The Election is over and there is Hope in America!

We support and pray for the new President elect, Obama, that he will be able to get this country back on track and back to being a strong country united together. He has a huge job ahead of him and needs all of our prayers.

Yesterday, Richard received an email from the wife of the brother in charge of the Prop. 8 campaign in the Shiloh Park ward. She gave a quote from a talk that was given in 1978 at a devotional by Neal A. Maxwell. Of course it had nothing specifically to do with Proposition 8 in this past election, however... his prophetic counsel is certainly appropriate in our standing strong and fighting for family values and the sanctity of marriage in this election. I take comfort in his counsel confirming that the Lord is always aware of us striving to forewarn and encourage us and He knows our present battles and at the same time tells us that the battles on many fronts are long from over. I hope that this will give us continued courage to face the challenges ahead. So here is the quote...


"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the
Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.

This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.... Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.

There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell