Free Republic

 "When Are the Writings or Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?" by J. Reuben Clark Address given to seminary and institute teachers, at BYU, on July 7, 1954, published in Church News (July 31, 1954): 9-10; reprinted in Dialogue 12 (Summer 1979), 68- 80. I assume the scripture behind this question is the declaration of the Lord in a revelation given through Joseph primarily to Orson Hyde, Luke S. Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson, and William E. M'Lellin, who were to engage in missionary work. After addressing a word first to Orson Hyde, the Lord continued: And,...

"...with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." --Declaration of Independence American Patriot With those words, our Founders codified by signature their intent to establish liberty over tyranny at the great cost of their fortunes and, indeed, their lives. Since that July day in 1776, generations of Patriots have, likewise, committed by oath to Support and Defend the Constitution to which that Declaration gave rise. As we approach the 235th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the opening salvo of the American...

I wrote this blog in October 2009, and never has it been more true than it is today. November 2010 will be historic on a scale not seen in our lifetimes! Consider what will happen as the following massive voter groups begin to fuse and, at an absolute minimum, strongly trend AWAY from big government liberalism. Irritated republicans. Angry conservatives. Ron Paul libertarians. Registered independents. Disaffected democrats. Frightened Medicare seniors. Disillusioned Jews. And drum roll: Conservative youth (18-26). Pray, just for a moment (or longer, it's OK), reflect and analyze these energized groups. While political trends are often difficult to...

Isa. 2: 2 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. Isa. 11: 11 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and...

The tea partyers certainly aren't "dropping out" of the system; if they were, we wouldn't be talking about them. And they aren't reading Marxist tracts in a desire to "tear down the system" either. They're reading Thomas Paine, the founders and Friedrich Hayek in the perhaps naive hope that they'll be able to restore the principles that are supposed to be guiding the system (to the extent they're reading radicals such as Saul Alinsky, it's because they've been told that's the best way to understand his disciple in the White House).

The following article, written by a friend of mine, Gene McCoy, is an unpublished paper. He gave me permission to use it as I saw fit. He Titled it, Back to the Beginning: Restoring the Church to the New Testament Pattern. I think it very worthy of consideration and discussion. Here it is. It was in Junior High School that I began to notice changes in my vision and first began wearing eyeglasses. Over the years, my vision gradually worsened, making stronger prescriptions necessary. When I was thirty-nine years old, the eye doctor told me to prepare for more drastic...

Through Joseph Smith have been restored all the powers, keys, teachings, and ordinances necessary for salvation and exaltation. Suppose for a moment someone told you these three facts about a New Testament personality and nothing more: first, the Savior said of this man, “O thou of little faith” (Matthew 14:31); second, this man, in a moment of anger, cut off an ear of the high priest’s servant; and third, this man denied knowing who the Savior was on three occasions, even though he had walked with Him daily. If that is all you knew or focused upon, you might have...

The journey on which the world’s most famous fighter airplane [was recovered from beneath 268 feet of ice on Greenland's ice cap]. Great Britain was holding off Nazi Germany and the United States was rushing warplanes to British airfields. In 1942, Glacier Girl was a brand new Lockheed P-38F, one of hundreds of airplanes sent as part of U.S. Army Air Force had its pilots base-hop across the North Atlantic from Maine to Scotland. Not all squadrons made it across, and this particular one was forced down by weather to an emergency landing on an ice cap in Greenland. For...

Suppose for a moment someone told you these three facts about a New Testament personality and nothing more: first, the Savior said of this man, “O thou of little faith” (Matthew 14:31); second, this man, in a moment of anger, cut off an ear of the high priest’s servant; and third, this man denied knowing who the Savior was on three occasions, even though he had walked with Him daily. If that is all you knew or focused upon, you might have thought this man a scoundrel or a no-good, but in the process you would have failed to come...

"No man can well doubt the propriety of placing a president of the United States under the most solemn obligations to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution." --Joseph Story Commander and Chief This week, we observe the anniversary of Ronald Wilson Reagan's birthday -- Reagan Day as it is known around our office. Ronald Reagan was, and remains, the North Star of the last great conservative revolution -- and the next -- if more Republicans will abide by their oaths to Support and Defend our Constitution and abide by their own political party platform. At the most recent Republican National...

