The Greek Philosophers

Post No. 5 Read Time: 2 minutes.

The Ancient Greeks

When the ancient Greeks traveled to India and other places, they found that rules, morals, and customs varied from region to region. This observation led to the development of philosophy, a field dedicated to the study of wisdom, moral inquiry, and introspection.

Socrates contributed to this development by emphasizing freedom. He recognized that different individuals have unique frameworks guiding their lives, which broadened his understanding of humanity. In response to conflicting moral codes, he chose to dedicate his life to seeking wisdom that could provide insight into these differences. He developed the method of asking probing questions.

Aristotle’s ideas significantly influenced Western civilization. He observed that specific rules, laws, and customs varied across regions. Instead of being discouraged by these differences, he argued that humans naturally develop governing attitudes. As their knowledge grows, they respond to reason, logic, and order.

Plato believed in the immortality of the soul and viewed philosophical inquiry as a means to test existing concepts. He asserted that learning is about rediscovering forgotten knowledge—latent within consciousness—rather than creating new information. Through priori reasoning, individuals recognize the eternal forms with which they were familiar before birth.

Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato have significantly influenced beliefs and lifestyles throughout history. Their teachings encourage individuals to achieve their potential, despite often confronting the realities of sin and self-criticism.

The concept of natural law emerged from the synthesis of biblical teachings on the inherent value of mankind and the Greek belief in human rationality. The combined wisdom of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and others led to the formulation of natural rights.

SUMMARY

Big Idea

The development of philosophy in ancient Greece, especially through the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, fostered a new approach to understanding morality, wisdom, and the nature of law and human rights. Their insights laid the groundwork for the concept of natural law by blending Greek rationalism with biblical views of human value.

Key Points

Ancient Greeks noticed that moral codes and customs varied between regions, prompting deeper philosophical inquiry.

Socrates introduced the method of questioning and emphasized the importance of individual frameworks for understanding life.

Aristotle observed the diversity of laws and customs but saw them as a reflection of humans’ capacity for reason and governance.

Plato asserted that learning is the recollection of innate knowledge and believed in the immortality of the soul.

The philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have had a lasting influence, encouraging self-discovery, moral inquiry, and the pursuit of potential despite human flaws.

The concept of natural law emerged from the integration of Greek philosophical thought and biblical teachings about human dignity and rationality.

The Solution to Save the Great Salt Lake and Provide Water to Utah and 40m people in the Western Region is Under our Feet.

Read Time: 10 minutes.

The Great Salt Lake, city skyline, and the Wasatch Mountain.

In reference to the drought conditions being experienced in the Great Basin, which directly impact the Great Salt Lake, the Colorado River, Lake Powell, Lake Mead, their tributaries, and the eight-state region, four general positions are being proposed to alleviate the water shortages we collectively face: 1. conservation and slowing growth. 2. bringing in water from outside sources. 3. relying on Nature to provide. 4. finding other sources of water.

While I believe there is merit in a balanced approach and appreciate that much good is being done by thoughtful people at the present time, this post will argue in favor of finding other sources of water as the primary solution to our challenge.

Conservation and slowing growth.

Nine out of ten Utahns live along the Wasatch Front and in Washington County. In other words, 90% of the state’s residents live on just 1.1% of the land.

The federal government owns 64.4% of the land.

4.5% of the land is held in trust for tribal nations.

The state of Utah owns about 10% of the land.

21% of the land is privately owned, much of which is not suitable for or used for residential development.

I do not see conservation (heresy, I know) and slowing down Utah’s growth as feasible solutions.

Bringing in water from outside sources.

If state, regional, national, and international politics could allow water to flow from Canada, the Colombia River, the Snake River, or directly or indirectly from any of the Great Lakes, into the Great Basin, that would be an incredible solution.

Relying on Nature to provide.

In its truest sense, no matter which solution we adopt, we will be relying on Nature to provide. However, I am specifically referring to snowpack, water storage, and allocation. There are many perspectives to consider: we need water for food, recreation, and lifestyles, which is why my proposed solution will focus on the 4th option.

Finding other sources of water.

People of faith are often ridiculed because we believe that “the earth has enough and to spare,” an affirmation that the Earth’s resources are abundant. Somewhat heartening, it is also true that even scientists can be “stunned by Nature’s surprises.” Let’s consider:

71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.

The Earth’s crust (mantle) may hold more water than all the ocean’s combined.

Within the Earth are “the fountains of the deep,” the subterranean waters that combined with the rain to flood the Earth in the days of Noah.

The remainder of this post will focus on this option. I invite you to read, comment, like, and share.

COMMON SENSE: A Call to Action

An LDS maxim states: “Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will . . . for the power is in them.” There is value in proactive engagement, individual initiative, and meaningful contributions toward achieving positive results, rather than waiting to be told what to do. Service is an imperative, whether to God or to our fellowmen. Bringing water to the Great Salt Lake and surrounding areas is a good cause.

In the 1930s. in a powerful example of harnessing Nature’s abundance, government and private interests combined to build a series of dams, canals, and irrigation systems in the Northwest, bringing water and transportation to the land. These visionary efforts brought productive agriculture and a multitude of benefits to millions of people in the region and across the entire United States. Though solving today’s issues will require a different approach, the challenge remains the same: we need water!

In all human pursuits, power shapes societal structures and influences quality of life. Therefore, even though the issue of power may appear to be balanced and fair at the present time, it is essential to exercise discernment amid the many factors at play. The increasing mindset of scarcity feeds inefficiency, lust for control, and bureaucratic growth. Hence the constant emphasis on the crisis of the GSL: “Droughts are growing more severe as population increases . . . Less surface water is available . . . Reliance on well water is increasing . . . Everything is human caused . . . We must regulate . . . We must control population and growth . . . We have tools for later use.” Some observers even go so far as to attribute aspects of climate change to certain religious groups, such as the LDS Church, noting that their support for irrigation and large families increases resource consumption. These perspectives are a powerful reminder that Thoreau’s idea of addressing the root cause is essential.

