This was originally published at LDS Liberty.
“And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” 1 Nephi 4:6
One of the hardest things in this life for me to understand is how
best to parent. My greatest source of strength is having the influence
of the Holy Ghost and knowing that Heavenly Father will direct me
towards the path he wants for my family, if I allow.
Allowing the Lord to dictate what I should be studying is a very
enlightening task. Not long after my husband and I were married I had a
strong prompting to prepare to be a stay-at-home mother. That
prompting was later followed by another which led me to pursue a natural
birth (which was successful, as was the birth of our second son). I
then became interested in herbs and other forms of natural medicine. I
am now preparing to homeschool our children. In addition to all these
things, my husband and I have a renewed interest in politics and we are
educating ourselves on the different infringements of rights that are
occurring in our country. We have found that some of our former values
and beliefs were not quite in line with the gospel.
We did not know what it meant to be true, active participants in
politics. Yes, we voted. Yes, we studied who we wanted to vote for;
but those votes were misguided. They were significantly influenced by
the personalities of talk radio and other conservative media, rather
than by study and prayer. D&C 98: 10
states: “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for
diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold;
otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil”.
Can we continue to ignore the Lord once we have read the above
verse? Can we continue to act lazily in our political lives when our
Constitution is indeed “hanging by a thread?” As my sons grow up, I
want to be able to say I was a diligent mom and did my best to elect
honest men; thus, allowing my sons the opportunity to grow up in a
prosperous nation where they may achieve their goals without government
restraint.
We are commanded to seek wise men diligently. It is my view
that this presidential election is one of the most hopeful elections we
have ever had. At this time, we have the opportunity to elect a man
who stands for liberty. He is a man who loves this country and has
voted to uphold its Constitution throughout his years as a congressman.
He stands for the ideals of the gospel and he is the wise man that we,
if we have been doing our duty, have been searching for. Ron Paul is
the only man in this presidential race that is willing to be peculiar.
He stands out from the rest because his principles are sound.
We should cast our vote for the one man who stands for liberty and
this man is Ron Paul. The following are just three reasons why I
believe Ron Paul supports liberty and is the honest and wise man we have
been searching for.
Ron Paul will protect my right to homeschool my children. He not
only voted for legislation that supports homeschoolers by giving tax
breaks, he also strongly supports giving the control of education back
to parents. Private schooling is too expensive when the majority of
children attend state-run schools. If the Department of Education were
to be dissolved (which Ron Paul is highly in favor of) it would allow
for more competition between schools which would create an affordable
education alternative for those who choose not to homeschool. Past
prophets have stated that we should not support “free” education through
taxation. Brigham Young said, “I am opposed to free education as
much as I am opposed to taking property from one man and giving it to
another who knows not how to take care of it.” By supporting Ron Paul we may soon be able to do as we have been counseled.
Ron Paul also supports the elimination of the income tax. This may
sound foolish to some people, but who does our money belong to? The
scriptures do not teach that we should be in bondage to our government;
rather, they provide examples of leaders who have been deemed as
“wicked” who enslave their people through taxation. Mosiah 19:15 states: “Therefore
the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried
them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto them that they might
possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver up king
Noah into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property,
even one half of all they possessed, one half of their gold, and their
silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay tribute
to the king of the Lamanites from year to year.” Our money first
belongs to the Lord and then to ourselves. When the government
unconstitutionally takes money from us it burdens our lives. As an
example, we had to pay out of pocket for both of the births of our
sons. Although the midwives were less expensive than the hospital, it
was still more than we could afford. The extra money that we paid in
taxes, Social Security, and Medicare would have covered the cost with
money to spare. If the income tax was eliminated and Social Security
and Medicare were optional programs (or eliminated altogether), this
would place money back into the market which would greatly improve our
struggling economy.
I am ashamed to say that when my husband and I were first married, we
relied upon the words of Glenn Beck and other talk radio hosts more
than we relied upon the scriptures and the spirit. We thought they knew
what was best for our country and we supported the senseless wars that
the United States is continually involved in. However, we have been
inspired to recognize that their beliefs are not in harmony with the
following law given from our Lord. D&C 98: 33–36: “And
again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should
not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue, or people,
save I, the Lord, commanded them. And if any nation, tongue, or people
should proclaim war against them, they should first lift a standard of
peace unto that people, nation, or tongue; And if that people did not
accept the offering of peace, neither the second nor the third time,
they should bring these testimonies before the Lord; Then I, the Lord,
would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to
battle against that nation, tongue, or people.” Ron Paul has
stated that he will not go to war with any nation without the consent of
congress as is stated in the Constitution. We know that our
Constitution was divinely created and it is Ron Paul who has tried to
maintain it throughout his years as a congressman. It is Ron Paul who
will not carelessly deploy our military for any agenda other than the
protection of American citizens, and only then, with permission from
congress.
Now it is your turn to study the candidates for yourself. It is your
turn to be diligent and use the Holy Ghost to guide you as you research
the candidates. We are commanded to uphold the Constitution and our
vote for President gives us the opportunity to do just that. For the
sake of our children and the world they face, it is our responsibility
to seek out the most wise and honest candidate for President.
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