SAMARRA – The Al-Askari (Golden) Mosque here was bombed Feb. 22, 2006, setting off a chain of sectarian violence in the city. Then, June 13, 2007, terrorists again attacked the mosque, destroying two minarets and the clock tower. Despite the attacks on this prominent landmark and sacred mosque, the citizens here have made significant progress to restore peace. During a recent visit to this ancient city, United States Forces – Iraq Deputy Commanding General for Operations, Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, walked along the city's streets with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Commander, Col. Henry A. Arnold...

Joseph Smith was a terrible writer. While that statement might sound foreign to members, considering his testimony and revelations have been spread around the world in more than 160 languages, it should come as no surprise when you realize the Prophet had no more than a third-grade education. "We can't underestimate the significance of all these scribes," said Alex Baugh, professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. "Their contributions are incalculable." Why did the Prophet call the men he did to transcribe his largely oral revelations? The answer to that question depends on whom you ask. SNIP...

Bouncing around on the trend-tossed seas of 21st-century book publishing, Mormon scholarship seems to have docked at the granddaddy of all prestigious presses: Oxford University. By all accounts, the unlikely partnership between the oldest university in the English-speaking world and an upstart American faith seems to be working. Mormon writers, particularly historians, get the academic credibility they crave and Oxford sells a lot of books. Two years ago, Oxford University Press published Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr. and Glen M. Leonard, three LDS Church scholars. The harrowing account of the 1857 slaughter of...

In a few minutes the honduran congress will vote to decide if Manuel Zelaya, president fired by the honduran constitution for attempting a repeal of the current constitution, will be or not be reinstated. The honduran institutions such as the human rights commissioner, Attorney general, Procurator general, Supreme Electoral Tribunal and Supreme Court, have opposed any reinstatement, saying that is inappropiate. The attorney general has threatened to prosecute any that supports the reinstatetment of Zelaya.

A Road Map for the New Patriot Movement Over the past months, the inspiring national reaction and response to the quickening pace of assaults on liberty and the foundations of the American ideal has reached a fevered pitch. It is heartening to see the awakening of the People and the resistance to forces that do not subscribe to those values that built the United States into the most productive, equitable and powerful nation in history. With the simple voices speaking at town hall meetings raising protest to a nationalization of the health care industry, or the unified message in the...

A Declaration of Restoration /July 4th 2009/ When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with a governing body they have created, which has turned tyrannical and detrimental to the peace and safety, and the very existence of the nation of the People who established the governing body, and to return to a previously established form of self governing under the Laws of Nature and Natures God as entitled therein, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which...

My ride is a classic 1962 Chevrolet Impala anniversary edition two-door hard top. My love has a 283 Chevy small block engine, and when it cruises by on a Sunday you can hear what American automotive muscle sounds like. The Impala was bought by my grandfather as a gift for my aunt so she could commute to UC Davis. After her stint at UCD the car was parked in an open tomb (i.e. the back yard) and was left to nature's devices. For 16 years, rain, sleet and a multitude of shrubs, trees and vines consumed the car, leaving it...

CONSTITUTIONAL RESTORATION STATEMENT OF PURPOSE, PETITION AND DEMANDS We, the People of these United States, who are the source of authority for the Federal Government and its very existence, do hereby petition and demand that all Federal officials, elected and appointed, review their Oaths of Office which they freely and solemnly swore to or affirmed, without mental reservation of purpose of evasion, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. We petition and demand that these Federal officials, who are but agents of...

Elijah and the Restoration of the Sealing Keys In the spring of 1836, after three years of work and sacrifice, the Kirtland Saints finally saw their beautiful temple complete, the first temple in this dispensation. On Sunday, March 27, more than 900 people gathered in the temple chapel and vestibule for the dedicatory service. Many others met in an overflow session in a nearby schoolroom, while still others listened outside the open windows of the temple. The Prophet himself helped to seat the faithful. The congregation heard an address by Sidney Rigdon, a counselor in the First Presidency, and then...

Announcing a bikers "Ride-In" in support of the Media March and Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party Meet at: The Varsity, downtown ATL - April 15 KSU: 4:30 p.m. Short ride through downtown Atlanta to the Capitol in support of the Media March and Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party. The media can only ignore us for so long. Let's rattle some windows at CNN Center, AJC and more...time for our 'voices' to be heard.