To Be Prepared for War

Posted on August 28, 2019 by zeev1776

Peace through strength is an ancient concept. It was the Roman modus operandi as Rome expanded her influence across the known world. It was also the policy pursued by our very own George Washington. In our modern world of appeasement and surrender to the forces of tyranny, maintaining peace through strength has become a uniquely American custom. It is not only the national policy followed by great American presidents, but that which is followed by American gun owners every day. Peace through strength, then, is part of the true American heritage.

In his first annual message to Congress, President George Washington stated: “To be prepared for War is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” In the very next breath, he continued: “A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined” (George Washington, First Annual Message to Congress, January 8, 1790). When you examine the annals of history, whether you look in ancient Israel, manly Sparta, gallant Rome, or in the American Republic, you find that free people have always been armed. Indeed, arms in the hands of freemen distinguishes them from serfs and slaves.

The philosophy “peace through strength” derives from common sense and practical experience. All human experience shows that unscrupulous men, criminals, and tyrants, prey upon the defenseless and weak. Evil people are frequently cowards and their victims are usually targets of opportunity. And no one is more defenseless and presents an easier target than the unarmed and weak. This is the reason why lunatics choose to shoot people in gun-free zones rather than in locations where free men and women are armed and able to defend themselves.

The same is true of nations. An Evil Empire like the Soviet Union preys upon weak nations. They backpedal and try to negotiate (though they only make deals when it benefits them) when a nation presents a strong and united front against them. Instead of launching a risky frontal assault, they resort to subversion, infiltration, psychological warfare, terrorism, and guerrilla tactics in order to demoralize, weaken, corrupt, confuse, and undermine an opponent before they ever attempt conquest by force.

Communist Russia and Red China will never attempt to take down the United States through force of arms unless we have been sufficiently degraded on the inside first. Unfortunately, that horrific day is swift approaching as cultural Marxism (i.e. feminism, LGBT, radical environmentalism, “civil rights” movements, political correctness, etc.) rips through our vital institutions. We are becoming a weak nation because we have been too politically correct to stand up to the Reds and to call a spade a spade. We are so afraid of offending someone, hurting their feelings, or causing a stir that we suffer abuses and reductions in our personal rights and national influence rather than boldly confront the enemy.

When necessary, a free society must use its arms and strength to defend itself. This should be a last resort to preserve peace, but it must be an option. A nation that is not prepared to defend itself presents a soft target to an aggressor. The Red Chinese commonly refer to the United States as a “paper tiger” that doesn’t have the stomach for a long struggle. They think we are weak and will eventually crumble because they have yet to see us stand up and confront them in a meaningful way. Islamic terrorists (which are primarily trained and funded by Soviet Russia) hold this same philosophy. America’s enemies cannot be appeased or bought off – appeasement only emboldens them.

We learned through our experiences with Barbary pirates at the beginning of our Republic that buying peace with tribute makes our enemies insatiable and actually increases the problem. Because of a lack of naval power at the time, President Washington was forced to pay the Islamic pirates who were raiding our ships rather than face them in battle. President John Adams did the same while creating a navy that could eventually contend with overseas opponents.

President Thomas Jefferson was the first president to use our newly minted Navy and Marines to punish the pirates and defend America’s vital international trade. After the War of 1812, President Madison sent the U.S. Navy to the Mediterranean to finish what President Jefferson had started. Our Navy devastated the pirates, ensuring peace between the United States and the Barbary States for generations. We learned from this episode that peaceful relations can only be established with hostile states by standing up to them or crushing them with overwhelming strength. Evil people and regimes only bow to power.

Because of his experience as a colonel during the French-Indian War and as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolution, President George Washington understood this principle perhaps better than anyone. It infuriated him that the United States did not have the means to deal with enemies who ruthlessly attacked peaceful trading vessels and harmed Americans and America’s interests. In a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette, he raged:

“[H]ow is it possible the great maritime powers of Europe should submit to pay an annual tribute to the little piratical States of Barbary. Would to Heaven we had a navy able to reform those enimies to mankind, or crush them into nonexistence” (George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, August 15, 1786).

Washington understood that only an armed society – both on a personal and a national level – could retain their Freedom against the multitude of adversaries and tyrants that abound in the world. He knew that freemen could only remain so if they were strong and projected their strength. Part of this was to always be ready for war so that a potential aggressor would think twice before attacking – and so that he would severely regret it if he did.

At the beginning of our War for Independence, General Washington encouraged his troops to stand firm against British tyrants. He said:

“[T]he hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty—that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men . . . every one for himself resolving to conquer, or die, and trusting to the smiles of heaven upon so just a cause, will behave with Bravery and Resolution” (George Washington, General Orders, August 23, 1776).

The “smiles of heaven” only rain down upon those who take the pains to defend themselves and increase their own human strength. Only the vigorous and valiant are worthy of divine intervention and blessings. Only by “fighting for the blessings of Liberty,” and remaining virtuous, can Americans remain freemen. And all real freemen are soldiers – warriors for justice, truth, and Liberty.

All true freemen are armed and prepared for battle at a moment’s notice – whether against a domestic enemy or against an invader. This is precisely why Samuel Adams envisioned America as a “Christian Sparta” (Samuel Adams to John Scollay, December 30, 1780). Like the Spartans, “molon labe,” or “come and take it,” would be our war cry. It was strict adherence to this principle of preparing for war and being ready to defend the peace, coupled with faithful obedience to God’s laws, that made America great. And the same course can make America great again.

Similar to Washington and Adams, Thomas Jefferson believed that strength was a means of preventing war. He wished every American freeman to be a soldier. He stated:

“[T]he Greeks and Romans had no standing armies, yet they defended themselves. the Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression, as a standing army. their system was to make every man a soldier, & oblige him to repair to the standard of his country, whenever that was reared. this made them invincible; and the same remedy will make us so” (Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Cooper, September 10, 1814).

This remedy – namely, to arm and discipline our citizens in the art of war – would make America “invincible” to foreign threats so long as we also remain virtuous. A free nation that expects to remain free must be prepared for war. We prepare for war but pray for peace. As Thomas Paine expressed it: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it” (Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 4, September 12, 1777).

The phrase “peace through strength,” in its modern context, was popularized by Ronald Reagan during his 1980 campaign against socialist appeaser Jimmy Carter. For eight years, President Reagan preached peace through strength and tried to get America back to her roots. While President Reagan was only marginally successful in his gigantic task, reminding ourselves of some of his inspiring thoughts seems appropriate.

During one of the presidential debates with then President Jimmy Carter, candidate Reagan said:

“Now, I believe, also that this meeting, this mission, this responsibility for preserving the peace, which I believe is a responsibility peculiar to our country, that we cannot shirk our responsibility as the leader of the Free World, because we’re the only one that can do it. And therefore, the burden of maintaining the peace falls on us. And to maintain that peace requires strength. America has never gotten in a war because we were too strong” (Reagan/Carter presidential debate, October 28, 1980).

In a speech to the American People regarding national security, President Reagan explained the need for strength to combat the Red menace – the exact same menace we face today at home and abroad. He rightly observed:

“We know that peace is the condition under which mankind was meant to flourish. Yet peace does not exist of its own will. It depends on us, on our courage to build it and guard it and pass it on to future generations. . . .

“. . . American strength is . . . a sheltering arm for freedom in a dangerous world. Strength is the most persuasive argument we have to convince our adversaries to negotiate seriously and to cease bullying other nations.

“. . . American power is the indispensable element of a peaceful world. . . .

“But it is not just the immense Soviet arsenal that puts us on our guard. The record of Soviet behavior – the long history of Soviet brutality toward those who are weaker – reminds us that the only guarantee of peace and freedom is our military strength and our national will. The peoples of Afghanistan and Poland, of Czechoslavakia and Cuba, and so many other captive countries – they understand this.

“Some argue that our dialogue with the Soviets means we can treat defense more casually. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was our seriousness about defense that created the climate in which serious talks could finally begin. . . .

“Our job is to provide for our security by using the strengths of our free society” (Ronald Reagan, speech, February 26, 1986).

Think about it, who is more likely to persuade a thug to put down his gun – an unarmed negotiator with no leverage or a seasoned police officer with a raised rifle? The answer is obvious. Though the Soviets have broken literally every treaty they ever signed with the United States, they were wary of President Reagan because they knew that he would not hesitate, if necessary, to launch nuclear missiles and a full-scale war against the communists in defense of America and the West.

One of my favorite Ronald Reagan moments demonstrates President Reagan’s willingness to stand up to the communist threat. It occurred on August 11, 1984, when President Reagan told a joke. Though clearly a joke, it contained a large kernel of truth. During a microphone sound check prior to his speech, President Reagan mused: “My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”

I can’t listen to the audio recording of this classic moment without laughing. Yet, the Soviets weren’t laughing – and not because Russians don’t have much of a sense of humor. Rather, these communists – who consider themselves in a permanent state of war with the West – understood that in Ronald Reagan they had a man who would not cower in fear, kow-tow to Moscow, or back down to Soviet advances. Evil regimes like the Soviet Union only gain momentum unless forcibly stopped in their tracks and resisted manfully by one of equal or greater strength.

President Reagan’s views were inspired by his belief that God founded this country and that we are not only exceptional, but that we have a mission to lead the world by our shining example:

“I’ve always believed that this land was set aside in an uncommon way, that a divine plan placed this great continent between the oceans to be found by a people from every corner of the earth who had a special love of faith, freedom and peace. Let us reaffirm America’s destiny of goodness and goodwill” (Ronald Reagan, Thanksgiving message, 1982).

Part of being the world leader is helping to preserve peace when it is within our sphere of influence and duty. President Reagan rightly affirmed:

“We’re not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance, and only after we’ve determined that it’s absolutely necessary. We are awed – and rightly so – by the forces of destruction at loose in the world in this nuclear era. But neither can we be naive or foolish. Four times in my lifetime America has gone to war, bleeding the lives of its young men into the sands of island beachheads, the fields of Europe, and the jungles and rice paddies of Asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong; it is when they are weak that tyrants are tempted. . . .

“Of all the objectives we seek, first and foremost is the establishment of lasting world peace. We must always stand ready to negotiate in good faith, ready to pursue any reasonable avenue that holds forth the promise of lessening tensions and furthering the prospects of peace. But let our friends and those who may wish us ill take note: the United States has an obligation to its citizens and to the people of the world never to let those who would destroy freedom dictate the future course of life on this planet” (Ronald Reagan, Republican National Convention acceptance speech, July 17, 1980).

Is America today up to the task of being great and exceptional? Are we prepared to increase our unique national strength by fortifying our Faith, Families, and Freedom? And are we prepared to defend these fundamental institutions, and this Promised Land with her unsurpassed resources and beauty and potential, with the strength of arms and military might if necessary? Are we truly prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that the blessings of Liberty we take for granted will extend to our posterity? If today we are not prepared for war to safeguard our peace, our rights, and our homes, we are not worthy of the title American.

General George Washington’s wise words of encouragement to his fighting men should pound once more in our ears. Two days before America formally declared Independence from British tyranny, General Washington wrote to his patriot soldiers to embolden them in their fight. He reminded them what was at stake – slavery or Freedom. He explained that all eyes were fixed on them and that they would decide whether tyranny or Freedom was to reign in America. And he explained the eternal truth that freemen motivated by the just cause of Liberty and aided by the God of Heaven are more fearsome than any conquering army ever can be. General Washington declared:

“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army—Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; this is all we can expect—We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our own Country’s Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions—The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny meditated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and shew the whole world, that a Freeman contending for LIBERTY on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth” (George Washington, General Orders, July 2, 1776).

Today, the eyes of the weary world are upon America. For years we have let them down. Our example has been less than exceptional, not particularly notable, and, in recent times, not worthy of duplication. We have allowed the communist cancer to eat away at our vitals until now we stand on the brink of civil war, mobocracy, economic collapse, open persecution of Christians and constitutionalists, and full-scale societal breakdown.

Notwithstanding how far we’ve fallen through our own neglect and rejection of God’s eternal laws, we have it within our power to step forward, do our duty, and restore our Republic. There will be sacrifices to make – and some patriots will lose their lives because Freedom is never won except at the price of blood – but we must make them for our sake, the sake of our posterity, and the sake of a beleaguered world that desperately needs us to lead.

I close with the rousing words of Ronald Reagan. Each syllable is true. Every vowel applies to me and to you in our present situation. The burden for the future rests squarely on our shoulders. If we shirk our duty now when it matters most, history will hold us in contempt. Let us be real men and real Americans. Let us honor the American tradition of preserving peace through strength and in always being prepared for war in order to secure an honorable peace. Let us be freemen worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as General Washington and his patriot army. God bless us and God bless America!

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. . . .

“Alexander Hamilton said, “A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.” Let’s set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace — and you can have it in the next second — surrender.

“Admittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face — that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender . . . And therein lies the road to war, because those voices don’t speak for the rest of us. You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. . . .

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.” (Ronald Reagan, “A Time for Choosing,” October 27, 1964).

Zack Strong,

August 28, 2019.

Indispensable Men: George Washington

Posted on August 21, 2019 by zeev1776

“[A]n impartial World will say with you that he is the Greatest Man on Earth.” – William Hooper to Robert Morris, February 1, 1777.

Numerous patriots came together to bring about and accomplish America’s War for Independence, write her Constitution, and establish our cherished Republic. Among these patriots, several stalwart figures stand out as vital to the cause. These are the indispensable men America needed and without whom our bid for Independence would have failed. This “Indispensable Men” series pays tribute to these larger-than-life heroes and the role they played in giving Liberty a proper home.

Hundreds of books, biographies, and documentaries have been produced telling the technical details and stories of George Washington’s upbringing, career, family, and home life, and the interworkings of his presidential administration and command as general. I don’t feel the need to reproduce those facts here. I simply refer you to the best book I know of on Washington’s life and achievements; namely, The Real George Washington written by Jay A. Parry, Andrew M. Allison, and W. Cleon Skousen and published by the National Center for Constitutional Studies. My aim in this series is, rather, to highlight the key ideas, crucial character traits, and most notable public achievements of the “indispensable” figures in the story of American Freedom.

No man more deserves the first spot on the “indispensable men” list than George Washington, the great general of the Revolution and the Father of our Country. The unchallenged historical consensus is that no man was more respected and admired in our founding era than George Washington. Washington’s impressive record demonstrates the great trust his countrymen had in him and speaks to the tremendous influence he had in his day.

A brief index of George Washington’s public achievements and prominent positions looks like this:

1) Washington began his public service as a soldier. During the French and Indian War, Washington gained valuable command experience and reputation and was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Virginia militia.

2) In 1774, he was elected as a Virginia delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. During the Second Continental Congress, the Continental Army was created and George Washington was chosen as its commander-in-chief.

3) During the War for Independence, General Washington served as the supreme leader of the Continental Army, saved the Army from defeat numerous times through his skill and decisive will power, and brought the conflagration to a successful conclusion.

4) Four years after humbly resigning his charge as commander-in-chief and retiring to his plantation in 1783, Washington helped orchestrate the Constitutional Convention to save the faltering nation. Washington was unanimously elected as the president of the Convention.

5) In 1789, Washington became the first president of our Republic and to this day is the only man to ever be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. He in fact accomplished this feat twice, speaking to the level of admiration and trust given to him by his contemporaries. The later federal capital district was also named in his honor.

Being a successful military general, a unanimously-elected head of state, the president of the Convention which produced the longest-standing national charter in history, and having a national capitol named in your honor, are things that not many other people can put on a resume. On paper, then, there is zero doubt that George Washington deserves a seat at the “indispensable men” table. But there was much more to his rave popularity than merely holding prominent positions during monumental events.

Washington’s positions as general and president, as noteworthy as they are, did not make others respect him. Rather, Washington was appointed and elected to those positions because of the supreme respect and admiration others already had for him. And this admiration was engendered by his strong character and unique spirit. Historian Gordon Wood has written:

“Washington’s genius, Washington’s greatness, lay in his character. He was, as Chateaubriand said, a “hero of an unprecedented kind.” There had never been a great man quite like Washington . . . Washington became a great man and was acclaimed as a classical hero because of the way he conducted himself during times of temptation. It was his moral character that set him off from other men.

“Washington epitomized everything the revolutionary generation prized in its leaders. He had character and was truly a man of virtue. This virtue was not given to him by nature. He had to work for it, to cultivate it, and everyone sensed that. Washington was a self-made hero, and this impressed an eighteenth-century enlightened world that put great stock in men’s controlling both their passions and their destinies. Washington seemed to possess a self-cultivated nobility” (Gordon S. Wood, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, 34-35).

Yet, it is not what modern historians have said about Washington that is so remarkable. Rather, the fact that the American People and his contemporaries in governmental affairs, and even his enemies across the sea, lavished him with praise. We now rehearse some of the acclaim this man received by those who knew him and were in a position to judge the sincerity and depth of his character.

Thomas Jefferson was intimately acquainted with Washington both before he was appointed general and throughout his time in military and government service. Jefferson wrote to future president James Monroe of Washington’s mass appeal in these words:

“Congress have risen. You will have seen by their proceedings the truth of what I always observed to you, that one man outweighs them all in influence over the people who have supported his judgment against their own and that of their representatives. Republicanism must lie on it’s oars, resign the vessel to it’s pilot, and themselves to the course he thinks best for them” (Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, June 12, 1796).

Another time, Jefferson gave an in-depth evaluation of Washington’s character and many of his traits, including his sense of justice, his reasoning abilities, and his will power. I do not quote everything Jefferson said, but enough to demonstrate why Washington was so revered by his associates:

“I think I knew General Washington intimately and thoroughly; and were I called on to delineate his character it should be in terms like these.

“His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, tho’ not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon or Locke; and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. it was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. hence the common remark of his officers, of the advantage he derived from councils of war, where hearing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best. and certainly no General ever planned his battles more judiciously . . . he was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose whatever obstacles opposed. his integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. he was indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, & a great man . . . his person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect, and noble; the best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback . . . on the whole, his character was, in it’s mass perfect, in nothing bad, in few points indifferent; and it may truly be said that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance. for his was the singular destiny & merit of leading the armies of his country succesfully thro’ an arduous war for the establishment of it’s independance, of conducting it’s councils thro’ the birth of a government, new in it’s forms and principles, until it had settled down into a quiet and orderly train, and of scrupulously obeying the laws, thro’ the whole of his career, civil and military, of which the history of the world furnishes no other example . . . I am satisfied the great body of republicans thinks of him as I do . . . and I am convinced he is more deeply seated in the love and gratitude of the republicans, than in the Pharisaical homage of the Federal monarchists. for he was no monarchist from preference of his judgment. the soundness of that gave him correct views of the rights of man, and his severe justice devoted him to them. he has often declared to me that he considered our new constitution as an experiment on the practicability of republican government, and with what dose of liberty man could be trusted for his own good: that he was determined the experiment should have a fair trial, and would lose the last drop of his blood in support of it. . . .

“These are my opinions of General Washington, which I would vouch at the judgment seat of god, having been formed on an acquaintance of 30. years . . . I felt on his death, with my countrymen, that ‘verily a great man hath fallen this day in Israel’” (Thomas Jefferson to Walter Jones, January 2, 1814).

High praise, indeed! And higher still coming from a man the caliber of Thomas Jefferson! As Jefferson noted, he was hardly the only person to share these elevated feelings. Most Americans at the time looked upon Washington as an exalted figure – a national savior of sorts.

Benjamin Franklin, a man whose own unique talents and achievements had few equals, had high esteem for Washington. When it came time to elect a new president under the Constitution, Franklin had only one man in mind: “General Washington is the man that all our eyes are fixed on for President, and what little influence I may have, is devoted to him” (Benjamin Franklin to M. Le Veillard, June 8, 1788).

John and Abigail Adams both had high praise for the man. John Adams noted: “He is brave, wise, generous and humane” (John Adams to William Tudor, June 20, 1775). And after meeting Washington in person, Abigail privately told John: “I was struck with General Washington, You had prepared me to entertain a favorable opinion of him, but I thought the one half was not told me. Dignity with ease, and complacency, the Gentleman and Soldier look agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks every line and feature of his face” (Abigail Adams to John Adams, July 16, 1775).

In his autobiography, John Adams likewise praised Washington as the principal man of the age. He wrote: “I thought him a perfectly honest Man, with an amiable and excellent heart, and the most important Character at that time among Us, for he was the center of our Union” (John Adams, Autobiography, 1777).

The Marquis de Lafayette, the famous Frenchman who assisted in our War for Independence, once observed:

“This great man has no enemies but those of his own country, and yet every noble and sensitive soul must love the excellent qualities of his heart . . . His honesty, his candor, his sensitivity, his virtue in the full sense of the word are above all praise” (Marquis de Lafayette to Baron von Steuben, March 12, 1778).

