There are two kinds of blessings: those we recognize and those we don’t really think about. For example, we’re all keenly aware of what a blessing it is to have food on our table because (1) we always say so in the blessing on the food, (2) we’re hungry and (3) we are often reminded how others in far-off lands struggle to find substance. But when it comes to our hidden blessings, we have hundreds, if not thousands, of daily, unnoticed blessings.
Of these, I wish to bring to your attention and increase your appreciation for just one, and that is the right that you are practicing at this very moment—the right to worship God to the dictates of your own conscience. It may not seem like much to us, as it is as constant to us as breathing. However, 500 years ago, this little-thought-of right was thought to be improbable. The people of that day had once choice for worship: the King’s God. Should king be overthrown, they’d then move on to worshiping the Conqueror’s God. But in the years between then and now, men have struggled, fought and died to obtain this right. The Pilgrims come to mind, crowding into the Mayflower and sailing off to an unknown land, just so they could practice their religion. They and others like them were the “huddled masses yearning to be free.” And so the Pilgrims and many others came to America to seek that religious freedom.
Eventually, however, the Colonists’ hopes for complete freedom were being threatened by a tyrant king. And that is when they took the bold step to dissolve themselves from British rule, sending a letter, called the Declaration of Independence, to King George III. On the eve of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the signers-to-be and a future president, John Adams, predicted that the day of the signing, July 4, would be “celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of the deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forevermore.” Adams’ vision for the Fourth of July is exactly what happened, as that day has been a day of parades, celebrations and noisy fireworks that bring to the celebrators the kind of excitement that freedom brought to the original 13 states.
Yet, there is another holiday, which we commemorate tomorrow, from which the pomp and circumstance of the Fourth is absent. Instead of fireworks, we’ll see flags and flowers. Instead of bands marching in parades, we see people trudging with sober hearts to the graves of their loved ones. Yet do not let the dearth of the fun delude you into thinking that this holiday is somehow less important. For while Memorial Day has evolved into a day to remember all of our dead, it was and for the most part still is a day for us to remember the fallen soldiers of our nation—those who have won the freedom we so richly enjoy today. This year’s commemoration is even more special, as at this moment, our nation’s soldiers continue the fight in the Middle East, and also because Saturday is the 60th anniversary of D-Day, one of the most ferocious battles in the history of mankind.
So while the Fourth may celebrate the end—freedom—Memorial Day commemorates the means—the inspiring sacrifice of soldiers.
The Declaration of Independence ended with this great sentence: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor.” And truly, they were pledging those very things, for in signing the Declaration, they had committed high treason against the crown of Great Britain, which was, at the time, home of the world’s most powerful army. In the world’s view, they had just done an idiotic thing—they would certainly die a traitor’s death, losing not just their lives but their good reputations. So in signing, they were truly saying, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Yet the signing and sending the letter did not make them free. It no more made them free than declaring myself eligible for the NBA draft would make me an NBA player. I do not wish to disparage the signer’s contributions, for theirs was a truly heroic act. All I’m saying is that after signing it, there was still work to be done and a price to be paid before liberty was to come to the United States.
Freedom is not truly free, for it has come at quite a cost; that price has been paid by American soldiers on battlefields from Valley Forge to Baghdad.
And it was against great odds, that the soldiers and minutemen of the Revolutionary War fought the British. Yet while they may have been fighting the world’s greatest Army, the Americans had a secret weapon that the prophet Nephi, writing 2300 years before that war, saw and recorded:
“And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord, and the power of the Lord was with them.
“And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
“And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.”
“And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all nations.” (1 Nephi 13:16-19)
With God’s help, this nation prevailed, although victory didn’t come until 1783—seven years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In that war, though, thousands of Americans, seeking freedom, lost their lives. Their blood stained battlefields all along the Atlantic Coast. They were the ones who paid the terrible price for our freedom.
