religion – americasgrand.design

Understanding America’s Christian Heritage: A Renewed Perspective

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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.

Wisdom of the Ages

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

American Founders and Constitution Month

The Utah State Legislature has designated the month of September each year (beginning in 2023) as American Founders and Constitution Month.

In support of this request, the Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking Church members to reenergize a spirit of patriotism and recognition of God’s hand in the origin and destiny of America, that we will be a nation under God, not without God.

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.

Our rights come from God. Civil power is justified only when it secures, promotes, and defends those rights. Essential to the citizens of a free-born society, freedom of conscience and expression are woven into the very soul of our nation.

Holistically outlining the interconnectedness of the historical events which overcame the Dark and Middle Ages and led to the development and establishment of America’s civil and religious liberties, my recent publication, America’s Grand Design, is a timely reminder that God governs in the affairs of men.

Preparing the way for the 1820 vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the ongoing restoration of the Gospel of Christ, this series of events is described by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah as “a marvelous work and a wonder.”

My conclusions are these:

The America experiment–the foundation of the blessings of liberty and justice for all–was foreordained.
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.

The right to offer opinions about morality, society, politics, literature, art, science, or virtually any other subject developed gradually and took centuries of struggle to establish. For these essential characteristics of life to continue:

We must stop the mindless destruction of historical America.
Because error is preached all the time, truth must be repeated constantly.
We must reawaken to the truth that “righteousness exalts a nation.”

Please see: http://www.americasgranddesign.com (Special price: $12.00).

Why I Wrote a Book

What does it mean that the American experiment was foreordained? The Ten Commandments, the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, and the the Golden Rule–these articulate the divine and universal standards upon which all nations will stand or fall.

Five years ago, I began reading Thomas Jefferson, The Art of Power. Nearing the end of the Prologue, I was stunned by the Pulitzer Prize winning author’s words as he asserted that there was “nothing foreordained about the American experiment.”

As the days passed, I could not get those words out of my mind. They went against everything I had been taught about America’s founding and against everything I believed. Furthermore, I was deeply troubled that this point of view was gaining ground and beginning to take hold in the consciousness of the American people.

I gradually came to the conclusion that society will choose and decide; that someone’s values will prevail in the end. It was at that point that I decided to get involved, to push back against the secular perspective, to take a stand on behalf of freedom, religious liberty, America’s founding, and our Founding Fathers.

In the book I address many topics. With regards to whether the American experiment is foreordained, my study and research reaffirmed my personal beliefs. 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 people, the United States Constitution represents the practical guarantee in the political arena that adherence to natural law and Christian teachings will protect freedom across the globe. Thus, America is a land with not only a sacred history and a prophetic destiny but also a tremendous responsibility to serve as a beacon of hope.

The foundation of knowledge flows from reading. I read to learn of those who have passed before, to weigh and consider, to discover something of value. I read to improve my mind and morals and to regulate my conduct, to mark the great events of the world, to discover new ideas, to separate the chaff from the wheat, and to make myself contemporary with past ages. I read to be taught, because what is written is beyond my own power to have produced.

George Macdonald wrote, “As you grow ready for it, somewhere or other, you will find what is needful for you in a book.” I hope this book will be useful in your search for truth.

For additional information: http://www.americasgranddesign.com

The Big Ideas of Life and Liberty

In Search of What Can Unite Us

Nations have boundaries, but there is no limit to the sphere of ideas. Big Ideas control the world; they are mightier than armies. Big ideas lift civilizations.

Big Ideas spring from noble and great souls, from those who contemplate God’s works, feel a generous concern for the good of humankind, exhibit sincere humility.

Our first parents were instructed in two Big Ideas: “multiply and replenish the earth” and “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.”

Champions of Big Ideas, Abraham is the father of nations. Moses is the great lawgiver. Isaiah saw the transcript of God, and in language both poetic and prophetic, wrote of the Messiah and of “a marvelous work and a wonder.”

The rise of the Greeks brought the Big Ideas of the Classical Age which influenced western civilization more than any other people. The Romans spread Greco-Roman ideas across the world.

With immortal words, “Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you,” Jesus brought forth the ultimate in Big Ideas: the sacred covenant of eternal society, thus connecting the visible and invisible worlds in a partnership between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. Inspired by this Big Idea, Thomas Jefferson declared that each and every soul has “the right to life.”

The thousand years of darkness was a period of decline in spiritual learning and scriptural literacy. The term “Dark Ages” is directly linked to the efforts of medieval church leaders to keep the Big Ideas of the Bible out of the hands of the people and to mediate spiritual enlightenment through priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.

The ages of Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, Discovery, Colonization, and Independence are testimonials to the power of Big Ideas. Beginning with the printing of the Bible and culminating with the ratification of the United States Constitution, the underpinnings of Western civilization were put in place by courageous and visionary individuals who fought against ecclesiastical overreach, scholastic intimidation, and the divine right of kings in pursuit of their civil and religious liberties.

In the ongoing effort to maintain our freedoms, we must value “the sacred right of conscience,” another Big Idea. The Founding Fathers concluded that only with careful cultivation of the soul, with attention to “the laws of nature and of nature’s God,” and with the uplifting assistance of family, church, and local community, America’s citizens could learn to control their passions and act worthy to receive the blessings of liberty.

The ages of Romanticism and Restoration are also testimonials to the power of Big Ideas. Encouraging emotion and creativity, Romanticism emphasized our relationship with the natural world and the sublime.

Among the Big Ideas presented in the Book of Mormon is that there is an opposition in all things, that this life is the time to prepare to meet God, that we should mourn with those that mourn, comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.

Building on the premise that we are being tested as a nation by small ideas that divide us, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw shared his unique perspective on how Big Ideas over the past several decades united us and shaped what he called the American century.