Another French observer wrote:

“General Washington conducts himself with his usual wisdom. It conciliates to him more and more the respect and affection of the people. After a war of eight years, during which he has scarcely ever left his army, and has never taken any repose, he has received the news of the peace with the greatest joy. It made him shed tears, and he said it was the happiest hour of his life . . . He will always be the first citizen of the United States . . . all the world is agreed touching his republican virtues, and agreed that there is no character more eminent among those who have taken part in this grand revolution” (Chevalier de La Luzerne to the Comte de Vergennes, March 29, 1783).

Benjamin Rush, another prominent figure of the day, spoke extravagantly of Washington’s character: “His zeal, his disinterestedness, his activity, his politeness, and his manly behavior . . . have captivated the hearts of the public and his friends. He seems to be one of those illustrious heroes whom providence raises up once in three or four hundred years to save a nation from ruin . . . he has so much martial dignity in his deportment that you would distinguish him to be a general and a soldier from among ten thousand people. There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chamber by his side” (Benjamin Rush to Thomas Ruston, October 29, 1775).

At the height of the Revolution, Moses Hazen remarked to General Nathanael Greene that Washington “is the very Idol of His Country, and who I love, regard, and Esteem, as one of the best men since the Creation of Adam” (Moses Hazen to Nathanael Greene, July 24, 1780). General Greene had similar praise for his superior officer. Not long after Hazen made his statements, General Greene explained:

“It is my opinion that General Washington’s influence will do more than all the Assemblies upon the Continent. I always thought him exceeding popular, but in many places he is little less than adored; and universally admired. His influence in this Country might possibly effect something great” (Nathanael Greene, January 10, 1781).

In 1791, a newspaper, the Connecticut Courant, gushed with praise for the nation’s first chief executive:

“Many a private man might make a great President; but will there ever be a President who will make so great a man as WASHINGTON?” (Connecticut Courant, June 20, 1791, in John P. Kaminski, ed., The Founders on the Founders: Word Portraits from the American Revolutionary Era, 505).

Shortly after Washington’s death, Timothy Dwight made this observation:

“Wherever he appeared, an instinctive awe and veneration attended him on the part of all men. Every man, however great in his own opinion, or in reality, shrunk in his presence, and became conscious of an inferiority, which he never felt before. Whilst he encouraged every man, particularly every stranger, and peculiarly ever diffident man, and raised him to self possession, no sober person, however secure he might think himself of his esteem, ever presumed to draw too near him” (Timothy Dwight, “Discourse on the Character of Washington,” February 22, 1800).

John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court, shared the sentiment so often expressed that Washington was the “greatest man in the world.” Days after General Washington’s resignation, Marshall stated:

“At length then the military career of the greatest Man on earth is closed. May happiness attend him wherever he goes. May he long enjoy those blessings he has secured to his Country. When I speak or think of that superior Man my full heart overflows with gratitude. Ma he ever experience from his Countrymen those attentions which such sentiments of themselves produce” (John Marshall to James Monroe, January 3, 1784).

These few lines from John Price demonstrate the awe people had for the General of their blessed Revolution: “Immortal Washington . . . has outshined and Eclipsed all Asiatic, African, and European Generals, and Commanders from the Creation of the World, to this Day” (John Price to John Jay, October 29, 1783).

Samuel Shaw, a distinguished military officer under Washington, expressed his keen feelings about his General in these words:

“Our army love our General very much, but yet they have one thing against him, which is the little care he takes of himself in action. His personal bravery, and the desire he has of animating his troops by example, make him fearless of any danger. This, while it makes him appear great, occasions us much uneasiness. But Heaven, who has hitherto been his shield, I hope will still continue to guard so valuable a life” (Samuel Shaw to Francis Show, January 7, 1777).

William Hooper once wrote of Washington’s invaluable role in maintaining and securing the Revolution:

“When it shall be consistent with policy to give the history of that man from his first introduction into our service, how often America has been rescued from ruin by the mere strength of his genius, conduct & courage encountering every obstacle that want of money, men, arms, Ammunition could throw in his way, an impartial World will say with you that he is the Greatest Man on Earth. Misfortunes are the Element in which he shines. They are the Groundwork on which his picture appears to the greatest advantage. He rises superior to them all, they serve as foils to his fortitude, and as stimulants to bring into view those great qualities which in the serenity of life his great modesty keeps concealed. I could fill the side in his praise, but anything I can say cannot equal his Merits” (William Hooper to Robert Morris, February 1, 1777).

Washington’s fame was celebrated throughout Europe as well as America – even in the midst of the War for Independence. While on assignment in France, Benjamin Franklin wrote to Washington: “I frequently hear the old Generals of this martial Country, (who study the Maps of America, and mark upon them all your Operations) speak with sincere Approbation & great Applause of your Conduct, and join in giving you the Character of one of the greatest Captains of the Age” (Benjamin Franklin to George Washington, March 5, 1780).

King George III, the tyrant who abuses prompted the Americans into fighting for their Liberty and declaring Independence from Britain, developed an interesting opinion of Washington after the war. Rufus King recorded a conversation he had with Benjamin West who had spoken with King George III about affairs in America. King’s account reads:

“[I]n regard to General Washington, he [King George] told him [West] since his [Washington’s] resignation that in his opinion “that act closing and finishing what had gone before and viewed in connection with it, placed him in a light the most distinguished of any man living, and that he thought him the greatest character of the age”” (Rufus King, May 3, 1797, in King, The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, Vol. 3, 545).

It is likewise my estimation that George Washington was one of the “greatest Captains of the Age,” that he was an “illustrious hero” whom the God of Heaven raised up to save his country, and that he was the foremost of the indispensable men who established American Liberty. My own religious creed and the impressions of the Holy Spirit on my soul cause me to declare that George Washington was indeed raised up by the hand of the Lord to preside over the founding of this Republic. I am proud to live in a nation founded and shaped by George Washington.

George Washington’s guiding light, the thing that propelled him to the greatness ascribed to him by his peers, was his inner conviction about God. Though it is common today to call Washington and other Founding Fathers “Deists,” or, worse, “atheists,” the fact is that Washington was a deeply committed Christian. Washington issued the following General Orders to his fighting men on May 2, 1788.

“The Commander in Chief directs that divine Service be performed every sunday at 11 oClock in those Brigades to which there are Chaplains—those which have none to attend the places of worship nearest to them—It is expected that Officers of all Ranks will by their attendence set an Example to their men.

“While we are zealously performing the duties of good Citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of Religion—To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian—The signal Instances of providential Goodness which we have experienced and which have now almost crowned our labours with complete Success, demand from us in a peculiar manner the warmest returns of Gratitude & Piety to the Supreme Author of all Good.”

Washington not only commanded his soldiers to worship God, but he frequently mentioned his personal belief in God and encouraged his countrymen to be faithful and virtuous. Washington was particularly convinced that God had intervened on America’s behalf during the War for Independence, as were most Americans at the time. One time he affirmed:

“The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude towards the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf—And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favoured” (George Washington to Samuel Langdon, September 28, 1789).

Another time, Washington observed:

“The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations” (George Washington to Thomas Nelson, August 20, 1778).

In his First Inaugural Address as president, Washington was moved to comment that Americans were “bound to acknowledge” God’s hand in their Revolution:

“[I]t would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes: and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success, the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

To Washington, God was the real Founder of America and of her inspired Constitution. During his immortal Farewell Address, President Washington made it clear that his convictions had not changed. He spoke a truth that is as applicable today as it was in 1796:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

“It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?”

In harmony with his public sentiments, President Washington wrote a letter to Protestant clergy wherein he asserted: “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society” (George Washington to the Protestant Clergy of Philadelphia, March 3, 1797).

For his own part, Washington never failed to acknowledge the hand of the Lord. He noted:

“No Man has a more perfect Reliance on the all-wise, and powerful dispensations of the Supreme Being than I have nor thinks his aid more necessary” (George Washington to William Gordon, May 13, 1776).

By all accounts, General Washington was supernaturally protected in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Washington, and others, ascribed his protection to God. After a particularly harrowing battle during the French and Indian War, Washington observed:

“But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me” (George Washington to John A. Washington, July 18, 1755).

The Indians involved in the same battle noted that Washington seemed to be under the protection of God and could not be killed. One Indian chief recounted the following to General Washington:

“I called to my young men and said, mark yon tall and daring warrior? He is of the red-coat tribe – he hath an Indian’s wisdom, and his warriors fight as we do – himself alone exposed.

“Quick, let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were leveled, rifles which, but for you, knew not how to miss – ‘twas all in vain, a power mightier than we, shielded you.

“Seeing you were under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you . . . there is something bids me speak in the voice of prophecy: Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and guides his destinies – he will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle” (Bob Gingrich, Founding Fathers vs. History Revisionists, 29-30).

Washington did not utter idle words. As the quotations thus far demonstrate conclusively, Washington was a man who said what he meant and did what he said he would do. He wasn’t afraid to put himself in harm’s way for his beliefs or risk his life for his country. Thus, when Washington said he believed in God, he meant it and did all he could to show his devotion.

As frequently as his demanding public service allowed, George Washington attended Christian worship services. In fact, Washington donated money for the construction of Christ Church near his home. He also attended Pohick Church in which, according to numerous sources, Washington served as a vestryman for some twenty years. Washington also kept a prayer journal and had a personal copy of the Bible which he routinely read and which was donated to Christ Church after his death. It is beyond dispute that George Washington was a Christian who actively practiced his faith.

In addition to upholding Christian values, Washington lived by a strict personal code of conduct. He wrote up this code into 110 “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” Numbers 108 and 110 are the most relevant and give us a peek into Washington’s outlook on life: “When you speak of God or his attributes, let it be seriously & with reverence.” And, finally: “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”

From all credible accounts and eyewitness statements, we can conclude that Washington was a good, honest, upright man. He was a Christian with a high sense of honor and integrity. He was sometimes brutally honest. He was calculated and exercise wise judgement. He was a man of boldness and bravery. He was a supreme patriot who gave his life to the cause of Liberty.

One final aspect of Washington’s influence will be discussed. More than almost any other Founding Father, George Washington pushed for a new federal constitution to replace the failing Articles of Confederation. Viewing the proceedings of the nation he loved and had fought so mightily for from his retirement at Mount Vernon made Washington uncomfortable. He saw that the Union must collapse unless reformed.

A few quotes show Washington’s apprehensions:

“That it is necessary to revise, and amend the articles of Confederation, I entertain no doubt . . . Yet, something must be done, or the fabrick must fall. It certainly is tottering!” (George Washington to John Jay, May 18, 1786).

“No man in the United States is or can be more deeply impressed with the necessity of a reform in our present confederation than myself. No man, perhaps, has felt the bad effects of it more sensibly; for to the defects thereof, and want of powers in Congress, may justly be ascribed the prolongation of the war and consequently the expenses occasioned by it. More than half the perplexities I have experienced in the course of my command, and almost the whole of the difficulties and distress of the army, have their origin here” (George Washington to Alexander Hamilton, March 31, 1783).

“Let us look to our National character, and to things beyond the present period. No morn ever dawned more favourably than ours did; and no day was ever more clouded than the present! Wisdom, and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm. Virginia has now an opportunity to set the latter, and has enough of the former, I hope, to take the lead in promoting this great and arduous work. Without some alteration in our political creed, the superstructure we have been seven years raising at the expence of so much blood and treasure, must fall. We are fast verging to anarchy and confusion!” (George Washington to James Madison, November 5, 1786).

Suffice it to say that Washington foresaw the collapse of the fledgling American government unless the constitution was immediately overhauled. Washington urged and encouraged his fellow patriots to step forward and rescue the Republic. Eventually, a convention was called and Washington was adopted as its presiding head. After months of careful deliberation, the convention produced the U.S. Constitution, a document I consider to be literally inspired by Almighty God.

George Washington approved the document and, upon signing his name to it, remarked:

“Should the states reject this excellent constitution, the probability is that an opportunity will never again offer to cancel another in peace – the next will be drawn in blood” (Allison, Parry, Skousen, The Real George Washington, 490-491).

Shortly thereafter, during the constitutional ratification process, Washington remarked:

“No one can rejoice more than I do at every step taken by the People of this great Country to preserve the Union—establish good order & government—and to render the Nation happy at home & respected abroad. No Country upon Earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings than United America. Wonderously strange then, & much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to neglect the means, and to stray from the road to which the finger of Providence has so manifestly pointed. I cannot believe it will ever come to pass! The great Author of all good has not conducted us so far on the Road to happiness and glory to withdraw from us, in the hour of need, his beneficent support” (George Washington to Benjamin Lincoln, June 29, 1788).

When the Constitution was ratified, Washington became its greatest champion. Of this charter, he publicly declared: “[T]he Constitution is the guide which I never can abandon” (George Washington to Boston Selectmen, July 28, 1795). Another time he wrote: “The Constitution of the United States, and the laws made under it, must mark the line of my official conduct” (George Washington to Edmund Randolph, 1790).

After a successful term in office, President Washington was overjoyed at the success America had seen directly because of the new Constitution. It was the American People’s mission, he believed, to show the world that constitutional republicanism is the soundest system of government ever devised:

“To complete the [A]merican character, it remains for the citizens of the United States, to shew to the world, that the reproach heretofore cast on Republican Governments for their want of stability, is without foundation, when that Government is the deliberate choice of an enlightened people: and I am fully persuaded, that every well-wisher to the happiness & prosperity of this Country, will evince by his conduct, that we live under a government of laws; and that while we preserve inviolate our national faith, we are desirous to live in amity with all mankind” (George Washington to the citizens of Alexandria, July 4, 1793).

The way in which America could show the world the wisdom of the Constitution was, simply enough, to follow it! Indeed, Washington strongly believed that all citizens owed strict obedience to the Constitution. He was most emphatic on this point. In his Farewell Address, which ought to be required reading for all Americans, he declared:

“This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government” (George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796).

Much of our constitutional form of government, and, indeed, the U.S. Constitution itself, came about due to George Washington’s instrumentality. He used his influence to persuade his countrymen to draft a constitution which would enshrine the rule of law, protect natural rights, and limit government while empowering it to fully protect the citizens of the country. He also used his influence to urge adoption of the new Constitution. And, then, he worked hard for eight years as president to enforce and maintain that sacred document.

Yes, it was George Washington, the Father of our Country, who really popularized constitutional government in the United States. His indomitable influence and skillful leadership brought the government into being and carried it through its first eight years. He set in stone the practice of a president only serving two terms and then graciously retiring – a tradition faithfully followed until the Marxist demagogue FDR served four consecutive terms, prompting a formal change in the law. Washington was also responsible for adding the words “so help me God” to the end of his presidential oath. All eyes were on Washington in the nation’s critical moments and he guided her through the rocky waters by following the Constitution, applying his own native judgment, and following God’s laws in his personal conduct.

George Washington was, and remains, a true hero. Few heroes in fact have been as worthy of the appellation as Washington. It is, therefore, a true sign of cultural rot that many Americans are beginning to spurn and despise this incredible man. It is rare in history that a man accomplished so much good for his nation, yet, in time, became so hated. A recent and ongoing incident demonstrates this growing hostility.

In San Francisco – perhaps the epicenter of all that is wrong with America – a school recently wanted to destroy an old George Washington mural painted one of its walls. According to the school, the mural “traumatizes students” and “glorifies slavery” and “genocide.” To allegedly protect their students from the image of George Washington, the school decided to paint over the mural, but then decided to simply cover it. Heaven forbid we allow school students to learn about the Father of their Country, the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolution, and the first president of the United States!

Because of the communist cancer that has almost totally taken over public schooling, academia, Hollywood, the press, and government, our Founding Fathers are being vilified as violent “rebels,” self-serving aristocrats, bigots, racists, and religiously-motivated oppressors. Agencies within our government have even gone so far as to classify the Sons of Liberty and our Founding Fathers as “domestic terrorists,” implying that anyone who believes like they did are also “terrorists.” And now the FBI is calling “conspiracy theorists” an extremist threat.

Yes, fighting for Freedom and truth is extreme and revolutionary, especially when the government is antagonistic to Liberty. Historian Charles Beard is said to have observed: “You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence” (Charles A. Beard, in M. Kenneth Creamer, The Reformation of Union State Sovereignty, 265).

This sentiment is, unfortunately, accurate. And there was no more “dangerous citizen” in American history than George Washington. He was the “rebel” leader – the point of the patriotic spear. He was formidable to tyrants and traitors, but a true friend to Liberty. He was a patriot in every sense of the term. He was then as he ought to be now “first in the hearts of his countrymen” (Richard Henry Lee, Funeral Oration on the Death of George Washington, December 28, 1799).

Washington’s shining example will always inspire sincere American patriots. His words will always buoy his countrymen. His spirit will always ride alongside those wishing to rid their country of tyranny and to defend Freedom. God help us remember and emulate George Washington, the most indispensable of indispensable men!

Zack Strong,

August 21, 2019.

You Do NOT Determine My Rights

Posted on August 19, 2019 by zeev1776

“No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” – Thomas Jefferson draft of the Virginia Constitution

In a recent POLITICO poll, an alleged 55% of Republican voters favored an assault weapons ban and a large percentage supported stricter gun control. My immediate reaction is two-fold: 1) I highly doubt the validity of any supposed poll conducted by the socialist news network POLITICO; and 2) thank God that my rights are not determined by popularity, popular votes, or the opinions of the majority! This article discusses why popular support is never a legitimate justification for violating the rights of individuals.

Let’s dissect an absurd hypothetical scenario to make a point about an important principle. Suppose that 99% of the population got together and determined that anyone with blonde hair should be immediately rounded up and put to death. Is this decision justified? Why not? After all, didn’t a whopping 99% of the population determine that blonde-haired people should die? Doesn’t the majority rule? Don’t the People decide what goes? Aren’t we bound to acknowledge the “will of the majority”?

Any right-thinking person will acknowledge the absurdity of the scenario just presented. Of course society doesn’t have a right to arbitrary kill blondes! Even if an overwhelming consensus wants to or votes to take away your right to life, no one has a right to deprive you of life or limb unless you have violated another’s rights or pose an imminent threat. Additionally, groups cannot be held accountable for, or punished because of, the actions of individuals.

These principles apply to any of our God-given rights, but let’s logically extend them to guns and gun owners. Does a majority of the population have a right to ban guns, even just certain types of firearms like “assault rifles” or accessories like 30-round magazines, if it decides that it wants to? Does a majority have a right to deprive you, a peaceable American, of your right of self-defense? Should gun owners as a group be punished and have their rights restricted because an individual wrongly abuses another person with a gun?

And if we can take guns away from gun owners because a mentally disturbed or evil individual kills or harms another person with a gun, can we also take away knives from knife owners when someone kills another with a knife? Why not? It makes as much logical sense to restrict knife use, ban certain types of knives, or confiscate knives from knife owners, as it does to restrict, ban, or confiscate guns from gun owners. Following this illogic through to its conclusion, can we take cars away from people if someone kills another person with a car? If not, then why not? And if you protest this action, aren’t you a hypocrite for favoring gun control?

Let’s look at a few numbers. The following are the FBI’s official crime statistics for people killed by attackers using rifles over a five-year period: 285 in 2013; 258 in 2014; 258 in 2015; 378 in 2016; and 403 in 2017. For the same years, the following were murdered by assailants with knives: 1,490 in 2013; 1,595 in 2014; 1,589 in 2015; 1,632 in 2016; and 1,591 in 2017.

If the logic of the gun-grabbers is followed, then shouldn’t we ban knives because knives actually kill exponentially more people than “assault rifles” do? If so-called “assault rifles” are supposedly such a huge problem, then knives which claim many more lives than rifles must be a much larger problem.

In a nation of 330 million where approximately 110 million people collectively own over 400 million firearms, doesn’t it speak to the level of maturity and carefulness of gun owners that only 403 people are killed by rifles in a 365-day cycle? In other words, in 2017 only 1.1 person a day was killed by an assailant using a rifle – a miniscule fraction of the number of lives claimed by abortion each day and far fewer than the number killed in daily car crashes.

Though these murders truly exact a heavy emotional toll on the families and friends of the victims, the overall number of people killed by assailants wielding rifles is statistically inconsequential when compared against the enormous population of the United States and the large number of gun owners. This low number is certainly not large enough for honest and informed people to claim there is a problem or to propose that the rights of 330 million people should therefore be stripped away.

Though statistics refute the claim that guns – let alone unjustly condemned “assault rifles” – are a problem, there is a more poignant argument that smashes the propaganda into pieces. The only thing that matters here is that God, or nature, gave us a right to defend ourselves. The right of self-defense does not automatically preclude the use of certain means of defense. In ancient times, people had as much right to defend themselves with the day’s best technology, be it a longsword or a crossbow. Today, we equally have a right to defend ourselves with a sword, musket, assault rifle, machine gun, bazooka, or grenade. And in the future, people will have the right to use lasers, or whatever advanced weapons then exist, in legitimate self-defense. Time and technology do not change our fundamental rights.

The means is simply not important. The only imperative thing is that we possess the right of self-defense and that this right be defended. This right is an inalienable right. It is God-given. We are born with it. It is the right by which we are enabled to defend all others, such as the right of free speech or the right of due process.

The U.S. Constitution also protects our right of self-defense. Though some might not like what the 2^nd Amendment so plainly says, it says it nonetheless. No majority or opinion poll can take away this right guaranteed to us by the Constitution. President George Washington declared a vital principle:

American citizens owe strict obedience to the established law of the land so long as the law protects our inalienable rights. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Our obedience to that inspired document is “sacredly obligatory” upon us. Unless changed by an act of the whole population of the United States through the amendment process or some other means, the Constitution is our standard and we are obligated to defend it – even if we don’t like it or agree with it. This includes the 2^nd Amendment which defends the individual’s right to keep and bear arms – any arms – for their own personal self-defense.

We live under a government ruled by law. We are not ruled by the whims of rulers or of majorities. The majority can tyrannize just as easily as the minority may. However, our rights came from God and cannot be justly taken away. We are born with these rights. They cannot be taken from us unless we violate the equal rights of others. Thomas Jefferson stated:

“[R]ightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will, within the limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’; because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.”

No matter how offended you might be by the existence of guns – yes, even big ol’ scary “assault rifles” – the fact is that people have as much right to own them as you have to breathe air. Both are endowments of Almighty God. Both breathing and bearing arms in self-defense are natural rights. And when any law, no matter how much popular support it has, violates the rights of the individual, it is tyranny. Please consider that next time you start to think an “assault weapons” ban is justified.

Let’s restate the principle at play here by appealing to our past example. If the majority rules in all cases as some assume, then it has as much right to take away your guns as it does to kill blonde people. It would have as much right to take away your car, your knife, your gun, or your life. It would have omnipotent power to do whatever it wanted regardless of the law, the Constitution, or any sense of justice.

However, if Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and I are correct, then no majority or supermajority ever has the right to steal away or restrict your rights so long as you’re a peaceable citizen. If majority does not rule, and our rights are not subject to the whims of the majority, then your right to defend yourself with firearms, or any other weapon, is as secure as a blonde person’s right to live.

I maintain the radical idea that your rights are not determined by the majority. Your rights do not come from your neighbor nor are determined by him. And your rights certainly do not come from government. Our rights are non-negotiable. Government was instituted for the express purpose of protecting our rights. No public poll, no popular vote, and no majority of citizens can take away your rights. Period.

God preserve our rights under and the Constitution He inspired to protect them! Let us be faithful to our Founding Fathers’ vision of a free Republic where rule of law, not rule of men, prevails. May free men ever maintain their arms to defend their Liberty regardless of what unjust laws, tyrants, or deluded majorities decree. And may each American remember this central truth: You Do NOT Determine My Rights.

Zack Strong,

August 18, 2019.

The Red Chinese Regime

Posted on August 17, 2019 by zeev1776

October 1, 1949 was the day that the communists formally conquered China and established the People’s Republic of China. It is a day to be mourned and lamented. Led by Mao Tse-tung, the Red Chinese communist regime murdered and enslaved more human beings than any other nation in history, even topping the staggering toll racked up by the Soviet Bolsheviks to the north. In this article, I turn the spotlight on Red China and catalog its ghastly ideology, horrific history, and present threat.

A government is very much defined by the character of the men who founded it. Knowing this to be a truism, let’s look at the founders of Red China and see what we can discern. The chief founder of communist China was, ostensibly, Mao Tse-tung. From a young age, Chairman Mao was a cold, calculating, ruthless individual with an intensely self-serving nature. Mao bluntly said:

“I do not agree with the view that to be moral, the motive of one’s action has to be benefiting others. Morality does not have to be defined in relation to others . . . People like me want to . . . satisfy our hearts to the full, and in doing so we automatically have the most valuable moral codes. Of course there are people and objects in the world, but they are all there only for me.”

He also stated: “People like me only have a duty to ourselves; we have no duty to other people.” And again: “I am only concerned about developing myself . . . I am responsible to no one” (Jung Chang and John Halliday, Mao: The Unknown Story, 13).

Mao’s entire outlook was self-serving and me-centered. Naturally, he gravitated towards communism because communism centers all power in the hands of a small oligarchy of individuals who, free from restraint and legal consequence, use that power to fulfill all their carnal and selfish urges and lusts. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on UnAmerican Activities, in response to the question “Why do people become Communists . . .?” answered: “Basically, because they seek power and recognize the opportunities that Communism offers the unscrupulous” (100 Things You Should Know About Communism, 14).

Elder Joseph F. Merrill similarly observed:

“Communism is organized wickedness and crime of the blackest type. Harsh terms, certainly! Its objectives are confiscation of property, robbery of those who have, slavery of its productive workers, and death to its opponents. Its beneficiaries are ne’er-do-wells, those who own nothing, but want everything, especially power and its emoluments” (Elder Joseph F. Merrill, “Some Fundamentals of Gospel Teachings,” General Conference, April, 1949).

Mao fits these descriptions to a T. Mao’s selfishness seems to have been a feature of his life from a young age. His father described him as “idle,” “lazy,” and “useless,” and he was “insolent” both with his father and his school teachers. Mao had an almost overly strong attachment to his mother, but he hated his father – the same as many tyrants and mass-murderers throughout history. In later years, Mao said if his father was alive, he should be tortured. He once got in a verbal fight with his father and threatened to kill himself to end his family line, which caused his father to back down – which Mao saw as a sign of weakness to be exploited. Tellingly, Mao also believed that fathers should work to support their sons and that he specifically should be exempt from manual labor. (Chang and Halliday, Mao: The Unknown Story, 6).

In his teens, Mao renounced Buddhism – his mother’s devotion. He filled the void in his spirituality with Marxism and Darwinism. Communism is in reality a counterfeit religion. This has been acknowledged by die-hard communists and anti-communists alike. J. Edgar Hoover noted:

“Communism is more than an economic, political, social, or philosophical doctrine. It is a way of life; a false, materialistic “religion.” It would strip man of his belief in God, his heritage of freedom, his trust in love, justice, and mercy. Under communism, all would become, as so many already have, twentieth-century slaves” (Hoover, Masters of Deceit, Foreword, vi).

Through intellectual study not tempered by God’s law – which is always a dangerous thing – Mao grew into a committed communist. He became a communist, yes, but one who engaged in the conspiracy’s subversive work to fulfill his own ends and to aggrandize himself. Communism was a means to the end of power and control over others and a life of morality-free, responsibility-free ease and selfishness. While Mao gave a unique flavor to communist philosophy, he nonetheless adopted the core tenets of Marxism-Leninism, Stalinism, and Darwinism.

Though he spouted hollow platitudes and praise for the working class and peasants, in reality Mao despised them. Mao saw the Chinese – and indeed all people – as soulless serfs to be used to create a totalitarian world state. And if millions of them die in the process, who cares? Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the legitimate Chinese government that Mao’s communists overthrew and that international communist have falsely maligned ever since, understood the reality of communism. He saw through their lies and doublespeak. In his excellent history of the communist conquest of his nation, Chiang noted the communists’ skill in lying:

“They are particularly adept in the fabrication of stories with no factual foundations, in misrepresentation such as “pointing at a deer and calling it horse,” in distortion and in the forging of documentary proofs all of which they consider legitimate – even virtuous. Whenever it suits their purpose, they represent Satan as God or God as Satan. What the Communists say and what they do are entirely two different things. It is obvious that they had themselves robbed the people under their control of freedoms, and yet they asked the Government for all political freedoms. In areas under Communist control, there was nothing but darkness and regimentation, and yet in their external propaganda they boasted of political democracy and of a bright future for their slaves. In Communist terminology, “people” means the Communists themselves, “liberation” means enslavement, “peace” means another form of war and “coexistence” means exclusive Communist control. It follows that the smile they put on is another facet of their evil nature. The free world should be ready to expose and attack this kind of propaganda before anyone falls prey to it” (Chiang, Soviet Russia in China, 375).

In my estimation, this ranks as one of the greatest and most accurate statements ever given on the nature, intentions, and tactics of communism. Communists precisely fulfill Isaiah’s ancient prophecy that men will call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). The communists have inverted reality and use constant propaganda to make people think their slavery is Freedom, that hell is Heaven, that Christianity is evil and communism good, and that China and Russia are benevolent while America is evil. And few communists perfected the art of lying and fabricating a false reality like Mao Tse-tung and his Chinese Reds.

Chairman Mao’s real story is a dark tragedy. The things he inflicted upon China are unspeakably horrific. Yet, when Mao’s flawed policies led to mass starvation, Mao called it a “Great Leap Forward.” When his policies of repression and death inverted Chinese culture, he called it a wonderful “Cultural Revolution.” In death and suffering he saw happiness and progress.

As in the Soviet Union, the Chinese communists’ policies led to mass starvation where tens of millions perished. Indeed, starvation was fostered as a political tool for social change. Conditions were so appalling that cannibalism became widespread, as this graphic account demonstrates:

“At first, the villagers tried to bury their dead in coffins but later, when the wood ran out, the living just wrapped the dead in cotton. Finally there was no cloth left, so at night people mounted guard over buried relatives until the flesh had sufficiently decomposed to prevent others from eating the corpse. In parts of Fengyang, officials issued regulations on the disposal of corpses to try and keep the scale of the deaths secret” (Jasper Becker, Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine, 138).

These types of mass die-offs were considered beneficial to communist “progress.” It was a form of cleansing, a Darwinistic survival of the fittest, a de facto Hunger Games for Mao’s amusement:

“The “Great Leap” was actually a kind of experiment in natural selection. Mao forced the Chinese into the most difficult conditions in order to eliminate the weak and those opposed to Communism. On the one hand, he tried to brainwash the peasants by starving them so as to make them dependent on him and the Communist organization. [The] basis of this attempt was Darwinism. At the same time as he began the Great Leap, Mao also initiated a “leap in education.” The dialectical materialism and Darwinism played the main roles in this education campaign. In a speech from this period, Mao revealed the principles supporting his savagery when he said, “The foundation of Chinese Socialism rests on Darwin and the theory of evolution”” (Yahya, Communism in Ambush, 130).

The history of the “Great Leap Forward” is dreadful. The Chinese regime stopped keeping count, so we will never know the full tally of the dead. However, estimates have ranged up to over 40-45 million in just this one episode alone. Most of these died in the greatest famine in world history – a famine brought on by careless and cruel communist policies. All in all, somewhere in the wide range of 60-100 million Chinese were slaughtered under Mao’s iron-fisted rule. Two of the best Mao historians affirm that he was responsible for “well over 70 million deaths in peacetime” (Chang and Halliday, Mao: The Unknown Story, 3).

Let’s finally discuss the renewed thirst for war and expansion that Mao stamped China with. Mao loved war – especially “revolutionary war.” The Red Chinese regime was birthed in the blood of communist-initiated civil war. Since 1949, China has waged war in or against the following nations: Tibet, India, South Korea, U.S. troops in Korea, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, and Taiwan. They even fired shots at the Soviet Union once, though I’m quick to add that the phony “Sino-Soviet Split” has been tragically misinterpreted in the West as being authentic. It was a ruse that worked phenomenally to convince us to aid and build up China in the hopes that she would be a bulwark against Soviet Russia. We were conned by the master con men.

China’s belligerence towards Japan has also manifestly increased in recent years as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touts the idea of doing away with their U.S.-imposed constitution’s prohibition on offensive military capabilities. The last thing China wants is an offensive-capable Japan, especially considering that Japan, with only defensive weapons, already has the fourth most powerful conventional military force in the world and a high level of specialization. The most obvious point of clash is the Senkaku Islands of Japan, which China claims as her own. The fact that China also claims islands belonging to numerous other nations, such as the Philippines and Taiwan, just goes to show their expansionist and aggressive nature.

Worthy of special note is that China constantly trains and arms for war against Taiwan and has made it clear that they will use force to subjugate the island nation if necessary. Many years ago, I came to believe that the spark that will ignite World War III will be in Asia. The likely flashpoint will be either Taiwan or South Korea as the communists initiate their final push for world government under their control. Whatever the exact spark, keep your eyes on Asia. And watch China’s duplicitous relations with Taiwan like a hawk.

As mentioned, so-called “revolutionary war” is part and parcel of the communist vision of creating a utopian earth. The power to bring about this utopia could only be achieved through force, Mao believed. And the gun was the most powerful force on the planet. He explained:

“According to the Marxist theory of the state, the army is the chief component of state power. Whoever wants to seize and retain state power must have a strong army. Some people ridicule us as advocates of the “omnipotence of war”. Yes, we are advocates of the omnipotence of revolutionary war; that is good, not bad; it is Marxist. The guns of the Russian Communist Party created socialism. We shall create a democratic republic Experience in the class struggle in the era of imperialism teaches us that it is only by the power of the gun that the working class and the labouring masses can defeat the armed bourgeoisie and landlords; in this sense we may say that only with guns can the whole world be transformed” (Mao Tse-tung, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, 28).

Please carefully note the final phrase: “only with guns can the whole world be transformed.” Only by bloodshed, war, and force can the world be transformed into a Marxist utopia. Who promotes war and force and bloodshed, God or Satan? The entire Maoist ideology – and Mao took his ideology from Marxism – is Satanic in that it proposes force, war, and brutality to achieve its ends. Red China is still today ruled by this bloodthirsty Asiatic spirit of war and savagery.

The Asiatics have always waged exceptionally brutal warfare. A sense of revenge, viciousness, and disdain for human life seems to be ingrained in their cultures. Yet, even this spirit has been further corrupted by the admixture of Soviet-style Bolshevism which destroys the idea of God, future judgment, and an afterlife. It truly reduces mankind to jungle law where only might makes right. Even though might makes right is a preposterous notion, I take this opportunity to advise you that if the bad guys feel they need guns to dominate the world, then the good guys also need guns to protect themselves. Don’t let the powers-that-be strip you of your God-given right of self-defense.

I reemphasize that communists are destroyers. They are the lords of chaos. They love death and destruction and chaos. Mao stated that “the country must be . . . destroyed and then re-formed. This applies to the country, to the nation, and to mankind . . . The destruction of the universe is the same . . . People like me long for its destruction, because when the old universe is destroyed, a new universe will be formed. Isn’t that better!” (Chang and Halliday, Mao: The Unknown Story, 15). It is a prevailing idea among the global Elite that in order to build a utopia, they must burn the world. Only out of the ashes of this conflagration can the Red phoenix rise.

Red China’s war lust extends to its own people. While the Soviet GULAG is more well-known, the Chinese GULAG was perhaps even more extensive. And it still exists today, holding millions of political prisoners and dissidents. It is a patent lie that the United States incarcerates more people on the planet than any other nation. Today, entire populations live and work as slave labor in prison camps, often producing the cheap goods that make their way to foreign markets. And somewhere between one and two million Muslims have been imprisoned in western China. The entire nation of China is one giant prison camp!

The description of China as a massive prison camp is more fact than fiction. For starters, the bulk of the population of China is being issued documents with RFID tracking chips embedded in them. All new Chinese vehicles must now contain RFID tracking chips. Additionally, the regime has installed over 200 million surveillance cameras (expected to increase to over 600 million by 2020) to monitor for so-called dissident or suspicious activity. These cameras often include advanced facial recognition software – technology which China is happily exporting abroad to places such as Panama.

Even worse than RFID chips and cameras, the regime has initiated a draconian “social credit” system – a system which some American traitors are beginning to call for. Under this system, Chinese subjects are given a “social credit” score which decides whether they can access public transport and receive benefits. Millions have already been banned from flying, for instance, because they received bad “social credit” scores due to their behavior not strictly conforming to Communist Party dictates. It’s the ultimate in political correctness. Mao would have been proud.

When Chinese subjects become fed up with their oppression and riot, which they frequently do, the communists crack down with a heavy hand. The Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 highlights this perfectly. A group of non-violent college student protesters gathered in Beijing on Tiananmen Square to peacefully protest the abuses of the regime and petition for greater Freedom. They even constructed a thirty-foot tall Statue of Liberty to show their solidarity with the free world.

The Reds could not tolerate this challenge to their usurped and illegitimate authority. So the communists did what they do best – they brought in military units and mercilessly slaughtered thousands of the protesters over the course of several bloody days. They rolled over and crushed them with tanks, machine gunned them down, rounded them up to be shot, and imprisoned others.

Though the regime attempted to stop foreign journalists from reporting on the facts of the atrocities, the truth came out. I quote from pages 28-29 of Edward Timperlake’s and William C. Triplett II’s book Red Dragon Rising: Communist China’s military threat to America:

“How many people were killed in Beijing on June 3-4, 1989, and in the immediate aftermath? . . . we believe the PLA killed between 4,000 and 6,000 civilians. Early on the morning of June 4, the Chinese Red Cross announced that 2,600 had died, and later that day the Swiss ambassador, who has diplomatic responsibility for the International Red Cross, calculated 2,700 civilian deaths. But as Amnesty International points out, PLA troops continued to open fire on civilians for several days after the June 3-4 massacre, so the number of dead and wounded exceeded the Red Cross’s quick count on the morning of the 4^th. On June 6, for example, tanks clearing streets for supply trucks opened fire on a group of children, killing two fourteen-year-old boys and a twelve-year-old girl.

“Three days after the massacre, NATO intelligence offered an estimate of 7,000 deaths – 6,000 civilians and 1,000 soldiers. Some Soviet-bloc estimates were even higher – 10,000 killed. A PLA defector in 1996 claimed that a document circulating among military officers had estimated that more than 3,700 people had been killed.”

As of this writing, Hong Kong is undergoing protests aimed at the Chinese government and their puppet administration in Hong Kong. The Communist Party police have violently attacked the protesters, causing protesters to retaliate in kind. Thousands are attempting to flee via the airport as Chinese troops amass at the border and threaten to enter the district and violently quell the anti-communist dissent. Some experts predict that the Chinese military will send in special troops disguised as police units.

If China continues its belligerence and its puppets in Hong Kong continue to sell out the people’s rights to the regime in Beijing, there might very well be a second Tiananmen Square. Yet, the people of Hong Kong continue to wave American flags and denounce the communists while our own woefully ignorant President Trump calls China’s ruthless leader, Xi Jinping, a “good man” and “a great leader who very much has the respect of his people.” God be with the people of Hong Kong.

Oppression of one’s subjects is the rule in communist regimes. The Soviet Union is the prime example of this. While Mao and his fellow Chinese Reds murdered more people than anyone else in earth’s history, the evidence suggests that the mass slaughters in Soviet Russia were even more sadistic and inhuman. The Soviet Bolsheviks crucified people, cut open people’s stomachs and tore out their intestines, gangraped women to death (some while crucified), crushed heads with steam hammers, pried open skulls and took out the victim’s brains, flayed the skin of others, boiled people to death Inquisition-style, deliberately starved millions by taking away their food, and tortured and violated people in every hideous and monstrous way imaginable.

I suspect their exceptional brutality stems from growing up in Christian nations, yet rejecting Christ outright. As I’ve documented, there is much evidence to suggest that a number of the leading communists through the ages were actually Satanists. Weishaupt, Marx, Lenin, and others were almost certainly Satanists. In 1949, a Soviet general asked a Catholic priest: “We are Satan’s elite, but you, are you God’s elite?” (Richard Wurmbrand, Marx & Satan, 123).

Beyond this, a disproportionately large number of the communists – including each of the three men named above – were Jewish. Winston Churchill noted: “There is no need to exaggerate the part played in the creation of Bolshevism and in the actual bringing about of the Russian Revolution, by these international and for the most part atheistical Jews, it is certainly a very great one; it probably outweighs all others” (Churchill, “Zionism versus Bolshevism: A Struggle for the Soul of the Jewish People,” Illustrated Sunday Herald, February 8, 1920).

These religion-hating Jewish Bolsheviks especially relished attacking and degrading the Christian population of Russia and causing as many as possible to blaspheme the holy name of Christ. Whatever the reason for their boundless barbarity, it was this same Soviet regime that extended its tentacles into China and provided the funding, resources, guidance, and international propaganda which enabled Mao to seize power. China remains to this day the greatest notch in the Red belt of global conquest.

Mao’s dark shadow still hangs over China. The ruling regime follows the path outlined by Mao, Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and their fellow conspirators. Harun Yahya wrote:

“From Mao’s death in 1976 to the present, the Communist Party still governs. China adopted the rules of a capitalist economy and has made great economic advances as a result, but its political system is still Communist. And strangely, Mao, the murderer of tens of millions of Chinese, is still regarded by the Chinese as a holy figure. . . .

