Tag: jesus

Waving the Flags of America and the Restoration

Post No. 1 Read Time: 7 minutes.

Painting and comments by Al Rounds: “I was going through all of the old photographs of downtown Salt Lake, and I came across one particular photograph of the Salt Lake Temple with an American flag that hung on the south side of the temple. There was no explanation on the photograph as to why the flag was there. Nor why the flag was seemingly backwards . . .

“The flag was hung in 1896 to celebrate Utah’s statehood, and it was not hung backwards as I had thought. There was just no protocol on how to hang the United States flag until after the turn of the century . . .

“I was very fortunate to interview a woman whose mother helped sew that very special American flag. She told me that the stripes were 6 feet tall and the stars were each about a foot tall. She also said the flag was sewn on only one side such that it could be hung in only the one direction. The flag hung on the temple for the entire year in ‘Celebration’ . . .

“Larry and Gail Miller purchased this painting because of their love of pioneer heritage. And they enjoyed telling the story of why the flag was hung seemingly backwards.”

The American Experiment is Foreordained

In a recent talk, Elder Gary Stevenson invited us, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to wave the flag of the Restoration. Because the events are so deeply and beautifully intertwined, I am setting out, as we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, to wave the flags of both America and the Restoration. To tell the story, I have developed a series of 120 posts, set to be released at a pace of two or three per week until July 2026.

These posts explore the backstory of mankind’s creation, God’s unfolding work on behalf of his children, the discovery of the Western Hemisphere, the founding of America, and many of the key events that followed, all under the dual themes of “History is Prophecy Unveiled” and “How and Why Judeo-Christian Influences Came to America.” The content is tailored to resonate with three specific audience groups.

Group one comprises those who share the view of America as a nation founded under divine guidance; a nation where wise men were raised up to establish a government to be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles. With its distinctive democracy and representative government, America serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration to the world.

Group two consists of those who generally hold a favorable view of America, believing that Providence may have played a role in its founding, but often lack strong spiritual or patriotic sentiments. They see the colonists as motivated primarily by economic opportunities rather than religious or spiritual influences. Many are easily convinced that America’s founding was rooted in greed, conquest, and mistreatment of others, at times making its legitimacy questionable in their eyes.

Group three consists of deceiving intellectuals and sophists. Openly hostile to America, they comprise a disparate group of individuals who write history and commentary, serve in politics and leadership, and advocate from positions of trust in academia, media, entertainment, and think tanks that there was nothing foreordained about the American experiment. To this group, American history was not an inevitable chain of events leading to a sure conclusion, rather it was a movement founded on selfishness and greed. Individually and collectively, they dismiss the Declaration of Independence, consider the Constitution outdated, and pursue a strategy of tearing down the structure of democratic capitalism and representative government, with a twisted desire to rebuild it based on Marxist ideology.

Based on my experience, people are generally engaged in attempts to persuade others through conversations, actions, and the written word. As a missionary for my Church, I aim for my research and writing to address questions, to spark interest, and introduce ideas that may have been dismissed or never considered.

History provides a wider view of life, acting as a source of inspiration and resilience. The story of America defines us as individuals and as a nation, offering plenty to be proud of. Core values like liberty, justice, and personal responsibility play a vital role. Much like music, poetry, and art, history expands the mind and opens the heart to new possibilities.

I want people to understand how members of the LDS faith view life before birth, the purposes of mortality, and life after death; to explore how and why our perspective on the Trinity differs from the biblical view as interpreted by traditional Christianity; to gain insight into how we balance faith, works, and grace; to consider our approach to personal prayer, institutional revelation, and our willingness to follow modern day apostles and prophets; and to reflect on how we see the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I also want the general populace to understand our unique beliefs on the fulfillment of prophecy and how and why America was founded in keeping with God’s grand design.

When looking at history, it is important to remember the respect owed to those who laid the foundation of Western civilization and America’s creation. Together, we stand on the shoulders of Hebrew prophets, the sages of Greece and Rome, the Founders, philosophers, and religious leaders of far-reaching civilizations, and the multitude of key figures of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment. Culminating with the vision and work of the Founding Fathers and those who continued their efforts, we are the beneficiaries of those who have gone before. The evidence is compelling that the American experiment unfolded by Intelligent Design. At the very least, let’s resist and stop the mindless destruction of Western civilization and the American nation.

SUMMARY

Big Idea

America’s founding and history are not accidental but are guided by a divine plan, particularly as understood within the context of the LDS faith. The narrative aims to highlight how America’s origins and development are deeply intertwined with spiritual principles and why understanding this perspective matters in current discussions about the nation’s identity and values.

Key Points

Series Purpose: A collection of 120 posts is being launched in celebration of America’s 250th birthday, focusing on the discovery, founding, and significant historical moments of the nation, especially through the lens of Christianity’s arrival in America.

Audience Groups:

Group one: Believes that America was divinely inspired and founded on holy principles.

Group two: Generally positive about America but views its founding as more pragmatic and less providential.

Group three: Hostile toward America’s founding, seeing it as selfish and illegitimate, and advocating for fundamental changes to its governance.

Purpose of Writing: To offer historical context, inspire thought, and share the LDS perspective on faith, America’s founding, and related theological principles.

Importance of History: History is presented as a source of inspiration and identity, shaping individuals and the nation while promoting values like liberty, justice, and responsibility.

LDS Beliefs Highlighted: The text seeks to explain LDS views on the nature and character of God, mankind’s pre-mortal existence, the roles of noble and great souls in advancing God’s work on Earth, the vital importance of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, the divine role in America’s creation, and its aftermath.