Water means freedom!

As debates over power intensify, we the people have a great deal to lose if bureaucratic thinking and policies win the day. To preserve liberty, boldness is needed. Let’s not forget, that government is best which governs least.

Water means beauty!

Let’s continue to beautify our homes, yards, parks, public spaces, and houses of worship; let’s keep our lawns, gardens, and fences well-groomed, reflecting orderliness. Let the beehive–with the hive and the honeybees forming our communal coat of arms–be a significant representation of the industry, harmony, order, and frugality of the people, demonstrating the sweet results of our toil, union, and intelligent cooperation. Let’s keep in mind the eternal principle that all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of mankind, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart. Let’s cherish our mountain lakes, rivers, and streams, and do everything we can to support the migratory birds and animals that seek refuge and sanctuary across our state. In our pursuit of social refinement, let’s rejoice that music continues to swell the breeze with freedom’s song.

Water means a bright future!

Let’s continue to develop parks and trails that bring families together and draw people to the beautiful outdoors. Let’s continue to support the centers that celebrate the arts, elevating the culture. Let’s continue to showcase our commitment to education, physical achievement, and entertainment through beautiful schools, manicured campuses, and magnificent athletic fields, arenas, and golf courses. Let’s continue to facilitate commerce through transportation systems that are safe and efficient as they carry us to the four corners of our state. Let’s continue to keep our winter sports and year-round outdoor activities attractive and vibrant.

Citing Jay Evensen (DN, Dec. 1, 2022), I encourage KSL Radio and TV, the Deseret News, Rod Arquette and Greg Hughes, as well as all other Church and secular communication organs to give voice to the proposals by Steven Lund and Matthew Memmot in order to spur interest and thought in the public square by advancing positive conversation of horizontal drilling of deep freshwater aquifers and statewide desalination reactors to quickly restore the GSL, refill Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and increase water flow across Utah and the Western region for the benefit of over 40 million people. The methods they advocate are presently in use across the United States.

Deep water aquifers, found 400 to several thousand meters underground and still largely uncharted, are more widespread than once thought. The current record drought and historical absence of saline lake recovery offer a timely opportunity to seek new deep groundwater sources.

The USGS estimates that these aquifers contain at least 900 million acre-feet of water, with approximately 700,000 acre-feet needed to restore the GSL. Verifying these figures would involve drilling wells projected to cost $100 million. Using existing oil and gas data and satellite technology will reduce exploration costs.

Down through the years, beginning in Nauvoo and continuing through the modern day, the Restored Church has faced many challenges. In the early stages of the great pioneer exodus, Church leaders directed members to construct the roads and bridges to assist the migration. These efforts were followed by the down-and-back trains and the rescue at Martin’s Cove directed by Brigham Young.

In addition to the tasks performed by the Saints, many of the things that have been done were beyond the capacity of ordinary members, requiring a much higher level of ecclesiastical engagement. For example, sending supplies to war-torn Europe following World War II, the ongoing world-wide philanthropic efforts carried out by the Church, and, in partnership with local officials, the renovation and improvement of downtown Salt Lake City to create a buffer of protection around Temple Square and Church headquarters.

While Church members continue to contribute tithes, offerings, missionary service, and other support, we do not have sufficient resources among us to solve the current water crisis. I believe that alleviating the drought will require another joint venture between ecclesiastical and state officials. I urge the Church to play the leading role in controlling the narrative, providing the funding, and organizing the efforts, because sitting back and relying on well-intentioned individuals and organizations risks empowering bureaucracy and reducing our individual and collective freedom.

LDS generosity is well known throughout the world, but at the same time we can focus on strengthening ourselves from within, without compromising that vital mission. Much like the need for the development of City Creek as a protective barrier within downtown Salt Lake, action must be taken to expand the arc of protection to all citizens of Utah and beyond our borders through solving the water crisis. Regardless of your location or resources, this crisis threatens our very way of life and the spiritual work we have been assigned to do. Instead of relying solely on Providence, let’s keep in mind that the Lord helps those who help themselves.

I respectfully urge the Church at all levels of bureaucracy, leadership, and membership to follow the prophet. When the prophet announces a house of the Lord, he is endorsing growth, prosperity, and freedom. Proven time and again, this is the economic pattern that unfolds once a temple is dedicated. He is also affirming that the Restoration is ongoing, that the Restored Church is the kingdom of God on the Earth, that the earth has enough and to spare, and that the desert blooming as a rose symbolizes a spiritual transformation from darkness to light as well as the interdependence of human and environmental health. If we see in these words more than mere abstractions, then indeed the power is in us to be anxiously engaged in a good cause.

Sources:

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28.
Jay Evensen, DN Opinion Editor, December 1, 2022.
Deep Groundwater Might be a Sustainable Solution to the Water Crisis by Claudia Bertoni, Fridtjov Ruden, Elizabeth Quiroga Jordan and Helene Ruden. February 27, 2025.
Great Salt Lake Strike Team.
Doug Burgum: A rough rider at heart. DN May 15, 2025.
Sustainability, October 12, 2022, Beyond the story: Great Salt Lake in the New York Times, Maximilian S. Werner, College of Humanities.
If the Great Salt Lake dries up what would that mean for the U.S. economy? Janet Nguyen, SaveShare.
The Colorado River Basin’s groundwater is disappearing faster than the river itself. May 31, 2025, Kevin Lind, Ideas and Culture team covering the Intermountain West.
The Great Lake Is Drying. Can Utah Save It? Leia Larsen, The New York Times, May 5, 2025.
Climate Change and Capitalism: A Political Marxist View. Simon Mair, July 7, 2019.
Environmentalists’ goal is climate indoctrination, not education. Washington Examiner, Kaylee McGhee White.