“Obviously, Maoism still dominates China. It’s not simply an inheritance of aged Communist Party administrators from Mao’s time, but a living inheritance for a younger generation still blindly bound to Marxism. Peasants and the uneducated masses view Mao as a supreme being; most intellectuals consciously espouse and disseminate Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology. Chinese capitalism is simply hiding and strengthening Maoism.

“China is the world’s most populous country, and its economy continues to grow. Its arms production is such that, in the 21^st century, it is thought that China will rival the United States as a superpower. That an ever-stronger China is still Maoist, with “Mao-mania” thriving among its 1.2 billion population, shows once against that Communism is not dead but is only hidden. Worse still, this is Maoist Communism, the most barbarous and brutal version.

“Mao is alive not only in China, but internationally. . . .

“. . . The international Communist net stretches back to Red China’s bloody dictatorship and continues as a serious threat to the world” (Yahya, Communism in Ambush, 180, 183-184).

No honest individual can deny that Red China is a fully-committed communist nation and that Maoism still reigns. President Xi Jinping is a communist and the Communist Party rules China. I appeal to the Chinese constitution for proof:

“Since the Party’s 18th National Congress, Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, in response to contemporary developments and by integrating theory with practice, have systematically addressed the major question of our times—what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics the new era requires us to uphold and develop and how we should uphold and develop it, thus giving shape to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The Thought is a continuation and development of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development. It is the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, a crystallization of the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people, an important component of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a guide to action for the entire Party and all the Chinese people to strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and must be upheld long term and constantly developed. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to carry out a great struggle, develop a great project, advance a great cause, and realize a great dream, ushering in a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

Yes, China is still Red, still upholds Marxism-Leninism and Maoism, is still ruled by the Communist Party, and still constitutes a massive threat to humanity. The further evidence for this claim fills volumes. Nevin Gussack’s book Red Dawn in Retrospect contains powerful evidence of China’s evil intentions regarding the United States and the free world. Among its pages, we find quotes like the following from Chinese leaders:

“(As for the United States), for a relatively long time it will be absolutely necessary that we quietly nurse our sense of vengeance . . . We must conceal our abilities and bide our time” (Lieutenant General Mi Zhenyu, in Gussack, Red Dawn in Retrospect, 185).

“Because the Midwest states of the U.S. are sparsely populated, in order to increase the lethality, [our] nuclear attacks should mainly target the key cities on the West Coast of the United States, such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego . . . The 12 JL-2 nuclear warheads carried by one single Type 094 SSBN can kill and wound 5 million to 12 million Americans . . . If we launch our DF 31A ICBMs over the North Pole, we can easily destroy a whole list of metropolises on the East Coast and the New England region of the U.S., including Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Portland, Baltimore and Norfolk, whose population accounts for about one-eighth of America’s total residents” (Chinese state media in 2013, in Gussack, Red Dawn in Retrospect, 186).

“In history, the Western powers used warships and opium to colonize China. Now the opposite has happened. We will use our open policy, seize the economic crisis in the West as a historical moment, and use effective measures to turn them into Socialist China’s economic and cultural colonies . . . Our colonization of these countries is the historical process of communism’s triumph over rotten capitalism. We Chinese communists must shoulder the great historical mission, and use socialism to defeat capitalism, eventually liberating the entire humanity with Communism” (Then General Secretary of the Communist Party Hu Jintao, in Gussack, Red Dawn in Retrospect, 187).

“[O]ur national defense policy has taken a 180 degree turn and we have since emphasized more and more ‘combining peace and war’ . . . We have made a tremendous effort to construct ‘The Great Wall Project’ to build up, along our coastal and land frontiers as well as around large and medium-sized cities, a solid underground ‘Great Wall’ that can withstand a nuclear war. We are also storing all necessary war materials. Therefore, we will not hesitate to fight a Third World War, so as to lead the people to go out and to ensure the Party’s leadership position. In any event, we, the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], will never step down from the stage of history! We’d rather have the whole world, or even the entire globe, share life and death with us than step down from the stage of history!!! . . . .

“Only countries like the United States, Canada and Australia have the vast land to serve our need for mass colonization. Therefore, solving the ‘issue of America’ is the key to solving all other issues . . . We need to liberate them [Asians living in America]. Second, after solving the ‘issue of America,’ the Western countries in Europe would bow to us, not to mention to Taiwan, and other small countries. . . .

“. . . Comrade Xiaoping . . . could have sated ‘The relationship between China and United States is one of a life-and-death struggle.’ Of course, right now it is not the time to openly break up with them yet. Our reform and opening to the outside world still rely on their capital and technology, we still need America. Therefore, we must do everything we can to promote our relationship with America, learn from America in all aspects and use America as an example to reconstruct our country . . . The hidden message is: we must put up with America; we must conceal our ultimate goals, hide our capabilities and await the opportunity. In this way, our mind is clear. . . .

“. . . if the United States as the leader is gone, then other enemies have to surrender to us . . . If our biological weapons succeed in the surprise attack (on the United States), the Chinese people will be able to keep their losses at a minimum in the fight against the United States. If, however, the attack fails and triggers a nuclear retaliation from the United States, China would perhaps suffer a catastrophe in which more than half of its population would perish. That is why we need to be ready with air defense systems for our big and medium-sized cities. . . .

“It is indeed brutal to kill one or two hundred million Americans. But that is the only path that will secure a Chinese century, a century in which the CCP leads the world” (General Chi Haotian in 2005, in Gussack, Red Dawn in Retrospect, 187-188. The authenticity of this leaked statement is sometimes questioned, yet several experts have verified it and others, including myself, note how well it harmonizes with known communist objective. But it has not been admitted or denied by China. Additionally, various facts can be absolutely verified, such as the existence of a massive “Underground Great Wall” stretching over thousands of miles of China and containing nuclear weapons facilities, railroad tracks to ship troops and equipment, food supplies, etc.).

Other statements could be cited, but these suffice. The Chinese leadership – especially the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army – hates America and fully intends to fight, and win, a future war against us. This war will be nuclear at least at first. It will include terrifying bio-chemical weapons and the most advanced death machines ever devised. Since the communists took over China, the Chinese have planned and prepared for this war because they know, in accordance with the communist doctrine of world revolution, that it is inevitable.

We cannot say we haven’t been warned. The enemy loves deception and are masters of obfuscation, yet any right-thinking person can see through the lies and discern the true heart of Marxism. And our greatest Liberty champions have warned us about Red China’s threat. Ezra Taft Benson, for instance, warned:

“[T]here is little doubt that the leaders of Red China view war as inevitable and await only the propitious moment in which to strike.

“What we face today is not just a cold war, not just a struggle for the control of land, sea, air, and even outer space, but total competition for the control of men’s minds. Unless we meet it and defeat it, we shall almost inevitably one day face the loss of all that we hold dear” (Benson, “Communist Threat to the Americas,” General Conference, October, 1960).

As the anniversary of the founding of the Maoist regime in China approaches, let’s remember what horrors that regime perpetrated and what it is still capable of doing. Let us remember that China is a communist nation ruled by the Communist Party under devoted communist Xi Jinping. Let us remember that this malignant regime did not hesitate to murder upwards of 100 million of its own people to further communist “progress” and that it will not flinch when the time comes to consign hundreds of millions of our people to their graves in pursuit of Marxist world utopia.

“Make revolution all one’s life, read Chairman Mao’s book all one’s life.”

Red China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and their allies have a horrible fate in store for us if we are blithe enough to walk into their trap. Unfortunately, we already have one foot in the trap! “We have traveled far into the soul-destroying land of socialism” (President David O. McKay, Deseret News, October 18, 1952) and are well on the way to full communism without even realizing it. Yet, there are millions of us who are awake and aware. We will not go down into communist slavery – especially not Chinese captivity – without a fight.

In the end, after war ravishes our beloved Republic and people are forced to confront the communist conspiracy in all its Satanic savagery, have been forced to acknowledge that the “conspiracy theorists” were right, and have humbled themselves before Jesus Christ, then will God deliver a remnant to restore Freedom. While it might look for a season that the Red Chinese and Soviet Russians have won, ultimate victory will be ours. When all is said and done, the Red regime in Beijing will go down to everlasting defeat along with its godfather in Moscow. Let this be the happy thought that fills your mind as you see the communists commemorate Mao’s Red revolution in China.

Zack Strong,

August 16, 2019.

Communist Party USA at 100

Posted on August 13, 2019 by zeev1776

This year marks the one-hundred year anniversary of the existence of the Communist Party USA. The Communist Party is part of the international communist conspiratorial apparatus. It has traditionally been the main organ through which the Moscow-led communists have subverted America. Agents from, or who are trained or directed by, the Communist Party – which in turn is controlled by the Kremlin – have fanned out into every part of our society, infiltrating and subverting and undermining everything. The Communist Party USA originated as and still remains a fifth column and a direct threat to our Republic.

In his brilliant book Men Without Faces: The Communist Conspiracy in the U.S.A., Louis Francis Budenz exposes the treachery of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Budenz was once a high-ranking member of the CPUSA. After a decade of covert and overt work in the party, he realized his idealism had been misplaced and that the CPUSA was the most dangerous organization in America. Men Without Faces explains the inner workings of the Communist Party, its tactics, and its goals. Much of my information is taken from his revelations, though as the reader will note I draw from many sources to form my conclusions about the evil that is the Communist Party.

Budenz wrote that the goal of his book was “to demonstrate that the Soviet dictatorship and its fifth column in this country constitute a clear and present danger to the existence of the United States.

“I want to show beyond question that the Communist party is not a political party in the American or democratic sense, but solely a fifth column of the Kremlin” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, xii).

Right of the bat, Budenz warns us that the CPUSA is “not a political party.” It is not just another party like the Republican and Democratic Parties, Constitution Party, or Independent American Party. Sometimes the Communist Party teams up with the Democratic Party, as it recently declared it must do to “oust Trump and the Republican Senate majority, defend the Democratic House majority, and break the GOP domination of governorships and state legislatures,” but it is not like them.

No, the Communist Party is radically different than these parties and must not be seen as a political party at all. As the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on UnAmerican Activities stated in 1949, the CPUSA is unlike other political parties “because it takes its order from Moscow” (100 Things You Should Know About Communism, 19).

The Communist Party is an enemy outpost. It is an enemy foothold on American soil. It is a stronghold for traitors, conspirators, and enemies. It is nothing more than a fifth column cell – a forward operating position from which the communists run their subversive operations against our Republic.

The CPUSA is so different and foreign and hostile to traditional American values that Budenz made this remark about showing up for his conspiratorial work each day at the Daily Worker magazine : “Every morning as I entered my office I stepped from American to alien soil” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, 2). The communist party is an alien infection injected into the American body politic.

Budenz scoffed at the idea that the CPUSA is a legitimate political party. Rather, he said it is a division of Moscow’s army:

“Garbing itself in the attire of a regular political party, the Communist organization raises on behalf of its own legality the cry of those “civil liberties” which it officially declares it intends to abolish. The matter would be less confusing if the Red missionaries in the guise of liberals, radio commentators and trade unionists were not so successful in preventing Americans from learning the truth about their conspiratorial setup. The whole fictitious character of this “political party” claim could be easily exposed if it were established (as it can be) from Red documents and acts that the so-called Communist party is and has always been nothing other than one division of a dictator’s army with which he hopes to conquer the world” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, 29-30).

Budenz further wrote of the goals of the CPUSA – that is, of the communist “fifth column” in our midst:

“The aim of this fifth column, and of the dictatorship manipulating it, is the violent destruction of the American Republic. It plans the conquest of the United States by setting up a world proletarian dictatorship guided and ruled by Joseph Stalin. As comfortable as it may have been in the past to evade that ugly reality, it can be evaded no longer. The fanatical hope, if you can call it that, which gives drive to these conspirators is the belief in “The World October.” This promised extension to the entire globe of the October Russian revolution which set up the Soviet dictatorship is the dynamo of the Communist movement. That whispered promise is on the lips of every obscure comrade; it is proudly proclaimed in every important speech and every fundamental book by ever leader of the Soviet state.

“In the first pamphlet on communism that I was given to study on entering the party, this pledge to wipe out the American government by fire and sword was stated in the most bloodthirsty terms. . . .

“It is disconcerting, then, to hear and read the extensive speculations of certain men in public life about what Soviet Russia means to do and what its fifth columns plan. The Reds have said so clearly what their reason for existence is, and have so scrupulously and relentlessly pursued the path set out for them, that such speculations would be absurd were they not so tragic.

“There is no greater tribute to the effectiveness of the Soviet fifth column in this country than the obvious fact that it has befogged the American mind regarding its ruthless resolves to wipe out American independence. Nothing is so clear-cut as its continual insistence within its own ranks that violent attack upon the government here is highly essential. But so skilled are its propagandists – disguised as non-Communists in the radio, newspaper and moving-picture world – that they have made Americans believe every revelation of Red espionage is the result of hysteria. They have done a fairly adequate job of making America ashamed of defending its own freedoms” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, 5, 7-8).

The goals of the Communist Party USA are the same as those of the Communist Party in Moscow and Beijing – the overthrow of all existing free governments and the establishment of a Marxist world order. It is a conspiracy – a Satanic criminal conspiracy to enslave the world and abolish families, Christianity, and Freedom. This conspiracy has been so effective because they conceal themselves and operate from the shadows and through deceptive front movements.

Budenz gave an analogy to describe how the party and its agents operate:

“The Soviet fifth column . . . can be likened in organizational form to a tree. Its roots are the men and women of the deep underground, the political tourists, as they are called, sent here by Moscow to direct the life of the Communist party . . . Such men are the direct mouthpieces of Moscow; they transmit instructions to the puppet party leaders of native origin. There are several scores of them.

“The trunk of the tree is the “open party,” which functions none too openly at that from its national headquarters . . . They of the trunk are the means of contact which the men of the roots have with those concealed in the branches. And these last are the men and women who swear that they are not Communists . . . and who operate as non-Communists on an extensive scale. They are frequently defended by the responsible press, treated as people of the highest integrity, and move in circles where they play hob with American opinion . . . A little research would reveal their constant Red associations and the wide range of their pro-Stalin acts.

“In religious literature the devil is said never to be so triumphant as when he persuades men that he does not exist. It is much the same here. The Soviet fifth columnists are never more effective in advancing Stalin’s objective of world conquest than when they get Americans to believe they are nonexistent” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, 9-10).

The Devil does exist and his minions are rampant in our society. They are working feverishly to undermine our society, corrupt our culture, abolish our families, subvert our Constitution, weaken our defenses, divide us and play us off against one another, and leave everything in a heap of confusion and bitter chaos.

The U.S. House Committee on UnAmerican Activities warned the public about the Communist Party in a question and answer format:

“Can you be a secret member? [of the Communist Party]

“All Communists are secret members until authorized by the Party to reveal their connection. Party membership records are kept in code. Communists have a real name and a “Party name.”

“Are meetings public like those of ordinary political parties?

“No, meetings are secret and at secret addresses. Records are all secret and in code. . . .

“After you join, what do you have to do?

“You have to obey the Party in all things. It may tell you to change your home, your job, your husband, or wife. It may order you to lie, steal, rob, or to go out into the street and fight.

“It claims the power to tell you what to think and what to do every day of your life. When you become a Communist, you become a revolutionary agent under a discipline more strict than the United States Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force have ever known.

“Why do people become Communists then?

“Basically, because they seek power and recognize the opportunities that Communism offers the unscrupulous. But no matter why a particular person becomes a Communist, every member of the Party must be regarded the same way, as one seeking to overthrow the Government of the United States. . . .

“Can you quit being a Communist when you want to?

“The Communists regard themselves as being in a state of actual war against life as the majority of Americans want it. Therefore, Party members who quit or fail to obey orders are looked on as traitors to the “class war” and they may expect to suffer accordingly when and as the Party gets around to them. . . .

“. . . the immediate objective of the Communist Party is to confuse and divide the majority so that in a time of chaos they can seize control” (100 Things You Should Know About Communism, 14-15).

At times, people point to the relatively diminutive Communist Party and laugh at the thought that it could be a threat to anyone or that it is responsible for so much damage. The Committee on UnAmerican Activities addressed this issue:

“Do only Communists carry out Communist work?

“No. The Party uses what it calls “Fellow Travelers” and “Front Organizations” in some of its most effective work.

“What is a fellow traveler?

“One who sympathizes with the Party’s aims and serves the Party’s purposes in one of more respects without actually holding a Party card.

“Is he important in the Communist movement? Vital. The fellow traveler is the HOOK with which the Party reaches out for funds and respectability and the WEDGE that it drives between people who try to move against it.

“What is a Communist front?

“An organization created or captured by the Communists to do the Party’s work in special fields. The front organization is Communism’s greatest weapon in this country today and takes it places it could never go otherwise – among people who would never willingly act as Party agents. It is usually found hiding among groups devoted to idealistic activities” (100 Things You Should Know About Communism, 16-17).

Even today, communist fronts and unaware people are powerful tools to deceive people into working for the communists without knowing they do so. Whittaker Chambers, one of the most famous defectors from the Communist Party, called non-Communists who share the communist vision of an atheistic, science-based, me-centered world “part of Communism’s secret strength” (Chambers, Witness, xxxix). It would be well to remember that Chambers’ firsthand experience with the movement gave him license to declare: “I see in Communism the focus of the concentrated evil of our time” (Chambers, Witness, xxxvii).

Louis Budenz also spoke about the communists’ use of non-Party members to carry out their work. He explained that though the open membership of the CPUSA is somewhat small, there are a large number of communist agents who deliberately conceal their membership in the party or who are oblivious to how they are being used. These men and women either belong directly to it in a concealed role, coordinate their independently destructive efforts with its agents, or are unwittingly led by communists into subversive paths. From his inside knowledge, Budenz wrote:

“A long list of these loyal and concealed Communists, men and women who occupy distinguished positions in business, professional and public life, was given to me orally by Politburo members and committed to memory. Never was this list of names permitted to appear on paper. Today, now that I have left the Communist party, it gives me a distinctly queer feeling to see and hear these people, who I know have sworn fealty to Stalin, fervently defended by unsuspecting and patriotic Americans” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, 1-2).

My translation of the caption reads: “Under the banner of Lenin, under the leadership of Stalin, – forward to a new heyday of the Soviet peoples, to total victory of communism in our country!”

In other words, there is a large group of fellow travelers and dupes who do the bidding of the party, but whose names would never appear in party records. This is confirmed by another communist, Georgi Dimitrov, who boasted:

“As Soviet power grows, there will be greater aversion to Communist Parties everywhere. So we must practice the techniques of withdrawal. Never appear in the foreground; Let our friends do the work. We must always remember that one sympathizer is generally worth more than a dozen militant Communists. A university professor, who, without being a party member, lends himself to the interests of the Soviet Union, is worth more than 500 poor devils who don’t know any better than to get themselves beaten up by the police. Every man has his value, his merit. The writer without being a party member defends the Soviet Union, the union leader who is outside our ranks but defends Soviet international policy is worth more than one thousand party members” (Dimitrov, in Nevin Gussack, Red Dawn In Retrospect: Soviet-Chinese Intentions for Conquest of the United States, 14).

This same tactic of working behind a smokescreen was established by the first founder of the modern communist movement – Adam Weishaupt. As I have explained elsewhere, Weishaupt founded the Order of Illuminati on May 1, 1776. It was this diabolical order which can be traced from that first May Day to 1848 when it, under the name of League of the Just, hired Karl Marx to write a manifesto of belief and intent for the group. The Communist Manifesto was the result.

You need to understand that communism is Illuminism. They have the same goals and use the same tactics. When we understand this lineal relationship, we see how relevant Weishaupt instructions to his co-conspirators still are. He said:

“The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment; let it never appear in any place in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation” (John Robison, Proofs of a Conspiracy, 112).

Weishaupt noted that Freemasonry would be one of the chief organs used to conceal his order in plain sight. I explained something of this history in my books, but here a single quote must suffice:

“[W]e shall have a masonic lodge of our own . . . we shall regard this as our nursery garden . . . to some of these Masons we shall not at once reveal that we have something more than the Masons have . . . at every opportunity we shall cover ourselves with this” (Nesta Webster, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, 209-210).

Though the Illuminsts/communists use secretive groups like the Masons to do their bidding, they wanted something more. It became their aim to hoodwink and manipulate large swaths of the population and mobilize them to work for them without even realizing it. I have documented that feminism, among others, was and is a communist front movement. Here is the tactic outlined by Weishaupt regarding the Women’s Liberation movement:

“There is no way of influencing men so powerfully as by means of the women. These should therefore be our chief study; we should insinuate ourselves into their good opinion, give them hints of emancipation from the tyranny of public opinion, and of standing up for themselves; it will be an immense relief to their enslaved minds to be freed from any one bond of restraint, and it will fire them the more, and cause them to work for us with zeal, without knowing that they do so; for they will only be indulging their own desire of personal admiration” (John Robison, Proofs of a Conspiracy, 111).

