Speaking on Sunday, now I'm stuck

[ZappBrannigan]

I am giving a talk on Sunday with the subject "The Divine gift of personal freedom". I am having trouble transitioning from my experience as a Soldier and the debt we owe our founding fathers into spiritual freedom.

[Dravin]

Well if you wanted you could probably draw parallels between sacrifices/actions being made by founding fathers with those taken by the Savior to ensure spiritual freedom from various things such as addictions and cycles by choice. At least I've been taught that because of the Savior I can change, no Savior no change (or maybe change is meaningless). No ability to change means no personal freedom to choose to change (and with the Savior's help).

So because of the Founding Fathers we could change as a Nation instead of being bound to Great Britain and because of the Savior we can change as individuals and not be bound to what we currently are.

Or...

You could make a connection between how the enemy of the founding fathers wanted to destroy their agency (Britain wishes greater control in the operation of the Colonies for better or worse) and the founding Fathers ensured (along with others) are agency from Britain. Likewise Lucifer sought to destroy personal agency [Moses 4:3] which was preserved by the Father (and Son). There was even a war involved.

Just throwing out random musings.

[ZappBrannigan]

My name is Zapp Brannigan. You may be wondering why I am wearing what I am wearing today, or given the subject of todays talks, you may think you already know. I am actually wearing my uniform today because as soon as sacrament meeting is over, I have to leave for a 5 hour drive to Montrose Colorado for some training with my unit, in preperation for our Nov 2nd deployment date.

A few weeks ago I approached the Bishp with a request that I be allowed to speak on Sunday the 31st, as that will be the last Sunday I know I will be able to attend our ward, and I wanted to begin my deployment on a spiritual high.. The Bishop recommended I speak this week as the subject might be a little more suited to me and my situation. That topic is The Divine Gift of Freedom.

Freedom, what does the word mean to you? Do you picture the countless men and women who have sacrificed for you to be here today? DO you consider all of the hardships and the pain that those who came before us gladly went through because they believed that it would lead to a better life for future gennerations?

If you are a member of our youth, do you think of Freedom in terms of what you are allowed to do by your parents, do you dwell on what freedoms you wish you had? I ask because to so many different people, the word freedom means very different ideas.

When I was preparing for my first deployment to Iraq, we met an Iraqi woman who had fled the country after the fall of Sadam Hussein with her family. She was our language and culture teacher, and when she spoke to us about what Freedom meant to her, my entire platoon was in tears. She was a member of a small minority of Iraqis, because she was a Christian. She had seen first hand the horrors of a religious jihad, and had a brother and cousin who were publicly killed for being Christians. Furthermore, as a woman in a predominatly muslim country, she was not permitted to attend school past the equivilant of 3rd grade. When she went into public, she was required to dress in a burqa, showing only her eyes, so that she wouldn’t put impure thoughts into a man’s head because under Muslim law, a woman is responsible if a man has impure thoughts about her and can be punished severely.

She went on to discuss with us how refreshing it was to be able to practice her religious beliefs openly, without fear that at any moment she could be killed. She marveled at the first time she was allowed to pick all of her own clothes, and was able to walk around public without hiding her face. She cried as she told us we have no idea the effects our service would have on those people we would probably not even meet.

My Arabic instructor cherished and savored the freedoms that many of us take for granted everyday. As I remember that day, her words often times fill me with feelings of guilt and uneasiness. I am free to chose when, how and what I worship. I am not going to be dragged through the street and shot because I profess a belief in Jesus Christ. My wife is allowed to dress as she feels appropriate, and does not run the risk of being stoned because a man has impure thoughts about her. And yet, I often times do not feel grateful on a daily basis for all that my forefathers have accomplished for me. For the lives that were lost by the Colonists who were struggling to create a better society where we were not ruled by a tyrant. We have all seen the painting The Crossing, depicting George Washington leading his men across an icy Delaware River on a snowy Christmas evening. The whole story of why this was important was explained to me by my father while I was growing up;

During the Fall of 1776, General George Washington had been on the retreat. Starting in August, Maj. General William Howe drove Washington first from New York City and then from New York. state. Lt. General Charles Cornwallis had then taken up the chase and sent Washington retreating across New Jersey so that in early December, Washington had crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. Washington knew that morale was down because the Continental Army had yet to secure a victory on the battlefield against British Army regulars. There were those in the Continental Congress who were beginning to doubt the ability of the Commander-in-Chief as well. His enlistments were running out at the end of the year and the weather was growing harsh so that he would soon have to enter winter quarters.

General Washington knew that he and the Rebel cause needed some momentum before ending operations for the winter.. He decided to cross the Delaware River back into New Jersey and make a surprise attack on the British forces which had already settled into winter quarters. He chose the remote Hessian garrison at Trenton commanded by Colonel Johann Rall. On Christmas Night, 1776, what has been immortalized as 'The Crossing' took place in a snowstorm as Washington led his troops across the Delaware River and on to Trenton.

This victory, although number wise is small by comparison had a huge effect. It increased morale, helped Washington reenlist most of his army, and proved those in the Continental Congress that doubted him wrong.

A much less glorified, yet in my opinion touching scene took place the following winter, when General Washington was again leading his troops to Winter Quarters.

