Hope on the Horizon?

This morning I received some revelation about an issue our nation is facing. Before I share what I received, I'll ease you into that message.

As 2017 nears the end,  I have been quietly reflecting on the blessings and progress our country has made this year. I usually remain silent about my political views but something happened today and I have felt this strong need to express my thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. So here we go.

You see, I feel that the current administration has done a wonderful job and deserves far more credit than has been given. The president and his office have been working so hard to build up and strengthen our nation - and I feel that there is not enough credit offered or appreciation extended for their efforts.

I quietly watch as many Americans reap the blessings and benefits of a stronger and stable economy while spewing hatred, anger, accusations, and false information about the very leadership that is working so hard to improve their standard of living and increase their freedoms. It's had quite the effect on me as it's like nothing I have ever seen in all my 36 years of life.

The majority of us exercised our voice on November 8th 2016 and our voice was heard loud and clear. Yet, every TV channel and every social media site I visit will have me believe that I am the minority, and I better keep my voice silent if I want to be liked. The host of every late night show, talks to me through the TV screen as if I share his same political views. As if he doesn't realize his constant bagging on the president isn't considered funny to everyone. The vocal ones in Hollywood and music are those who oppose the President, and they are
applauded, praised, and promoted for doing so. It makes you wonder about the silent portion of celebs. The one's who don't say anything at all. Could it be that they are silent supporters? Feeling like a prisoner - unable to express their feelings and views. Too much to risk, too much at stake. Can't be at odds with the hand that feeds you.

Growing up, I was never one to go with the status-quo. I have always been one to root for the underdog, and always known to support the opposite of whatever is popular and promoted among celebrities and the media. In High School and Jr. High I chose not be a follower but a leader - often times, it was a lonely path. Still to this day, I speak what feels right and true - even if it ruffles some feathers.

Most of you have heard me tell my bullying stories before. I experienced bullying in elementary school, junior high school, high school, and even a few years ago. In junior high I was confronted daily in the locker room and hallway by the same female bully. In high school it went from one bully to an entire group of boys and girls. It got to the point where I needed to shield my face with books, and call on security at work before I finally went to the school administration and a female vice principal who had a bone to pick with bullying became my ally and put a stop to it all in one day. And a few years ago it took a near trip to the ER (from anxiety and exhaustion) before I took a stand and said "no more."

Always being the underdog pulled me in to always rooting for the underdog. Being in that minority section has always made me strive harder, and aim higher which again has made me a target for bullies. With a past that's all too raw, I don't take bullying lightly. As I see it happening all over America - those who are permitted to talk down to supporters of the president and even encouraged to discriminate against them, I watch as they are given a free pass and even heralded as heroes. Whatever people decide to call it, "defending", "demonstrating", "freedom of speech", "humor", it's nothing other than bullying.

It wasn't that long ago when another president who was leading this country was very disliked. President Obama's approval rating was at 57% when he left office. Despite what many viewed as failed promises, failed policies, and turning a blind eye on Israel and Christian conservatives, his biggest sore spot among Americans was his lack of effort to repair the nation's racial and ethnic divides.

Though I wasn't a fan of President Obama, I have always respected the office of President of the United States, enough to write this blog post in 2010 about the importance of being respectful to our current president and government leaders as per Article of Faith #12, and to sustain the law and honor it always. This is something I haven't seen reciprocated from the other side of the aisle.

No certain party is innocent, I have seen the ugliness of hatred spilled out from all sides over the years - something I choose not to participate in. It is my goal to focus on hope. Hope that we can put the "United" back in "United States". Hope that before we are party members - we can remember that we are Americans first. And to take it a step further - before we are Americans, we are children of God. Spiritual brothers and sisters.

This post isn't to persuade political views, or convince anyone that they have been in error. It's simply to focus on the good, pull from the truth, and together, search for that ray of hope.

This morning I woke up early and felt the need to write in my journal about the Lord's hand on our nation right now. I felt I was to list all the blessings and benefits we are receiving as a people and then verbalize that gratitude in prayer. Here is a summary of my list:

• The economy has come back to life and the stock market continues to hit record highs, helping more Americans build and secure their futures.

• Manufacturing unemployment is at the lowest it has been in 17 years.The manufacturing industry has added 171,000 jobs in 2017. Hispanic unemployment is the lowest it has been in all history (see here).

• Large corporations are coming back to the U.S. because of the efforts of our current administration. This will increase our job growth and economy which almost always results in a lower crime rate. 

• Our president is working hard to give power back to the states where it rightfully should be. Recently he gave us Utahans our land back to allow our people to decide what is best for our own land. Many rights, powers, and freedoms that have been taken from the people and from the states, are being restored. 

• Over the years our nation has become a nation of regulations which has tightened the grip on our freedoms and made it difficult to do business here. In 1960, there were approximately 20,000 pages in the Code of Federal Regulations. Today there are over 185,000 pages. These increased regulations have cost the country trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, countless American factories, & devastated entire industries.As those regulations are being loosened and lifted we will reap the benefits of that freedom. 

• President Trump made it his focus to cut taxes and this he has accomplished. By lowering tax rates, simplifying the tax code, and repealing the tax on lower- and middle-income households, this legislation will grow our economy, raise wages, and promote economic competitiveness. The typical family earning $73,000 a year will see a tax cut of $2,059.