Understanding America’s Christian Heritage: A Renewed Perspective

Reading Time: 3 minutes.

Many folks I know have children or grandchildren in the Gen Z age range. When I read the Deseret News account of Bishop Gerald Causse and the Piano Guys (August 31) I wanted to share a few things I have learned about that generation. This past weekend there were thousands of YSAs meeting in Salt Lake.

Gen Z Turning to Spirituality

An Invitation

The improvement of understanding serves two purposes: to expand our knowledge and to share it with others. –John Locke

A Pew Research Center report highlights that Christianity’s decline has stabilized, with Gen Z attending church more than previous generations. This trend is seen in both the US and Western Europe, with fewer people identifying as atheists.

Gen Z is turning to spirituality to cope with anxiety, depression, and loneliness, seeking stable structures amid social disconnect and institutional mistrust. Religion helps address identity, purpose, and belonging.

For those seeking new perspectives, I invite you to explore “How and Why Christianity Came to America” which will be presented in a series of posts beginning in August 2025 in celebration of our nation’s 250^th birthday.

Site: http://www.americasgrand.design. My first post: Waving the Flags of America and the Restoration.

As you learn the true story behind America’s creation, the falsehoods you may have been fed will disappear. Discovering and learning about how this nation came into existence will not only be rewarding, it will fill your mind with the realization that it is wonderful to have a country to love.

In an environment where anxiety and depression are rampant, understanding God’s love and his purposes helps people of all ages build stronger futures.

LDS Chapel

Emphasizing democracy, religion, family, and relationships supports stability.

Faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ and believing in immortality are vital for a strong, free society.

Human progress is founded on freedom, accountability, and following the Golden Rule. Enlightenment about America’s founding provides purpose and meaning, which this series aims to deliver.

SUMMARY

Big Idea

The flourishing of human progress depends on the harmonious integration of freedom, accountability, and a democracy grounded in religious values. Faith plays a vital role in shaping stable societies by fostering strong families, moral responsibility, and a sense of purpose.

Key Points

Generational Shift: Christianity’s decline in the West has plateaued, with an increase in church attendance among Gen Z, who are less likely than Millennials to identify as atheists.

Social Drivers: Rising anxiety, depression, loneliness, and weakened social trust are motivating young people to seek the structure, identity, and belonging that religion can offer.

Series Invitation: The series “How and Why Christianity Came to America” aims to clarify misconceptions about America’s origins and foster renewed appreciation for the nation’s heritage.

Core Values: Faith in God and in Jesus Christ, the belief in immortality, robust family life, and practicing the Golden Rule are foundational to a stable and free society.

Renewed Understanding: Learning about America’s founding principles can inspire gratitude and offer meaning, especially during times of widespread uncertainty and disconnection.

Celebrating our 250th Anniversary

The American Spirit

Premise: the American experiment is foreordained.

History: who we are and what we stand for.

Purpose: it is wonderful to have a country to love.

Goal: help stop the mindless destruction of America.

Introductory Post: an invitation.

First post: august 28, 2025, and continuing through July 2026.

2/3 posts per week.

I invite you to comment, share, and invite.

PLEASE HELP TELL OUR STORY ACROSS THE WORLD!

americasgrand.design

All Men Are Created Equal

A Rebuke to Tyranny and Oppression

When considered in light of the most common charge leveled against America’s Founding Fathers, and against our nation itself, that they were hypocrites who did not believe in their stated principles, and therefore the country they built rests on a lie, two of the leading theological doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, properly understood and taught, would have significant impact on our culture. These teachings would refute the machinations of politics and selfish human interests, as well as undo the destructive theories that continue to divide Americans and tear at the fabric of our country.

First, is the powerful teaching of premortal life. Simply stated, man was in the beginning with God.

More specifically, in the premortal realm, order, agency, and eternal truths prevailed. Setting themselves apart through faithfulness, diligence, and devotion, leaders, including those who would discover, colonize, and establish the American nation, emerged. Born when and where they would be needed the most, these faithful individuals would be called upon to assist God in the development and progress of His work on earth.

Demonstrating the pattern of heaven, these noble and great souls would come forth as ancient philosophers, pagan or Israelite, as well as the great characters of modern times. In renewal, invention, translation, reform, discovery, science, enlightenment, music, colonization, the struggle for freedom, emancipation, union, statesmanship, diplomacy, religious ideals and philosophy, educational pursuits, and innovations, they would find in Christ the keys to human advancement and the source of the marvelous truths they would advocate.

Contrary to the greatest acts of mighty men, which have been carried out to depopulate nations and to overthrow kingdoms at the expense of the lives of the innocent, the blood of the oppressed, the moans of the widow, and the tears of the orphan, these noble and great ones would be inspired in doing what they do for the amelioration, liberty, and advancement of the human race. Unfolding under the umbrella of divine design, their leadership and accomplishments would be progressively refined to correspond with human understanding of God’s intentions.

Second, the inspiring assertion that our founding documents, and our nation itself, were created by the hands of wise men who were prepared in the premortal realm for that very task and raised up by God in mortality for that very purpose. Moreover, upon the foundation of the existential nature of freedom, over the course of centuries, God would employ a wide variety of methods and individuals to prepare the way and assist His chosen servants in the creation of this nation.

In 1620, upon boarding the Mayflower, the Pilgrims were worried about how self-government might be established upon their arrival in America. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, in one of the most significant acts in history, they drew up the Mayflower Compact.

Drawing heavily on the Long Letter, which had been presented by their spiritual leader, John Robinson, in Holland, the Mayflower Compact spelled out ideas for the group’s legal and social organization in the New World. For the role it played in inspiring this document, John Adams would credit Robinson’s Long Letter as foundational to the United States Constitution.

