Wednesday, September 9, 2020

A Clear And Present Danger

I am saddened that Utah Governor Cox has endorsed Donald Trump, and concerned that many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have and will again vote for Trump. 

Have you not read the scriptures which say that only the law of the land which is constitutional and which supports the principle of freedom in maintaining the rights and privileges belonging to all mankind, is justifiable before God (D&C 98:5)? 

God further said that we are only justified by Him if we befriend the constitutional law of the land (vs 6). 

Anything less than this cometh of evil (vs 7). 

We are free and have been free in this country only because God has made us free (vs 8). 

But he warns us that when the wicked rule the people mourn (vs 9). 

And so how do we keep this freedom? He tells us that as well. We should seek diligently for honest and wise people, and good and wise people we should observe and uphold, otherwise whatsoever is less than these (less than honest and wise) is evil (vs 10).

And those who vote for others who are not honest or wise, and who will not observe and uphold the Constitutional law of the land, therefore support that which is evil.

Are you actually going to vote for a man who is anything but honest and wise? This is the man that his own VP candidate called America’s Hitler. He wants to be a King! He loves dictators and praises them. Donald Trump is an egomaniac who believes he is a martyr-prophet-warrior who is on a mission from God to become the country’s first dictator.

If Donald Trump is elected, because we ignore God’s counsel, America may no longer be blessed by God. Our Constitutional liberties will be eroded. Democracy will be severely damaged, and America will no longer be a force for good in the world. No longer a nation under God, America will reveal its lack of character and decency. America will be anything but great, and the people will be to blame because, as the Lord said, they will have chosen evil.

This is not an election between two evils as I read in the Deseret News. This is an election between preserving our freedoms or losing them. If you willfully ignore God’s counsel or are ignorant of God’s counsel, which for church members is even worse, you can be guaranteed that the wicked will rule and your children and grandchildren will mourn. 

This scenario played out in the Book of Mormon between the kingmen and the freemen, and Captain Moroni took very drastic measures to preserve the freedoms for his people, their wives and their children. This is the same Captain Moroni that Senator Mike Lee compared to Donald Trump (for real), who is the antithesis of Moroni!

If any people should know better, it is the Lord’s people in these last days. I feel like Nephi when he mourned because of the ignorance of his people, and ignorance in this sense is both not knowing, and knowing but choosing to ignore that Donald Trump is not wise or honest and is a danger to our God inspired freedoms. For the Lord’s people this is a test they cannot afford to fail!

There is only one answer: we know that the founding fathers were inspired by God in framing and drafting the Constitution of our individual liberties under the Constitution. We are or have been, a nation under God, and we can still appeal to God to preserve our liberties. But maybe we have Trump and his enablers because we have forgotten who has protected and preserved America. 

This election is not about the economy, abortion(1), the border, or any other policy. It is as Republican Adam Kinzinger pointed out, about “defeating Donald Trump the fascist who incited an armed insurrection.” It is an election for or against democracy and the Constitution. As the Lord said, between good and evil.

Are we going to ignore His exhortation to vote for an honest and wise person? If so, as the other Moroni prophesied, He will curse this land for our sakes.

Knowing this, I wonder how Governor Cox and any other member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can vote for Donald Trump?

These are just a few quotes from those who know him and have worked with him.

Gen. Mark Milley, Trump's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declares "We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator."

Trump's former Defense secretary Mark Esper says, "I think he's unfit for office."

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton closes the montage with the warning, "I think he's dangerous."

Trump's former White House chief of staff John Kelly has described the former president as “a person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about.… A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. There is nothing more that can be said.”

"He has no empathy," said Stephanie Grisham, former Press Secretary. "No morals. And no fidelity to the truth. He used to tell me, 'It doesn't matter what you say, Stephanie. Say it enough, and people will believe you. Behind closed doors, Trump mocks his supporters," she said. "He calls them basement-dwellers. Trump chooses cruelty every time. After all, everything he’s achieved in his own life has been by hurting someone else.”

From his niece Mary Trump: “Donald today is much as he was at three years old: incapable of growing, learning, or evolving, unable to regulate his emotions, moderate his responses, or take in and synthesize information. Donald’s need for affirmation is so great that he doesn’t seem to notice that the largest group of his supporters are people he wouldn’t condescend to be seen with outside of a rally. His deep-seated insecurities have created in him a black hole of need that constantly requires the light of compliments that disappears as soon as he’s soaked it in. Nothing is ever enough. This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism; Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be.”

Trump himself called for the "termination" of parts of the Constitution over his lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

If you don't agree that we should vote for honest and wise candidates, then re-read what the Lord said in D&C 98:5-10. There are no exceptions. 

(1) The comments that I have received rejecting what God said in D&C 98:5-10, seem to think that this election is about abortion. The Church has issued a statement about abortion which I agree with, and I agree that it should be a choice between the woman, her doctor, and her God. I agree with the Church's statement that the choice is a moral one, not a criminal one. The Church's official statement does not say that those who choose elective abortions, should be criminally prosecuted. Harris has never said that she thinks elective abortions before fetal viability are morally right, but that she does favor a woman's right to choose an abortion prior to fetal viability. She does not agree that each state should pass their own laws criminalizing abortions before fetal viability. The Church statement provides for exceptions, as do many states, but there are some states that have and/or do want a total ban on abortions. Harris opposes this for many reasons, primarily for the health of the woman and to prevent rape or incest victims, no matter the age, to carry the baby to full term. Leaving it up to the states has already put many women's lives at risk. The Church's official statement is in agreement because it provides for an exception for rape or incest victims. Keeping abortion as a moral issue prior to fetal viability is consistent with the Church's statement.