• My husband is a green-card holder, so we understand the sensitivity to this area, however we also understand the ramifications that current policy has had on this country. He went through all the proper hoops and channels to enter this country legally with the intent to contribute, and has done a wonderful job in doing so. The president is currently working to put an end to Chain Migration – whereby one immigrant can bring in their entire extended families, who can also bring in their families and so on. Over the years this system has de-skilled the labor force, put downward pressure on wages, and increased the deficit. It has also undermined national security, by failing to evaluate entrants into the United States.

• Our president is the first since John F. Kennedy, to donate his entire salary to charity. Trump donated his first quarter salary of about $78,000 to the National Park Service. Funds went toward restoring two projects at a national battlefield. He then donated his second quarter salary toward hosting a camp for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students at the Department of Education. The president then donated his third quarter salary to the Department of Health and Human Services’ efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Unfortunately, this is something that the media hasn't felt the need to share.

That's only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more good that this president has accomplished that the media isn't interested in sharing. For example, his demonstrated love, respect, and support for our veterans. The devotion he has to personally travel from state to state, and connect with the people and hear their voice. The genuine friendship he has extended to Israel (something that scripture and prophecy tells us regarding Israel, in Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."), and his decision to emphasize we are nation under God, while bringing prayer back into the oval office.

In Ether 2:10, 12 we are told,

For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.

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

Never have I seen a president work so hard to prove all of his critics wrong. Considering all those who have been against him, it's next to near short of a miracle that President Trump has accomplished all that he has, and continues to stay determined. The criticism appears to work in his favor. I would consider this Divine intervention which has been attached to our president and his administration since the day he was elected (a miracle in itself). His many fulfilled campaign promises and good works get ignored by the media on a daily basis.

More than 90% of media coverage on our president is negative opinion mixed with false information. Those who support the president experience discrimination on college campuses, from businesses, and in the workplace. They have learned to keep quiet about their support for the president. Wearing a "Make America Great Again" sticker can cost you a grade, your business, and even your job. The people's hearts are hardened against our president, and hardened against the truth.

We finally have a president who says what he means and means what he says. He is brutally honest which is a quality we need in the oval office. He is not intimidated, fearful or cowardly.  He can't be bribed or blackmailed. He calls out injustice when he sees it. He is financially independent and therefore isn't manipulated by "the powers that be". He isn't a puppet or a bait and switch. What you see is what you get. There are no smoke and mirrors as we have seen with leaders in the past. He has an incredible track record of keeping and carrying out his campaign promises which is very rare indeed for a president to do. Despite all of this, he has come under attack like no other president we have seen before.

I have shared before in past posts and videos that whenever the enemy attacks, you know there is something good on the horizon. The level of intensity of attacks will tell you how important this is to the adversary. If it's important enough for the adversary to give it his all,  it's because he knows the Lord is about to do something powerful!

We know that we are living in the day of "the restoration of all things". I truly believe that God is using President Trump as a tool to restore our nation back to what it once was - a nation under God. He doesn't always choose the qualified, but over time, He qualifies the chosen. God is preparing this nation to be a place where He can prepare a people for the Savior's return. This land plays a significant role in those prophesied last day and Millennial events. Are we using our efforts and gifts to build up the nation, or tear it down? Are we spreading good words or slander? Are we resisting or allowing? Are we serving the Lord's purposes or Satan's?

While reflecting upon all of this in my journal this morning, I was reminded of the continual fires burning in California. I was saddened for my friends who live near the fires, and saddened for all of those who have already lost all they have including their lives. The local news station made mention of the many celebrities and wealthy citizens of California who if have not already lost their homes and business, are at high risk of losing them. I asked the Lord why all of this was happening and I heard in my mind "turn to Jarom 1:3".

As I read the words of this scripture, I felt goosebumps on my arms:

Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.

When God needs to reach us, but our hearts are hardened, our ears refuse to hear, and our eyes refuse to see; in His mercy He will allow the powers of the Adversary to "shake us" so that we will be humbled enough to hear Him. He gives us chance after chance but if we continue to ignore Him and ignore His commandments, we learn in Jacob 5:

46 And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olive tree, and they are of no worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them.

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?

77 And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.

In this allegory, the vineyard represents the world, the branches represent different groups of people, and the fire represents the judgment of God. It was impressed upon my mind to notice the symbolism of the many California vineyards that burned in the October fires. I heard in my mind, "and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire." Even a few months later, California continues to burn.

The headlines over the past couple months have greatly emphasized California Governor Jerry Brown's disdain for President Trump. A timeline over the past several years shows how quickly California has turned it's back on the word of God through the several laws it has mandated. When you turn your back on God, you pull away from His hand of protection and favor. During this time California has experienced severe droughts. In fact, weather radar shows moisture hitting an "invisible wall" around the L.A. region and being dispersed in other directions. The moisture is there but something is diverting it away from where it is needed. California is not getting the rainfall it needs to heal the land. Could this be symbolic of a spiritual drought?

If the people of this nation continue to ignore the commandments of God, I truly feel that more humbling experiences will be in store for us in 2018. The Book of Mormon shows us a pattern that when the people became prosperous they quickly forgot the Lord. As a nation we are headed on a road to great prosperity and wealth. Our nation has a great destiny and we need not be fearful. Those who know God now will thrive, and those who have turned their back will have opportunities to be humbled. Let us be grateful for God's mercy and realize that none of us are immune to pride. We must call upon the Lord for daily humility so we can flourish in Spirit, in the prophesied days to
come.

Separation from God leads to separation of all,
United we stand and divided we fall.

Let us remember this always.