Call to Respect Foundations: Emphasizes honoring the figures, philosophies, and events that contributed to the founding of Western civilization, America’s formation, and the spread of truth; further arguing that these events are a product of Intelligent Design rather than random chance.

The Books of Judah and Joseph

Each calendar year, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we rotate our weekly Sunday School scripture study between what we call the Standard Works: The Old and New Testaments from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. These four books represent our canon of scripture. Accordingly, calendar year 2024 is devoted to the study of the Book of Mormon.

The Bible is a divine library of sixty-six individual books divided into the Old and New Testaments, collected and edited over many centuries. The books were written by divinely inspired authors about Israel’s sacred history and theology, her covenants with God, her faith and loyalty to Him, her patriarchs and prophets, her expectation of a Messiah, and the fulfillment of that expectation in the advent of Jesus Christ.

Our Church honors and reveres the Bible. We believe that the Bible has had greater influence on the world for good than any other book ever published. We consider the Bible to be the Book of books! 

The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. Foretold in both the Old and New Testaments, it is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel. The Book of Mormon is the greatest witness for the truth of the Bible that has ever been published. Through its teachings, we draw nearer to the Infinite, greatly aided in our discovery of the reasons for our being.

In support of these claims, Plato’s divine ontology and Socrates’s divine signs manifestly fit the narrative of the human quest: to discover our highest potential. As members of the human family, we were in the beginning with God. Each of us is on the Earth because of our acceptance of the plan of salvation, and because we lived satisfactory preexistent lives. We won the right to be here; we were not forced to come; we won our place on the earth!

The work of God has been designed and will not be complete until every soul has been taught the gospel and has been offered the privilege of salvation and the accompanying great blessings which the Lord has in store for His children. Joining the Bible in proclaiming that our purpose in mortal life is to seek and follow divine pronouncements, the Book of Mormon is essential to mankind.

Further substantiating these assertions are four narratives, each beginning around 600 BC. First are the prophecies of Isaiah which foretell the coming of the Messiah, a time of falling away through transgression of the laws and changing of the ordinances, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the establishment of an ensign for the nations in anticipation of the gathering of Israel and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Second is the philosophical account which led to ethics and helped preserve Christianity in the time of Constantine. The three great minds behind this unfolding were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Third is the Muslim scholarly tradition. The role played by eastern intellectuals in keeping truth alive was essential, as visionary Muslim scholars fled the Ottoman Empire, bringing sacred and vital works to Italy, thus fueling the Renaissance. The fourth in this series of connected events is the record of Nephi, a succession of kings and prophets in the New World. Containing the fullness of the everlasting gospel, this record is known as the Book of Mormon.

Creating a paradox, the philosophical, Roman, and Muslim narratives had at their heart the idea of obscuring, burying, or eliminating true Christianity. For example, in the face of biblical and historical evidence, the Greeks and Jews scoffed at the idea of Christ’s resurrection, thus negating the purpose for which He had come to Earth and given His life. Islam, on the other hand, though regarding Jesus as a great prophet, is not Christian. Siding with universal truths that were appealing and important, in order to be popular and relevant in the world, these movements sold out what Jesus Christ was really about, and precious truths were lost.

Upon the foundation of Hellenism–the act of becoming Greek in thought and culture–and warped by speculative thinking–resulting in creeds and edicts–God lost His corporeal form and free will yielded to the iron yoke of man-made ecclesiasticism through the joining of the altar and the throne and the establishment of the Divine Right of Kings. Moreover, many of the Master’s original teachings, such as the correct mode of baptism, the doctrine of preexistence, and the emblematic nature of His sacrifice were allowed to wither away. Over time, through the introduction of doctrines and practices such as purgatory, limbo, the sale of indulgences, and the establishment of national churches, the Roman Church would greatly limit the spiritual quest of ordinary people. To ensure conformance with an ever-changing orthodoxy, the state became the arm of power.

Unique from other Christian churches, this combination of events, known historically as the Dark and Early Middle Ages, and theistically as the Great Apostasy, triggered the loss of priesthood power from the earth, severed the lines of revelation, and signaled that purity of doctrine would not long remain. Over a period of centuries, guided by the hand of the Lord and designated scripturally as a marvelous work and a wonder (see Isaiah), a series of events took place which prepared the way for constitutional government and the Restoration of that which had been lost. Beginning with the Renaissance, and continuing with the Protestant Reformation, the Ages of Enlightenment, Discovery, and Colonization, and the War for Independence, the way was paved for civil and religious liberty and pluralism, wherein the restitution of all things as foretold by Peter could begin to unfold.

As the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and the rise of state churches continued to perpetuate the falsehoods of apostasy in America, the timing was right for a great reset. Translated by the gift and power of God and coming forth as the great clarifier of the true mission of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon was brought forth in 1830. Bypassing the influences of Greek and Roman jargon and sophism, the Book of Mormon was also spared the grueling process of polemical translation that the Bible had undergone. Accordingly, we believe, as expressed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, that the Book of Mormon is “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

Beginning with the events of 1820, the Doctrine and Covenants is not a translation from ancient documents but rather direct revelations and communications from God to His children through His chosen prophets in our times. It is a book of scripture given directly to our generation, containing the will of the Lord for us in these last days that precede the Second Coming of Christ.

Throughout the history of the world, the Lord has revealed His word and will to prophets. In our day, all the streams and rivers of the past are flowing into the grand ocean of truth that is known as the dispensation of the fulness of times.