Thanksgiving Proclamation 1789

We can put to rest any false notions that our Founding Fathers were not men of God; as you can see from this proclamation, they were men who felt openly and deeply grateful for the blessings of God for and in behalf of this great Republic.
Make no mistake, if he were alive today, he would chasten us for our lack of acknowlegement and sufficient gratitude to that Divine Being, for he said:

"I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.”

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation


Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

G. Washington

Happy Thanksgiving!

We the People...

I read an article this evening called "Morning in America." I really liked the imagery that invoked. I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate, but I do like the feel of it.

We have experienced one of the most tragic moments in the history of the United States of America. As if “Social Security”, “Medicare”, “Medicaid” and all of the other outrageous, unconstitutional programs weren’t enough, those who represent us in Washington D.C. have deemed that they know better than we do. A full SEVENTY-SIX percent of American CITIZENS did not want this heath care bill; reform yes, but not this.

George Washington said “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits and humbly to implore His protective favor.
Oct. 3, 1789
We may not think we have much to be thankful for today; indeed, it has taken me all day to want to come and write what’s really in my heart.

We have much to rejoice about.

John McCain did not win the 2008 election; because of that, the Progressive movement has been forced into the open-quite before they had secured the hearts and minds of the complacent populace.
We as a people had been sleeping, coasting along for so long, they, the Progressives thought that the time was right for their coup.

They were greatly mistaken.

You see, we have this:

“WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

A Divine document that even our Founding Father’s acknowledged could not have been framed had Divine Providence not played an important role.

Last night I had a fighting spirit awakened in me, almost a “bring it on” kind of attitude. This health care bill is blatantly unconstitutional, there is no way that the courts will rule it so.

From the American Thinker:

“House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was asked where in the Constitution Congress was granted the power to mandate that a person must buy a health insurance policy. His answer:

‘Well, in promoting the general welfare the Constitution obviously gives broad authority to Congress to effect that end. The end that we’re trying to effect is to make health care affordable, so I think clearly this is within our constitutional responsibility.’

The “general welfare” clause Hoyer was referring to is in the first line of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. This section specifically enumerates the powers of Congress. (The list is very short. Congress has 17 listed, or “enumerated,” powers. Health care isn’t one of them.)

The first line of Article I, Section 8 states, in part:
The Congress shall have Power To … provide for the … general Welfare of the United States … [Emphasis added.]
Notice that this first sentence does not say, “The Congress shall have the Power to provide for the general welfare of the citizens of the United States.”

Every time the phrase “United States” is used in the Constitution, it denotes the federal (or central) government. This is clearly seen in Tenth Amendment where the “United States,” the “states,” and “the people” are three distinct concepts:

Amendment 10 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. [Emphasis added.]”

The “general welfare” was so obviously meant for the country as a whole, and not individuals it’s simply pathetic how it’s been twisted.
If that phrase was meant as a blank check to Congress, there would be no need for the SEVENTEEN enumerated powers granted to Congress to be listed. The Founding Father’s were not prone to superfluous repetition.

There are a number of avenues for legal recourse; among them, challenges to the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Various reasons apply: due process, religion, unreasonable search and seizure, privacy; the list goes on.

There is much to be thankful for; we have a Divine document as our Foundation and, despite the efforts of evil, it will, in the end, remain standing and I believe will be restored to its proper place in our legal system; the Progressives have played their hand too soon to succeed in the takeover of America, and we are aware of the agenda; there are good people still in government who are willing to take on the challenge of righting the wrong; God is still in charge.

I ask you tonight, to join me in thanking our Father in Heaven, and do as George Washington recommended: acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God and thank him for blessings large and small that will, in the end, allow our Republic to be whole once again; implore Him to protect and favor us. It may not be soon, and it may get ugly, the ride may be bumpy, but have Faith, He has not forsaken us.