Communists then and now are as J. Edgar Hoover called them “masters of deceit.” They lie as a bodily function. They are constantly running intricate deception campaigns on individuals, groups, and entire nations. Indeed, the entire world is suffering under Marxist deceptions, not least among which is the myth that the Soviet Union “collapsed” and that the West won the Cold War.

In order to sway people to their side, communists use egalitarian slogans and words like “equality,” “equal pay,” “equal rights,” “tolerance,” “my body, my choice,” and “peace” to promote slavery, war, conflict, division, and degeneracy. They pretend to champion the cause of the downtrodden and oppressed. They use the victim card to tell women, blacks, druggies, homosexuals, and whomever else, that they are “oppressed” by “the patriarchy,” by “the racist white majority,” by “the Christian zealots,” etc. Of course, communists only seek the sympathies of these supposed “victims” so they can come to power over them and use them to cause division and pry apart the nation.

Communists also love to smear and discredit anyone who sees through their lies. Some of their favorite names for their opponents are “fascists,” “Nazis,” “white supremacists,” “racists,” “homophobes,” “bigots,” “right-wing extremists,” and “nationalists.” Ezra Taft Benson once observed:

“It is the current anti anti-communism drive and the branding as “super-patriots”, “fanatics” and “right-wing extremists”, those who defend the freedom, traditions and principles on which this great nation was founded. . . .

“No more should we condone name calling and castigating those who would defend American freedoms. This is what the communists want” (Benson, The Red Carpet: Socialism – the Royal Road to Communism, 197).

Clear back in 1949 our government was also warning of these smear tactics:

“What do Communists call those who criticize them?

““Red baiters,” “witch hunters,” “Fascists.” These are just three out of a tremendous stock of abusive labels Communists attempt to smear on anybody who challenges them” (100 Things You Should Know About Communism, 18).

We understood this tactic in 1949. Please don’t fall for it all these decades later! Instead, take it as a badge of honor when the leftist media, mindless dupes, or Antifa thugs smear you as some sort of fanatical “fascist” or “right-winger.”

Stand your ground against the Communist Party and the hellish ideology it promotes – an ideology responsible for more death, slavery, rapine, plundering, and abuse than any other ideology in world history. Realize that our Faith, Families, and Freedom hang in the balance of this struggle. “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death,” speech, March 23, 1775). And better dead than Red.

Frequently, American patriots seem paralyzed into inaction in the face of the Bolshevik threat. They don’t know what to do or how to act. Indeed, they often think they shouldn’t say or do anything at all! Otherwise good folks often say, “Well, I don’t like what the communists say, but they have a right to say it.” But do they really? Do you have a right to threaten someone with bodily harm? Do you have a right to threaten someone’s property, family, and rights with destruction? J. Edgar Hoover made this observation:

“Under our constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech, all of us, including the Communists, may, within the limitations of the law, freely present our viewpoints. In the market place of public opinion, these viewpoints compete for acceptance. There, in the tradition of our free society, reason must compete with error and truth must compete with falsity.

“Knowing this, the Communists do not compete on fair or equal terms in the realm of ideas. They must resort to distortion and misrepresentation. Moreover, they must also, because of the very nature of communism, attempt to impose their views on everyone else. When those beliefs leave no freedom of choice for either their acceptance or their rejection, free men have no alternative but to oppose them firmly” (Hoover, A Study of Communism, 171).

When the avowed ideology and stated goal of a group – especially a group taking order and funding from foreign governments – is to crush our right of free speech, strip individuals of their right of self-defense, do away with their rights to due process and legal protections, and reduce the People to slavery under an admitted “dictatorship,” how can we allow it? To allow it is national suicide! Every nation that allows communism to be preached, and which protects it under the law, has eventually fallen. The United States will be no different.

Budenz encouraged Americans to stand firm against communist machinations. He said:

“A true defense of civil liberties recognizes that the Communists mean to destroy such liberties. To safeguard American freedom the fifth column which menaces that freedom will have to be dealt with as a fifth column and not as something else – a legitimate political party, for example, which is pure fiction. . . .

“God grant that America may have the alertness to distinguish fact from fancy, the wisdom to understand the true nature of her Soviet opponent, and the courage to stand firm for her own defense and that of all mankind” (Budenz, Men Without Faces, 297).

I believe we must act quickly to make membership in the Communist Party USA – and any organization of like principle regardless of its name – illegal. Not only should we outlaw the Communist Party and all similar organizations, but we should make the promotion of communist ideology under any guise a treasonable offense to which is attached the death penalty. It is nothing but treason to promote communism. It is treason to promote the ideology of a foreign government and, even more damningly, the ideology of a literal, avowed criminal conspiracy whose stated goal is the overthrow of all existing governments, the abolition of families, property, religion, and natural rights, and the conquest of the world. If we do not make communism treasonable, it will be our undoing.

I repeat, communism is treason! Communism must be outlawed. The Communist Party must be outlawed. The New Communist Movement must be outlawed. The Revolutionary Communist Party – which openly promotes violent revolution in America – must be outlawed. The Socialist Party USA must be outlawed. The Socialist Workers Party must be outlawed. The Democratic Socialists of America must be outlawed. The Progressive Labor Party must be outlawed. Antifa must be outlawed.

Communists of whatever name or affiliation who refuse to relinquish their avowed communist ideology and swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution must be arrested, tried, and, if they still refuse to recant their tyrannical aspirations and support the Liberty of their nation and its supreme law, executed. Yes, I seek the death penalty for communist traitors who will not recant their murderous, anti-Freedom philosophy and join with Liberty-loving American citizens in proclaiming allegiance to the Constitution!

If I sound radical, it is because these are radical times. When your family is sleeping in a burning house, you don’t calmly wake them – you shout! Unfortunately, few are listening to those of us shouting about the vicious communist conspiracy at work in our society. And our national house – this American Republic – will burn in the conflagration unless the blaze is contained and promptly extinguished.

We are at war, ladies and gentlemen. It is, at its core, a spiritual also war between the forces of Christ and the forces of Satan. It is also a literal war fought across many fields – politics, economics, religion, medicine, race, gender, families, etc. Though we have hitherto been fortunate enough to avoid much physical violence, that is about to change. Politically-motivated violence, assault, and murder are increasing, with the leftists leading the charge.

And why wouldn’t the communists lead the charge? In 1919, the year of the CPUSA’s founding, communists orchestrated dozens of bombing attempts in the United States. As W. Cleon Skousen recorded:

“Beginning April 28, 1919, a series of 36 bombs were discovered in the mails addressed to such persons as the Attorney General, Justice Holmes of the Supreme Court, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller and similar persons of prominence. One of the bombs got through to the home of Senator Hardwick who had been trying to shut off the migration of Bolsheviks to the U.S. A servant opened the package and the bomb exploded, blowing off her hands” (Skousen, The Naked Communist, 137).

Skousen then described how by 1920, at least one other bombing matching the communist modus operandi took the lives of over 30 people and injured more than 300 in New York City. This bomb was aimed at Wall Street and is a tragedy all but forgotten today. Though we might forget, the record is clear: Political warfare is a well-established communist tradition.

In 1963, Ezra Taft Benson warned people of this fierce war. He said:

“We are now – this very day – at war with the Socialist-Communist Conspiracy. This is a point that a lot of people do not seem to realize. They think that just because we are not shooting at each other with bullets that it isn’t a real war. But, we are really at war and we must win this war if we expect to survive as a free people. . . .

“The Communists are winning the war and building their empire largely with the help of non-communists – fellow travelers, sympathizers, dupes, liberals, etc.

“Some people foolishly believe that the communists are changing, that they are “mellowing.” This is not true.”

Even earlier, in 1949, The U.S. House Committee on UnAmerican Activities warned of the Communist Party’s role in promoting communist warfare:

“How are they organized?

“Primarily around something they call a political party, behind which they operate a carefully trained force of spies, revolutionaries, and conspirators. The basic fact to remember is that Communism is a world revolutionary movement and Communists are disciplined agents, operating under a plan of war. . . .

“. . . every member of the Party must be regarded the same way, as one seeking to overthrow the Government of the United States” (100 Things You Should Know About Communism, 12, 15).

If doesn’t matter if your school teacher or professor tells you we’re not at war, we are. It doesn’t matter if the controlled media tells you we’re not at war, we are. It doesn’t matter if Google, YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook censor people who warn that we are in war, it doesn’t change the reality. We are at war.

Now that you know that we are at war and that every communist is one who, by default, is aiding a criminal movement to overthrow our government with its rights-protecting Constitution, what are you going to do about it? Whose side are you on? If you don’t fight against the communist conspiracy, you are with them. If you don’t denounce the communists, you are one of them. And make no mistake: Silence is complicity. Again I ask, whose side are you on?

If I died today and never had the opportunity to utter another truth, I would want my countrymen to know and understand that communism must die for America to survive.

Zack Strong,

August 12, 2019.

Get your “Communism is Treason” shirt here and help support my work:

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Vaccine Tyranny

Posted on August 9, 2019 by zeev1776

“Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick, in Robert B. Fox, ed., Our Freedom – Our Liberty, 81.

Vaccination is one of the most contentious issues of our time. We could argue the efficacy – or demonstrable lack thereof – of vaccines all day long. However, that is not the key issue. In fact, it’s wholly irrelevant. The real issue is free will. Said differently, the question at hand is this: Does the government or the community have a right to force you to be vaccinated against your will? That is the paramount question our society must decide.

On the face of it, it seems obvious that no government or majority of citizens should ever be allowed to force you to let a needle pierce your skin and inject chemicals and viruses into your body. People don’t think about it in those terms, but that is the reality of what we’re discussing. We are talking about whether society has a right to force you to inject foreign substances into your body. It seems preposterous that any sane and just person would agree that the community has authority over your body to such a degree that they can force you, via the police power of the state, to inject yourself with viruses and chemicals. Yet that is precisely what the pro-vaccine lobby is proposing.

You must ask yourself what you support more – individual free will or state coercion. If the state, or the majority of citizens represented by the state, has the authority and power to force you to inject yourself with risky substances – or any substances at all no matter their benefit or efficacy – what can’t they do? Remember, the cry for mandatory vaccination has behind it the rationale that it is “for the public good” and for the “safety of the community.” Using this same rationale, what else can you be forced to do if the state, or your neighbors, deem it in the community’s best interests?

If the state can force you to inject a needle into your body in the name of “health” and “public safety,” then can they also force you to eat foods deemed “healthy”? After all, obesity is a major problem and a healthy society is surely better than an out-of-shape one. If society can force you to introduce polio and small pox into your body for the sake of “health,” can they likewise force you to be microchipped for the easier detection of criminals and the “safety” of society? If they can tell you that you must inject a flu virus into yourself of your children or else be denied public services, employment, and the rights of citizens, can they also require you to submit your DNA to a national database? Honestly, what can’t they do if they can legitimately force you to inject live viruses and man-made chemicals into your body via injection?

If you have never pondered the totalitarian implications of this train of thought, it’s high time to begin. The issue is not health. It is not public safety. It is not the well-being of society. It is not the efficacy of vaccines. The issue is Freedom, free will, individual Liberty, separation of powers, and constitutional authority. We are talking about the difference between majoritarian democracy and constitutional republicanism with its rule of law.

Arguments like “it’s for the public good” or “it’s for national security” don’t pass the scratch test for constitutionality and justice. For millennia, tyrants have used the cry “for the public good” to justify illegality, self-serving policies, war, oppression, persecution, and genocide. When people say that we must force people to be vaccinated against their will “for public safety,” it might be well to remember what Benjamin Franklin said. That wise Founding Father warned:

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” (Franklin, January, 1775).

Those who would force you and your family to be vaccinated are not your friends. They are enemies to the Republic! They are enemies to the Constitution. They are enemies to the Declaration of Independence. They are enemies to the high-minded principles of the American Revolution. They are enemies to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. They are enemies to the basic concept of free will and personal Freedom.

America was founded on the Christian concept of individual free will and personal accountability. This noble thought was codified in our official documents and throughout our law code. The American People was made for Freedom. From our forefathers’ mouths gushed timeless declarations such as:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

We once understood that the People is the source of all political power and that the government is merely its agent to secure its God-given rights. Since government receives 100% of its power from individuals, and an individual cannot delegate power he does not inherently possess, the government, then, cannot assume such powers. When it does, it becomes tyrannical and has violated the very purpose of its creation.

Let’s explore this principle further. If I, as an individual, do not have the right nor authority to go into your home and forcibly inject substances into your body, then I do not have the authority to empower government to do this on my behalf.

Do you understand this? This is the core concept of Americanism! If you do not understand and thoroughly believe this concept, I submit that you are not a true American and that you lack the spirit of our great People.

Again, I cannot give the government power I do not possess. This principle does not magically change if more people are involved. Extra rights and powers are not suddenly bestowed when a majority is involved. We are not a democracy. Our system is based on rule of law. The law protects the one just as it protects the majority. Neither a minority nor a majority – no matter how large and powerful – can justly strip a single soul of his rights.

If an individual does not have a right or power, the community does not either. And since I cannot justifiably force my neighbor to inject substances into his body against his will, then the neighborhood also does not have that right. Government gets all of its power from the People, and “the People” is nothing but an aggregate of individuals. Thus, government’s reach can only go so far as an individual’s. Thank Heaven that individuals, and therefore governments, do not have a right to reach into your life and force you to live as they see fit!

Taking a leaf from Hans Verlan Andersen, let’s discuss the nature of Freedom. Andersen explained that Freedom consists of the following elements: Life, Liberty, Property, and Knowledge. In order to properly enjoy Freedom, one must have power over his own life, including the power to make choices and stand accountable for them. He has a right to defend his body – that is, his life – against assault, injury, and destruction. Naturally, Liberty, or the “absence of coercion,” is indispensable. Furthermore, in order to be a truly free agent and a steward over his own life, he must have the right to control, possess, and manage private property. And, finally, having a knowledge of the law and one’s duties and rights is necessary to acting intelligently and independently (see Hans Verlan Andersen, Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen, chapter 2).

In the case of compulsory vaccination, three of the elements of Freedom are violated by default. First, the control over one’s own life and body is violated when we are forced to inject needles into our skin. If “my body, my choice” is a valid argument, then it must be a valid argument in the case of vaccination. No one but you has a right to control your body. Next, mandatory vaccination obviously violates Liberty because it is a coercive measure that violates your free will and choice. Third, if your body can be considered your property, then forced vaccination violates your property.

I must take an aside and say that in certain situations I believe that what a person puts into his body can and should be regulated for the legitimate safety of others. To wit, drunk drivers kill tens of thousands of innocent and unsuspecting people every year. Thousands more are killed by drunk people or because of alcohol poisoning or related incidents. Some 88,000 people die annually because of alcohol. This is to say nothing of the unseen damage done to marriages and families and the cycles of criminality, depression, therapy, divorce, and abuse that are caused. The damage done to society by alcohol – as well as drugs, both illicit and prescription – is incalculable. Because of the damage begin inflicted upon it by the choices of others, I believe society has a right to defend itself by banning harmful substances.

Thomas Jefferson defined “rightful liberty” thus:

One’s Liberty is only rightful and, thus, protected, when it does violated the equal rights of others. The case can easily be made that a person high on drugs or drunk from alcohol is a danger to the right of life of innocent bystanders. I absolutely support this line of reasoning when it is demonstrably proven that a substance or action violates others’ rights or does perceivable damage to the community.

That being said, this reasoning does not easily extend to vaccines. Some have made a similar argument that because unvaccinated people get sick more often (or so they claim), they pose a threat to the health and well-being of the community. Let’s examine whether this is really the case. First of all, it is a myth that unvaccinated people carry more disease. I won’t dive into here, but suffice it to say that nearly all credible studies have conclusively proven that vaccinated people are more likely to contract the diseases they have ostensibly been vaccinated against and that unvaccinated people are healthier. Consistently some 90% of whooping cough victims, for instance, had previously been vaccinated for whooping cough, thus exploding the idea that vaccines are safe and effective.

What’s more, vaccine proponents seem to want it both ways. On the one hand, they claim that vaccines are safe and effective. Yet, on the other hand they act like they are totally helpless in the face of a scary unvaccinated individual. If vaccines truly work, why are vaccinated people so scared? If vaccines are so magically wonderful, then why do school districts persecute parents who choose to exercise their right to not vaccinate their children?

Much of this hysteria comes back to the ludicrous concept of herd immunity. The concept states that in order for vaccines to work, everyone must be vaccinated. Even one unvaccinated person, they claim, lowers the collective protection of vaccines. You don’t need a degree in medicine to realize how preposterous the logic of this thought is! The idea has been totally discredited, yet it lingers because of the mass brainwashing campaign carried out by the controlled media, Hollywood, and compromised medical establishment.

In addition, there is another concern – some of us do not like to play Russian roulette with our health. Health does not come in a needle. Health largely comes from diet and hygiene. Yet, the medical establishment wants us to believe needles, chemicals, and synthetic drugs give us health. They want us to believe that cocktails of live viruses, antibiotics, formaldehyde, aluminum, mercury, aborted fetal tissue, male foreskins, and other chemicals, is acceptable to inject into our bodies. If you are skeptical that the list of horrible things I just mentioned are found in vaccines, do yourself a favor and obliterate your ignorance by looking it up.

I tend to think “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a trustier philosophy than having doctors guess which strand of flu will be prevalent this year and inject that virus into me with their fingers crossed that its shady ingredients like thimerosal won’t give me a negative reaction. I tend to also agree with Thomas Jefferson who said: “Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now” (Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1787). But I guess I’m just old-fashioned!

In all seriousness, in a free society no one should have any objections to a person wanting to exercise his or her God-given right to care for their health in a manner pleasing to them. You might not like the Amish philosophy of living without modern technology, but you must allow them to live how they please. The same applies to every peaceable group or individual. No one should be forced to conform to the community’s health practices. That is tyranny in its vilest form.

We also need to disabuse ourselves of the notion that children belong to the community. They Do Not. Children belong exclusively to their parents. Parents, not the community or government or local school district, have the sole right to care for their children. If parents exercise their sacred parental rights to not vaccinate their children, for whatever reason they choose, who are we to deny them their rights? It is a symptom that we have been horribly indoctrinated when we believe that we, the collective community, have a right to dictate how parents raise their children. We do not have any such authority over our fellow citizens or their children.

I will note one final objection. In America, we have something called religious Freedom. Religious Freedom has been called the “First Freedom.” It was the foundation of all our other Liberties. If a person believes their religion or life’s philosophy does not permit them to engage in modern medial practices, who are we to force them to do that which violates their conscience? Or if a religion boasts a superior plan of natural medicine and faith, who are we to extinguish their beliefs?

There are numerous reasons why a person might choose not to vaccinate. In the end, their reason doesn’t matter. What matters is that they have a right – a constitutionally-protected, constitutionally-guaranteed right – to object to vaccines. Yes, you have a sacred right to reject the tyrannical concept of forced, mandatory vaccination. No one – no community, no government, no majority – has the authority to force you to inject yourself with anything, let alone chemicals and live viruses. Please let this concept sink in. It is vital to our Freedom.

To reiterate what I have said multiple times thus far: Conscientious objection to mandatory vaccination does not depend upon whether vaccines are “safe and effective.” We could cite vaccine experts like Dr. Sheri Tenpenny, Dr. Suzanne Humphries, and Neil Z. Miller, and even appeal to the CDC’s own numbers and charts, to prove the appalling truth about vaccines. However, that is fairly irrelevant. The only issue that matters is your individual right to object.

Thank God that in America we have a Constitution which guarantees our right to direct our own lives as we see fit! Thank God for our Freedom! Thank the Lord for the knowledge that the opinions and wishes of the majority do not supersede and cancel out our individual Liberties! I vehemently oppose mandatory vaccination because the very concept insults my conscience. It is an affront to the classic American concepts of Freedom, justice, and individualism. It is nothing by Soviet-style tyranny.

Every true American, every lover of Liberty, every just soul, must oppose mandatory vaccination at all costs. If we allow government to force us to inject viruses and chemicals into our bodies (“my body, my choice” be damned), then we open the door to totalitarianism like we’ve never seen before. If the government or community can force you to vaccinate yourself or your children, then there is literally nothing they can’t force you to do.

And if the tyrants in society can deny you public services for exercising your right not to vaccinate, then we are no better than Red China with their sinister “social credit” scheme. Think of the door we are kicking wide open when we demand, against all reason and justice, that people inject themselves with vaccines to make us feel “safe.” I close by repeating Benjamin Franklin’s warning. Ponder it and let it sink deep into your soul. And for the love of all that’s holy, oppose mandatory vaccination:

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Zack Strong,

August 9, 2019.

