American Scripture with Steve Farrell
Escalating evil requires escalating righteousness from good men and good women if righteousness is to prevail and our nation stay free.
To wield a righteous influence, our knowledge needs to be solid and universal, our testimonies strong and bold, but more than this, our witness to our neighbor, community, and nation needs to proceed forth out of the loving, humble heart, of the true servant of God and his Christ.
America’s witness for Christ, the Book of Mormon teaches us this:
And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things.
See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.
Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.
Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.
Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy — yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.
And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be sober. … (Alma 38: 10-15, Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ)
I hope we let that point sink deep into our hearts and come to an honest assessment as to how our thoughts and actions line up with this Christian standard.
And after we have, let this thought be riveted in our hearts and minds forever: If we hope to maximize our effectiveness, if we hope to have the witness and power of God on our side so that we might not simply win an argument, but keep the debate civil, civil enough that we may touch hearts, move souls, bring about real change, and by so doing, ultimately save America — this is how it must be.
And we must ever remember this as well: The Book of Mormon witnesses that Jesus Christ is the God of this land, and so long as the people serve him it shall be a land of liberty. And if so, and it is so: how can we serve him if in delivering the truth to our friends, neighbors, and countrymen, we do so out of a wicked and haughty heart?
We can do better. We must do better.
Steve Farrell is one of the original pundits at Silver Eddy Award Winner, NewsMax.com (1999-2008), associate professor of political economy at George Wythe University, the author of the highly praised inspirational novel “Dark Rose,” and the President of the Latter-day Center for Moral Liberalism.
