Moral Agency Necessary to Exercise & Maintain Freedom
Summary of this Audio Post
- Harold B. Lee describes one meaning of the phrase "out of zion" used by Isaiah.
- H. Verlan Anderson in his book Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen shares about the responsibility that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have to uphold freedom and how it they can be fooled.
- Boyd K. Packer shares how moral knowledge must be learned by each generation.
Atlas Shrugged Date Night FREE Movie
It's been a long time in coming, but Atlas Shrugged part 1 is finally here. Tonight's the opening night and we'll be attending a free screening tonight at Sandy's Jordan Commons. Go here for details: Atlas Shrugged Date Night FREE Movie
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Hans V Andersen Jr – The Book of Mormon and The Constitution
Tonight in Highland we get the fun opportunity to hear speak the son of the late general authority and close friend to Pres. Benson, H. Verlan Anderson. Here are the details...
Hans Andersen
Friday March 4, 2011
7:00 PM - Highland City Building (Click to see address)
Hans Andersen, son of H. Verlan Andersen, LDS Seventy and close friend of Ezra Taft Benson, will be speaking to us. Mr. Andersen is a local host on conservative talk radio and has some unique insight into our local social and political issues of the last several decades. You don't want to miss this.
Mr. Andersen will speak about his father as an author, professor and church leader as well as his insights into the challenges church leadership face relating to political issues. Come and hear his perspective on these topics, history in general, and on the Constitution. He will also touch on his perspective of the events of the last days and the "awful situation" we find ourselves in today.
Bring your spouse, (kids over 14 are welcome) and/or a friend or two for a delightful evening. Pass the word and come early. This should be very interesting. Seating is limited. RSVP is you can to give us an idea on chairs.
Here are two audios that help you gain your bearings a little on who he is. The first is lecture he gave, the second is a shorter clip.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Principle 4 – The Role of Religion
Principle 4 - Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.... And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion." - George Washington
Last week’s Common Sense Study Group was on the 4th Principle in The 5000 Year Leap which is the idea that without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained. We watched the video of Earl Taylor, Jr. teaching. He brought out the main points which to me were:
- It’s not only OK but essential to teach religion in school. Which religion? Not any one in particular but rather the 5 fundamentals of sound religion.
- Churches and various religions play a key role in society. The government should encourage them in order to promote moral fiber in the people.
- Government should treat all religions equally.
- “Separation between church and state” came from a letter that Jefferson wrote; it is not in the Constitution per se. He meant that the federal government should not sponsor or interfere at all in religious matters. This is to be left up to the various states. He in no way was banning religion in the public sphere.
There were 7 people in attendance. We discussed how we could support the Constitution, including supporting the teaching the 5 fundamental points of religion in schools, without alienating or offending our atheist friends. Julie took it to a higher level and suggested that we bear our testimonies to them.
I read a quote from a transcript of a debate in 2000 between Alan Keyes and Alan Dershowitz about the role of religion in America in the 21st century. If you ever have 2+ hours to kill in the pursuit of intellectual stimulation and haven’t had a headache in a while and kind of want one, then I suggest watching the debate here:
The other people there made some important contributions to the discussion but since I did not take notes, all I remember was, “Blah blah blah blah blah.” (Sorry, everyone.)
Ryan kept us on track and suggested ending each class with a call to action assignment. For this week it was to find out who our local and state leaders are and to pray for them by name.
On a final note, there were some present who were practicing their fast pitch with the tennis ball as we took turns talking. Be forewarned: I may just bring my tennis racket next time so I can serve it right back atcha. 
~ Jenny Sorensen (with mild editing & additions by Ryan Mendenhall)
Another item of note from both Keva & Annie independent of each other are the talk & interview from Elder Dallin Oaks of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. See them here:
2/4/11 - Interview With Elder Dallin H. Oaks Regarding Speech on Religious Freedom (16 min)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks speech at Chapman University School of Law (48 min)
Elder Dallin Oaks calls for unity in protecting religious freedom - Deseret News
You may also be interested in digging deeper by reading & watching some videos from the last time the Common Sense Study Group discussed Religious Freedom.
Update 2/21/2011: Let There Be Light, a talk by Quentin Cook
Popularity: 8% [?]
The Secret of Oz
Over the last several years I have been chasing the symptoms of our country's problems looking for the root cause. All though I believe a lot of the problems are due to a lack of faith and service to Jesus Christ, I think one of Jesus's teachings best addresses our issues.
1Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
Money is a useful tool to help facilitate trade between people. I would not want to go back to a barter system where I would have to carry a goat over to the department store to buy a new suit. So there is nothing wrong with money itself, it is the desire and love of money that causes problems. Because there is a group of people, a very large group, that have made it their life's work to gather and control money we are suffering evils on earth.
I would like to direct you to a documentary I saw called "The Secret of Oz" by Bill Still. This is a great documentary that gives a short but thorough history of money and how it effected many civilizations, including colonial and modern America.
See video here: Secret of Oz
So now we need to decide on what course of action we need to take in order to fix the problem. I suggest we look more in to the Bank of North Dakota and encourage our state law makers push for it's implementation in every state. If states take control of their own monetary policies it would make it easy to change the national policies.
While we work on the state level we need to instruct of federal representatives to not raise the debt limit or barrow any more money. They need to audit the federal reserve and push for debt free currency. We can not reduce our exposure to debt collectors if we continue to barrow more and more money.
I am optimistic that we can purge our country of debt based currency and with it the servitude that comes with it.
Proverbs 22:7 "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."
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Introduction to the Constitution w Michael Badnarik
In the early eighties Michael Badnarik started his career as a computer programmer at an Illinois nuclear power plant. For the past twenty years he has continued this professional course, but during this time he became interested and frustrated with politics. As a result, in 1983 Badnarik began studying the IRS and then the constitution. He had since condensed his 18 years of research into a short eight hour course that he would teach in a lecture format. It included some of the fundamentals on our rights and the foundations of our republic. A video recording of one of the classes has been made and you can watch it here. There are 43 videos about ten minutes a piece. If you wish to watch a little each day, just remember which video you're on and visit the YouTube playlist to resume your viewing.
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Principle 1: The Genius of Natural Law
Principle 1 - The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
Natural law is God's law. There are certain laws which govern the entire universe, and just as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are laws which govern in the affairs of men which are "the laws of nature and of nature's God."
The question was asked by just about all of us. If this is the rule, what are the examples. In stead of giving examples, let's give the definition a bit more clarity. Watch the below video and share what you think are examples of natural law.
See also: Natural Law & Moral Agency
Sign up for our Common Sense Study Group weekly emails & get reviews the topic covered that week at group as well as the topic for the coming week. If you are not near Draper Utah and cannot attend the group, you can still follow along with us and share your thoughts here on the blog. If you're a real go-getter you may even wish to sign up as a Constitutional Watchman author and post articles in your area of public interest.
And remember, in the words of one beautiful giant-handed constitutional scholar, "we don't need to worry about the Marine's rights. It's not an equal relationship."
God Bless!
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Dollars & $ense: Fixing Today’s Economy with Sound Practices
God Bless America...unless she digs herself into a hole with unsound practices. People have been heard to say, ignorance is bliss. Well, I'll probably have to make an entirely new post for picking that apart, but for now, just sit back and enjoy another wonderful presentation of how the sky is falling. In this lecture John McManus of the John Birch Society does a great job of summing up some key points I first came across the long, but greatly informational documentary, The Money Masters (which I would HIGHLY suggest watching). If this sparks your interest and you begin to feel even a small desire to start to "awake and arise" then keep posted for more to come...and oh yes, there's much more to come!
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The Crash Course w Chris Martenson
I have always been opposed to the idea of population control ever since I heard about in Saturday's Warrior. I didn't really know what it was or think much about it for that matter. Recently though I have come across much talk this issue. The awareness that people are really talking about the idea and moving mountains to do something about it began to sink in most notably I think after watching Alex Jones' documentary Endgame. Then I started look for it. The ideas are all around us, insinuated in so many small ways, the idea that humans are bad for the world. Well, despite my beliefs that this is completely ridiculous, I DO believe that when we disobey laws of nature, when we take more than we give, something is lost. While it may not become apparent immediately, the consequences will eventually be felt by someone. Passing that along to another is irresponsible. Thomas Jefferson once said, "It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which, if acted on, would sace one-half of the wars of the world."1.
I was walking the other day and considering some of these ideas before having seen this. I was thinking about the strain put on any system through growth. The image that came to mind was a trampoline. There are only so many that can jump at the same time before problems become apparent. I want some serious thoughts on this one. Take notes, think about the ideas, do some more research for yourself and share what you think about Brother Martenson's ideas.
Chapters are between 3 and 20 minutes in length. All 20 sections take 3 hours and 23 minutes to watch in full. If you are interested in a quick summary of the Crash Course, watch our 45-Minute Crash Course presentation by clicking here.