What I See Coming

Posted on August 9, 2019 by zeev1776

This article is my attempt to put into words what I foresee playing out in the United States of America in the future. The future is far from bright, ladies and gentlemen. We are on the precipice of a hellish reality the likes of which we’ve never experienced in this country. We are traveling down a path that leads to a new Dark Ages.

Spiritual, mental, and moral darkness engulf the earth. Our country – once a beacon of light to the world – has been targeted for destruction by our enemies. The consequence is a population that now rejects God, hates itself, allows its Freedom to be chipped away, is ashamed of its noble history, and is willing to be led by the nose by anyone promising free stuff, government welfare, a life without responsibility, or a reprieve from the consequences of sin, criminality, and bad decisions.

As we plunge further into this darkness, we will face vicious civil war, brutal bloodletting, mindless mobocracy, ghastly rapine, large-scale plundering, economic collapse, societal breakdown, rampant immorality, religious persecution, and monstrous tyranny. We are coming apart at the seams. Fires of violent hatred are being stoked by the lords of chaos who seek to divide us in order to conquer us. Even though their Marxist strategies are painfully obvious to anyone with eyes to see, they are effective. We are not finished yet, but our foot is agonizingly ensnared between the piercing teeth of a powerful steel trap.

Some say they would rather a civil war happen now than continue our gradual descent into the abyss. Let those who love Freedom gather and fight the enemy and get it over with, they say. Lock ‘n’ load! I’ll admit that I sometimes feel the exact same way. However, we should not be ignorant of the fact that a new American civil war will not be like Lincoln’s war against the South. It will not be a civil war with opposing camps divided nicely between North and South, between East and West, between the coasts and Middle America, between Republicans and Democrats, or between gun owners and gun-grabbers.

Rather, a new civil war will look more like mobocracy and anarchy. It will ravish each community as brothers fight brothers, families rip each other apart, co-workers turn on one another, church congregations split asunder, police attack police, military units target each other, and everyone distrusts everyone. Law and order will break down and the federal government will essentially lose its power. The judicial system won’t operate properly. The protections of the Constitution will be voided. Mob rule will prevail.

In the midst of our intestine difficulties, it is extremely likely – if not already inevitable – that the communist world will take the opportunity to topple their “Main Enemy” once and for all by launching World War III. Whether a new American civil war will come before a Russian-Chinese assault is anyone’s guess. For many decades, the communists have had contingency plans for numerous scenarios. They are prepared to exploit any given situation to their benefit. This is doubly true when we consider that the communists are the ones primarily behind most of the chaos we see.

As I’ve documented in my books A Century of Red and Red Gadiantons, the communists are behind the cultural division we see everywhere. They either created or hijacked the Civil Rights movement, feminism, LGBT, radical environmentalism, humanism in academia, and so forth. Communism, more than any other ideology, is the greatest threat to our nation and world. It is a Satanic threat that is, despite the propaganda about the “collapse” of the USSR and the “death” of communism, more powerful and prevalent than ever before.

I highlight only two of the communists’ most successful battlefields in America: Racial politics and feminism. The racial division we see so prominently on the news is a communist invention from start to finish. Black liberation politics are actually Red. The specter of “racism” has been kept alive by communists in order to stir up minorities against whites. Everywhere that you see radical black groups like Black Live Matter and the New Black Panthers demonstrating, rioting, or griping about some phony injustice, you find communist provocateurs whispering in their ears.

“White guilt” is the brainchild of America-hating Marxists. Whites have nothing to be ashamed about. Nothing. In fact, Caucasians are responsible for the greatest political, economic, societal, technological, and military achievements in mankind’s history. Our ancestors ended slavery as an institution. Our forefathers raised the standard of Freedom to an oppressed earth. Yet, we are portrayed as the great villains of the world who need to apologize for our skin color, ancestors, institutions, achievements, and history while bowing down before the throne of Marxist minorities and self-loathing white traitors.

Before the communists infiltrated the black community, blacks actually had a lower crime rate, fewer divorces, and were more religious than whites. They were neat and clean and respectable. However, communists infiltrated their communities and played the victim card and radicalized blacks so profoundly that now they are the most violent, crime-ridden, anti-family, drug-saturated, ghetto-oriented segment of society. They are being duped and used as pawns in the communist game.

While we are told that whites attack and oppress and hate blacks and other minorities, the reverse is statistically documentable. In his tremendous book Red Badge, retired police officer Doug Traubel goes to great lengths to debunk the media myths about white-on-black “racism” and supposed white-on-black crime and discrimination. The truth is that “over 90 percent of black murder victims nationally are killed by black assailants” (Traubel, Red Badge, 203). In actual fact, police rarely shoot blacks – especially when compared against the staggering number of blacks who attack police. Blacks assault, murder, rob, and rape whites exponentially more than whites attack blacks or any other minority group.

After citing many official crime statistics as well as reports by experts in the field, Traubel concluded that “if there is a War on Black America, it is black murderers who mass-murder other blacks” (Traubel, Red Badge, 205). Yet, the media and officialdom promote their false anti-white narrative in order to stir up hatred, prompt more violence, fuel chaos, and put a hedge of distrust between minorities and whites and between everyone and law enforcement. Police in particular, though they in fact do have a host of legitimate and systemic problems that must be dealt with, are being unjustly depicted as “nothing more than the Klan in blue” (Traubel, Red Badge, 194). It is all a part of the communist scheme to frame and disenfranchise Caucasian America.

Despite being unfairly maligned and smeared by the communists, J. Edgar Hoover was one of the greatest anti-communist crusaders in our history. He understood the Marxist threat and breathlessly warned all who would listen of their strategies for disrupting the peace, stability, and moral essence of our culture and nation. Regarding the communist infiltration of the black community, Hoover noted:

“The Party’s claim that it is working for Negro rights is a deception and a fraud. The Party’s sole interest, as most American Negroes know, is to hoodwink the Negro, to exploit him and use him as a tool to build a communist America” (Hoover, Masters of Deceit, 229).

Unfortunately, most blacks don’t realize they are being used. Well over 90% of blacks vote Democrat – a party now openly aligned with the Communist Party USA – and thereby support abortion, welfare-statism, indolence, racial identity politics, higher taxes, fewer rights, gun restrictions, government limitations on business, etc. The communist agitators in the black community – people like Van Jones, Al Sharpton, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and Nikki Giovanni – are leading their fellow blacks into race-fueled conflict after conflict, hoping to force radical communist change on a weary nation.

The feminist abomination is also a communist creation. I have written and said so much on this aspect of the conspiracy that I won’t repeat it all here. Suffice it to say that feminism was invented to fulfill Karl Marx’s dream of abolishing the family. Only by abolishing the family – the bulwark of the Faith and Freedom of any society – can a nation be fully conquered. Communism is inherently anti-family and promotes feminism in order to break down the institution of marriage and home. They fight against traditional values, the Biblical patriarchal order, and families.

The Soviet Union was the first modern nation to legalize abortion-on-demand as well as no-fault divorce. It is telling that the United States eventually adopted these communist social reforms. The feminists have been the greatest promoters of the Soviet vision of “free love,” infanticide, lax morals, rampant divorce, and broken homes. Ultimately, Bolshevik radical Inessa Armand spoke the truth when she said:

“If women’s liberation is unthinkable without communism, then communism is unthinkable without women’s liberation” (Quoted in Sharon Smith, “Women’s Liberation: The Marxist Tradition,” International Socialist Review, Issue #93, summer, 2014).

Because we have allowed the communist cancer to sap our strength and erode our institutions, we are on the verge of total collapse. We have largely sold our birthright as Americans. We have betrayed the legacy of our forefathers and the very spirit of Americanism. We have adopted a hostile foreign philosophy in everything from economics to government to education to sex to politics. Yet, as Ronald Reagan truthfully stated:

“[T]herein lies the road to war, because those voices don’t speak for the rest of us. You and I know, and do not believe, that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery” (Ronald Reagan, “A Time for Choosing,” October 24, 1964).

The seductive voices of the American counterculture condemn our Founding Fathers, belittle our tried-and-true principles, rip on our Constitution, target white America, attack our families, undermine our institutions, and foam at the mouth in their ranting against our long-held Christian values. Yet, those voices don’t speak for me. They don’t speak for my family, my parents, or my siblings. They likely don’t speak for you if you are reading this blog. And they don’t speak for millions of good, God-fearing, loyal American patriots who would rather die than live in chains.

Because the two worldviews in question – Christian constitutionalism and Satanic communism – are incompatible, they must fight. “Peaceful coexistence,” a communist slogan designed to disarm their opposition, is not an option. Only one of these opposing ideologies can survive the ongoing death struggle.

Because of prophecy and the divine declarations of the Almighty, we know that Christ has already won the victory. He has vanquished the Devil and conquered the grave. However, though the outcome is already known, the war still rages. You and I may both fall as casualties if we are not careful. Satan plans to drag as many of us down with him as he can. None of us are exempt from his machinations. And certainly no nation is immune to Satan’s devices.

America, the great defender of Liberty in the earth, is the “Main Enemy” of Satan’s system of global tyranny. Because of this, he has concentrated his forces on attacking us. Unfortunately, he has been wildly successful. His minions are preparing to implode our Republic and bring us down into the depths of chaos and internal war, from which they hope to emerge victorious and powerful.

As my regular readers know, I am a proud member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I recently bore my personal witness of Christ which you can read here. Because of my testimony of the truth, I see the future through the lens of prophecy. It has been said that “Prophecy is but history in reverse—a divine disclosure of future events” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Prepare Ye,” Ensign, January, 1974). And so it is. Scriptural prophecy is the most accurate source of information you can find regarding current events.

I also examine the past in order to see where our steps are taking us. In his hallmark “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech, Patrick Henry rightly stated: “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past.” With prophecy and the record of history, we can see through the smokescreens thrown up to blind our eyes and conceal the reality.

Judging from prophecy and from historical experience, it is easy to see where humanity is heading. There is absolutely no mystery about it – the Lord and His prophets have told us precisely what to expect. The only problem is that people do not want to think about terrible things. They do not want to contemplate “the worst” that can happen. Yet, it is precisely this reluctance to face reality and our own failings that makes prophecy come true.

The mortal Messiah foretold that in the day before His triumphant return as King of kings and Lord of lords – a day that draws ever nearer– things shall be “as the days of Noe [Noah] were” (Matthew 24:37). The people at the time of Noah were so wicked and rebellious that, in His mercy toward an innocent generation of His children being raised without a chance for righteousness, the Lord cleansed humanity by means of a flood. Genesis 6:5 tells us that in Noah’s day: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of his heart was only evil continually.” Today, it seems that sanity has fled and people run back and forth in mindless rebellion against everything just, holy, good, and true. In my estimation, we have collectively reached, if not surpassed, the same level of wickedness that prevailed in Noah’s day.

The epitome of child abuse

Satan is running rampant in our society and throughout the world. He is gathering and coordinating his forces. Everywhere you look, they are combining against Christians and anyone who opposes the communist system he is seeking to set up globally. These things are only a prelude to the final push Satan has planned – the push that will topple Faith, Families, and Freedom once and for all and usher in an Anti-Christ system with himself at the head.

A modern revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith foretells of the horrors that await us unless we repent and turn our hearts back to the Savior. The warning speaks of the time just before the coming of the Lord – our time. It prophesies:

“But, behold, I say unto you that before this great day shall come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath;

“And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men;

“And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth.

“And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.

“Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;

“And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;

“And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.

“And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:14-21).

Those familiar with Biblical prophecy notice the stark similarities between this revelation and the warnings found in the books of Matthew, Revelation Ezekiel, Joel, and elsewhere. The Lord has warned us repeatedly that we are approaching a day of cataclysm that can only be avoided by sincere repentance. In Noah’s day, the Lord gave the people a chance to repent after hearing Noah’s prophecy of impending doom before He sent the rain. Today, we have also been warned and there is time remaining to repent. Yet, like in Noah’s, we are rejecting the Lord’s warnings and pleadings. And like in Noah’s day, the results will be catastrophic unless we wake up and reform. The Lord has promised, however, that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:30).

The Lord has given us so much prophecy about our day precisely because He doesn’t want to chastise and punish us. He loves us and wants us to choose to be righteous. Only through a course of righteousness can we avoid destruction. Our Founding Fathers understood the correlation between wickedness and destruction and contributed their warning voices. On the eve of the American Revolution, John Witherspoon cautioned:

“Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue. On the other hand, when the manners of a nation are pure, when true religion and internal principles maintain their vigor, the attempts of the most powerful enemies to oppress them are commonly baffled and disappointed” (John Witherspoon, “The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Man,” May 17, 1776).

Our enemies also understand this reality. They have worked hard to corrupt our morals, undermine our faith, and sever us from all that is good, holy, just, correct, and full of light. They understand that war and conflict have the ability to transform a society and corrupt a nation’s morals faster and more completely than any other thing. They have therefore devoted much of their strength to luring us into foreign wars and pushing us to the brink of civil war domestically.

In 1963, Ezra Taft Benson warned of some of the possible scenarios for the communist conquest of America. They are still valid today. Notice the emphasis on war and internal conflict:

“There are three possible methods by which the Communists might take us over. One would be through a sufficient amount of infiltration and propaganda, to disguise Communism as just another political party.

“The second method would be by fomenting internal civil war in this country, and aiding the communists’ side in that war with all necessary military might.

“The third method would be by a slow insidious infiltration resulting in a takeover without the American people realizing it.

“The Soviets would not attempt military conquest of so powerful and so extensive a country as the United States without availing themselves of a sufficiently strong fifth column in our midst, a fifth column which would provide the sabotage, the false leadership, and the sudden seizures of power and of means of communication, needed to convert the struggle, from the very beginning, into a civil war rather than clear-cut war with an external enemy.

“We can foresee a possibility of the Kremlin taking this gamble in time. In fact, it is clear that the Communists long ago made plans to have this method available, in whole or in part, to whatever extent it might be useful. The trouble in our southern states has been fomented almost entirely by the Communists for this purpose. It has been their plan, gradually carried out over a long period with meticulous cunning, to stir up such bitterness between the whites and blacks in the South that small flames of civil disorder would inevitably result. They could then fan and coalesce these little flames into one great conflagration of civil war, in time, if the need arose.

“The whole slogan of “civil rights” as used to make trouble in the South today, is an exact parallel to the slogan of “Agrarian reform” which they used in China. The pending “civil rights” legislation is, I am convinced, about 10% civil rights and about 90% a further extension of socialistic Federal controls. It is part of the pattern for the Communist takeover of America. The whole “civil rights” program and slogan in America today is just as phony as were the “Agrarian reform” program and slogan of the Communists in China 20 years ago” (Ezra Taft Benson, “We Must Become Alerted and Informed,” speech, December 13, 1963, in Jerreld Newquist, ed., Prophets, Principles and National Survival, 271-272).

We have already covered the race war that Marxists are attempting to foment. Whether race, the depreciation of our currency, gender, an attempt to confiscate firearms, or some other factor is the impetus, I am confident that the communists will attempt to trigger a civil war in America. This war might coincide with a surprise strike by Russia and China or it might precede such a strike and serve as a softening up measure. But either way, we are looking at a future fraught with chaos and literal war in our streets.

The communists are so embedded in our society, and they have done such a fine job of indoctrinating so many millions of Americans, that I believe civil war is inevitable. This is so because we have lost much of our precious Liberty and Liberty is only regained through bloodshed. However, the extent and scope of that war is ours to decide. If we work hard now and rally enough people to the standard of Liberty, the war might be limited to a short duration or might not affect our location very noticeably. If we remain complacent and do not adequately prepare ourselves, however, we might consign ourselves to years of bloodshed, rapine, lunacy, rage, and anguish. And the longer a war of this type rages, the more likely is our defeat as the anger, hatred, and harsh feelings of loss harden our hearts and blind our minds.

In his book Civil War Two: The Coming Breakup of America, Thomas W. Chittum warned of much the same outcome if we remain on the same path we are currently walking:

“America was born in blood. America suckled on blood. America gorged on blood and grew into a giant, and America will drown in blood. This is the spectre that is haunting America, the spectre of Civil War II, a second civil war that will shatter America into several new ethnically-based nations . . . Simply and directly put, America will explode in tribal warfare in our lifetime. . . . Bands of guerrillas will stalk about the countryside – raping, looting, murdering, clashing with each other.

“. . . Civil War II in America will set off a super depression that will plunge the entire globe into economic chaos, which will further deepen the economic collapse here in America.

“Food production will all but cease. The hungry will fight to the death over scraps of garbage. Millions will starve, and millions more will die from infectious diseases. Behold the vision of Civil War II.

“. . . Depending on the scope and duration of Civil War II, tens of millions could perish in a mass starvation unprecedented since the beginning of time. Millions more will die of disease due to immune systems weakened by lack of food. The very old and children will die off first. Soldiers, the most valuable and most heavily-armed portion of the population, will suffer the least.

“. . . Western Civilization will be transformed; tribalism will blossom into its ultimate expression. . . . And what excuse will we American have? . . . that no one cautioned us that a house divided against itself cannot stand?” (Thomas W. Chittum, in David N. Balmforth, America’s Coming Crisis: Prophetic Warnings, Divine Destiny, 73-74).

A frightful picture, to be sure; but an accurate one nonetheless. If we don’t want to suffer through the depravity and pain of a gruesome civil war, we must heed the warnings of history and the voices of those who are now mocked as “conspiracy theorists” and “right-wing wackos.” We must prepare by getting a substantial food storage (I recommend a one-year supply) and storing up necessary supplies, by learning necessary skills, by relocating to safer locations (the Intermountain West ought to be #1 on your list), and by getting right with God.

The Book of Mormon – a book of scripture similar to the Bible that also testifies of the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ – tells the history of two civilizations that inhabited ancient America. One of these, the Nephites, possessed a government that, like our American system, operated on the twin principles of rule of law and the voice of the people. About 2,000 years ago, the Nephite nation was rocked by internal strife as a group of elitist judges, lawyers, high priests, and people seeking power over their countrymen, assassinated the chief governor of the land and overthrew the government. This incident provides a case study for how a civil war might play out in modern America.

The enemy in this story was a vile group of conspirators who, the scripture tells us, were “the friends and kindreds of those who murdered the prophets” (3 Nephi 7:6). They “did combine against the people of the Lord, and enter into a covenant to destroy them” (3 Nephi 6:29). They also “did set at defiance the law and the rights of their country; and they did covenant one with another to destroy the governor, and to establish a king over the land, that the land should no more be at liberty but should be subject unto kings” (3 Nephi 6:30). In accordance with their plan, “they did destroy upon the judgement-seat, yea, did murder the chief judge of the land” (3 Nephi 7:1).

This brazen assassination of the duly-elected leader set in motion a chain of tragic events. We are informed that because of this event:

“the people were divided one against another; and they did separate one from another into tribes, every man according to his family and his kindred and friends’ and thus they did destroy the government of the land.

“And every tribe did appoint a chief of a leader over them; and thus they became tribes and leaders of tribes. . . .

“. . . and all this iniquity had come upon the people because they did yield themselves unto the power of Satan.

“And the regulations of the government were destroyed, because of the secret combination of the friends and kindreds of those who murdered the prophets. . . .

“Now this secret combination, which has brought so great iniquity upon the people, did gather themselves together, and did place at their head a man whom they did call Jacob;

“And they did call him their king; therefore he became a king over this wicked band; and he was one of the chiefest who had given his voice against the prophets who testified of Jesus.

“And it came to pass that they were not so strong in number as the tribes of the people, who were united together save it were their leaders did establish their laws, every one according to his tribe; nevertheless they were enemies; notwithstanding they were not a righteous people, yet they were united in the hatred of those who had entered into a covenant to destroy the government.” (3 Nephi 7:2-3, 5-6, 9-11).

America today is exhibiting a very similar tribalistic spirit. We see this tribalism every day. Republicans are combined against Democrats, Democrats are combined against Republicans – and neither side wants to cooperate with the other. Entire neighborhoods in the inner cities are black or Hispanic or Chinese or Jewish and don’t welcome whites or outsiders. Gangs control entire swaths of territory and police are even afraid to enter at times. Police have adopted an “us vs them” attitude toward civilians and many of us resent them for treating us like insurgents in some warzone. Antifa thugs are arming and gathering to fight against so-called “fascists” and “Nazis” (i.e. dyed-in-the-wool American patriots).

Militias are on the rise, with many creating outposts and retreats in the woods and actively preparing for conflict (I encourage this, but it is symptomatic of the tribal mentality I’m speaking of). Enclaves of like-minded folks – very similar to tribes – are forming in Montana, Idaho, Utah, and in states throughout the Union. Liberals flock to L.A., New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, and major metropolitan centers while conservatives and sane people flee the cities and gather in rural areas. Rich people are building or buying bunkers. Gated communities are proliferating. Everywhere you look, division and tribal attitudes dominate.