General Washington had hoped to provide his weary men with more nutritious food and badly needed winter clothing, Congress had been unable to provide money for fresh supplies. That Christmas Eve, the troops dined on a meal of rice and vinegar, and were forced to bind their bleeding frost-bitten feet with rags. "We have experienced little less than a famine in camp," Washington wrote to Patrick Henry the following February. Washington expressed deep gratitude and awe for those soldiers who remained with him. He described men marching without clothes, blankets or shoes--leaving bloody trails in the snow--who displayed "patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralel'd

I have oftentimes closed my eyes and pictured myself in those men’s situations. Marching without shoes through snow and ice, slowly starving to death, wondering what was happening to my family back home, if they were being fed, if they were warm. Would I be able to follow my leader as he struggled to find protection from the elements for me? Would I give up when I began to bleed from walking barefoot across frozen ground, through snow and ice? I don’t like to walk around my own home without shoes on, much less venture outside.

And yet these men willingly did all of these things and more. Our founding Fathers realized that if their children, and their children’s children were going to have a better life, then they would be required to make sacrifices on a daily basis.

So I will ask you again, what does freedom mean to you? Do you take for granted all of the blessings we have as Americans? Do you live your life in a way that honors the sacrifices our forefathers made? While our enemies might not be forming up en masse, and taking turns firing on us in ranks, there are still people in the world who seek to limit our personal freedom.

What about spiritually speaking? What is spiritual freedom? We know from the scriptures what spiritual bondage is; Alma 12:11

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

And again from Mormon 8:31

Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.

To gain a better appreciation for what is at stake with regards to our spiritual freedom, we should start with how it began;

Moses 4:1-4

1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

2But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the eglory be thine forever.

3Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

4And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice

We can see that in the premortal existence we chose freedom over bondage. We chose to come to earth and be tested. If we had not chosen freedom, we would have been cast out, like 1/3 of the hosts of heaven. So then why are there so many of us who look to the commandments as restraining? Why do we often times find ourselves saying things like “I can’t drink that coffee” or “I can’t watch that movie”, and when questioned by our nonmember friends, we explain it violates the churches rules, and leave it at that. But is it so simple? If this is our point of view, is it any wonder that our church is often regarded as strict, harsh, difficult or even demanding?

In the July 1985 Ensign, Robert M Wilkes shared with us some thoughtful insight into how we should view Spiritual Freedom.

I know of a little boy who came home from school one day long ago to find a new rented piano in the living room. “What’s this piano here for?” he asked his mother.

“It’s for you,” she replied.

“For me?” he asked. “Why for me?”

“Because,” she said, “you are going to take piano lessons.”

He said he didn’t want to take piano lessons. But she had already vetoed that decision. In fact, she had already arranged for a teacher.

Well, this little boy began to miss a few lessons. One day his mother asked, “How was your piano lesson?”

He said, “Fine. I’m doing pretty well.”

“That’s interesting,” she said. “I just talked to your teacher, and she hasn’t seen you for a while.” He had been caught. He didn’t know what the punishment would be, but he knew it would be bad. Then his mother said, “Just for that, you may not take piano lessons.”

He tried to look punished, but inside he was an inferno of joy. Mother, he thought, you have hit on the perfect punishment. I hope you use it often. Within his heart he felt that he had just been liberated. He was free from practice, free from lessons, free from discipline, routine, and regimentation—free from all that seemed to limit his freedom.

When he grew to be a man, he was sitting one day in a church meeting during which a woman was to sing a solo. When her time to perform came, she walked up to the podium and announced, “My accompanist could not come today. I need someone to accompany me.” Looking over the congregation, she saw a man who used to teach piano. “Will you accompany me?” she asked him. The man came forward, and she handed him the music.

As he watched this transpire, my friend who had avoided music lessons thought, What would I have done if she had asked me? If she had asked me, I would have been free to do only one thing: to say no. Suddenly, he realized that what he had assumed to be one of the great liberating moments of his life—when his mother said, “You may not take lessons any more”—was in fact a moment of bondage, not freedom. As he sat in that church meeting, he might as well have been handcuffed, for he could not have played the piano if he had wanted to. The other man was free; he could choose to play or not to play. Ultimately, then, freedom is more a matter of capacity and ability than of permission.

Why would freedom be more a matter of capacity and ability than of permission? Because, if you do not have the capability of flapping your arms and flying, then no matter how many people tell you that you can try it, it will never happen.

Continuing from Robert M Wilkes talk;

“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. “And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.” (2 Ne. 2:22–23.)

So freedom is not just freedom from—freedom from interference, restraint, responsibility—although there certainly are things we want to be free from. But the greatest freedom, the freedom of God, is the freedom to do.

Ask yourself, “What am I free to do?” In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve knew the freedom from. They were free from every discomfort and mortal pain. But they had to leave that idyllic place and enter the dreary world in order to have freedom to do.

This is what I have so far...

[pam]

What I think of when I hear "The Divine Gift of Personal Freedom" is our ability to freely make choices in our life. We have our agency that was given to us by choosing to follow the Savior in the preexistence.

[captmoroniRM]

Think Agency. Ponder hymns like "Know this that every soul is free." Also, consider the phrasing from America, the Beautiful that reads "Confirm thy soul with self control, thy liberty in law." Reflect on those songs in regards to agency and your assigned topic. They will teach you a lot about personal freedom.

[Justice]

There are some awesome stories about being a soldier and freedom in the latter chapters of Alma.

Captain Moroni is a type or symbol of Christ, and the Book of Mormon begins telling his story in chapter 43.

I'd suggest spending some time today reading Alma 43 to 63 (yes 20 chapters) and keying in on Captain Moroni and how important freedom was to him.

Alma 48 offers this as a tribute to him:

10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.

11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

continuing...

17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

18 Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.

My opinion is that people don't use scriptures enough while speaking.

[Justice]

Mormon 6 offers a touching story of the end of the Nephites.

As they all stood there on the hill, watching the Lamanite army coming upon them, they all knew they would die. Yet, it was more important to them that they not deny Christ, even though it meant they could live in the flesh longer.