The aim of the Pilgrim enterprise, undertaken to escape religious persecution in the Old World and to seek the opportunity for self-government in the new one, was underscored by their belief that the Renaissance and Reformation were not ends but means to greater light. And even though God had not revealed His whole will to them, they knew they wanted to “be as a city upon a hill, [for] the eyes of all people are upon us” (John Winthrop).

In 1687, our notion of the structure of the natural world expanded dramatically with Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity. The concept of a higher law, divinely ordained, was strengthened.

If Newton had been able to discern the particular laws that God had established to govern the movements of the planets in the heavens, how much more certain it was that He had ordained such laws for the direction of human societies. Accordingly, acting on John Locke’s assertion that the natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and that ordinary individuals could form new communities and governments simply by agreeing to do so, confident of the fact that their rights were guaranteed by God Himself, the Founding Fathers would source human rights to the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.

Having gained a foothold in the New World, the parade of great and noble souls in pursuit of God’s will, continued to unfold. With a collective yearning for divine and practical guidance in an era of constitutional thinking, colonial America was richly blessed by the influence of George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mather, John Wesley, and James Otis.

In 1776, building upon the momentum of the Great Awakening, and further magnified by clarity of intellect, profundity of knowledge, and revolutionary genius, a powerful combination of noble and great souls would come together in Philadelphia. Bound together in their love of freedom, this most remarkable generation of public men in history would deliver a compendium of self-evident truths, truths they regarded as “sacred and undeniable.”

Envisioning an empire of liberty traveling westward, they were looking forward to the destined moment when America would give the “law” to the rest of the world in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah: “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Pledging their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, they would declare independence, affirm that “all men are created equal,” state that rights come from God, and enshrine in the American consciousness the supernal principle of consent of the governed.

Also in 1776, Adam Smith would publish The Wealth of Nations, which, through the invention of a market economy, would unleash a movement that would more profoundly revolutionize the world between 1800 and the present day than any other singe force. Defining freedom of thought as the most critical goal of the America Revolution, Thomas Jefferson would author the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, thus laying the groundwork for the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. And Edward Gibbon, seeking to answer the questions, “what happened, and could it happen again” would publish The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Eleven years later, the Founding Fathers, led by George Washington, whose “very presence in Philadelphia certified the connection between the two founding moments: the first to win independence and the second to secure it” (Ellis), would give birth to the Constitution of the United States of America, “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man” (Gladstone). Basing their work on “just and holy principles,” the Framers would establish the foundation and legitimacy of our nation.

Meanwhile, on July 13, 1787, in New York, the Confederation Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance which protected civil liberties and outlawed slavery in the new territories. Simultaneously in Great Britain, William Wilberforce, in combination with other noble and great souls, began a determined effort to abolish the slave trade and then to abolish slavery itself in all English possessions.

As indicated in the small sampling of noble and great ones aforementioned, foreordination is the premortal selection of individuals to come forth in mortality at specified times, under certain conditions, and to fulfill predesignated responsibilities. In the totality of these few examples, through what they accomplished as individuals and in groups, as well as in the movements they led and supported, the discovery, colonization, and establishment of America was to be a significant part of “a marvelous work and a wonder,” as foretold by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.

While “many Americans labor under the illusion that slavery was somehow a uniquely American evil, it was the Western world’s repudiation of slavery, only just beginning to build at the time of the American Revolution, which marked a dramatic sea change in moral sensibilities. The American Founders were living on the cusp of this change, in a manner that straddled two worlds” (1776 Report).

The Framers of America’s founding documents knew that slavery was incompatible with the idea that “all men are created equal.” Yet, in the formative years of the United States, there was insurmountable social, cultural, and political opposition in the fight to end human bondage in America.

Remarkably, on December 16, 1833, with the issue of slavery unresolved, the Prophet Joseph Smith quoted the Lord. Referring to one of the “just and holy principles” upon which this nation was founded, he wrote, “It is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (DC 101.79-80).

In the fight against tyrannical practices, our history is one of common struggle and great achievement. Our ancestors won independence, created a government, and tamed a wilderness. In addition, over 600,000 lives were lost in the successful effort to end human bondage.

Interpreting the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln noted, “They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered by all . . . and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere.”

Having based our political legitimacy on the eternal principles of liberty, justice, and consent of the governed, Thomas Jefferson was singled out by Lincoln, who wrote, “All honor to Jefferson–the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast, and capacity to introduce in a merely revolutionary document, an abstract truth, applicable to all men and all times . . . a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of re-appearing tyranny and oppression.”

In their appeal to both reason and revelation, our founding documents speak to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” to the principle of freedom, and to the will of “We the People.” Working together, they are “an outgrowth, in practical terms, of man’s desire to protect the principle of free agency by defining the role and limits of civil authority” (G. Homer Durham).

Having established America as a city on a hill, those who came before brought forth eternal truths and a desire to share those truths with the rest of mankind. Under the protection of the Constitution of the United States, the spread of Christ’s gospel can go forward as the greatest motivational power in the world to be and to do good. Revealed as a trail of clues, our founding documents have given us the opportunity to establish and maintain a Republic, if we can keep it, and to offer universal peace and prosperity to all mankind, if they will receive it.

For additional information on America’s Grand Design, please see: http://www.americasgranddesign.com

The Declaration of Independence, The U. S. Constitution, and The Bill of Rights

Established on Just and Holy Principles

What I Believe

America’s founding documents: The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and The Bill of Rights are the culmination of centuries of progress. Paving the way for freedom, they express the ideals that define “We the People of the United States” and inspire free people around the world. They represent the consolidation of eternal truths for the universal blessing of the human family, the common connection through which all the inhabitants of Earth will be blessed.

Envisioning an empire of liberty traveling westward, the Founding Fathers looked forward with eager expectation to the destined moment when America would give the “law” to the rest of the world in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah: “Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Reflecting this sentiment, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his initial rough draft: “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.” Preferring a phrase which characterized the truths as grounded in rationality and reason–truths that could be understood by basic, original evidence and man’s innate moral common sense–not in the dictates or dogma of any particular religion, Benjamin Franklin changed the wording to “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” In both cases, these statesmen were declaring that in its design and intent what they were proposing was to be established “according to just and holy principles” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:77).

It was this appeal of America’s values, through a willingness to engage in a war of ideas, that won us independence. Likewise, it has been the continued appeal of America’s values that has assured victory over totalitarianism and communism in modern times. Both generations realized that ideas had power which would prove stronger than weapons.

Now being challenged by those who are willing to undermine our founding principles through the advancement of progressive policies and increasing governmental power, we, as citizens who believe we are entitled to liberty and that our rights should be respected by a government whose legitimacy comes from our consent, are seeing unfold before our eyes what lawyer and diplomat James Russell Lowell may have had in mind when he said, “Our American republic will endure only as long as the ideas of the men who founded it continue dominant.”

In like manner, we are witnessing the deteriorating conditions in our culture and social environment which call attention to the words of John Adams, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Little by little, day by day, in a failure that would dismay the Founders, who knew the power of those truths they proclaimed nearly 250 years ago, we are losing the war in defense of self-evident truths–the war of ideas, ideals, and eternal verities–in America and around the world. A caution to each of us, we must awaken to the truth that the ideals which inspired the Founding Fathers remain inspiring today.

As to what we can do, we must understand that people and principles are superior to the governments they form. Thomas Jefferson emphasized principles in the Declaration of Independence by advancing the claim that all persons are entitled to equal rights and privileges before the law, that certain rights come from the Creator, and in themselves are divine and eternal in nature, and that these sacred rights pertain in part to the enjoyment of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Also focusing on correct principles, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that both governmental and personal leadership are successful when rooted in principle rather than expediency.

In the Great Declaration of Belief regarding governments and laws in general, members of the Restored Church in 1835 sustained the principle of a “higher law,” designed to protect the free agency of man. “We do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul” (DC 134:4). The doctrine of higher law is an ancient idea. It runs to the most basic considerations in religion. It is found in cultures throughout history.

For example, Aristotle distinguished between written laws, which are man-made, and the “law,” which he felt was in accordance with nature and therefore immutable. In Roman law, distinctions were made between the summa lex, or the highest law, and the lex scripta, or man-made law. Catholic philosophers from Augustine to Aquinas discussed the idea of an overruling law of nature, and other fundamental laws which were not capable of being changed by any civil authority. Anglo-Saxon political and legal tradition, including the philosophical method of John Locke and the scientific method of Isaac Newton, were also part of the “establishment” process which resulted in the formation of America’s founding documents and their assertion that people are created equal and have certain inalienable rights.

The Framers not only understood the significance of the legacy which history and tradition had bequeathed them but coupled that knowledge to their own colonial experience so when it came to political questions, they were at home not only in Virginia, Maryland, or New York, but also equally at home in Rome, in Athens, in Paris, and in London. “The Constitution was born, not only of the wisdom and experience of the generation that wrought it, but also out of the wisdom of the long generations that had gone before, and which had been transmitted to them through tradition and the pages of history” (J. Reuben Clark).

In 1842, Joseph Smith declared, “The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God.” Providing deep insight into the religious basis of our founding documents, members of the Church sustain several underlying principles which represent a practical guarantee in the political arena that individual freedom will not perish.

First, the basic elements of constitutional government, as embodied in our founding documents, “should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh” (DC 101:77). Each individual, whatever their race, color, or creed, is equally entitled to the protection of law in the exercise of personal rights.

Second, America’s government should be maintained “according to just and holy principles” (DC 101:77). The Framers, by divine inspiration, embedded within our founding documents certain eternal principles–self-evident truths. “Just and holy” in nature, these principles prove themselves without the need of further validation. They are the eternal, irrevocable, and inalienable “endowment” of all mankind.

Third, the purpose for which these “just and holy principles” exist is to assure that “every man may act in doctrine and principles pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (DC 101:78.) This pronouncement suggests that principled limitations upon the government are ordained to provide the maximum possible range of freedom of choice as people engage in the pursuit of happiness and the creation of a more perfect union.

Fourth, “It is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose,” (DC 101:79-80). The most common charge leveled against the Founders, and hence against our country itself, is that they were hypocrites who did not believe in their stated principles, and therefore the country they built rests on a lie. This charge is false!

Even so, “Many Americans labor under the illusion that slavery was somehow a uniquely American evil” (1776 Report). In truth, “It was the Western world’s repudiation of slavery, only just beginning to build at the time of the American Revolution, which marked a dramatic sea change in moral sensibilities. The American Founders were living on the cusp of this change, in a manner that straddled two worlds” (Ibid). Our Founding Fathers knew that slavery was incompatible with the idea that “all men are created equal.” Yet, in the formative years of the United States, there was insurmountable social, cultural, and political opposition in the fight to end human bondage in America.

Following the loss of over 600,000 lives, the clashes in the halls of Congress and on the battlefields of America were finally resolved by amendments that abolished slavery. However, amplified by the machinations of politics and selfish human interests, the damage done by the denial of core American principles proved widespread and long-lasting. Continuing to this day, they form the basis of some of the destructive theories that continue to divide us and tear at the fabric of our country.

In the fight against tyrannical practices, we need to remember that our history is one of common struggle and great achievement. Our ancestors won independence, created a government, and tamed a wilderness. Interpreting the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln noted, “They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered by all . . . and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere.”

