Hyrum won 1st place for the essay below. It is a great expression of what our country is all about.
Family, Freedom, God, and Country
On his last day as President, a solemn George Washington walked slowly through town on his way to John Adams’ apartment. After walking some distance, he noticed a group of people following him. Turning around, he faced the small crowd for several long moments. Unable to speak, he bowed to them in manifestation of his grateful feelings. He wrote of the experience, “I realized then with startling clarity that Providence was giving me a vision of America, of what it will become. I could feel assured that come what may, whether it be political bickering, jealousies, intrigue, or any other evil in a government, where free and God loving men express their opinions, when all is said and done, our country rests in good hands, in those of its people.” When righteousness empowers the hands of the people, freedom is a reality. As the people lose their spirituality, the light of freedom is eclipsed. As John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Our government, our country, our freedom, will not stand firm unless a moral people stand strong in support.
In order to create this support, America’s people must be educated in righteousness and religion. George Washington said, “The best means of forming a manly, virtuous, and happy people will be found in the right education of youth. Without this foundation, every other means, in my opinion, must fail.” This belief was incorporated into America’s early schools. As leaders in Pennsylvania established schools, they reasoned: “The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty; and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments” . Thus, the American children were taught truth and righteousness and were free, for “the truth shall make you free” .
One of the best institutions for teaching youth morality and virtue is the family. Loving families teach children truths that are essential for liberty. Where there are strong families, there are also good morals. When good morals inhabit the hearts of the people, there is the spirit of the Lord. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Thus, when families are strong, freedom is strong. George Washington was taught morality and religion by his mother. Using a book called Contemplations Moral and Divine she taught him that he would be required to give an accounting to God after his life on earth – an accounting of how he used his talents, how he spoke, how he acted, what he thought, and how he used power. Speaking of the use of his senses he was taught to be ready to tell his maker, “I have made a covenant with my Eyes, that they should not rove after Vanity, or forbidden Objects: I have imployed them in beholding thy works of wonder and wisdom…I have stopt my Ears against sinful and unprofitable discourse, and against slandering, and lying, and flattering tongues. I have exercised them in listening to those things that might increase my Faith, Knowledge, and Piety.” As general of the army, George Washington required that his men not swear. He further required that the men attend mass each week. As an effect, the spirit of the Lord resided in the camp and worked wonders in behalf of the American people.
Similarly, George Washington was taught “Touching [his] Eminence of Place or Power in this World” to be able to say to God, “I never sought or desired it…I have kept my heart humble” In all his prestigious offices, George Washington kept his heart humble, and he never sought after power. This attitude made Washington an ideal leader – one who could take our small country by the hand and lead it towards greatness.
Abraham Lincoln did not have the advantages that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams had in regard to his education. He grew up in a poor family, living in a log house in the wilds of Illinois. However, he was still taught in his home to uphold good morals and education. Of his early years, Lincoln told the following story: “’I had been fishing one day and caught a little fish, which I was taking home. I met a soldier in the road, and, having always been told at home that we must be good to the soldiers, I gave him my fish.’… As a child he was generous, and…he had been taught to be patriotic.” When his mother lay on her deathbed, she called Abraham to her bedside and told him, “Abraham, I am going away from you, and you will never see me again. I know that you will always be good and kind to your sister and father. Try to live as I have taught you, and to love your Heavenly Father.” The love and kindness in Lincoln’s heart gave him the strength to continue his plan for the ending of slavery and enabled him to forgive the soldiers who had deserted. His beloved kindness and honest integrity greatly influenced America’s path. After the war, he stated, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up our nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.”
Families also give children a place to practice principles that they learn. They learn how to deal with angry people, how to forgive, and how to love. Also, when children see their parents exhibiting these principles in their own lives, they are more likely to follow these principles. Theodore Roosevelt said, “I want to see each man able to hold his own in the rough work of actual life outside, and also, when he is at home, a good man, unselfish in dealing with wife, or mother, or children. Remember that the preaching does not count if it is not backed up by practice….There is no good in your preaching to them to be unselfish if they see you selfish with your wife, disregardful of others….You must feel that the most effective way in which you can preach is by your practice.”
Like these great men, I have been taught morality and religion in my home. I have practiced them with my family and will be ready to use them as I continue to serve my country. Since the home is the only place in an increasingly corrupted world where such morality can be taught, families of America must work hard to be strong. Righteousness, morality, and courage must be implanted in the hearts of the children if they are to rise up as another great generation of Americans.
Because Americans have had morality and religion in their lives, God has blessed them with frequent miracles as they formed and maintained America. He helped the Pilgrims cross the tempestuous sea and enabled them to survive in a harsh environment; he preserved George Washington’s life so he could lead the fight for freedom; he gave the Revolutionary army fog when they needed to escape the British and fish when they were starved; he prepared fifty-six honorable men to write a Declaration of Independence; he helped the slaves become freed in the Civil War; he gave General Patton’s men good weather in the Battle of the Bulge. In all these instances, an act of righteousness preceded the providential act: the pilgrims prayed to God for help and were righteous; Washington prayed in Valley Forge; the Continental Congress prayed for guidance before meetings; General Patton’s men prayed for good weather. In each case, faith and righteousness was manifested before God could act.
God cannot bless us unless we exhibit strong faith and righteousness. This is the only way freedom can exist – through the righteousness of God-fearing men whom God can bless with miracles and inspiration. For, as George Washington said, “The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality; …the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
After two days of hard work, sore muscles, carrying food in and out of the storage room, washing shelves and floors, counting all food, throwing away bad stuff, I finished cleaning (with lots of help from Benjamin–and some from Hyrum and Rebekah) our cold storage room. We have 206 quarts of cherries and 106 cans of vegetable soup. How did that happen? But the room looks beautiful–everything in order, and I know how much of everything we have. I feel like I’ve been creating as President Uchtdorf explains it.
We had a pretty cool experience this week. Hyrum and Joseph were both advanced in the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday. Joseph was advanced from the office of Deacon to Teacher and Hyrum advanced from the Teacher’s Quorum and was ordained a Priest. It was especially good because Hyrum was ordained first and Spencer got to stand in the circle. Because he is a Priest, he can help to ordain others to offices in the Aaronic Priesthood. He helped Dad, Adam, Grandpa Thomas, and Bishop Francis to ordain Hyrum first. As soon as Hyrum was ordained, he was then able to join the circle and help us to ordain Joseph. It is an amazing thing that we are getting more and more priesthood in the family!
This is only a test.