomes the arena in which we can fight for relief and restoration of constitutional limits.

Congress can and must reassert its constitutional authority. Indeed, the House of Representatives has already acted. We congratulate the lower chamber for having voted to repeal Obamacare.

Now it’s the Senate’s turn to do what’s right: Repeal Obamacare, and force the President to sign its repeal.

The American experiment is predicated on the idea that government exists to serve the people, that it derives its power from the people, and that the people retain all powers they do not specifically grant to government. Obamacare turns that fundamental idea on its head.

Ours is still a government “of the people.” And the American people have spoken clearly. Indeed, the people’s antipathy toward the law keeps growing. Just this month, a poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS News found that more than two-thirds of Americans wanted the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare as a whole or in part. Only 24 percent would keep the law in place. While Court decisions obviously should not be driven by polls, the poll clearly shows the people’s dissatisfaction with the bad policy in Obamacare.

So many aspects of Obamacare are appalling. Once all its provisions kick in—conveniently, after the November election—millions of Americans stand to lose their current coverage. Already, it saddles individuals and families with higher premiums, higher costs, and higher taxes—and even steeper increases loom on the horizon. It has sparked a host of other loathsome mandates, like the HHS mandate that requires charitable religious organizations to provide coverage that violates the tenets of their faith.

But why should we expect government to respect the constitutional right to religious freedom if we allow government to ignore fundamental restraints on its power to regulate the lives of its citizens?

This year will mark a pivotal point in American history. The American people now must make a critical decision: We must choose between constitutional, limited government on the one hand and arbitrary, unlimited rule on the other.

We at The Heritage Foundation, as always, will stand in defense of our nation’s founding principles. We are eager to lead the fight to overturn this Intolerable Act—Obamacare—and we are grateful for your support of our efforts to save the American Dream for the next generation.

Join our fight: Become part of the mission to repeal Obamacare and create a better America.

Sincerely,

Ed Feulner
President, The Heritage Foundation