Constitutional Integrity

A quote from Ronald Reagan:

"I have long believed there was a divine plan that placed this land here to be found by a people of a special kind and that we have a rendezvous with destiny. Yes, there is a spirit moving in this land and a hunger in the people for a spiritual revival. If the task I seek should be given me, I would pray only that I could perform it in a way that would serve God."

I love what President Reagan says, but my belief turns into knowledge because of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I know that this land was under divine protection until such a time as it could be found by those special people, guided by the hand of the Lord, that Reagan talked about. We are the posterity of those people, and we have a solemn responsibility to act in such a way that this country is protected from those who would continue to take us off of the Constitutional path; as you know, nothing happening in D.C. right now is Constitutional.
The Marxists seek power, and for too long we have let them take it, apparently under the notion that “someone else” will stand up, speak up, or what-have-you.

The time has come that each of us must be that “someone else”; no longer can we sit back and rely on others to take up the slack. If we continue to do so, our country will be unrecognizable within five years; already it’s not the country our Founding Fathers gave us, it’s time to regain what we’ve lost.

This last week, I’ve posted video clips from Judge Andrew Napolitano, talking and teaching about the Constitution. It’s time for each of us to talk it and teach it as well. Get yourselves a pocket Constitution from the National Center for Constitutional Studies...www.nccs.org; buy a few extra, and start carrying them with you to hand out when the subject comes up-and believe me, you can make it come up fairly easily [VBG].

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, we must speak up, we must speak out, and we must get involved. I know that the Constitution is a divine document, and we must not let the Adversary bring it down, and continue to marginalize it.

Be fearless. Be bold. Question what is happening in Washington, and check it against the Constitution; again and again if necessary.

I’m not sure in the end those in Washington will listen, but when the time comes, you will be armed with the truth, and nothing is stronger than that.
Hopefully then we can, all of us, bring this country back to the path we are meant to be on.

Constitution Day!

In 1787, a group of men came together, initially to revise the Articles of Confederation which were barely holding the newly independent nation together. When it became apparent that this would not be sufficient, they began the awesome task of hammering out a Constitution, establishing a fundamental system of government heretofore unknown in the world.

What they did was remarkable on many counts, not the least of which was the fact that they had vast disagreements on what exactly should be included. (Patrick Henry, remember him? Mr. "Give me Liberty or give me death"? He opposed the ratification because it gave the Federal government too much power-I wonder what he's thinking about it NOW?! He also refused to sign it.)*

These Founding Fathers as they are affectionately known, were diverse in their backgrounds, occupations and temprements. It proved to be an interesting mix.

Fifty-five men met together to establish this, our beloved Republic.  The day, May 14th, that the Convention was to begin, only 8 delegates were present. It would be 11 more days before the Convention started in earnest; on the 25th of May, George Washington was elected president of the proceedings, and things got underway.

The debate raged for four long months, through the heat of a Philadelphia summer. Would we have a strong central government or would we have a limited government? Would the central government run the show, or would "we the people"?
Each article, each section was debated, and voted on; piece by piece the Constitution took shape.

In the end, 222 years ago today, the Constitution of the United States of America-a title not in use until this day, was ratified and signed by 39 of the delegates. A new nation was born, "concieved in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" as Abraham Lincoln would later remind us.

As I ponder the incredible responsiblity we all have to uphold the Constitution, I am awed by what has transpired to bring freedom to this land. The intricate weaving of lives that were knit together by "divine Providence"
The Book of Mormon talks about this land as the Promised Land, and I know with all my heart that this is true.
In a prophecy to Joseph Smith, the Lord tells us that he raised up good men to establish this Constitution for us, His children.

These fifty-five men, raised up and inspired, created a nation that would change the political landscape forever. The question remains as to whether we can keep the gift they bequeathed to our care.

*Late Edit:
Patrick Henry didn't actually attend the Convention, he was an ardent states rights fan, and, while asked to be a delegate, refused.