In a future American civil war, I do not see a clear-cut, two-sided “us vs them” conflict. Rather, I predict a “me vs everyone” outlook. It will be mobocracy in its rawest form. When law and order break down, people will naturally gather with like-minded people. Again, people might form a group, or tribe, based on political persuasion, religious beliefs, survivability (i.e. he has the guns, let’s join with him or they have food, we’ll stick with them), family ties, sexual orientation, gender, geographical considerations, etc. People who imagine a second American Revolution of the People against the tyrannical Elite are fooling themselves.

An eventual war in this country will look similar to the Nephite conflict recounted above. When the government goes down – whether through an assassination, the start of a war, a coup attempt, or whatever the cause – people will immediately form tribes. If not for conscious reasons, people will gather in like-minded groups just to survive. Tribal gangs will roam the nation fighting each other.

I predict that many, if not most, of these tribal groups will be “united in the hatred of those who had entered into a covenant to destroy the government.” The truth is so obvious that you have to be willfully ignorant to not know that secret combinations or conspiracies exist within our society. Most people realize that there are sick people in our government. They might not recognize who they are or exactly how they operate, but they know that some invisible hand is pulling strings, lies, covering up scandals, perpetrating murder, stealing our wealth, trying to pervert our culture, and attempting to dictate how we run our daily lives. Many people resent this and would assume hang the perpetrators if they knew who they were or felt they had popular support.

In a recent article titled “Our Ruling Elites Have No Idea How Much We Want to See Them All in Prison Jumpsuits,” Charles Hugh Smith observed:

“The one issue that could unite the fragmented citizenry is moral revulsion: As the Epstein [sex trafficking/abuse] case promises to reveal, there is literally no limit on the excesses and exploitations of the privileged few in America, no limit on what our Ruling Elites can do with absolute impunity.

“The Nobility of the feudal era had some reciprocal obligation to its serfs; our New Nobility has no obligation to anyone but themselves. It is painfully obvious that there are two sets of laws in America: bankers can rip off billions and never serve time, and members of the Protected Class who sexually exploit children get a wrist-slap, if that. . . .

“Our Ruling Elites have no idea how many of us already want to see them all in prison jumpsuits, and they also have no idea how fast the moral revulsion with their corrupt “leadership” might spread. Scanning the distracted, consumerist rabble from the great heights of their wealth and power, they reckon the capacity for moral outrage is limited, leaving them safe from any domestic crusade.

“They also trust that the citizenry can be further fragmented, further distracted, and so they will continue to be invulnerable. Or worst case scenario, a few especially venal villains will need to be sacrificed, and then all will return to the bliss of Neofeudal exploitation.

“But they may have misread the American citizenry, just as they’ve misread history.”

The scenario described by Smith is eerily similar to the history recounted in The Book of Mormon account cited. The people, distracted and wicked as they were, nonetheless hated the Elite who had corrupted the government and overthrown the stability of the land. Might it not be the same today? I believe that when the crap hits the fan, many millions of Americans will resist the tyranny of the ruling Elite and say “no more.” We will almost certainly split into tribes for a period of time in the wake of a major national cataclysm, but the tribes will likely share a “moral revulsion” of the corrupt statists in Washington and their state capitols.

The lessons of history and the warnings of prophecy ought to jolt us awake. We should be propelled into action by the urgency of our situation, if not by our inborn love of truth and Liberty. We are asleep and apathetic, distracted and divided, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, we have lost many of our Liberties that only blood can purchase anew, but there are still many otherwise good people who have not thrown their hats into the ring who can help us tip the balance. We must reach these individuals and win them to our side by the superiority of our ideas and message and by inspiring them with the stories and slogans of our noble ancestors who gave their all for Freedom. It does not take a majority to win, only an “irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men” (quote often attributed to Samuel Adams).

For millennia, the Lord has warned us of what would transpire in our day. His prophets down through the ages have described our time of turmoil and how to endure it. The advent of modern communism and its horrific and unparalleled history of plunder, militarism, rapine, slaughter, slavery, genocide, and hate ought to convince of us of the truthfulness of the Lord’s message. In 1942, a group of spiritual leaders I know to be inspired warned society that they were following Satan down the path of destruction. They admonished:

“Infidelity, atheism, unchastity, intemperance, civil corruption, greed, avarice, ambition – personal, political, national – are more powerful today than at any other time in the lives of us now living. They are pulling and thrusting us almost at will into new fields of action, new lines of thought. They are shaking the faith, undermining the morals, polluting the lives of the people. They have thrown many so far off balance in all of their activities, economic, social, political, and religious, that they stand in real danger of falling. Satan is making war against all the wisdom that has come to men through their ages of experience. He is seeking to overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government, and religion rest. He aims to have men adopt theories and practices which he induced their forefathers, over the ages, to adopt and try, only to be discarded by them when found unsound, impractical, and ruinous. He plans to destroy liberty and freedom – economic, political, and religious, and to set up in place thereof the greatest, most widespread, and most complete tyranny that has ever oppressed men. He is working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods. There is no crime he would not commit, no debauchery he would not set up, no plague he would not send, no heart he would not break, no life he would not take, no soul he would not destroy. He comes as a thief in the night; he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Without their knowing it, the people are being urged down paths that lead only to destruction. Satan never before had so firm a grip on this generation as he has now” (First Presidency message, Conference Report, October, 1942, 13).

Yes, we have been warned time and time and time again. If we continue to allow Satan and his earthly followers to twist our minds and pervert our souls, there is nothing vile and dreadful they won’t persuade us to do. There is no war, plague, controversy, scandal, or lie they would not inspire against us. If we don’t finally recognize that the Satanic communists are the greatest threat we face, we will continue to travel down the road of violence, hatred, and conflict until we finally tear each other apart in a fratricidal war unlike anything the world has seen.

Ezra Taft Benson reminded of the high stakes of this titanic struggle:

“Let’s get one thing straight at the very beginning. International communism is the self-avowed enemy of every loyal American. It has declared war against us and fully intends to win. The war in which we are engaged is total. Although its main battlefields are psychological, political and economic, it also encompasses revolution, violence, terror and limited military skirmishes. If we should lose this war, the conquering enemy’s wrath against our people and our institutions will result in one of the greatest blood-baths of all history. Call it a “cold war” if it makes you feel better, but our freedom and our very lives are the stakes of this contest” (Ezra Taft Benson, An Enemy Hath Done This, 165).

This total war will likely one day include civil war and widespread mobocracy. If we are not prepared for this eventuality, we will be paralyzed by fear. If we have not gathered a food storage and supply basic necessities, relocated to a safer area, prepared contingency plans for disasters both natural and man-made, informed ourselves about the threats, learned crucial survival skills, and got cleared our consciences before God, we will be totally unprepared when war knocks on our door.

The things I have described above – the brooding tribalism, violence, plagues, and war – are only a taste of the horrific future I see because we have rejected our God and His commandments and have allowed Satan to win over our hearts and erect a system of tyranny above us. I raise my warning voice, though it might only reach a few receptive ears, against Satanic communism and in favor of Christian constitutionalism. I warn of impending world war and internal conflict in America, the greatest nation on earth. I warn that though we still have a handful of years to prepare before the full fury of the storm sweeps down upon us, and that we ought to dismiss those who claim collapse is “imminent,” the time is drawing short.

I warn that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Mexico, and their allies, are preparing to take advantage of whatever chaotic situation might arise – or that they might be able to foment – here in America. I warn that Marxist agents are at work in every major city in our Republic fomenting discord, riling up minorities against whites, deceiving women with feminist slogans, scaring gullible people with baseless “climate change” fear-mongering, making false accusations of “sexism,” “racism,” “chauvinism,” “homophobia,” “toxic masculinity,” “white supremacy,” and “Nazism” against faithful American patriots and anti-communists, and doing everything they can to spark a blaze of hate that can be fanned into an inferno that they hope ends with them in power.

Contrary to what some may think of me, I really don’t want to spend my time focusing on these dark and troubling issues. I would prefer to spend my time creating, not criticizing; uplifting, not warning of the destruction of my homeland. Yet, I must waste and wear out my life in this cause because I know it is right, just, and true. I love my country, I love my family, and I love my God-given rights. I cannot stand by as an idle spectator as my enemies try to take each of them away from me and reduce me and my loved ones to slavery. Any man that would do that is not worthy the title of man.

The Prophet Joseph Smith once had a vision of America’s future wherein he “saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw blood, desolation, fires. The Son of Man has said that the mother shall be against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother. These things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from city to city. Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged. I know not how soon these things will take place; but with a view of them, shall I cry peace? No; I will lift up my voice and testify of them” (Joseph Smith, July 2, 1839).

Make no mistake – I know our side wins the war. I have no doubt about that. However, I want to avoid as much bloodshed and suffering as possible on our march to victory. We have lost much ground through years of apathy and inattentiveness, so it will be an uphill struggle and all true patriots and Christians will be tested to the max.

Those of us who are awake have a responsibility to shake our countrymen out of their deep slumber. This one task will require all our efforts, talents, and perseverance. It is not easy to break through decades of programming and conditioning. As daunting as this sounds, many of us will likely be forced to fight for what we love just like the Sons of Liberty were forced to wield their muskets in defense of their country. It is my hope that we will remember what hangs in the balance – our Faith, Families, and Freedom – and exert ourselves like real men. If we seek the blessings of a free country enjoyed by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and their fellows, we must be prepared to make the same sacrifices they made.

With a view of the hell gathering on the horizon, nothing should ever cause us to let up, back down, or surrender. Too much is at stake. If you do your job as a patriot correctly, you will be persecuted and face opposition. But if you do your job as a patriot correctly, you will also reap an eternal reward and your name will be venerated down through the generations of time; and you might just save your country.

Zack Strong,

August 8, 2019.

My Witness of Christ

Posted on August 5, 2019 by zeev1776

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16).

My faith in, and personal witness of, the divinity of the Savior Jesus Christ is the central plank in my life’s creed. More than any other thing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has informed my principles, my politics, and the most decisive decisions of my life. I see and judge all things through the Gospel lens. It is no exaggeration to say that I am who I am primarily because of the pure and simple doctrines of the Son of God. I ask your indulgence as I share my personal feelings about my Savior and His Gospel and the profound influence they have been in my life.

At the outset, I want the reader to know that I do not bear testimony simply of things I have read in a book, that I heard a pastor preach, or that my parents taught me. My testimony does not come from intellectual reasoning alone. Rather, I can stand before the world and declare that my witness comes from the Holy Spirit. It is a personal and private witness that I have independent of every other person on earth. I gained this knowledge through the Spirit after sincere searching, study, fasting, and prayer.

I have always believed in Jesus Christ from the time I was a child and heard my parents teach of Him. However, mere belief – as important as belief is – is not equal to knowledge. A person can read something in a book and believe it. He may hear a professor lecture on a topic and have faith that he has just heard the truth. However, only the knowledge imparted to one’s spirit by the Holy Ghost can rightly be called a witness or a testimony. Therefore, when I bear my testimony or witness of Jesus Christ and the points of His doctrine, please know that I am speaking not from my secular learning or out of mere hope, but from the spiritual confirmations that have been whispered to my soul on numerous occasions by the Holy Ghost.

Of the many things I can bear witness of, I first testify of the reality and existence of God the Father. He lives and governs in the Heavens. He is the literal Father of Jesus Christ. He is also the literal Father of our spirits. We are His literal sons and daughters. We lived with Him before it was our appointed time to come to earth to be tested for our faithfulness to His teachings.

In our glorious pre-earth home, we learned of our Father, walked with Him, talked with Him, felt of His love, experienced His embrace, and enjoyed His divine presence. There we learned of His Plan for our progression. Like any good father, our Eternal Father wants us to become like Him and to possess everything He possesses. The Apostle Paul affirmed this truth when he taught:

“The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17).

If we follow the steps outlined in the Gospel of the Son of God, we can become the “heirs of God” and receive the fulness of His blessings and glory and exaltation alongside our Savior Jesus Christ.

In the pre-mortal state of existence, we were taught the particulars of our Father’s Plan, called alternatively the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness, including the need for a Savior to redeem us from our inevitable failures. The scriptures attest that we “shouted for joy” at the prospect of coming to earth to prove ourselves and, through our faithfulness, qualify to enjoy eternal life with our Father (Job 38:7). I testify and affirm that I know we lived before and that we will live still after the death of our mortal bodies. So emphatically do I know the reality of our pre-earth existence that I wrote an entire book – The Lineage of the Gods – to witness of it and to teach the plain truth.

Lucifer was also in the beginning. The Bible confirms that he was there when the Father presented His Plan to His children. Lucifer thought he knew better and proposed an amended version of the Plan – a version which denied our right of individual agency and accountability but which, he claimed, would lead to the salvation of every soul. Through his plan, Lucifer intended to became the Savior and turn everyone’s hearts toward him. He secretly wanted to “exalt [his] throne above the stars of God” (Isaiah 14:13) and claim the position of Deity.

Angels do not have wings, but it is a good image of Lucifer’s defeat nonetheless

Naturally, Lucifer’s self-serving and Freedom-destroying plan was rejected by our Father. Upon being rejected, Lucifer rallied his supporters and rebelled against the Father. John stated that this caused “war in heaven” (Revelation 12:7). One-third of Heavenly Father’s children sided with Lucifer while two-thirds rejected the Adversary’s plan and sided with Jesus Christ and their Eternal Father (Revelation 12:4).

You and I were among the two-thirds who originally chose the Lord and rejected Satan. Now we are here on earth, with our memories of those earlier times deliberately veiled, to prove whether we will again choose the Father’s Plan for our eternal happiness. The great quest of life is to again learn about the Father’s Plan, as well as Lucifer’s plan which is embodied in communism, and to choose the correct path. This quest is difficult because Satan hates us and is waging relentless war against us (Revelation 12:17). However difficult to follow, the only correct path is that which leads back to the Father through our Mediator Jesus Christ.

I testify that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Anointed and Chosen One. Before His mortal birth, He was Jehovah of the Old Testament. When He was born of Mary, He became known as Jesus. He is the literal Son of God in both body and spirit. While fully human as to His flesh, He was also fully God. Because of this, He was and is the only One empowered to fulfill the Father’s Plan.

The Lord fulfilled the Plan of Salvation by sacrificing Himself to appease the demands of eternal justice and broken laws. Because He was the only sinless One, He stood outside the grasp of justice and the curse of broken laws. The sacrifice of His guiltless blood appeased justice and gives the Lord the power to extend mercy and grace to those who believe in His name, repent of their sins, become baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, and who follow His commandments with sincere heart to the end of their lives. The Savior’s sacrifice is called the Atonement which means that by His blood and mercy we are again made one with God.

Elder Richard G. Scott, a modern apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, eloquently explained the necessity of Jesus’ Atonement:

“Each of us makes mistakes in life. They result in broken eternal laws. Justice is that part of Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness that maintains order. It is like gravity to a rock climber, ever present. It is a friend if eternal laws are observed. It responds to your detriment if they are ignored. Justice guarantees that you will receive the blessings you earn for obeying the laws of God. Justice also requires that every broken law be satisfied. When you obey the laws of God, you are blessed, but there is no additional credit earned that can be saved to satisfy the laws that you break. If not resolved, broken laws can cause your life to be miserable and would keep you from returning to God. Only the life, teachings, and particularly the Atonement of Jesus Christ can release you from this otherwise impossible predicament.

“The demands of justice for broken law can be satisfied through mercy, earned by your continual repentance and obedience to the laws of God . . . The Redeemer can settle your individual account with justice and grant forgiveness through the merciful path of your repentance. Through the Atonement you can live in a world where justice assures that you will retain what you earn by obedience. Through His mercy you can resolve the consequences of broken laws” (Elder Richard G. Scott, “The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace and Happiness,” General Conference, October, 2006).

The scriptures amply attest that Jesus Christ is the only One through whom we may receive forgiveness of sins and return back to our Father one day. The Atonement not only secures the salvation of those who repent and follow Christ, but it offers the Savior’s help, mercy, love, and blessing in times of need, distress, depression, sickness, and persecution. Paul gave one of my favorite statements when he insisted:

“For we have not an high priest [Jesus] which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrew 4:15-16).

The ancient prophet Alma likewise testified of “the throne of grace.” Said he:

“[B]ehold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all – for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people. . . .

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

“Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of the people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me” (Alma 7:7, 11-13).

While working out the Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Savior took upon Himself the terrible weight of guilt felt by those who sin. What’s more, He took upon Himself the physical and mental pains, anguish, and suffering we experience through sickness, abuse, accidents, etc. He felt our heartbreak, feelings of loss, depression, confusion, anger, and betrayal. He felt everything horrible you have ever experience or will ever experience. He not only felt and experienced all that you have experienced, but all that everyone has experienced or caused others to suffer. There is nothing you have ever felt that He doesn’t fully understand from His own personal experience. The Spirit intellectually comprehends everything, but the Savior voluntarily took upon Him all our physical suffering so that He could actually comprehend it and therefore know how to alleviate our pain and mend our broken hearts, minds, and bodies. He truly is the Great Physician.

It is this same Jesus who is the Lord of lords and King of kings. It is He whose name we must take upon ourselves. It is He in whose holy name we pray. It is He who calls us to Him and offers His mercy on terms of repentance and faithful obedience. It is Jesus Christ who will soon return to earth to cleanse the earth, heal the persecuted, and claim His right to rule. Though I do not and cannot comprehend the depths of suffering He endured in Gethsemane and on the cross in order to be able to offer me His forgiveness, mercy, and love, I thank Him for His gift! I know He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of Mankind, and the only One before Whom I will bow and worship.

I also testify of the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost. Each member of the Godhead – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is a separate and individual Being. These three souls are united in their efforts, desires, and goals. Their great work is to help us return to Them and to become like Them. This would be impossible without the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Ghost who confirms truth to our minds and hearts. Without His confirming whisperings, we could know nothing of God or the Savior. All revelation comes through the workings of the Spirit. When a person testifies that they know Jesus is the Redeemer, they can only do so after having the Holy Ghost testify this same verity to them.

The priceless and incomparable blessing of the companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost comes to us only after we have been baptized into the Lord’s Church and have had authorized Priesthood holders place their hands upon our head and direct us to receive the Holy Ghost. This gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the chief blessings in mortality. It is this member of the Godhead who teaches us of Christ, gives us a testimony, guides us through life’s dark times, sanctifies us from sin, and prepares us to return to our Father in Heaven. I testify that, though I have at times ignored His soft voice, the Holy Spirit is a reality – a real Being whose sole mission is to testify of the Father and Son and bring us to Them.

I further give my witness of the divine origins of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This organization is the Lord’s true Church established again in our present day. The Savior established His Church when He was upon the earth and directed Peter, James, John, and His apostles to spread it to the world. This they faithfully did. However, both the historical and scriptural records are painfully clear that the Lord’s Church, after just a couple generations, went astray and ceased to bear the divine stamp of approval.

The New Testament is full of warnings about impending apostasy. Paul warned that there would be a “falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). Peter, the Lord’s chief apostle, testified that there would be “false teachers” in the Church which would preach “damnable heresies” and lead the Saints into error (2 Peter 2:1-3). Even in Old Testament times prophets foresaw the future and noted that there would a mass apostasy from the truth. Amos, for instance, prophesied:

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

“And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11-12).

The martyrdom of Peter

The apostasy happened as predicted. The wayward Christians “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). The Lord’s apostles were tragically martyred, ending the chain of Priesthood authority needed to perform vital saving ordinances like baptism. The lack of authorized prophets ended the flow of formal revelation between the resurrected Redeemer and His Church.

As unbelief and false ideologies ensnared the Saints and the prophets were killed one-by-one, the Lord’s Church ceased to exist. Because there were no prophets to speak in the name of the Lord and expound correct doctrine, the Lord’s simple teachings became confused, perverted, and mixed with pagan traditions. All of these things made necessary a full restoration of the Priesthood, prophets, and the organization of the true Church.

From the beginning of man, whenever the Lord has had dealings with us, He has operated through prophets. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Lord called a man to be a prophet when He saw the time was right to restore His Church. The young man whom He called was named Joseph Smith. This humble Christian was searching for the true Church when he took the advice found in James 1:5 and prayed to know the answer to his problem.

The Father of us all responded to Joseph Smith in a powerful, unprecedented manner. The Father, accompanied by the Son of God and the palpable power of the Holy Ghost, appeared to the fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith as he knelt in humble prayer in a now sacred grove of trees in New York state. Joseph Smith asked the Heavenly Beings which church He should join. The Savior answered that Joseph should join none of them because they had all perverted His Gospel. Joseph was informed that he was to be the instrument in the Lord’s hands to restore His ancient Church, complete with its powers and Priesthoods and doctrines.

