Times of Trial

I think that all too often when studying history we get caught up in the events, in what happened and sometimes run the risk at looking at the past all too objectively. History is a blanket woven not from thread or yarn but from the lives of those who went before us. So often we judge an individual's entire life based on a mere snap shot. All too frequently we forget the humanity of the historical figures we learn about--no one is perfect and it is far easier to look back and place a judgment on something or someone than it is to make a judgment in the future. We forget our hindsight bias as we shake our fingers at choices made.

I believe that the past can still be very much alive if we see and understand it as the lives of people and not merely a string of events. Sometimes I wish I had some kind of power to travel back and act as an omniscient observer during key moments in history. How incredible would it be to listen in on the protracted debates between the founding fathers, to peer into the lives of people who made our country what it is today. What would I give to hear John Adams speak or watch Jefferson as his quill scribbled across a page. To live in history for a brief moment in time. Take a vacation among the waves of the past.

Book of Mormon Government

Reading about the various types of government in the Book of Mormon I've always wished that BYU offered a Poli Sci/Religion class that focuses mainly on the different types of government within the text--what works, what doesn't and why and why not. I always thought that the government set forth in the books of Alma and Helaman were closely related to the way the US government is run. I had been taught that the Founding Fathers had indeed received divine guidence while designing the American government. Upon a closer look however, we can see large discrepancies between the two different systems--one based on triumpth, defeating tyranny while the other views victories as being delivered by the Lord. In one, a chief judge is appointed for life--the other a president can serve for a maximum of 8 years. The only real similarities that I can see are that they are both run democratically as in the voice of the people elects who is to head up the government. Both can also be corrupted. Helaman 7:5, which reads which talks about "Condeming the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might more easily commit adultery, and steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills," vividly reminds me of our own government. Do we not live in a society in which those with money can get away with almost anything? Where those in power commit a whole array of sin just because they can?

It is frightening how similar our situation is to that of the ancient Nephites. My Book of Mormon professor says that the reason why Mormon focused closely on the period of about 125 years is for us, that we may have a guide as to how one should behave and endure in situations as grave as that which was seen by the Lamanites before Christ's coming. Things will be at least as bad.

I will admit that the future scares me quite a bit. While I try to prepare myself, for the righteous need not fear, it is hard not to be afraid for those all around us who will not be prepared--our government could very well crumble and what would we be left with? How strong is America's sense of ideals? Honestly, I think they've been higher

Book of Mormon and American Revolution Parallels

As a typical freshman, this semester I'm taking Rel A 122--the 2nd half of the Book of Mormon. It has been fascinating to study the war chapters of Alma from the Book of Mormon while at the same time learning about the American Revolution. Any mention of rights, freedom or liberty jumps out at me as I read. The Title of Liberty--"In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives and our children" (Alma 46:12) brings to mind the Declaration of Independence. The Founding Fathers simply wanted their rights and freedoms as men.

I find it remarkable that such a struggle for freedom could exist throughout the ages, different times with different people, the Americas have seen more than one war for freedom. Even today, we fight for freedom from terror, from discrimination--we fight for the freedom to live our lives as we choose to. How wondrous will the day be that we no longer will have to fight--that we will truly be free