Since that war, America has fought many others, including the epoch World Wars and, more recently, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The loss of life in these wars is staggering. We can count our dead, but we cannot count the quality of lives lost. We’ve probably all seen movies depicting those awful moments in World War II, when a delivery boy comes to the home of a soldier’s father, mother or wife with the telegram informing them that their boy has been killed in battle. We can all imagine what a terrible telegram that must be to receive. More recently, the families of over 800 soldiers serving in Iraq have been notified in the last year and a half that their son or daughter’s life has ended. I doubt that I or any man can create words that could adequately portray a tenth of the heartbreak those families will feel this Memorial Day. We cannot forget that these are young people, our age, fighting for their nation, fighting for us, our way of life, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Nor can we forget the difficulties of war. While many stories exist, I wish to quote you only one:
READ THE McCAIN STORY (Freeman 150-151) [This was a story in which Senator McCain relates the story about one of his fellow POWS, who sewed an American flag on the inside of his shirt from red, white and blue threads he found laying on the ground. Each day, he would remove this shirt, and hang up the flag, so he, McCain and the other POWs could say the Pledge of Allegiance. McCain said this was tremendously meaningful moment of each day. Eventually, the guards discovered this man's shirt, confiscated him, and beat him mercilessly. But that night, McCain woke up to notice this same man sewing another flag into his shirt.]
It’s my belief that most of these soldiers are of high character—and had they lived, they would have created better communities and a better nation. Upon pondering these things, one may be tempted to think what the world would have been like had there never been any Hitlers, Husseins or bin Ladens, and, instead, we had these people walking among us, creating a better nation with us. And yet, at the same time, we must consider—seriously consider—what the world would have been like had there been no one willing to stand up to King George III and the other tyrants our nation has fought since.
Anyone who carefully reflects on what the world would have been like absent these brave soldiers can only come to one conclusion—thank goodness these soldiers were there. These are the people who have won and defended not just our freedom, but in defense of our freedom, they have freed many other nations from a tyrants’ reign. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the Revolutionary War won the freedom of these United States. And how remarkable it was that the leaders of this new nation did not seek to become tyrants themselves. They chose not a crown a king to rule over all the people—instead, they chose crown all people kings; to be rulers over themselves. Among the rights that the citizens of this nation enjoy is the aforementioned freedom of religion.
The Lord, whose hand was in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, inspired these founders to establish this right, in part, so that he might restore his gospel again to the Earth. It was 33 years after the signing of the Constitution that He and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith in New York, beginning again God’s revelations to His Servants, the prophets. Nine years later, God’s priesthood was restored to the Earth. The next year, His Church was restored. True, the early Saints’ right to freedom of religion was often trampled on, but the right of worship found in the First Amendment was enough to allow this “marvelous work and a wonder” to bud. Today, we do not meet fear governmental retribution for our religious practices. Today, we all arrived at church incident-free. No one harassed us. We didn’t need to take a circuitous route, a secret entrance or passwords. We just parked our car and walked in. Today, we practiced our right to worship, and we did so worry-free.
So how grateful we are for this blessing and for those soldiers who died to give it to us.
And as we reflect this Memorial Day on their sacrifice, we might do well to ask, what can I do to repay them for the sacrifice they made for me? Might I suggest that the best way to remember them is to live your life well, keep the commandments and make America a better place. As one World War II veteran put it: “Those of us who lived have to represent those who didn’t.” In knowing the price for which our freedom was paid, we cannot be indifferent to the bettering of our communities and the bettering of our nation.
And the major part of that is to keep the commandments, which may seem an odd request. But when examined, we find that it is not. First of all, in making people kings over themselves, this government, with its Constitution, infused a system that inherently requires a moral people. This notion was not lost on our Founders. As John Adams once wrote: “Statesmen … may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. … The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People; in a greater Measure, than they have it now, They may change their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty—They will only exchange Tyrants and Tyrannies.” James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, echoed Adams’ sentiment in writing that “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government—far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” And, certainly, any careful reading of the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, certainly shows that nations rise and fall according to their ability to keep God’s commands.
