Daily Insights from my Life #39

Pioneer Day!

On July 24th (this Thursday), we will be celebrating Pioneer Day.

A little history...
On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley after traveling across the plains from Nauvoo, Illinois.

What an amazing thing they did as they crossed the plains. They faced many hardships and lost loved ones as they faced that trek. I have admiration for their faith and courage as they came across. They had faith in the Lord that all would be well, and that He would watch over them.

We today do not have to cross the plains by foot, but do have spiritual hardships we must face. I implore all to keep faith in the Lord that He will watch over us and strengthen us as we face our modern-day trials.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/come-come-ye-saints?lang=eng

Lyrics

1. 1. Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
   But with joy wend your way.
   Though hard to you this journey may appear,
   Grace shall be as your day.
   'Tis better far for us to strive
   Our useless cares from us to drive;
   Do this, and joy your hearts will swell--
   All is well! All is well!
2. 2. Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
   'Tis not so; all is right.
   Why should we think to earn a great reward
   If we now shun the fight?
   Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
   Our God will never us forsake;
   And soon we'll have this tale to tell--
   All is well! All is well!
3. 3. We'll find the place which God for us prepared,
   Far away in the West,
   Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
   There the Saints will be blessed.
   We'll make the air with music ring,
   Shout praises to our God and King;
   Above the rest these words we'll tell--
   All is well! All is well!
4. 4. And should we die before our journey's through,
   Happy day! All is well!
   We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
   With the just we shall dwell!
   But if our lives are spared again
   To see the Saints their rest obtain,
   Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell--
   All is well! All is well!
5. Text: William Clayton, 1814-1879
   Music: English folk song

4ofJuly#6 Daily Insights from my Life #39

First of all, I apologize for not posting this yesterday. I was busy all day with family, so I had no time.

For Independence Day, the fourth of July, I will be posting a video about freedom.

What freedoms are you grateful for? That is asked at the end of the video, and it is a question I ask all of you in light of the recent holiday celebrating the day where our nation gained our freedom to do many things. I will let you know what freedoms I am grateful for.

1. Freedom to believe what I want to believe (freedom of religion)
2. Freedom to choose for myself instead of being forced to choose
3. Freedom to raise a family
4. Freedom to voice my opinion
5. Freedom to get an education

These are just some of the few of many freedoms I am grateful for. What are you grateful for? At least some of those that I listed were made possible because of the events that happened many years ago when we gained our independence as a nation.

"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."
-The Declaration of Independence

4ofJuly#5 Daily Insights from my Life #38

For today's post I will briefly talk about the symbolism of our nation's colors red, white, and blue.

Here's some interesting history about them. They weren't given a meaning of symbolism when they were placed in our flag when it was adopted in 1777. They were at that time just retained from their former mother country, Great Britain. When the Great Seal of the United States was created in 1782, that's when they were given symbolism.

"Red, hardiness and valour"
"Blue...vigilance, perseverance and justice"
"White signifies purity and innocence,"

The colors of our nation symbolize some virtues that we all need to remember. Hardiness and valour are needed to keep us strong, so that we do not become lazy in our days. Vigilance and perseverance are needed so that we do not fail in keeping ourselves in the path of doing those things we know we should be doing. Purity and innocence help remind us that above all, we need to try to do the right things. To me purity and innocence means I need to strive to always do what I believe God wants me to do. That is what those symbols mean to me.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

4ofJuly#4 Daily Insights from my Life #37

First of all, I apologize that this is one day late.

For this post, I will share a video of a song the LDS Mormon Tabernacle Choir has sung.

"On this day....make this nation one."

I implore y'all to remember those who have fought to maintain our freedom and independence. There have been those nations who have tried to take that away from us, but because of valiant soldiers, we have not lost it. They have fought bravely and still do fight bravely and courageously with our nation's freedom in their minds and hearts. I know that God has performed miracles in our history to help maintain our freedom as our soldiers fought. As long as we remember Him, He will remember us.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

4ofJuly#3 Daily Insights from my Life #36

For this post, I will write a little bit about the American flag. First of all, the 50 white stars on the flag represent the 50 states of America. The first version of the flag that had stars had 13 to represent the first 13 states of the U.S. Then two more were added for 15 states (the two were Vermont and Kentucky). Then in August of 1959, Hawaii was the 50th state to join the union. Then, President Eisenhower ordered a new arrangement of stars on the flag with 50 stars representing the 50 states of America. It was first raised with 50 stars at Fort McHenry on July 4, 1960. The 13 stripes on the flag is a reminder of the first 13 colonies of our great nation.

Something that is done when saluting to the flag of our great nation is reciting The Pledge of Allegiance. It is powerful pledge that for me will always be ingrained into my heart and mind. As a former boy scout of America and Eagle scout, I recited this pledge many times in my life. The most powerful part of this pledge for me is when we say, "one nation under God". That to me is powerful because God had his hand in the creation of this great nation. He inspired our founding fathers, and I will always remember and know that it was through Him that this nation was born.

Today it reads:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

References:
http://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=395
http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm