Saving the Constitution and Ourselves

The Book of Mormon and our nation's founders were in complete agreement about what it would take for our nation to remain free:

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. " - John Adams

"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." - Ether 2:12

In God, Family, Country, President Benson asked, "What, then, in this time and season may best equip us to save our Christian constitutional legacy, while at the same time rescuing our own souls?" Not surprisingly, his answer did not focus on elections or political agendas. He gave six suggestions (I've paraphrased his descriptions of his suggestions, but, as always, I highly recommend reading this on your own):

• Spirituality. Spirituality is the foundation upon which any battle against tyranny must be waged. This is basically the struggle of the forces of Christ versus the antichrist, so it is imperative that our people be in tune with the supreme leader of freedom, the Lord.
• Balance. A man has duties to his church, his home, his country, and his profession.
• Courageous Action. Today you cannot effectively fight for freedom and not be attacked. While we don't need to go out of our path of duty to find a cross to pick up, a man is a coward who refuses to pick up a cross that clearly lies within his path. A man must not only stand for right principles, he must also fight for them. Those who do can be proud of the friends they've gained and the enemies they've earned.
• Education. We are going against the greatest, most insidious propaganda campaign of all time. We cannot believe all we read. We must sift. We must learn by study and prayer. Study the scriptures, and study the mortals who have been most consistently accurate about the most important things.
• Health. To meet and beat the enemy will require clear heads and strong bodies. Let us take into our bodies and souls only those things that will make us more effective instruments.
• Be Prepared. We have a duty to survive, not only spiritually but also physically. Not survival at the cost of principles, for that is the surest way to defeat, but survival that comes from intelligent preparation.

Finally, President Benson wrote: "Those who hesitate to get into this fight because it is controversial fail to realize that life's decisions should be based on principles, not public opinion polls. There were men at Valley Forge who weren't sure how the revolution would end, but they were in a much better position to save their own souls and their country than those timid men whose major concern was deciding which side was going to win, or how to avoid controversy."