Neil L. Anderson, Mormon Apostle

I testify to any of you who may stumble on this post, that this is real. This is not fiction. This is not the result of an elected vote of man, but of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to His leaders who stand at the head of His Church. It “is” on the earth! The plan of salvation is restored. There is truth! There is a way to progress. There is hope. There are answers to life’s questions. I know, for I sought those answers for years, and have found them.

Back to Elder Anderson, a newly called Mormon apostle, or better expressed, apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

On of Elder Anderson’s classic talks regards the feeling of being clean. It reminded me of my own experience, which I’ll share afterwards. In his words:

There is no other joy like that of feeling free from sin through the power of the Atonement.

I remember my father awakening me one cold night in early February when I was about sixteen. I remember feeling startled; I had only been asleep about an hour. He explained that a steer from our small farm had gotten through the fence, wandered onto the highway, and been hit by a truck. The animal was dead, and to save the meat we would have to act quickly. The task ahead would prove to be an experience I could never forget.

After we dragged the steer from the road to an open shed with our old tractor, our next task was to hoist the animal up. We tied its hind feet together and then threw the rope over a beam. I remember struggling to get my arms under the animal’s hindquarters and lift as my father pulled. To lift with any effect required wrapping my whole body around the slippery animal. By the time the body was hung, the mud and stench had become ingrained in my clothes. I felt miserable, but our work had only begun.

Together my father and I cleaned the dead animal. We didn’t finish until about three in the morning. The smell, the slime, the dirt, and the filth clung to me.

I went back to the house. Although it has been twenty-five years, the events of the next hour are very vivid in my mind. I remember clearly the satisfaction of removing my shirt. Peeling off each layer of clothing brought relief. I began washing—first my hands, then my arms to the elbows. It was not the kind of dirt that would disappear quickly. Then I showered, first washing the ears, then the hair, back to the hands and fingernails, and to the hair again. It was some time before I felt satisfied that the cleansing was done.

Slipping into a clean pair of pajamas, I lay awake in bed for a while reliving the experience. It was four in the morning. I was exhausted, but the feelings of tiredness did not approach the sensational satisfaction of being washed and clean.

Yet as memorable as that experience was, there are wonderful feelings far surpassing the physical feelings I felt on that cold winter night. I speak of marvelous spiritual feelings that come through the gift of the Savior’s atonement as the layers of sin are washed away and we come to feel spiritually clean.

LaVar Christensen

LaVar, and attorney and former Representative to the Utah State Legislature,  is now speaking to us at the Eagle Forum Convention in Sandy, Utah. His sincerity is tangible.  He begins with where we are, in a place where there is seldom any reference in Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts to the fact that most states have created laws to protect the definition of marriage in their sate.  They ignore the 200 years of precedent in family law and our society.  He remarks,

As we sing, as we pray, it’s important to remember the context of the current marriage debate. . . .

How did we ever arrive at a place where a President puts his hand on the Bible to take the oath, but isn’t as free to open and quote from it.

The marriage debate is the single most important topic today.  Frances Grund, a contemporary of Tocqueville who published commentary on American life. He was so impressed with domestic virtue of American people and saw the connection between that virtue and their ability to govern themselves. He then made this powerful, astute comment.

Change the domestic habits of Americans, their level of morality, . . . and you will have changed the Constitution without change a single word of it.

Equality Bill have 6 bills proposed bills on the docket for the Utah legislature.

Here’s the chilling thought. Go to page 34-36 of the opinion of California. What you find is a list of legislation passed in California statute by statute rights for gays, after which, the Supreme Court already said they had gained the status of marriage. Those individual bills in California:

statewide domestic registry

health benefits

wrongful deaths

and more

These are the same bills proposed by Equality Utah now.

These are not spontaneous bills originating in Utah; they are right out of the California playbook.

Obama supports repealing the DOMA act in California. That’s what we are dealing with.

Relies on plurality of liberal state court judges… rather than acknowledging that individual states can vote on these issues.

I came in on the tail end of Dave Jorgensen’s address regarding the current state of our economy as it relates to constitutional issues.
Dave is the organizer of the semi-annual Newquist Breakfast, which is a meeting of approximately 200 participants representing a variety of groups, organizations, and public officers interested in reviewing the current trends and pulse in economics and legal atmosphere of our day.

Orlean Koehle, State President of the Eagle Forum of California, then addressed the nearly-filled auditorium, in an address on the Real ID Act of 2005.  This act is contrary to the

Cherilyn Eager spoke dynamically about the significant changes in liberal education of our children. Cherilyn is the President and Policy Analyst for World Class Education Research, founded to publish and advocate for ideals that strengthen the traditional family. She was co-author of the first state Family and Educational Rights to Privacy Act, to protect students from invasive psychological and non-academic testing. She is also author of an education policy manual entitled Educate America: The Deconstruction of a Culture and is completing a book on pornography to help the family members of sexual addicts.

She spoke of the next generation graduating from a liberal curriculum which has reformulated the notion of normal sexual behavior and relations and the notion of democracy. A recent poll indicated that in one area, 2 million students have graduated with a notion of democracy that includes believing that it includes:

• equal rights

• redistribution of wealth

free health care

echoes of the couched and uncouched socialist dogma pervading academic, government, and our children’s perception of reality.

Where should our focus be, then, as individuals? Where can we personally intervene?

Cherilyn suggests the following:

• Support transparency in education legislation

• Break away from the charter school euphoria

(respecting the good, but inasmuch as they, too, must teach the               standard curriculum)

• Start a PTO at the school that won’t be controlled by the state

• Build a coalition

She will be holding webinars on this subject. For more information, contact her at www.WorldClassEdResearch.org

This is one part of my notes on this conference….