Today's a good day to remember.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. . . . And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
"O beautiful for patriot dream which sees beyond the years. Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed His grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!" --Katherine Lee Bates, America the Beautiful
"O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation
Blessed with vict'ry and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must when our cause it is just
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust!'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
--Francis Scott Key, The Star-Spangled Banner
"The longer I live, the more convinced I become that God governs in the affairs of men." -- Benjamin Franklin
Battle of Brooklyn Heights. One of my favorite stories from the Revolutionary War. Miracles happened that day. Read about it here.
"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." --Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." --Ether 2:12, The Book of Mormon
Let us remember those who came before us. Those who dreamed, worked, fought, and died to make us free.
Let us stand for liberty, and remember "our father's God . . . author of liberty," and the only Way we can remain free.
Happy Independence Day.
Amen!
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