Happy 4th of JULY!!! :D

Independence Day has come and gone once again!! I am especially mindful of it as I read John Adams and 1776, both by David McCullough, fairly recently...that is...a few months ago. They were BRILLIANT!!! :D David McCullough is one of my favorite historians. He attention to detail and ability to pick of the threads of history and weave them back together so eloquently is incredible! What an amazing story teller!! :)

So, the 4th of July. Come, gone. I have been reflecting on the great privileges and blessings and freedoms which I enjoy because of these wonderful men whom we call our founding fathers. They toiled and fought through so many years and against such odds. The Declaration of our Independence on July 4, 1776 was but the beginning of a very long struggle. Through most of the fight it seemed an ill-fated, nigh impossible cause...a fools errand. Why would these men have done what they did?? Common sense, whatever Thomas Paine may say, would not have supported what was considered a suicidal course of action. I think they must have often wished to escape the harsh realities of the war they were waging. They never had enough money, food, clothes, shelter, mild weather, soldiers, civilians, military strategists, political masterminds, friends...if anything could go wrong, it did. So why did they keep going?? They knew they had to.

These our founding fathers were men of faith. Men of God. They were men who believed in truth, liberty, justice, and had the courage to stand up and fight for what they believed in. We still stand for red, white, and blue. At their core they understood that there was a far greater principle involved than taking a stand against "no taxation without representation." There was a much greater work at hand. They were instruments in the hands of the Lord as he fulfilled the prophesies given to Nephi.

(see 1 Nephi 3 and this good article:
http://www.restoredcovenant.org/Document.asp?CAT=Insights&DOC=Christopher+Columbus%3A+Man+of+Vision+and+Faith)

The founding of our nation was simply the beginning groundwork of the great work that our Heavenly Father would perform in these the Latter-days.

"For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Moses 1:39

This work was started before the foundation of this world and will continue past the end of time. It is amazing to look through history and see the Lord's hand in bringing his work forward. The will of Heavenly Father can never be frustrated. Through the events which seem so bleak to the mortal eye, the greatest and most life-altering miracles are wrought. It is these events which mold the character of men (and women) to become a little more like Him. In his wisdom, our Heavenly Father granted us our agency. He granted all men their agency. He allows for all manner of calamities to befall men, even when (especially when) trying their hardest. It is these times which try the soul which cause them to stretch and grow...and sometimes break. But no matter, there is always a way to be put back together again.

Without strife there is no life. For to live we must strive...and to strive we must have strife. See, an opposition in all things!! It is always darkest before the dawn.

"Like the polar star in the heavens, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith. In sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us." --Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

This is what we hold and look to. As Moses said to the children of Israel, 'Look and Live.' There will certainly be battle after battle which seems bleak. We will surely lose too much blood. On our own...it is impossible. But we will surely get there. And the constant and tender mercies of the Lord will give us hope, even as that heaven sent fog across the Delaware River saved George Washington's little army and reminded them that they were not alone.


So when life seems especially bleak, as it surely will...I hope we let patience have her perfect work. That those harder times will make something better of us. I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven who is all mindful of his children. I am so grateful that the promises of the Lord are sure, and steadfast...even as the polar star in the heavens. I am grateful for the gift of agency, the ability to choose...even if I am very clumsy with it. I am grateful to live in a land which allows me the freedom and accountability to use this agency. May we all treasure these gifts well.