With the month of July coming to a close, the thoughts of our Independence day are fading: the fireworks, the waving of the red, white, and blue, and the sounds of the Star Spangled Banner in the air. These icons of freedom will soon be stored away for another year. Before they are gone, at least in the minds of many, I would just like to add a few thoughts that may, and in some cases, cause strong emotions of patriotism to linger a little longer.
The first references to this land of ours was made by the Lord Jehovah to the Brother of Jared around the time that the Tower of Babel was destroyed and the language spoken by the people was confounded. This was approximately 2,300 years B.C. That story of old causes me to look heaven-ward and thank God that I was blessed to end up here on this, the land that is choice above all other lands. The story goes like this. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord…the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto him, “Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind; and thy families…And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.” (Ether 1:39–42) Eventually they constructed three vessels to carry them over the sea. After nearly a year in their vessels, they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them. “And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.” (Ether 6:13) Approximately 1,600 hundred years later, the prophet Lehi and his family were given an almost iden- tical promise. (1 Nephi 2:20) And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands…And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth. (After nearly a year in their vessels, they arrived)(Ether 6:8–13)
The Nephites landed in this choice land approximately 2,000 years before Columbus’ time. Then, even as now, not everyone appreci- ated the gift, of a promised and free land. There were then, as there are now, dissenters. Thank God for those great patriots, such as Moroni, who were willing to stand up to those who would take or give away their freedom and liberties. (Alma 46:11–21)…he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole….he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land. I think of Moroni as the first great defender of freedom and liberty. I thank God that there have been many like him, down through the ages, that have held these principals sacred, even to the extent that they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to do so.
We, like the Jaredites, should also bow ourselves down upon the face of the land, and humble ourselves before the Lord, and shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies toward us especially the blessing of this great and free land. The work of defending our freedoms is a continuous on-going battle and we have to pray for a Moroni in each and every generation.
John Stuart Mill was a 19th Century philosopher, economist and academic. Yet he understood the nature of war. He said, “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself,” men like Moroni, who are willing to fight for their freedom and the freedom of their country.