Recommended Reading

Candace Salima, author, book reviewer, entrepreneur and motivational speaker, has a great blog site entitled "Dream a Little Dream". Yesterday she posted an interview conducted with an extraordinary modern-day Captain Moroni, named Jeffrey Denning. Bold, inspiring, courageous, expertly trained and valiant, he is on the tip of the spear in America's defense both at home and abroad. He is in a firestorm of his own right now. You can read his extraordinary story at Candace's web site at:

http://candacesalima.blogspot.com/2008/07/in-midst-of-firestorm-jeffrey-denning.html#comments

This you gotta read.

It begs the question, what we can we do as individuals, as average citizens to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution? Brother Denning references a quote I love. It comes from John Adams:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

While in Palmyra recently, I spoke to a fine brother on these issues. As a grandfather, he mentioned how he recognizes the erosion of basic moral values. It bothers him as he tries to redirect his grand children's justifications for the choices they make such as driving over the speed limit because, "everyone else does", and other "little" infractions that aren't "that big a deal".

"They are!" he tells them, because when we willingly break the law on any term, we weaken the cords of the trust the Constitution relies on to secure our society.

It is a beautiful point of view. It makes us each cringe doesn't it? But he's right. We know it. And in times when we desperately need the hand of the Lord to be over our nation, Mark Twain sums it up best, we can't "pray a lie" by asking for one thing and doing the opposite.

Alexis de Tocqueville who penned a similar observation more than 170 years ago. Said he:

"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her. . .fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and

We can do it. We must do it. Each of us must take one small step up and get more involved or stand up for right a little more loudly. We must choose right always so our children see it and then defend right when it is assailed.

You've done it! You've seen it done! Tell me about it.