When men shall stand free

Alright, so this is my little contribution to the Book of Beth. Yes, I am a complete nerd because I asked to be a part of Beth's amazing blog:] Some things have been going through my mind a lot...mostly about freedom and our country. I guess that makes sense since Independence Day was just a week ago. So this little shpeel will just be me, Sarah Merkley, and my thoughts about this amazing thing we call freedom.

I have often wondered what exactly it means to have 'freedom'. To us, as Americans, we connect it with the Revolutionary War; as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we think of freedom in connection with our pioneer ancestors and the Restoration of the gospel. Freedom means different things to different people. But to me, freedom is more than having the ability to make our own choices, as Mrs. Cotter said in Am History this past year. Yes, freedom is the ability to make our own choices, but it's more than that. Freedom is..well, being free. But what does that mean? Being free from..what? I truly believe that being free, or freedom, means exactly what our Founding Fathers said:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I especially love the part where it says "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech,...". Do we take the fact that we have a freedom of speech from granted? Sometimes, I think we do. I know I do! There have been times in my life where I feel something so strongly and know it to be true that I have to speak my mind, write it down, tell my mom..something!...or I might explode! One such time is December 23, 2008. That is the day that I received my own witness of the truth of the Book of Mormon. I could have finished reading the Book the day before, but I wanted to save the last chapter for that day; December 23. I wanted to finish the Book of Mormon on that day because December 23, 1805, Joseph Smith, Jr. was born. He restored the gospel of Jesus Christ; the true church. I know this to be true with all my heart because I have read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it is true. The feeling that came over me was one of power and warmth confirming the gospel's truth.

A scripture found in Mosiah 29:32 says
"And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land."
Now, allow me to clarify something. Our government has said that some things they're proposing and passing (like Health Care) is a right given to us from them. They, the government, do not have the RIGHT to give us rights. They can give us privileges, but not rights; that's our Lord's job. In the Declaration of Independence it says: "that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,..." We are given rights through out Creator; not our government. We have all quoted this part of the Declaration at least once in our lives. But what most people don't know and don't read is the part right after this.
"That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

I strongly believe that this time is coming. We need to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ and hold fast to that which is true.

I have the blessed opportunity to have my dad be my Sunday School teacher. Today, we were talking about Psalms and how that was the hymnal for King David. At the end of the lesson, my dad quoting one of our hymns from the Church, but he quoted a verse we don't usually sing. Let's see if you know which song it is..

"Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with that 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!"

I know the last two lines probably gave it away, but this is a part of our National Anthem. Why don't we sing this verse? Or even the second? Think about that the next time you hear or sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. Think about the countless number of lives that were lost for your freedom. Think about what freedom really means. Think about how lucky we are to live in a country that is free! To stay free, we must follow the rules laid out for us by our Founding Fathers. Remember that "When Free Men Shall Stand" is when we truly become united states.

"Freedom- It doesn't give the right to interfere by force or fraud-
Freedom- It is not reserved for those who say they're serving God!
Freedom.......The very word, and all the word implies
Does not assume the one that's free is good or pure or wise!
Liberty is for the brave and strong, the weak and coward too,
And rich and poor alike, the fainthearted and the true-
All can huddle underneath the banner bought and paid for by our blood
All are free to make a choice to live, be it bad or be it good-
It's freedom."
Norma Jean Almodovar- April, 1986

Thank you, Beth for letting me say my two bits to put in your blog!

*This is a little disclaimer from Beth. There's a little spot mentioned that I realize may have the potential to offend people. But that was not Sarah's intent. She wasn't making some political statement. She was just sharing something that she felt to be true. So don't get offended and go off saying Beth and Sarah are trying to corrupt you with politics or change your stance on certain issues and stuff. That is never the intent of this blog. The intent is to share insights received and try to make it possible for you to feel the spirit so you, in turn, might learn something. Just wanted to clarify. :) Ya did a good job Sarah.