Having based our political legitimacy on the eternal principles of liberty, justice, and consent of the governed, Jefferson was singled out by Lincoln, who wrote, “All honor to Jefferson–the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast, and capacity to introduce in a merely revolutionary document, an abstract truth, applicable to all men and all times, . . . a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of re-appearing tyranny and oppression.”

Hence, in their appeal to both reason and revelation, our founding documents speak to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” to the principle of freedom, and to the will of “We the People.” Working together, they are “an outgrowth, in practical terms, of man’s desire to protect the principle of free agency by defining the role and limits of civil authority” (G. Homer Durham). In other words, “just and holy principles,” championed by the hands of wise men who were raised up for that very purpose, provide the foundation and legitimacy of our nation.

In a recent address on the Constitution, Dallin H. Oaks told of an experience in the 1960s when he began teaching law at the University of Chicago. An older professor, who had taught at the University of Utah’s College of Law early in his career related that he met many students who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “They all seemed to believe that the Constitution was divinely inspired,” he said, “but none of them could ever tell me what this meant or how it affected their interpretation of the Constitution.”

President Oaks went on to say that he believes the Constitution is divinely inspired because it contains principles and rights that bless not only this nation but also the world. To him, the attribution of sovereign power to the people, the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, and the balancing of powers between the federal government and the states is the foundation for a well-ordered government of laws, and not of men.

Respecting the divine nature of human relations, Friedrich A. Hayek declared, “If old truths are to retain their hold on men’s minds, they must be restated in the language and concepts of successive generations.” In other words, every generation needs someone to interpret the wisdom of the past for the present, for every generation must rediscover true history and the gospel anew.

This is especially true in our day “because error is preached all the time.” As a result, “Truth has to be repeated constantly” (Goethe). Our collective task is both exhilarating and foreboding: “We must stop the mindless destruction of historical America” (David McCullough).

Think about it! As Americans, the story we have to tell is exciting beyond measure! As one of 56 delegates who gathered in Carpenters’ Hall in 1774, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that “he thought he had come to one of the greatest conclaves of the greatest minds of all time. He was amazed by the range and variety of talents on display” (McCullough). Two years later, this group of patriots would pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the cause of freedom.

Years later, having again finished their work in Independence Hall, James Madison wrote of his colleagues: “Whatever may be the judgment pronounced on the competency of the architects of the Constitution, or whatever may be the destiny of the edifice prepared by them, I feel it a duty to express my profound and solemn conviction, derived from my intimate opportunity of observing and appreciating the views of the Convention, collectively and individually, that there never was an assembly of men, charged with a great and arduous trust, who were more pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted to the object committed to them, than were the members of the Federal Convention of 1787.”

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in our desire to champion civic awareness and the common good, it is our privilege and responsibility to affirm that, “History is not an accident. Events are foreknown to God. Long before America was even discovered, the Lord was moving and shaping events that would lead to the coming forth of the remarkable form of government established by the Constitution” (Benson). It was not by chance that the Puritans and others who followed later left their native land and sailed to New England where they were inspired to establish the God-given system of government under which we live. Laying the foundation for the 1820 vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the unfolding Restoration, this series of historical events is described by the biblical prophet Isaiah as “a marvelous work and a wonder.”

We need not pretend to a divine commission and a sacred destiny. America is a part of redemptive history, of divine prophecy fulfilled, of God’s grand design. Established for the rights and protection of all flesh, America’s founding documents represent the practical guarantee in the political arena that adherence to natural law and Christian teachings will protect freedom, that liberty of conscience and individual moral agency will not perish from the Earth.

This is why I believe.

THE LIFE BEFORE

HOW OUR PREMORTAL EXISTENCE AFFECTS OUR MORTAL LIFE

Why I Believe

We do not realize how much everything we have in this life springs from our premortal existence. Hence, the more we learn about the life before, the more we can weigh and consider to what end this life is given to each of us.

First and foremost, a knowledge of the life before gives us perspective. For example, in recent decades, we have traveled far into the freedom-destroying and soul-destroying land of socialism. Why is this the case?

Here is the answer according to David O. McKay, a religious scholar and former President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “There are two great forces in the world more potent than ever before, each force more determined to achieve success, more active in planning, and on the one side, scheming, than ever before. These two great forces are hate and love.

“Hate had its origin in our preexistent state where Satan was determined to destroy the free agency of man and to supplant God. In the spirit of hate, as is manifest today in the world, the very existence of God is denied, the free agency of man is taken from him, and the power of the state supplanted. Thus, the history of the world with all its contention and strife is largely an account of man’s effort to free himself from bondage and usurpation. Force rules in the world today.”

Biblical teachings and much of classical literature undergird the logic of man’s preexistence. Our nation was founded upon divine providence. Flowing from our experience in that environment, human mortality has been designed as a team effort. We need not pretend to a divine commission and a sacred destiny. America is part of redemptive history, of divine prophecy fulfilled. The whole world needs such enlightenment.

If we are to survive as a nation and as a Church, to progress, we must counter the evil forces in the world with the guarantees of the Bill of Rights that are set up by our Constitution. There is nothing more important than the First Amendment, because behind all that lies in our lives and all that we do in our lives is freedom of conscience and expression, our religion, our worship, our belief and faith in God.

Fortunately, as noted by National Geographic (2023), “For one-third of all people around the globe–and roughly two-thirds of Americans–Christian values continue to be relevant today.” Springing from commitments we made in the life before, we have a tremendous responsibility to serve as a beacon of hope to people all across the globe. As Americans, we must stand for and teach principles of liberty and righteousness.

