I’ve never been very good at predictions. But I do try to prepare for whatever may come, which means I’ve done a sort of war game in my head for various scenarios. I have a sense of what might happen tomorrow—and the days that follow. I’m quite a lot more optimistic about our country’s future than I was four years ago. But we’ll see.
I’ve told a few friends this, about last time, and maybe it’s
worth sharing today. When I pray, I try to also listen for answers. Most times
answers come in the form of noticing what is happening that I had prayed for
and getting a sense my prayers were part of making it so. Sometimes an answer
comes as words I hear in my mind. One of the more such notable times was four
years ago in election season, shortly after the primaries. Ted Cruz had pulled
out of the race. At the time I thought that meant the end of our constitutional
republic, and I was mourning. And praying. And the words came to me, “Trust Me.”
That was all. I wasn’t sure what it meant. But in hindsight I can see that God
knew the good that Donald Trump would do for our country, and that maybe he was
uniquely qualified to do those things. God knew that only such a person could
stand up to the opposition during this unusual time.
Regardless of who we might have nominated, the other side would
call that person evil in all the ways they can think of. So we needed someone
that the insults would bounce off of, someone who was even energized by the
battle.
My sense is that the swamp is only beginning to be cleared
out. Truth is only just beginning to be shouted from the housetops. In the
language of my religion, the “secret combinations,” or the “Gadianton robbers,”
are being revealed. And maybe we were warned about them in scriptures, not just
so we could sadly watch in dismay as our civilization collapses, but so that we
could root them out in the nick of time and have some freedom and prosperity
for a bit longer before the apocalyptic end that comes just before the
millennial reign of Christ.
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| crowd comparisons from Sunday found on Facebook here Image from attn: on Facebook |
Anyway, I’m gingerly predicting good things following voting
day.
I don’t expect Wednesday to dawn with things settled. Maybe
not for many days. But I think things will go better than we have feared in the
wake of many reports of voter fraud.
We face a real enemy. A monster that requires God’s
intervention to hold at bay. I don’t always know the details of God’s will. But
I think His will at this time is more freedom—especially freedom of religion
and speech—and maybe the return of a time of some prosperity. If it happens,
that will be God’s will.
If things don’t go as I hope, then I can also be calm
inside, knowing that it is in God’s hands, and He has a plan—even if I can’t
see it all.
I don’t expect the enemies of God to stop their fight after
Tuesday—regardless of how our elections turn out. But I do hope we offer
evidence that a majority of the people choose God’s side, honoring God, life,
family, truth, and property. Choosing freedom, prosperity, and civilization—rather
than the alternatives of tyranny, poverty, and savagery.
Either way, I’m looking at this high tension time, and I’m looking
for peace, and wisdom.
In literature, here are a couple of quotes from Gandalf in Lord
of the Rings:
Some believe
it is only great power than can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have
found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the
darkness at bay…small acts of kindness and love.—Gandalf
Image from attn: on Facebook
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But
that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time
that is given us.”
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| Image found on Pinterest |
How about wisdom from a prophet in scriptures? I used this one the day after the 2012 election. This is Paul’s letter to the saints at Philippi:
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any
virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Keep your mind occupied with the good that we still have
around us, despite the turmoil in the world.
At our recent General Conference, President Dallin H. Oaks spoke to us about the appropriate behavior to
have after an election. He quoted the 12th Article of Faith, written
by Joseph Smith following a time of intense persecution of the saints:
“We
believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in
obeying , honoring, and sustaining the law.”
President Oaks added,
This does
not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means
that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. It also means
that we peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in
the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome.
At this point there’s a footnote referring us to a piece in the Economist called “A House Divided.” I wasn’t able to read beyond two paragraphs without a subscription, which
started at $25, which I didn't pay. It started by complaining about Trump’s
refusal in 2016 to accept the election unless he won; so I wonder if the
remainder of the piece mentions that the Democrats in reality never accepted
the election results even to this day. As I was searching for this, I came
across another article by the same title, worth a read, by Tal Bachman.
I admit that I took note here, during the conference talk,
because, while I don’t foresee our side getting violent; I do foresee it being
very difficult to accept election results in the face of so much known voter
fraud by Democrats.
President Oaks goes on:
In a
democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist
peacefully until the next election.
I love and honor President Oaks. And I believe he knows a
lot more than I do. I am more than a little concerned, this election, however,
that if the Democrats win, we will not have the opportunity to persist
peacefully until the next election, as we have always been free to do in the
past.
I was worried. Was I in a position where I would find it
difficult to obey? I hope not.
And then my optimistic side kicked in, and I thought, he must
know our side is going to win, and these words are aimed at the side that has
been refusing to concede elections, and has been threatening and participating
in violence against anyone who doesn’t share their ideology.
He then spends much of the remainder of the talk detailing
why violence cannot be part of civil protest for a believer in the gospel. And
I’m thinking, Wow! Did members of our Church need to be told not to join in
riots? Being reminded to accept results, yes. But to not riot?
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| President Dallin H. Oaks, speaking at BYU, October 27, 2020 image found here |
President Oaks recently spoke on the same subject, in more detail at a BYU Devotional. Both talks emphasized how to love better those we don’t agree with, even those who might be our enemies. At the devotional, he said,
Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can unite and bring peace to
people of all races and nationalities. We who believe in that gospel—whatever
our origins—must unite in love of each other and of our Savior Jesus Christ.
This is a challenging thing we’re being asked to do.
I have asked for divine help with this frequently these past
few years. I ask my Heavenly Father to fill me with love, both so that I can
feel safely loved, and so that I have a full reservoir of love to give. I don’t
think I’m good enough on my own to love those who hate me and despitefully use
me,[i]
but with His help I believe I can.
Still, I hope that we have enough peace going forward that
those I face in my neighborhood and at the grocery store don’t begin to appear
to me to be enemies. I heard today that a friend of mine, in a nicer
neighborhood not far from here, was confronted and threatened by neighbors who
found out they had voted for Trump. This is in Texas, in the state’s largest
and most conservative senatorial district. Things are less civilized than they
appear.
At the same General Conference, another of our apostles, M. Russell Ballard, also urged us to love our enemies, and to redouble our prayers. A year ago he had asked Americans specifically to pray for our government
leaders, and the good families of our nation. This time he made that call to
the whole world:
Today I expand my call for prayer to all people from every
country around the world. No matter how you pray or to whom you pray, please
exercise your faith—whatever your faith may be—and pray for your country and
for your national leaders…. We stand today at a major crossroads in history,
and the nations of the earth are in desperate need of divine inspiration and
guidance. This is not about politics or policy. This is about peace and the
healing that can come to individual souls as well as to the soul of countries—their
cities, towns, and villages—through the Prince of Peace and the source of all
healing, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He then pointed out that, after praying, Jesus Christ took
action to help people. So, pray, and then act in service and love. That’s what
to do after the painful tension of this election season. And always. No matter
what happens.
Here’s what I expect to do the day after the election. And
every day after that, as long as we have the freedom to do it:
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| found on Facebook, here |
One final quote of wisdom, from poet Robert Frost:
In three words I can sum up everything
I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
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