Written by: Sister Ellise Westenskow and Sister Lezlee Jackson, Full Time Missionaries
Every day, millions of Americans stand and place their hand over their heart to honor the country in which we live. A land of liberty. A land of freedom. A land whose supreme ruler is God himself. In the pledge of allegiance we all state, "One nation, under God". The United States of America, would not be the country it is today, without God's supreme power in the creation of its existence.
"...It is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God." (1) This scripture comes from the Book of Mormon, which is another Testament of Jesus Christ and a record of a people who lived on the American continent before (and after) the time of Christ. Like Moses or Peter in the Bible, Nephi was a prophet who received God's word and recorded it in sacred scripture.
Nephi received a great vision where he saw our day, and many of the events leading up to the discovery and establishment of America. In this vision he foresaw the travels of Christopher Columbus as he traveled across the seas and discovered America. This is what he recorded: "I looked and I beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in this promised land". (2)
This discovery of a promised land was not a mistake or coincidental. America was not discovered by the power of man alone, but by God's inspiration and love for his children. God chose to reveal this land that would allow the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel to be restored and returned to the earth.
In America, we enjoy the great blessing of worshipping as we please. Thousands of our forefathers sacrificed their lives in order for us to enjoy this great blessing. For the first time in history, man was able to choose for himself what religion he was going to join. No other time in history was this choice available to mankind.
With the truthfulness of the Gospel having been distorted and changed for hundreds of years, God knew that his children desperately needed truth and were prepared to receive this message of his Beloved Son. Appearing to Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820, God was able to give his children the greatest gift of all - knowledge that we are children of a loving God who gave us his only begotten son so we can return back to him.
The world will keep changing, but Gods supreme power will not. Without America, we would not be the people we are today. But without God ruling over America and restoring the truthfulness of the gospel, we could have never made it to today. America is truly the home of the brave, a land of liberty. Truly a nation, ruled by God himself. This fourth of July, let us remember who is the creator of this country in which we are all so proud to call our home. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
1) Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 10:19 2) Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:12
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