Psalms 32:12, Ether 2:9, 12

Sorry it's been a while since I've written.

One of my personal projects lately has been to read the book of Psalms with colored pencils, marking different themes in different colors. Anything to do with government or politics or leadership I mark in red and blue (since the scripture pages are already white).

To start, here's the passage from Psalms 32:12:

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance."

Here are my thoughts about it:

Is the Lord really America's God? There is a huge cultural war going on in our country right now, not just between "red" and "blue" states, but between views of personal morality.

One side believes there is a God that establishes standards of personal and collective moral conduct and that our peace and safety as a nation lies in keeping with that law that is unlegislated but nonetheless real. Another side believes that even if there is a God, everyone has the right to act the way they want in their private life and that religious belief should not straightjacket our personal and collective political life. (I learned this by taking Latimer's class at BYU Education Week about "A Tale of Two Americas" - I think I want to attend it again to brush up on changes over the past 5 years since I attended that class.)

Oh, there's so much I could write and say about these culture wars, I want to just comment on one thing that ties in with the above scripture passage.

There is no doubt in my mind that our nation was originally created on a foundation of Christian theology - particularly the Pilgrims and other such religious groups who came to the Americas seeking religious freedom. It seems that the vast majority of those living in America during its founding tended to read the Bible regularly, even if they did not affiliate with a particular church, and as such were probably very familiar with the book of Psalms.

I use the color purple to mark scriptures that have to do with trusting God. It has been amazing to me that almost on every page in the book of Psalms there is a reference to trusting God. Is it any wonder that our national motto is "In God We Trust"? (That's something else I would like to research also - how did we get that motto officially sanctioned and when did it happen?)

I need to leave soon, but let me finish this post with another scripture passage that I strongly believe applies to the one in Psalms:

And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. (Ether 2:9, 12)

Okay, enough for now. Bye!