A Problem and Solution: Belated Independence Day Thoughts

It's been awhile, again. Hmmmm. Sorry about that! :)

I recently read an article in the Ensign (a church magazine). It's titled: Making Principles of Welfare Part of Your Life and in part states:

"Our faith leads us to educate our minds and our hands and to work every day of our lives to be self-reliant. Having taken care of our own needs, we are better able to provide for ourselves and serve others...It allows us to face the challenges of life armed with courage and confidence rather than fear and doubt."

So much of what I have read recently and in the past fits with this topic. Did you know that Farmer Boy, Weapons of Mass Instruction, A Thomas Jefferson Education, The Declaration of Independence, and this article: Video Games, Home Education, and the US Supreme Court, and this one: Happy Independence Day! and the above quote are all related?

I was going to say, "Let me explain." But you know what? You need to read them for yourself with a few concepts in mind to look for so you can own the idea yourself.

Concepts: Freedom, safety, work, purpose of school, purpose of education.

I will testify to you this: I have learned that most of us live in "survival mode". This "survival mode" is not synonymous with "self-sufficiency" and leads us to fear and desire safety through government programs. Because of this we struggle to do, "That service to which all of us have been called [which] is the service of the Lord Jesus Christ." As the saying goes, "Freedom isn't free". I know that freedom, prosperity, and safety all fit together. Badger Mum who wrote the above mentioned Happy Independence Day article mentioned a truth she learned, “When a people have gained economic freedom, political freedom won’t be far behind.” Replace the word "gained" with "lost" and you will see where we, as a nation, stand today.

The solution is not more government but less, not more laws to govern our thoughts and actions but self-governance through true principles and standards, not more entitlements but more self-sufficient work, not bowing down to the fashionable "Gods" of the day (celebrities, government salvation, green-movement, moral relativity) and instead humbling ourselves to bow down to the true and everlasting Father in Heaven.

Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.