Here we go

So here's the first post for our study group. At the last meeting everyone agreed that a blog would be a good idea so that we can keep our discussions going in between our monthly meetings.

Ragan and I started this group out of concern for our constitution and freedoms. We believe that the constitution is a document that came through direct inspiration from God. It is the foundation of our great country and, according to our beliefs, it prepared the ground for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's easy for me to imagine that the same adversary who wants to destroy all agency would have a great deal of motivation to destroy the political document that protects it. So, in order to protect the constitution, we decided that we would have to know more about it so that we can recognize laws and policies that go against it. We also hoped that others would like to join us as we learn and in turn give further insight that we don't have.

From our last meeting we came to a few good conclusions that I think we all agreed on. One is that our own spiritual well-being and nearness to God should be number one on our priorities. Our fate as a nation is driven by our righteousness or wickedness. If we hope for divine protection, we'd better be living the way God expects us to.

Two, we should start trying to make changes starting from ourselves outward. This means that I will be able to do the most good by getting involved first in my family, neighborhood and city, then working outward to national government. Actually, that's how our constitution was first set up. It was designed to solve problems on the smallest possible level (i.e. city, county, or state) and reserve only the very few issues for the federal government that cannot be solved on those levels. With that in mind, this blog should also be used as a place to discuss issues affecting us here in Ogden.

Three, that we don't have to agree on everything. A good debate is healthy and can help us prioritize, back up our opinions, or even change them completely. Our discussions at the last meeting helped me formulate/change my opinions quite a bit.

Lastly, this group should be one that tries to make a difference. So even if the way that I choose to act is different from what you choose to do, we should all be doing something. I'm actually switching my position on this. I at first wanted the group to be only about educating about the constitution, but I felt like my arguments lacked purpose. So I'm changing things around slightly. This group is first and foremost about educating and informing each other with the intent that we will be led to do something with the things we've learned. Even if it's just learning enough to make an educated vote at election time. So please post about issues that you believe in. This is a place where we can try to get each other involved.

By the way, I'm not sure the best way to handle new posts. I don't want to be the only one writing. So until we find a better way, if you have a post, email it to me and I'll put it up.

Feel free to comment on this post and talk about points you agree or disagree with.

Paul