Episode #73: Hanging By A Thread/ My Talk From The Restoration Conference That Was Presented By The Zarahemla Foundation (GO TO YOUTUBE FOR VIDEO)

The American Covenant: A Continuation of Israel’s Story

America holds a special place in my testimony. My patriotism for Americas founding principles which are found in our founding documents, (the Declaration of Independence, Constitution & Bill of Rights) and my testimony of the Restored Gospel are interwoven. Now I want to make clear that it is the principles I have a testimony of and not the government as it is now constituted.

Now what I hope to show illustrate here is a few fold. One, America has its roots in the Torah and its national covenant, that is to say that America and early Americans understood that America’s story is a continuation of Israel’s story. Second, God id not finished with America and that there are things that we must do as a people to see this story to its end.

This all starts for me because of a football game. Me and a close friend traveled from Idaho to Philadelphia to watch a Monday night football game. We got into Philadelphia about three day before the game so we could see the sights.  We saw the Liberty Bell, the house where Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, and finally a day before the game we went to Independence Hall.

s I walked in I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen. The Spirit of the Lord more than spoke to me, He shouted at me “Something important and of eternal significance happened here. I sat in that room even after the tour was over. The park ranger told me later as I left that normally they usher everybody out but he could see I was “going through something” and he let me stay alone there. After everybody else left and I was alone I actually wept because of what I felt as I studied the room.

            I could see those men pledge to each other “their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” as they for the first time in human history shrugged of the idea of monarchical tyranny and committed the boldest act of treason the world had seen to that point. I could see Washington in his chair as he presided over the Constitutional Convention in which the Founders gave us a new system of government that moved the country from anarchy to orderly representative government to preserve mankind’s freedom.

I left that building determined to know more about the founders and why it was the Spirit had made such a strong impression on my soul. I went back home and within a year I had moved my whole family out the eastern shore of Maryland so I could immerse myself in the area as I studied our nation’s founding.

My findings left me thrilled, humbled, and somewhat discouraged. Thrilled and awed at the conviction and faith our founders had, at the sight of the hand of God that moved and preserved our forefathers in times of peril, but also discouraged at how far we had fallen from the principles revealed by God through our founders. Being a guy who constantly likes solutions more than answers I have looked high and low for solutions. It’s not until about six months ago that I feel like I have maybe the smallest sense of an idea. I will tell you about this later in my talk.

As humans I think we have a tendency to want to look forward for solutions and that certainly is a great place to look but sometimes when we become lost we need to look back to find our point of origin then the point of departure so we can get back on the path. It is this looking backward where I found my answers. What I discovered is that the answer to restoring America to it’s covenant as found in the Torah is found in 3 steps. First is Covenant, The Second is Men and Women of Character and Virtue, The Third is another Great American Awakening.

Covenant

America from the its earliest inhabitation has been a land of covenants. We only need to look back to Adam to see this. We know from the restoration where the Garden of Eden was and we also know that Adam, Eve, & some of their posterity made covenants with God. This pattern continued down to Lehi and his family. The Book of Mormon is full of national covenants. Now what is interesting about the Book of Mormon is that it deals with people and covenants on an individual level but it also deals with a nation and national covenants. These national covenants can be found in many places within the Book of Mormon 2^nd Nephi, Ether, Enos, Mosiah, Alma, and on and on. However for brevity’s sake I will make mention of only a few here. I would like to focus on 2^nd and 3^rd Nephi to point towards this national covenant. In 2^nd Nephi Chapter 1 verses 3-9 the conditions of the covenant are.

 3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtained—how ^amerciful the Lord had been in ^bwarning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem.

4 For, behold, said he, I have ^aseen a ^bvision, in which I know that ^cJerusalem is ^ddestroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have ^eperished.

5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a ^aland of promise, a land which is ^bchoice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath ^ccovenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath ^dcovenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be ^eled out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.

6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall ^anone come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.

7 Wherefore, this ^aland is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of ^bliberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound ^ccursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.

8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be ^akept as yet from the knowledge of other ^bnations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.

9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a ^apromise, that ^binasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall ^cprosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall ^dkeep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their ^einheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.

10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in ^aunbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things by faith; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise—behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true ^bMessiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is ^cjust shall rest upon them.

