Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone! I just have to take a minute to stop in my tracks and write just a few thoughts I’ve had lately about America. Because after having the chance to teach about the constitution recently, I’ve developed such a deeper love for this country of mine.
Such a deep love and appreciation for those who have gone before.
The founding fathers who put their whole lives in the arena to create “a more perfect union.”
For those who put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms.
And for those who seek to connect, to forgive, and to love unconditionally despite our vast array of differences.
The Good We Don’t Always See
Dave has been showing me these instagram reels with so many visitors coming to America for the World Cup, falling in love with how genuine, honest, generous American citizens are. Post like this one:
Oh there are hundreds if not thousands of them, my brother and Josh both kept sharing endless loops over Sunday dinner last week.
And I just think that it’s so refreshing to be reminded that there is SO MUCH GOOD in this wonderful country of ours.
We, the people, are America. It’s not just the leaders people see on television or the news reports, but the people working at the grocery store. The people we walk past on the street. We are the mothers and fathers of the families, the ones trying to make ends meet as well as the ones running big corporations, all of us quietly going about trying to do what’s right in our own unique ways. And there are millions of good, selfless, connecting things going on right around us all the time.
I hope we can remember to notice that.
Sure, we have our problems. We are a country filled with human beings who have faults.
But we just keep trying.
And that is the key.
Striving Toward a More Perfect Union
We keep striving as a people to use those liberties and moral agency to work our way out of our messiness. And when we work together, we become better.
And better.
That’s just how it works.
Isn’t that just SUCH a beautiful thing?
I LOVED these quotes I came across and used for my Sunday lesson:
I read Democracy in America for a class as a freshman at Boston University and have thought about quotes like this ever since. This French author all those years ago recognized the power we have in association and camaraderie. We just need to keep building on that!
I also loved this from President Oaks along the same lines:
A Prayer for America This 4th of July
As we celebrate 250 years of America this weekend, may we look for common insights that hold us together. May we seek to be more curious about one another. May we try to see where others are coming from. And if we disagree, which we most certainly will (that’s the beauty of being so uniquely different coming from all different varying backgrounds), may we ask questions with humility.
Let’s remember that really, we are all children of God coming at this world in our own unique ways.
May we, as Gregory Boyle admonishes, learn to cherish each other better and more fervently.
In doing so, we truly have the individual capacity to create a more perfect union in our own spheres every day. And the ripple effects of that matter.
HAPPY 4th, EVERYONE!!
Beautiful! Happy Independence Day! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks Mparker!!
XOXO
I love these thoughts! One thing I have a goal of doing is continuing to stay grateful and to try to not stay silent when I see things that we need to stand up for, in loving and heart-filling ways. For example, I love the Women’s Conf. keynote talk by Sister Bednar, and what she said recently. I think we can stay in the neutral middle for only so long. We can love and honor God first, and love and honor others at the same time in kind and peace-giving ways, regardless of whether we agree or not on certain issues. I don’t want to lose the things I’ve been given, and I think the fast and focused direction from our Prophet and apostles is akin to the one we had during Covid… it’s instigated to heal and protect… it’s something our nation needs help to cultivate more of it and not have apathy about it in our lives, because it is VITALLY important to our growth and agency to do good on this earth and to be in a position to hear and accept God’s plan, in every part of the world. Missionaries would not be able to go and share the good news, without religious freedom. In some nations they can’t invite, but in many they can. So grateful we’ve been able to focus on these things. I have a lineup of books I’m reading in honor of America250 and learning so much… always so much more to learn. Our country and our God and our brothers and sisters around the world and at home need our prayers and our broken hearts and contrite spirits, for sure! This focus is not just for our nation… the effects of the perpetuation of religious freedom in our nation do and will continue to affect everyone in nations everywhere, in the leading up days to Christ coming again and in gathering the pure in heart who are ready to hear His message while we wait for that time.