# Chapter Duration
1 Three Beliefs 1:46
2 The Three "E"s 1:38
3 Exponential Growth 6:20
4 Compounding is the Problem 3:06
5 Growth vs. Prosperity 3:40
6 What is Money? 5:55
7 Money Creation 4:19
8 The Fed - Money Creation 7:13
9 A Brief History of US Money 7:14
10 Inflation 11:48
11 How Much Is A Trillion? 3:28
12 Debt 12:32
13 A National Failure To Save 12:06
14 Assets & Demographics 13:41
15 Bubbles 14:10
16 Fuzzy Numbers 15:52
17a Part A: Peak Oil 17:52
17b Part B: Energy Budgeting 12:15
17c Part C: Energy And The Economy 7:05
18 Environmental Data 16:22
19 Future Shock 8:02
20 What Should I Do? 19:48
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Individual Mandate ruled “unconstitutional” according to VA federal judge
Pleased to see that Lockean reason has once again gained another victory in favor of constitutional preservation...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/13/health.care/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1
...I am also pleased to see that checks and balances still appear to be in "check" as partisanship does not give the impression to bleed entirely from legislative and executive to the judicial. I personally have gained a heightened respect for the judicial over the years for preserving at least some sense of constitutional sanity with respect to ensuring that the rights of the American citizen are not wholly butchered by ideology on one side or the other. Yes, there are always exceptions such as Wickard v. Filburn and so on and so forth, but for the most part I have been delighted to see some purity of checks and balanced rear it's head from time to time. After all, what is the imposition of ideology if not tyranny? What is the imposition of the will of the people but democracy, republicanism, and federalism? So should it come to anyone's surprise that a federal judge in VA ruled the notion unconstitutional that any really any piece of legislation can FORCE an individual to purchase a product? It doesn't matter that it's insurance or not. Article 1 Section 8 states that power to lay "taxes, imposts, duties and excises" are granted to the government - NOT MANDATES. You cannot just FORCE an American citizen to buy anything.
As noble as many of the tenets of the recently passed healthcare bill appear to be, the impetus for the legislation is downright unconstitutional. Under that same spirit, revolution ensued when unrepresented taxes were imposed on downtrodden colonists of late 18th century colonial America - no thanks to the Tories who only made matters worse! Today's unrepresented tax presents itself as a mandate if imposed, whose representation was filled with smoky backroom deals, favors, and misinformation - this, in the face of a litany of referendums throughout the election season. Representation that doesn't even draw close to even the attempt of appearing as pure, is no representation to me or to the myriad of American citizens with which I have also discussed this issue.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what some of you may be saying, "buh, buh, buh, what about car-insurance? That's mandated" ...and... "buh, buh, buh, what about emergency rooms? How is it fair that the American citizen be forced to pay the tab on another citizens expensive medical procedures who also refuse to pay them?" 1) With the whole car-insurance issue you still at least have the liberty to decide NOT to drive, to use public transportation instead, or move closer to where you need to go so that you wouldn't need a car. There is at least that OUT. With the individual mandate you are forced to buy a product just by virtue of your existence in this country. Where is your OUT? Mexico? Europe? Well, Que te vayas bien and Während du gehst! - as for me, I refuse to abandon this experiment, which for the most part, has blessed my life tremendously :/ 2) I'll be the first to admit that the emergency room debacle is not - such is life. Hope remains that an answer will eventually be presented that won't also include a mandated challenge of our liberty. Until then, we should be at least grateful that the burden that will be laid on all of us on account of the destitute and/or slothful American will be presented as a tax, NOT A MANDATE. Also, physicians took the Hippocratic oath - they didn't have to - and, being surrounded by them daily in my profession, I know few who are bothered by the reality that they will often be treating citizens a la pro-bono-publico; most all are happy to do so. I personally am not bothered by my taxes being raised on account of those who either cannot afford insurance or who cannot or will not pay their own medical bills - AT LEAST IT'S A TAX! - Fully backed by the US Constitution.
Listen, I'm not saying that the Obamacare legislation carries with it no noble clause that will "provide for the common defense and general welfare". I am saying, however, that the way it was passed was disturbing, and the way it is intended to be effectuated (i.e. pecuniary mandate) is flat-out unconstitional, to quote the federal judge of VA who ruled likewise. Yes, the battle is not over and there certainly will be an appeal. Let the appeal come - such is the beautiful nature of checks and balances, which, while slow, tends to ensure the preservation of American liberty for the common American citizen.
Popularity: 7% [?]
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