            So what did we just read? We read the terms of the national covenant God made with Lehi. Here is just some of the highlights of that covenant. First none shall come to this land unless they have been called by God to do so. When I was back east I visited Ellis Island a few different occasions. As I read the accounts of people who immigrated to America you could feel the zealous spirit in which they had to enter in, you could feel through their words that echoed through the years that they had felt the hand of the Almighty in guiding them to this land of promise. Second if the inhabitants of this land will serve God it will be a land of Liberty and prosperity. But If the inhabitanats of this land turn from God they will be brought down into captivity and even death.

            Now since God is not a liar we know that God was true to His word. In 3^rd Nephi Chapter 9:9&12 the Savior even tells the people why there were destructions at His coming.

9 And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their ^awickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their ^bsecret murders and combinations; for it was they that did ^cdestroy the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to ^ddestroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.

12 And ^amany great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.

Unfortunately we know that the Nephites were ultimately swept off the land because they refused to heed the terms of this National Covenant.

            However God wasn’t finished with America. He did inspire other to seek out freedom in this land. They early people who fled the old world were in search of a place in which they could practice their reiligon in a place where they could enjoy the blessings of liberty. One of those who led early European expansion into the new world was John Winthrop.

Winthrop by all accounts seems to have grown up in pretty affluent circumstances for that day. He does however feel a call to practice a version of Christianity that he felt was closer to scripture. Somewhere while crossing the Atlantic he feels inspired to deliver a sermon to the group he was leading to the new world. In that sermon he actually places those under his charge into a covenant. This is the first time I was able to find the National Covenant renewed after the Book of Mormon. Here is just a few excerpts from the Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” sermon.

            “ Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together, in this work, as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection. We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others’ necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality. We must delight in each other; make others’ conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, “may the Lord make it like that of New England.” For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.”

            Winthrop’s speech covenants sounds familiar doesn’t it? I would dare to say that it strikes a very similar vein as Alma the Elder at the waters of Mormon in Mosiah 18:8-10. The conditions of the National covenant are the same as that found in the Book of Mormon serve God or be swept off the land. This National Covenant would be made again by Washington after he was sworn in as President and I believe renewed at Gettysburg by Lincoln. Renewing this National Covenant is paramount in restoring America.

            And just in case you’re wondering Winthrop’s prophecy did come to pass. Few withstood many of our enemies and America became free. For those who say the Founders were deists and didn’t believe in a God intimately involved in the affairs of men I would ask them to explain our first national seal.

This is our first seal it is a depiction of Moses and the children of Israel being led through the Red Sea while Pharaoh and his armies are drowned. Seems like to me that the Founders were very aware of Americas place within the Torah and Israel.

Men & Women of Character & Virtue

            This brings us to the second necessity for an American Restoration. That is having a population of people who are moral and virtuous. For a long time in my search for American Restoration I thought if we could just find people who are like the Founders we could be restored. I looked everywhere in our modern world for these types of people. Each time I thought I may have found someone I would be let down and become disappointed. I had given up on this search entirely until the Lord had shown me that I was looking at it all wrong. 

            The picture above is of a man named George Whitefield. George is an interesting individual. Whitfield was an Anglican minister in England who ended up becoming a bit of a rabble rouser. He started off ordinarily enough but he seems to go through a change of theology. He seems to find the idea of the divine right of kings to be erroneous and dangerous. To make matters worse for him he starts to believe that man can go straight to God with no need of a middle man. In his estimation God was no respecter of persons. Now as you can imagine this line of thinking wasn’t exactly in favor with the King of England or any of the Churches of his day. What ends up happening is he gets stripped of his ability to preach in any of the chapels or cathedrals of his day. Whitefield ends up preaching in the streets and parks of England where he gains a large following.

            With the King and Church afraid of stripping him of his titles due to his popularity fearing an outcry from the people the power structure of that day has an idea. “lets send him to the colonies”. So with that Whitefield is sent to America where his message really takes hold. He ends up getting the notrioty of a 18^th century rock star. Almost all the founders new of him and his preaching if not hear him personally. Benjamin Franklin gives one of the best accounts of hearing him preach.

“I happened soon after to attend one of his Sermons, in the Course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a Collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my Pocket a Handful of Copper Money, three or four silver Dollars, and five Pistoles [Spanish coins] in Gold. As he proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the Coppers. Another Stroke of his Oratory made me asham’d of that, and determin’d me to give the Silver; and he finish’d so admirably, that I emptied my Pocket wholly into the Collector’s Dish, Gold and all.”

So in what could be one the most consequential “backfires” to a plan ever it’s Whitfield who would supply the early American revolutionaries with the theology that would give those revolutionaries the certainty of the righteousness of their cause.

