There is nothing special about this country
Apart from our willingness to stand alone for virtue
"A real patriot is the fellow who gets a speeding ticket and
rejoices that the system works."
At the time of
America's Bi-Centennial in 1976, we were living in Europe as part of the 8th
Med Battalion, assigned to Mannheim, Germany. The Fourth of July that year was,
appropriately, on a Sunday. Usually, the men wore civilian clothes at church,
but that day there had been early-morning parades on post and they all came in
their uniforms. The opening song was The Star Spangled Banner, and
we stood to sing it in that congregation of servicemen and women. My heart
swelled to be there and it was a defining moment of my life.
Along with our personal
love for her, we know America also has a great destiny. God has revealed
and repeated over and over again: “For behold, this is a land which is choice
above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or
shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.” (Ether 2:10)
To quote Marion G.
Romney: "God gave us victory in the Revolutionary War. We are indebted to
him for our nation’s independence. He has prospered us in every righteous
endeavor. He established the Constitution of the United States 'by the hands of
wise men whom [he] raised up unto this very purpose.' (D&C 101:80)
"He himself with his Beloved Son
appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith to open a new dispensation of the gospel
of Jesus Christ here. He has established his Church here and has sent and is
sending representatives thereof into every nook and corner of the land—and as
far as possible to all the earth—to declare and teach the laws of Jesus Christ,
the God of this land."
So according to the
Book of Mormon, we have both a promise and a curse—be righteous and remain free
or become wicked and "be swept off." Knowing this, sometimes it's
scary when we see things happening around us. But I have to say I still have
faith in the United States of America and in the goodness of her people. And
I'm not the only one. I once heard a new citizen from Asia say, "There has to
be an America. What would the rest of the world do without her?"