From a small community of Galilean fishermen to a movement that conquered the Roman Empire and ultimately the rest of the world, the powerful words of Christ, and about Christ, continue to have mature, profound, and undeniable impact. What is it that has made them so irresistible through two millennia? The answer is in the back story; that which took place before the human family began to inhabit planet earth.

In the beginning, we lived with God as His spirit children. Governed by order, we knew and worshipped Him as the Father of lights.

Sensing our Father’s exalted state, and aware that certain things could only be experienced and learned in a temporal world, we expressed our aspiration to become like Him. Granting our desire, the Lord presented a plan which allowed us to transition from premortal to mortal to afterlife, wherein we could progress and return to His presence. Fundamental to this plan, we would be placed in mortality to pursue divinely ordained possibilities, centering on receiving a physical body, acting according to our wills and pleasures as we choose between good and evil, gaining experience, and being subject to infirmities and physical death.

Eager for the progression of His children, yet with the foreknowledge that His commandments would be ignored, His laws violated, and that some of His offspring would be lost as a result of disobedience and rebellion once we left His presence, God created this world for us. His purpose, which He defined as His work and glory, would be to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Established on the eternal principles of agency and consent of the governed, the unfolding events were not without controversy. “The contention in heaven was–Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he would save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So, the devil rose up in rebellion against God [in what is known as the war in heaven]” (Joseph Smith).

As penalty for attempting to destroy man’s agency and usurp God’s power, Lucifer and his followers were cast down to earth, where he became Satan, even the devil, the author of all sin, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto the voice of God. With inspired pathos, Isaiah lamented, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will be like the Most High.”

In our preexistent state we lived in an atmosphere of agency and accountability. However, there were, as there are on earth, varying levels of intelligence, obedience, and understanding. We were free to act for ourselves, to think for ourselves, and to receive the truth or rebel against it.

During this period, Jehovah was chosen and ordained to be the Savior and Redeemer of the human race. “At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it” (Joseph Smith). Filled with wonder and amazement at what was being done on our behalf, our reaction was breathtaking: “. . . the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job).

Following this series of events, subsequent councils were held to organize, prepare, and further instruct the future inhabitants of earth, on the law of God, the role of mortality, and the plan of salvation. From among our ranks, noble and great souls were chosen to advance truth. Among them were those who would become prophets, poets, philosophers, theologians, scholars, and reformers, as well as other gifted and talented visionaries and luminaries.

Known in the premortal world as Jehovah, Christ would teach the gospel to Adam, and make known His truths to Abraham and the prophets, including Moses on Mt. Sinai. He would be the inspirer of the ancient philosophers, Pagan or Israelite, as well as the great characters of modern times. Columbus, in discovery; Washington, in the struggle for freedom; Lincoln, in emancipation and union; Bacon, in philosophy; Franklin in statesmanship and diplomacy; Stephenson, in steam; Watts, in song; Edison, in electricity, and Joseph Smith, in theology and religion, found in Him the source of their wisdom and the marvelous truths which they advocated. Likewise, Calvin, Luther, Melanchthon, and others were inspired in thoughts, words, and actions, to accomplish what they did for the amelioration of injustice, the advancement of the human race, and the revolutionary idea of individual freedom.

Addressing the role of those who would be called upon to lead and inspire in mortality, Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero wrote, “There is, I know not how, in the minds of men, a certain presage, as it were, of a future existence, and this takes the deepest root, and is most discoverable, in the greatest geniuses and most exalted souls.” Such truths caused David to exclaim, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him” (Psalms)?

Providing additional evidence of our pre-mortal existence, Jeremiah quoted the Lord, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Provided in God’s way, an evolving moral code has been established through these and many other historical figures. Fully aware that this world was being created for our development and progress, we vowed to make the story of the human family a series of ascending developments.

It has been said that “everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship with the Infinite” (McKay). The reality of a premortal existence is a curative for the yearnings expressed in music, poetry, and literature, such as, “You’re a stranger here” (Snow), “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting” (Wordsworth), and these words from Plato: “Your favorite doctrine, Socrates, that knowledge is simply recollection, if true, also necessarily implies a previous time in which we have learned that which we now recollect. But this would be impossible unless our soul had been in some place before existing in the form of man; here then is another proof of the soul’s immortality.”

Such feelings are shared by many, including the belief that man has spiritual roots which reach far back beyond this existence. Proclaimed Rousseau, “Not all the subtleties of metaphysics can make me doubt a moment of the immortality of the soul, and of a beneficent providence. I feel it. I believe it. I desire it. I hope it and will defend it to my last breath.” Declared by Herman Hesse, “We all share the same origin; . . . all of us come in at the same door.” We are brothers and sisters, literal spirit children of an Eternal Father.

Further supporting belief in the immortality of the soul of man, the main character in Alex Haley’s Roots learns of the premortal existence and the life beyond mortality from his father, Osmoro, upon the death of his beloved grandmother.

“He said that three groups of people lived in every village,” explained Haley. “First were those you could see–walking around, eating, sleeping, and working. Second were the ancestors, who Grandma Yaisa had now joined.

“‘And the third people–who are they?’ asked Kunta. ‘The third people,’ said Osmoro, ‘are those waiting to be born.'”

This sentiment was also held by Edmund Burke, the Father of Conservatism, who wrote of the formation of society’s social contract: “It is a partnership between those who are living, those who are dead and those who are to be born. Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primeval contract of eternal society, connecting the visible and invisible world.”

In 1776, as he championed American independence in a letter to a friend, John Adams showed why he was considered the colossus of independence. “Objects of the most stupendous magnitude, measures in which the lives and liberties of millions, born and unborn are most essentially interested, are now before us. We are in the very midst of revolution, the most complete, unexpected, and remarkable of any in the history of the world.”

Concerned with posterity and future generations, the Founding Fathers, with prescient wisdom, declared the right to life as the most fundamental human right, the universal birthright of the human family. It was their conviction that each life was to have its beginning, its growth, and its end. The right to life unlocks the door to freedom and progression for those who were to follow.

In Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835, Joseph Smith linked societal peace with the protection of life: “We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life” (Doctrine and Covenants).

Mysteriously, with few exceptions, most cultures and religions in the Western world generally reject the idea of a premortal life of man and the principle of eternal progression. Despite the many inspired references to a pre-earth life, to the upward reach in the heart of man, and to evidence which suggests that the doctrine of a premortal existence was common in the early years of Roman Catholic doctrine and was discussed openly, most of modern Christianity rejects such a notion.

By AD 543, even though there were those who spoke of Old Testament figures being “chosen by God because of merits acquired before this life” the teachings on pre-mortality had been declared heresy in the Church and allowed to wither away. From this date on, the doctrine of man’s premortal state and relationship to God was viewed as heretical and unfounded in scripture.

Continuing today, with far-reaching negative consequences that affect millions, conventional Christianity vehemently rejects the notion of a premortal existence. Though the spiritual and theological examination of the life before, and its impact on mortality, have been institutionally silenced, this is not to say that substantial numbers do not feel strongly that we existed before our present life on earth.

Wrote Macel Proust, a modern French novelist, “Everything in our life happens as though we entered upon it with a load of obligations contracted in a previous existence.” The “larger consciousness” or “larger self” is the spirit of man which was schooled and enlarged upon in a premortal realm and subsequently influences the psychological and intellectual traits of the mortal person.

Employing spiritual terms, Joseph Smith characterized this “consciousness” as “that which was from the beginning,” the premortal teachings we received for the intended purpose of understanding the reasons for our physical creation, which centered on our potential to become like our Heavenly Father, an exalted being with a body of flesh and bones. This teaching, that man may become perfect as God is and dwell in His presence, has stirred great controversy. Yet, it is at the heart of the expression: “My sheep hear my voice.”

It is good to be a part of life. Human learning, with the blessings of God upon it, introduces us to divine knowledge. Flowing from that knowledge, we know that the adversary is no idle spirit, but a vagrant, whose motive, cause, and main intention is to ruin man. Following are three reasons why the devil is determined to make us miserable and ensnare us in sin and selfishness.

First, he will never have a physical body. Consequently, he will use his influence to encourage each of us to misuse and desecrate our bodies.
Second, he will never marry. As a result, he will do everything in his power to destroy the institution of marriage.
Third, he will never have children. Through promotion of the philosophies of men, such as abortion–a horrific, inhumane act that produces a calloused and desensitized society–he will author movements of fraud and deception against God’s purpose of multiplying and replenishing the earth.

As we become absorbed in achieving eternal goals from the perspective of the life before, life becomes more abundant. To the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, the formula is straightforward: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Expressed in the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the doctrine of foreordination. “Before we came to Earth, we were given certain assignments. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to” (Kimball). Man was in the beginning with God. We were not created or made ex nihilo (out of nothing). We are eternal and have always existed.

Stated by Santanya, “Life is hardly respectable if it has not generous task, no duties or affections that constitute a necessity of existence.” In one such example, a modern-day prophet links premortal life with the preservation of liberty: “I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has sent other choice spirits–even you who read my words–to preserve it” (Benson).

Published on 22 January 2013 by Canada Free Press, Protestant Mike Jensen wrote an article entitled “Smart Mormons.” He wrote, “Mormons believe that all humans lived a life before mortality. This is where Mormon theology is so intriguing. The greatest of all battles, the war in heaven, was fought over liberty, or as they call it, ‘free agency.’ The battle for liberty is not unique to this life; it is the core battle of the ages. It is a fundamental, eternal concern. God intends for humans to be free and make their own choices and live with the consequences of those choices. The Fathers of this country said essentially the same thing in the Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.’ My study has not only given me newfound respect for religion, but it has also made me evaluate my own attitude towards liberty. The fact that I’m here says that I was on God’s side in the war in heaven.”

A long lesson in humility, every man’s life is a plan of God. Your life is your own, and it will be what you have to take into eternity. “Be such a man, and live such a life, that if every man were such as you, and every life a life like yours, this earth would be God’s Paradise” (Phillip Brooks).

This is why I believe.

Website: http://www.americasgranddesign.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brent Russell’s book, America’s Grand Design (2022), retraces the history of American heritage and humanity’s Constitutional liberties, grounded in the hope of universal goodwill.

Holistically outlining the interconnectedness of the historical events which caused and then overcame the Dark and Middle Ages, leading to the development and establishment of America’s civil and religious liberties, this treatise is a timely reminder that God governs in the affairs of men.

Developed through centuries of struggle, freedom of conscience and expression are woven into the very soul of our nation. Yet, there is danger lurking, for those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Because error is preached all the time, truth must be repeated constantly. We must stop the mindless destruction of historical America.

The American experiment was foreordained. America is a part of redemptive history, of divine prophecy fulfilled, of God’s grand design. As a society of free-born people, we must reawaken to the truth that “righteousness exalts a nation.”

Third in a trilogy of Constitutional enlightenment and awareness, the author supports the Utah State Legislature’s designation of September as Founders and Constitution Month. In an effort to champion civic awareness and the common good, he reaffirms that it was not by chance that the Puritans and others who followed later left their native land and sailed to New England where they were inspired to establish the God-given system of government under which we live.

Laying the foundation for the 1820 vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the unfolding Restoration, this series of historical events is described by the biblical prophet Isaiah as “a marvelous work and a wonder.” In an acknowledgement of our responsibility to teach the true greatness of our founding and nation, may we reenergize a spirit of patriotism in recognition of God’s hand in the origin and destiny of America, that we will be a nation under God, not without God.

Website: www.americasgranddesign.com BLOG: americasgrand.design