Now I know that the reader must be asking how does this tie in to this second necessity of having a population of moral and virtuous people. The answer is this, instead of walking around looking for the next Washington or Jefferson like I did the answer is we have to grow them. There is no Washington, there is no Jefferson, and there is no Franklin without Whitefield.

Look at your children and ask yourself have you been a Whitefield so that your child can be Washington. We must teach our children the National Covenant, and help to instill into our children a testimony of the divinity of America’s founding principles.

The strength of any nation lays in its people. I want to read point you to an except from Alexis de Tocqueville’s  “Democracy in America” he says the following

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forests, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institutions of learning, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”

Now I understand and recognize that many of us in here are independents so this idea of “going to church” can be challenging, but de Tocqueville isn’t talking about a church building. He is talking about faith and principles that are alive because they are true. When we discover or espouse correct principles they burn within us, they change us into something better than we could be on our own. When a people are moral and virtuous they are a people that the Lord will not only bless but a people that can expect miracles and miracles are what will be needed to restore America. Let us be bout the business of growing the next Washington, the next Jefferson, and the next Franklin by our being a Whitefield to the next generation.

The Need For A Third Great Awakening

We come now to the third and final principle of necessity to achieving and American restoration. That is another American awakening. Now if you talk to some historians they will say we have had 4 of them. I disagree with this. I my estimation there have been two. The first lasted from about 1630 to the end of the revolutionary period. That awakening had the effect of helping to foster a climate where the principles of liberty could be realized and lived. The Second was about the 1820’s through the close of the civil war which led to the windows of heaven being burst open so the restoration of the Gospel could go forth, and slavery being put down in the America.

Often I looked for a third great awakening. One in which America would again lead the globe in bolstering the liberty of man. I found myself asking this question a lot. “ I wonder what will come first, the Second coming of Jesus Christ or the third great awakening?” I struggled with that question for years. About six months ago however I got an answer. I can tell you exactly where I was when I got it. I was at the gym on the second bench press from the end of the row. I had been thinking about this question a lot again, and then in mid rep the answer hit me like a ton of bricks….or maybe like 285 pounds of plates. “The Third Great Awakening and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ are not mutually exclusive events.”

When the Savior came to earth during His mortal ministry conditions on the ground had to change first. There needed to be a forerunner. Who was that individual? It was John the Baptist. Now if the Lord is a God on which we can rely we must also say He is a God who is consistent with how He deals with His children. If a forerunner was desired by the Lord to make way for the Lord last time then perhaps another will be appointed before His return. But perhaps this time it won’t be a single person this time it will be many people. A people that have been prepared, a people who have espoused correct principles, a people who are awake and a people prepared to receive their Savior. A people who believe and live by the principles this nation was founded on. A people who help others to see Americas divine destiny in the plan of the Almighty.

We know that in the winding up scenes of this phase of history the Lord will return to this land first at Adam-Ondi-Ahman. This land must be prepared; it must once again have an awakening to its divine inception through the various dispensations. To have this happen we must not only preach the Restored Gospel but must also evangelize our nation’s history and founding principles. Let us resolve from this place to take up the challenge. We are uniquely suited for times such as these. I believe this the time that Brigham talked about when he said the following: “Every organization of our government, the best government in the world, is crumbling to pieces. Those who have it in their hands are the ones who are destroying it. How long will it be before the words of the prophet Joseph will be fulfilled? He said if the Constitution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people. It will not be many years before these words come to pass.” (Brigham Young  Journal of Discourses 12:204 ). Brothers & Sisters this is our mandate, this is included in our being adherents to the restored Gospel. As look into this crowd I cannot think of a better people to be the fire which ignites the flame of liberty again and allows the 3^rd Great Awakening to come to pass.

In conclusion I want to refer you back to something Winthrop said in the covenant he revealed “The eyes of all people are upon us”….. well if they are staring anyway let’s give them something to look at. This year in my family we have made a choice starting in June we will be renewing the American Covenant in the walls of our home. We will read the scriptures that deal with this national covenant, we will read Winthrop, Whitefield, and the founders, and on July 4^th we will again as a family covenant with the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. From there we will resolve to continue to and raise our children to be men and women of faith, integrity, & virtue and we will double our efforts to spread this message as the Spirit dictates to those who are ready in hopes of doing our small part to ignite the 3^rd great awakening. I will be I will be elaborating more about this in upcoming episodes of the podcast.

Brothers and Sisters, The Lord is not finished with us or America, the nation will have to answer for their sins but out of that I am more than confident that a people will arise that will be able, prepared and anxious to meet their Savior where it all started on this land, in America.