"That which ye suppose to be your right and liberty..."

Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so.

In the Book of Mormon, there is a battle described between two groups; the Nephites, a civilization that typically (though not always) strived to follow God, and the Gadiantons, a group of villains bent on enslaving others, using both externally forceful or internally political methods. At the time of the above passage, this was around 16-18 A.D. Lachoneus was the chief governer over the Nephites, and the leader of the Gadiantons, Giddianhi, wrote a letter proposing that the Nephites surrender and join their brotherhood, which was built on a foundation of lies, conspiracies, and murder. Giddianhi offers full fellowship, including all their resources being made available. The price? That the Gadiantons are placed in the government and they submit to their ideals (which were principally anti-theistic; they desired to implant a system where the wicked would go unpunished).

This doesn't sound like a bad deal. Get all the food you want, all the safety you want, and you could even (I assume) privately hold true to your beliefs, so long as you never discussed or preached them publicly, instead adhering to the state "religion" or ideology. There might even be some labor required, but you are provided and cared for, so what does it matter?

In the world today, as in times past, there is a group of righteous people that try to promote the ideals of God and common morality. They attempt to bring about liberty in its truest form to the best of their understanding. They do not care what the world has to say. This group has existed in a fair portion of history, and I would say at times this group was significantly big. But, this powerful band of disciples with these utmost priorities are growing smaller. Why is that?

It is not a lack of disciples; there are over 1 billion Christians, with over 14 million of them being Latter-day Saints. So there are plenty of people that at least identify a belief in Christ. So, with these large numbers, why are there so few that adamantly march forth with the Ensign to the Nations?

I feel that Giddianhi highlights a very significant idea that has corrupted society today, especially many would-be Christian Soldiers: "I... give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness... in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty." That which ye suppose to be your right and liberty! Notice the implications Giddianhi sneaked in there; while giving them (empty) praise, he throws a sharp blow at them, challenging their motives. He wanted them to doubt, perhaps even thinking, "Do we have a right to do this? Do we have a right to defend ourselves in the name of our God?"

In the world today, one of the greatest woes to befall America is the principle of Separation of Church and State. Now, I do not believe in a Theocracy, nor do I believe in government-mandated churches. But this ideal has been twisted to support the secular regime of the Devil to disarm the Saints of God. While in the not-too-distant past it was acceptable and valuable to promote a government that fostered Christian worship, now not only is it unacceptable, but to bring any sort of religion (or even "morals", for that matter) into politics nulls any argument you ever had. Nobody listens; they all cry, "Leave your religion out of this! We don't believe the same way you do! You have no right to make us do this!"

It is true that religion should not be imposed; that is contrary to the principle of agency, in my opinion the second most valuable gift of God (with the first being eternal life). But we have been misled into thinking that we should allow wickedness for the sake of "freedom"! In fact, government measures not only legalize wickedness, but they create more laws forcing everyone to accept these behaviors! Look at abortion; recently, Hobby Lobby attempted to reject the healthcare measures that forced them to offer contraceptions and the like. They were met with almost savage opposition.

Many have lost heart; many of Christ's disciples feel that they have no right to defend their religion. But they are so wrong; not only do we have the right to defend their religion, but the world risks falling into an atheist or perhaps Satanic dictatorship if we submit. Don't believe me? It already is in progress.

So, like Giddianhi, many atheists, secularists, and misguided souls assault any attempt to promote righteousness, screaming that it was only "that which [we] suppose[d] to be [our] right and liberty..." They yell that we cannot force our beliefs on them. They shout that we are the wicked ones, full of indoctrinations. But it is not something we suppose; if we have a firm testimony of the Gospel, we will recognize not only it is our right to preach the Gospel in both religious and political fields, but it is our duty.

God bless y'all!
Patrick