In God Is Our Trust

I’ve always thought it was a little bit odd to sing the national anthem in church. What do you do? Of course everyone stands up, but should you salute the flag? And, it’s such a long song.
Well, I’ve had a change of heart. We sang the national anthem as our choir number this month. Our bishop loves to have us sing on fast Sundays for reasons that could take up a whole post of its own to describe (yes, crazy people are involved). Since fast Sunday this month was so close to Independence Day, we sang the Star Spangled Banner, and I have a new love for the song. If any of you get the chance, open up your hymnal to # 340 and just take a gander at the lyrics. They are beautiful and inspired, especially because they were written even before Joseph Smith had his first vision. My only complaint about the song is that by the time you get to the best and most powerful part of the song, unless you’re really looking for it, you’ve already let your mind wander way off the topic.
This song has really made me think over the last few weeks about what it really means to be an American citizen. In Uruguay people are required by law to vote for the president, and then they aren’t allowed to complain about him very much. Here, most of us don’t take the time or trouble ourselves with driving all the way over to the local elementary school or rec center to say whom we want to lead us, and yet we always fell like we have the right to complain to high heaven about how terrible the government is. If we don’t like how our government is running, we should do something about it. You don’t have to run for office, but we should at least take the time to understand the issues and cast informed votes. Now, I’m afraid I’ve been just as guilty as anyone about not understanding whom or what I’m voting for, but I’ve made the decision to be better about it.
This is a great nation where we have the power to become what we want to be. Isn’t that a great feeling? If I want something, I just need to go get it. That doesn’t mean it will be easy all the time, and it shouldn’t mean everything will be easy, but at least we have the right to pursue our dreams.
I started reading Just and Holy Principles, in which I have been able to see an LDS perspective on the United States, and especially on the Constitution. If any of you attended BYU and were forced to take the “terror” of a class called American Heritage, you probably read at least a little from this book. Many of us have heard of Joseph Smith’s statement that the Constitution would one day hang by a thread (See p. xiii of the introduction to J&HP). This is what John Taylor had to say about it:

When the people shall have torn in shreds the Constitution of the United States the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men. (Journal of Discourses 21:8)

This statement should give us hope if we are righteous. There are many true principles in the Constitution. It may not be perfect, but it was definitely inspired by the Lord. All the prophets (including Joseph Smith during the persecutions of the early saints) have supported the principles of the Constitution. Even after everything men do goes wrong, we can stand behind the principles at the base of this country’s foundation. Let’s make sure we are righteous enough to be the ones to uphold these principles even when everyone else has decided to go another way. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because there weren’t even 10 righteous people there. We should share the gospel so there are that many more Elders of Israel to hold up the Constitution. We don’t have to be worried about what will happen to us if we are doing all that we can to serve the Lord and uphold righteous principles.

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Lastly I would like to thank everyone who makes my liberties secure. I have a great respect for the soldiers who are fighting abroad and their willingness to sacrifice all to preserve freedom. They are true heroes. Also, I think there are other groups of heroes in our society. One group that gets the short end of the stick is police officers. Someone tried to rob a jewelry store here in West Valley last week, and when he shot at the cops, they returned fire and killed him. Now people are complaining that Policemen are killing too many people. When we get a ticket for driving (usually way…) too fast, we are angry at the cop. I just want to say to police officers, and especially to Andy, that I have a very high respect for you and what you do. I’m proud to tell people that my brother is a hero. Thanks for putting yourself at risk to secure my freedoms and to protect me.
Let’s do more and be better. Let’s make our lives what we want them to be, and help others on their way to reaching their dreams. I can’t really think of a good way to end this post, so let’s just do all that is within our power to ensure that the truth contained in the founding of our nation continues on.