And in consideration of our need to better America, may I suggest three things: (1) serve others, (2) expect the best of ourselves and (3) to get involved in the political process. First, in the idea of serving, I would like to quote from President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, when he said: “In the sacrifice of soldiers, the fierce brotherhood of firefighters, and the bravery and generosity of ordinary citizens, we have glimpsed what a new culture of responsibility could look like. We want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self. We've been offered a unique opportunity, and we must not let this moment pass. My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years -- 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime -- to the service of your neighbors and your nation.” Second, we must expect and demand the best of ourselves. To illustrate this, I wish to read a poem by Charles Osgood:
READ POEM (Freeman, p. 62-63). [This poem drives home the point that we can't settle to be good enough when our goal as a country is to be great]
It must be kept in mind that God established this nation to be great; and, in placing you in this nation, he expects to be great, and in including you in His Church, He expects you to be the best. Pretty good and mediocre are not acceptable for Latter-day Saints or Americans.
Third, is the need to get involved in the political process. In order for this nation to remain great, it needs great people at its helm. As citizens of this country, we have a responsibility to ensure its leaders are just that. As such, the idea of political ignorance can have no hold in our hearts. We must honestly and exhaustively search the issues, especially this year, as it is our opportunity to elect a president, a governor, a United States Senator, and a United States Congressman. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the candidates and make a thoughtful, prayerful decision for whom you will vote and support. It is also important to not just know the issues, but read and often re-read the Declaration of Independence, and, more importantly, the Constitution. Let me illustrate with a small example: I always get a little annoyed when someone tells me that “separation of church and state” is in the Constitution because it’s not. “Separation of church and state” is a judicial ruling. I think too many people are informed of the Constitution’s contents by hearsay and media reports than an actual reading. For Latter-day Saints who believe in the divine origins of the Constitution, ignorance to its contents is simply unacceptable.
Also, it is important that we do more than vote, but that we take an active role in politics, particularly in races or issues in which this nation’s security and morality are at stake. We can do this in any number of ways, from attending caucus meetings, to volunteering for a campaign to running for office. Again, it is the inherent faith placed in the people by the Constitution that makes this nation work. Such was the case in Nephite times, when in establishing the judges system of government, the Lord told King Mosiah in Mosiah 29:26-27: “Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right … And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose inquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.” We can see from the Nephite civilization how they followed God and were blessed, and how they didn’t follow God and were destroyed. And we can see how often times righteousness and wickedness correlated with whether the man leading that nation was righteous or wicked. And so we can learn from them, and not meet their fate, by getting involved in the political process and choosing capable, righteous leaders.
Finally, while certainly our hearts burst with gratitude for the soldiers who have laid down their lives for this nation, we must also be reminded of an Even Greater Sacrifice, the one made by our Savior, Jesus Christ. For as the soldiers fought to liberate us from tyranny, Christ died to liberate us from two foes we could not conquer ourselves: Sin and Death. In the soldier’s sacrifice, we are given freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, privacy, etc. In Christ’s sacrifice, we are given freedom from those things that would destroy us, bind us down and make us eternally miserable. Thanks to the soldiers, I can speak here in Church today. Thanks to Christ, I can speak here in Church today of a brighter day, a greater hope—the hope that one day I can stand before My Maker free of any pollutions on my soul. That I can put behind me my sins of yesteryear, and that I may overcome all things. In Christ, am I truly free. I need not be held bondage to the toll of sin, for He has borne my sorrow, has suffered for me, and has loved me. I hope to be counted as one of His Friends on that Great Day of Judgment.
And in Christ, I know all men, including the soldiers who have bravely given their lives for this nation, will be made alive, and so I know that their ending on a battlefield was really just a beginning. And this I say in the name of the Jesus Christ. Amen.