These Big Ideas included our defense of freedom against Nazi and Sino aggression, creation of the GI Bill, establishment of minority rights, unleashing science and technology through the vision of going to the moon, emphasis on conservation, new opportunities for girls and women, opening relations with China, confronting and defeating the value system of the Soviet Union, knitting civilization back together after the fall of the Berlin Wall, improving the world through the gifts, influences, and inspiration of talented and visionary individuals and ordinary women and men. Summarizing his list of Big Ideas, Mr. Brokaw wondered where America would be today without them.

Against this backdrop, I pose the question: what are the Creator’s plans for the human family? My answer is based on the Big Ideas embedded within scripture, reason, and modern revelation.

At the dawn of creation God gave us freedom of choice, informed us that this earth would be created for us, and told us that we would be given physical bodies. Our reaction was stunning: “. . . the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). We are on earth to prove ourselves, to grow, to build relationships, and to gain experience.

Explained Joseph Smith, “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.” The Prophet further declared, “The great plan of salvation is a theme which ought to occupy our strict attention and be regarded as one of heaven’s best gifts to mankind.”

The contention in heaven was that Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he would save them all. When the grand council gave its vote in favor of Jesus Christ, the devil rose up in rebellion against God thus beginning the war in heaven.

“The war in heaven over free agency is now being waged here on earth, and there are those today who are saying, ‘Look, don’t get involved in the fight for freedom. Just live the gospel.’ That counsel is dangerous, self-contradictory, unsound” (Ezra Taft Benson).

Big Ideas illustrate that we are on earth for a purpose, that a divinity stirs within us. Accompanying this certainty is another Big Idea, declared by Cicero, “There is, I know not how, in the minds of men, a certain presage, as it were, of a future existence.”

Another Big Idea, we are all born for a higher destiny than that of earth. “Divine wisdom, intending to detain us some time on earth, has done well to cover with a veil the prospect of the life to come” (Mad. de Stael).

The ultimate in Big Ideas puts everything into perspective as we contemplate where we came from, why we are here, and where we go when we die. Searching for answers to our spiritual and intellectual concerns on the boisterous sea of liberty, the words of our Maker, the Great Governor of the Universe, ring out, “This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

To learn more, please go to: http://www.americasgranddesign.com

Religious Freedom: Cornerstone of Peace

The current divisions in the United States are distressing, complex, and increasing in intensity. In the main, they spring from differences between the religious and secular.

As a result of these differences, signs abound that the great battles of the future will occur over the free exercise of conscience, religion, and free expression. Because obedience to the law and political toleration are fundamental to peace and prosperity, if there was ever a time for religious influence to be re-examined, that time is now.

Such a refocus is essential because religious freedom is at the core of what America is and what it stands for. Yet, it is under fire from those who openly ask whether religion belongs in American public life at all.

“For the first time in nearly 300 years, important forces in American society are questioning the free exercise of religion in principle–suggesting that free exercise of religion may be a bad idea, or at least, a right to be minimized” (Douglas Laycock).

With no sense of history, some claim that religious people and institutions violate the constitutional separation of church and state if they bring their beliefs into the public square. A few scholars have even gone so far as to argue that religion does not deserve to be tolerated, much less receive special protection.

The intent of this blog is to promote shared interests and values for the good of society. It is put to forth ideas which will serve the needs of the people and the common good.

It is my belief that those who question the value or legitimacy of religious liberty do not understand that religious freedom is woven into the very soul of America. It is “the cornerstone of peace in a world with many competing philosophies” (D. Todd Christofferson). It is a cherished heritage we must defend.

Explained by historian Perry Miller, “When the English undertook to plant colonies in America, they commenced . . . not with propositions about the rights of man or with the gospel of wealth, but with absolute certainties concerning the providence of God.”

Our nation was founded as an experiment in human liberty: “It was religion, which, by teaching men their near relation to God, awakened in them the consciousness of their importance as individuals. It was the struggle for religious rights, which opened their eyes to all their rights. It was resistance to religious usurpation which led men to withstand political oppression. It was religious discussion which roused the minds of all classes to free and vigorous thought. It was religion which armed the martyr and patriot in England against arbitrary power, which braced the spirits of our fathers against the perils of the ocean and wilderness and sent them to found here the freest and most equal state on earth” (William Ellery Channing).

Religious purpose connected the Puritans of Massachusetts and stirred Virginia’s first colonists, with both groups looking to God for their success. William Penn (Pennsylvania) and Roger Williams (Rhode Island) established colonies dedicated to the principle of religious liberty.

Furthermore, the principal influence in public debates leading up to the American Revolution was the King James Bible. Indeed, America’s War for Independence cannot be understood without taking into account the religious teachings that motivated patriots to action.

Believing that no provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience, Thomas Jefferson defined freedom of thought as the most critical goal of the American Revolution. As the grand architect of our Founding Charter, Jefferson was firm in his conviction that without the freedom to live and practice what we believe, the other freedoms are irrelevant. These are the truths that called Americans to action and upon which this nation was founded.

Religious liberty is a fundamental right. “In a pluralistic society, promoting one’s values for the good of society is not imposing them on others–it is putting them forward for consideration along with others. Societies will choose and decide. Someone’s values will prevail in the end, and all of us have the right–and duty–to argue for what we believe will best serve the needs of the people and most benefit the common good” (Christofferson).

Religion and religious freedom are deeply connected to both the formation of America and our ongoing effort to form a more perfect Union and establish justice. Drawing upon our noble heritage as Americans, this is our moment to defend our fundamental freedoms. As Winston Churchill said on the eve of the Second World War, let us “arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”

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