Veterans Day

Thinking of and praying with gratitude for those who have served and sacrificed for this country and our freedom, and for those who continue to do so...

photo taken by Joe Rosenthal

Happy Independence Day

David O McKay said: "As precious as life itself is our heritage of individual freedom, for man's free agency is a God-given gift. In sensing our responsibility to preserve it for ourselves and our posterity, let students and patriotic people ever keep in mind the warning voice of James Russell Lowell proclaiming: "Our American republic will endure only as long as the ideas of the men who founded it continue dominant." He concluded his remarks by saying, "To live in a land in which each individual has the right to life and liberty is a glorious privilege."

We thank all of those who have served and continue to serve this great country...We offer our deepest gratitude for the service you give and the sacrifices you make that allows us to enjoy safety and freedom.

A Choice Land

Today we celebrate America, the land of the free. What a gift we have...freedom! Too often we take this gift for granted, and don't realize all that we have, and are able to do, because we are free. Not just today, but everyday, we should offer up prayers of gratitude to God for the blessing of living in such a choice land. Gratitude for the gift of freedom. Gratitude for those who founded this great country, and for those who continue to fight to protect it.

Consider these words spoken by President Ezra Taft Benson:

"I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document.
To me its words are akin to the revelations of God,
for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it.
"I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits
to lay the foundation of this government,
and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it.
"We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution,
face difficult days in America,
"a land which is choice above all other lands." (Ether 2:10)
"May God give us the faith and the courage
exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
"May we be equally as valiant and as free,
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

~~~

"Stand tall and proud...
Hand in hand, and side by side...
One nation under God, We are America!"