Throughout the years, a large number of skeptics have mocked Joseph Smith for his account of this monumental vision. They have mocked him for claiming to be a prophet called of the Almighty to establish a Church and bring forth scripture and declare doctrine and prophesy with the authoritative words “thus saith the Lord. . .” Yet, notwithstanding the skeptics and all their spurious, hate-filled books and films and pamphlets attempting to demonstrate that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a liar, the Spirit confirms the truth to honest truth-seekers. And the truth is, as confirmed to my soul, that Brother Joseph was a good man, a man chosen of the Lord, a prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ. I honor and revere his name and happily bear witness of his calling as prophet of God and restorer of Christ’s Church.

The Prophet Joseph Smith defended himself and his vision of God the Father and His Son in these words:

“I soon found . . . that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me. . . .

“However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.

“So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation” (Joseph Smith History 1:22, 24-25).

Watch a film about Joseph Smith’s remarkable life and mission here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xVw6PsSinI&t=2476s

What integrity and sincerity! I find in Joseph Smith a pure heart and noble motives. The Savior told us to judge a man by his fruit. If we apply this to the Prophet Joseph Smith, we must judge that he was a true Christian who did good, served his fellow man, promoted goodness and righteousness, condemned evil and spoke against corruption, and spent his short life bearing witness of truth.

Joseph’s sincerity is not to be doubted for, in the final equation, he refused to recant his testimony and was murdered alongside his brother for it. No man would suffer so much and give so much for a lie. There are much easier ways to become rich, famous, and powerful, if that was truly his intention. Yet, I declare my witness that Joseph Smith was a thoroughly good man who did more to uplift and elevate humanity than any man since Jesus Christ. Much of his work is embodied in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which, through God’s Priesthood authority bestowed upon his head by the hands of angels and resurrected beings, he restored to the world.

Apart from a life of Christian service and love, the Prophet Joseph Smith left us tangible proof of his divine call to be a prophet and restore the Savior’s Church. He left us The Book of Mormon. Most people who reject and condemn The Book of Mormon do so without ever having seriously examined the book and without having sincerely prayed about its authenticity. The Book of Mormon is a book of scripture similar to the Bible. It does not replace or do away with the Bible and it certainly doesn’t contradict the Bible when the Bible is properly interpreted and understood. Together with the Bible, The Book of Mormon bears witness of Jesus Christ and confirms His true doctrines. The two witnesses have become “one” in the Lord’s hand, as Ezekiel foresaw (Ezekiel 37:16-19).

See Ezekiel 37:16-19

Whereas the Bible is a collection of writings and revelations from Hebrew prophets living in the Old World, The Book of Mormon is a compilation of writings made by ancient Israelite prophets living in America. They lived on this very land, a land which the Lord has declared to be a Promised Land “choice above all others” (Ether 2:10). It was America that was the location of the Garden of Eden and many other historical events. It is a chosen and special land that has been inhabited for millennia by peoples specifically brought here by the hand of God. These ancient peoples had prophets and were led by the voice of Jehovah Himself. The culminating event among one of these peoples – the Nephite people – was a visitation by the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ after His Ascension in the Holy Land.

A 1960 publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says this of The Book of Mormon:

“The Book of Mormon tells the same truths about God and His work that are told in the Bible, though in many cases in a more simple and plain way. . . .

“Jesus is the central figure of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Everything was written to emphasize His mission as Redeemer and Savior of the world. While the Nephites were camped at the Red Sea, three days’ journey from Jerusalem, Nephi saw in vision many of the great events that would happen down to our own time. Most importantly, however, was his vision of Jesus. Nephi saw Him as a babe in Mary’s arms. He saw Him as a man baptized by John in the Jordan River. Nephi saw Jesus with the twelve apostles going among the people healing their sick and ministering comfort and consolation to all alike. Finally, Nephi saw Jesus crucified on the cross for the sins of all men. All this happened in Palestine just as Nephi saw it in vision six hundred years earlier.

“The Book of Mormon picks up the message and story of Jesus right where the Bible ends. It tells of His visits to America after his resurrection in Jerusalem. It tells how Jesus organized His Church among the Nephites with apostles at the head just as He had done in Palestine. To the Nephites He proclaimed the same principles of salvation, faith, repentance and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins as they are taught in the New Testament. He blessed little children and said they need no baptism because they are innocent and already free from sin. Like the Bible, the Book of Mormon foretells the coming of Christ in the last days to reign personally upon the earth.

“The great message of the Book of Mormon, then, is the same as that of the Bible; that Jesus lives and is the author of salvation to all who will believe and follow Him” (M. Lynn Bennion and J.A. Washburn, History of the Restored Church, 18-19).

The Book of Mormon is, without any question, my favorite book. I have learned more from this one 500-page volume of scripture than all the other books I have ever read combined. There is a true power in The Book of Mormon. The Spirit resides in its sacred pages. It testifies of Christ at nearly every turn. It refers to the wondrous Atonement dozens of times and explains its doctrine in a pure and simple manner. It explains the nature of man’s Fall, the necessity of a Savior, the reality of the Savior Jesus Christ, the truthfulness of the Atonement, and testifies that salvation only comes through the Lamb of God.

A particularly powerful passage from The Book of Mormon expels any thought that the book is not a Christian book. The ancient prophet Nephi proclaimed:

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

“Wherefore, we speak concerning the law [of Moses] that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away.

“. . . the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.

“And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out” (2 Nephi 25:26-29).

Yes, Jesus is the Christ! The Book of Mormon brings people to Christ. It points its readers’ minds and hearts to the Redeemer. It encourages us to keep the commandments, to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name, to meet together to worship the Lord, to love God and our fellow man, to sustain the Bible as God’s word, to sustain the prophets which the Lord sends among us, to gain a personal witness of truth for ourselves rather than relying upon the words of men, and a thousand other useful and correct things. I love The Book of Mormon!

If The Book of Mormon is not true, then everything I have testified of is a lie. But The Book of Mormon is true. I know this because the Spirit has confirmed it to my mind, heart, and spirit on numerous occasions. I can stand before the world and declare the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon, the integrity of the Prophet Joseph Smith who translated it from an ancient record, and the importance of the book’s message.

One of the most important messages of The Book of Mormon is to warn us of Satanic threats to Freedom. My second book, Red Gadiantons, is partially devoted to explaining these prophetic warnings of secret conspiracies that anciently existed and which the past prophets saw would exist in our day and threaten the overthrow of the world. Elder Hans Verlan Andersen, a past General Authority of my Church, stated:

“It appears that one of the main purposes of the Lord in giving us the Book of Mormon was to warn us against destroying ourselves through the adoption of Satan’s form of government. Two mighty civilizations were destroyed on this land choice above all other lands and the cause of destruction was the same in each case – the corruption of the government by wickedness” (Hans Verlan Andersen, Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen, 64).

In modern times, prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have warned that the ancient record is true – a Satanic conspiracy bent on mankind’s destruction does exist. They have identified this Satanic conspiracy as communism. Much of my life’s work has been devoted to fighting communism for this very purpose. More to the point, when I was twelve years old I received a personal witness from the Holy Ghost that communism was not dead and the Soviet Union never collapsed, as the world assumed, and that communism remained the greatest threat to the world.

That knowledge fired my soul and I have worked endlessly to open people’s eyes to the truth I learned through the Spirit and have confirmed by thorough research and my experience living in Russia as a missionary. It is not merely a point of speculation, but a part of my actual knowledge that communism is the wickedest and most powerful enemy facing mankind and that it will consume us if we do not actively oppose it.

Captain Moroni waving his Title of Liberty

The Book of Mormon not only discusses the workings and goals of Satan’s secret conspiracies, but provides a vibrant account of the antidote to its spiritual and political poison. My hero from The Book of Mormon is a great warrior called Captain Moroni. Moroni single-handedly saved his nation from defeat and subjugation in a series of bloody wars. It was this great man who rallied his people. He did so with a slogan he called the Title of Liberty. It read: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” (Alma 46:12).

This Title of Liberty was hoisted upon every tower and loudly proclaimed throughout the land. Captain Moroni and his army fought valiantly to secure the Freedom of their people. They fought to defend the free government God had given to them and the right of the people, under that government, to make their laws and select their own leaders. It is a free government supported and defended by a righteous, Christian populace that has the power to thwart the machinations of evil individuals like modern communists.

The account of Captain Moroni and his fellow Freedom Fighters is inspiring. I draw tremendous strength from it. One of Moroni’s most trusted generals was a man named Teancum. One day, I wish it will be said of me what it was said of him upon his gut-wrenching death: “[H]e had been a man who had fought valiantly for his country, yea, a true friend to liberty” (Alma 62:37). It has always been one of my highest aspirations to be like the Nephite Freedom Fighters Captain Moroni, Teancum, Lehi, and Lachoneus. I intend to do my utmost to see that the flame of Freedom is never extinguished and that my own countrymen look to God, their religion, their Freedom, their peace, their wives, and their children and do whatever it takes to preserve them.

I bear my witness of Freedom. It is an eternal principle. The Lord is more interested in extending the blessings of Freedom than any mortal who ever lived. His Atonement and sacrifice for us is the ultimate defense of Freedom. It represents Freedom from the grave, Freedom from sin when we repent, Freedom from despair as we turn our hearts to Him, and so forth. As Paul told us, we have “been called unto liberty.” Because of this, we ought to “stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” (Galatians 5:1, 13). Freedom – the most precious word in the English language!

To ensure Freedom in these last days of turmoil when Satan rages upon the earth making war against the Saints, the Lord inspired a group of men to establish a free country and Constitution. I bear my witness that the Founding Fathers of the United States were humble men of faith and goodness, that they were inspired by the Almighty to break away from tyrannical Britain and establish a free Republic, and that the Holy Spirit rested upon them and inspired them in crafting the Constitution. I revere the Constitution and consider it equally valid as any declaration of holy scripture. It is part of my religion. The principles of Liberty are part and parcel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

In modern revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord declared that He inspired the Constitution. He specifically commanded His followers to importune for a redress of their grievances through the appointed Constitutional method, or:

“According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;

“That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.

“Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.

“And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:77-80).

The Lord Himself established the Constitution. He did it to ensure the Freedom of “all flesh.” He wants us to be free and to be accountable for our own choices. The Constitution, when correctly administered and interpreted, provides exactly this. So correct and important are the provisions of the U.S. Constitution that the Lord also revealed that anything “more or less” than them “cometh of evil.” Specifically, He revealed:

“And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

“Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;

“And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil” (Doctrine and Covenants 98:5-7).

If at times I seem fanatically devoted to the Constitution and the men who crafted it, it is because it is part of my religion. I can witness of the truthfulness of the Constitution’s principles and of the integrity of the Founding Fathers as strongly and confidently as I can witness that Jesus is the Christ. I will die before I recant that testimony. As I live, it is true. And I will spend my days promoting the principles of the Lord’s Constitution, come what may.

President Russell M. Nelson

Though I brushed upon it earlier, I want to stress that I have an emphatic, burning testimony that there are literal, living prophets in our midst today – men like Moses, Abraham, Elijah, and Peter who receive revelation for mankind in the name of the Lord and who hold the same Priesthood authority to direct the affairs of the Savior’s Church in our day. The most powerful witness I have ever received from the Holy Spirit in fact is the witness that prophets again walk the earth. I witness and testify that this is true.

At the present time, the man called of Christ to be the earthly president of His Church, and the man who holds the office of prophet, seer, and revelator for the world, is Russell M. Nelson. The Spirit reconfirms the truth that we have a living prophet whenever I hear him speak. I am so incredibly grateful to know – and I again declare that I know it with all my soul – that there is a prophet on earth. He is a man I can look to for sure guidance, wisdom, and inspired counsel. He is the Lord’s mouthpiece on earth – our captain and president. The entire world would benefit immeasurably from knowing and heeding the words of the Lord’s modern prophets, including President Russell M. Nelson.

I close my witness by repeating my unshakeable testimony of Jesus Christ. In Him all my faith and hope center. He is the Son of God. He lives as a perfected, resurrected, exalted Being of flesh and bone. He offered His own blood for a sacrifice in order to appease justice and grant you and me a chance to repent. This Atonement is the greatest event ever to transpire on this or any other world created by the hand of our Master. Through repentance and obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel, we can receive His mercy and forgiveness, our wounds can be healed, our hearts can be changed, our families can be strengthened, and our world can be transformed.

By calling upon our Heavenly Father in Christ’s holy name, we can receive answers to our most pressing prayers and perplexing questions. Yes, we can even receive a firm personal witness through the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Messiah! With this witness etched in your soul, nothing can ever come between you and the Savior. I love Him and testify of Him and His present work to gather, save, and free mankind, in His sacred name. Amen.

Zack Strong,

August 4, 2019.

Click the following link to watch a well-made series about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bible-videos/videos?lang=eng

Minimum Wage Madness

Posted on August 2, 2019 by zeev1776

“The economic folly of the living wage/minimum wage nonsense is as plain as day to anyone with eyes to see.” – Mark Hendrickson, “Is The Federal Minimum Wage Unconstitutional?” The Blaze, February 5, 2016.

As socialism tragically surges in popularity among the American People, calls for a mandatory minimum wage become louder and more fanatical. Proponents claim that setting a minimum wage helps workers and, thus, the general economy. In truth, a mandatory minimum wage is one of the most damaging economic policies ever devised. More importantly, a mandatory minimum wage is immoral and unconstitutional. This article explains why a mandatory minimum wage is not only economically hazardous, but unethical and unconstitutional.

Economics 101 dictates that the entire concept of a mandatory minimum wage is anathema to economic growth. A set minimum wage leads to economic ruin, not growth. This is common sense. One need only apply basic logic to the question to uncover why a minimum wage can only harm an economy.

A mandatory minimum wage establishes the minimum salary an employer may legally pay his workers. What happens when a business cannot afford to pay all of its workers the increased mandatory wage? Three basic things can happen in this scenario: 1) The business will fire some of its workers because it cannot pay them; 2) the business will close its doors because it cannot meet its obligations; or 3) the business will raise its prices to cope with the sudden mandatory increase in wages, thus shifting the burden to the consumer.

The first two scenarios result in more people being out of work. A person out of work earns $0 an hour. By my calculations, zero is less than $7.25 (the current federal minimum wage) or any other alternative amount. For those fired because their employers cannot afford to pay a mandatory minimum wage, the concept is nothing short of disastrous.

Some of the laid-off workers will of course find new jobs. However, others might be forced to move to another city or commute longer distances, thus burning up more resources for gas, car maintenance, etc., and wasting precious time. And still others might end up on government welfare living off of the tax dollars of other American workers, placing an unnecessary and unfair burden upon them.

At any rate, dictating a minimum wage turns upside-down the lives of numerous people and businesses – the exact opposite of what proponents claim will happen. And even in the best-case scenario noted above, the customers suffer by paying more for their goods. The New American reported in 2016:

“Employment data now coming in from six U.S. cities that have mandated increases in the minimum wage are proving a basic economic law: When the price or cost of something increases, less of it will be demanded.”

Naturally, many customers will stop shopping at these establishments because they cannot afford it. This leaves the businesses in a bind and much more likely to close or downsize. As The New American stated, this is a basic economic cause-and-effect law. It is economics 101. No minimum wage decree can or will work (and, as will be discussed later, it is immoral to mandate one).

Sometimes people support a minimum wage hike because they have fallen for the propaganda that “the 1%” have plenty of money and just aren’t sharing it with workers who “deserve it.” It is a common fallacy to believe that businesses have lots of extra cash just lying around that they could give their employees if they weren’t so greedy. Not so. A 2015 report noted that “the majority of small businesses in the United States barely break even. Out of 28 million small businesses in the United States, 22 million are breaking even. That’s right. Only 6 million of the small businesses in the United States are profitable.”

How are these small businesses – the backbone of our economy – going to pay their employees so much extra money if they are already barely breaking even? The reality is that they will not be able to. They will, as noted, close, downsize, or dramatically raise prices. It’s a no-win situation.

Restaurants Unlimited, a national restaurant chain based out of Seattle, filed for bankruptcy this July, citing as a major factor minimum wage laws. This development came on the heels of the company closing six of its restaurants. In its statement, the company blasted minimum wage laws: “Over the past three years, the company’s profitability has been significantly impacted by progressive wage laws along the Pacific coast that have increased the minimum wage.”

In Emeryville, California, a 2015 minimum wage mandate has similarly wreaked havoc on the local economy. A recent news report stated:

“The ‘Fight for $15’ campaign blazed through Emeryville in 2015. While even activists expressed contentment with the adoption of a regional minimum wage model that established a ‘path’ to $15, the then city council pursued its highest-in-the-nation ‘living wage’ model.

“They argued that this would reduce poverty levels by eliminating reliance on government programs, low-wage earners would be able to live closer to their jobs and an economic ‘multiplier effect’ where these earners would offset any loss in business by contributing back to the local economy.

“Supporters dismissed threats of job loss, impact on youth employment, reduced shifts and increased automation as ‘bluff’ by business owners. . . .”

The article cited a recent study from the Mills College Lokey School that “confirmed” the fears of those initially warning of the detrimental effects of the wage hike. While some new businesses have opened in Emeryville since the law went into effect, many have closed while those that remain have been forced to increase prices. Many consumers have altered their spending habits to offset the price increases brought on by the minimum wage laws. And of those new business that have been fortunate enough to open, the report stated:

“It’s notable that nearly all the new businesses that have opened have embraced the counter service model that requires fewer employees . . . Counter service models require fewer employees to offset higher labor costs.”

A final statement revealing what minimum wage increases do to the finances of a business is noteworthy:

“One of the most outspoken full-service restaurants has been Townhouse General Manager Jeffrey Kroeber. Kroeber has warned the council for years that the wage scale was unsustainable for his business and that every $1 increase led to a $200,000 increase in their payroll. A payroll increase that would have to be offset by a $650-$700K increase in sales to maintain margins. “If we don’t have a profit margin that makes it viable for us, we’ll leave,” he explained.”

A Forbes report from 2017 documented numerous businesses that have closed due to minimum wage increases. Some of these businesses include Almost Perfect Books in Roseville, California, Abbot’s Cellar in San Francisco, and Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn, New York. Other businesses mentioned were forced to flee high minimum wage states like Washington and California for states with low minimum wage. One wonders where they will flee if a federal minimum wage increase comes down the pipe.

The Forbes article also noted that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest-growing union in North America, had at that point spent $90 million on propaganda supporting a $15 minimum wage mandate. Isn’t it interesting that a union, a group supposedly created for the benefit of workers, supports an economically ruinous policy like a mandatory minimum wage, and that it is willing to spend $90 million to persuade people it is beneficial?

Isn’t it also interesting that the Communist Party USA was known to have infiltrated the 1199 New York branch of the SEIU? The CPUSA, of course, fully supports a federally mandated minimum wage. A news report from 2011 observed the connection between the SEIU and the Communist Party:

“Like two peas in a pod, unionists and Communists get along just find these days. Not just any union mind you, the union that President Obama so readily identifies with and was proud to have worked with. . . .

“Not only did the SEIU help to organize the [May Day] rally in conjunction with communists, they marched side-by-side with communists, while union members carried communist flags, communists carried union signs, and altogether there was no real way to tell the two apart.”

The connections between the SEIU, President Obama, and communist organizations of all types are well-established. It should raise major red flags when the communists support any proposal, policy, or organization. Those who back a mandatory minimum wage law and minimum wage hike might pause and reflect that they are in league with the communists, Barack Obama, and communist president FDR who ushered in the minimum wage.

Today, a host of Democratic Party presidential candidates advocate a federal minimum wage hike and greater government involvement in the economy. Bolshevik Bernie Sanders certainly endorses the idea. In his revolting book Our Revolution, Bernie spent several pages lying about the supposed benefits of a minimum wage. Here is a snippet:

“Millions of Americans work for totally inadequate wages. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage. It must be raised. The minimum wage must become a living wage – which means raising it to $15 an hour by 2020 and indexing it into the future. . . .

“The truth is that states that raised the minimum wage in 2014 experienced faster job growth than those that did not. And a higher minimum wage boosts consumer spending” (Sanders, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In, 218, 222).

Bernie Sanders, whose initials are appropriately BS, is a liar. As an old Soviet from long ago, Bernie knows that the minimum wage does not help businesses, does not promote economic growth, and absolutely hurts consumers. Yet, he and his allies in the Communist Party and Democratic Party want to jack the federal minimum wage up by nearly double to $15! This would destroy our national economy, putting thousands upon thousands of small businesses out of business.

Please keep in mind whenever you hear people advocate a minimum wage that the minimum wage scheme is part and parcel of the communist plan to take down the U.S. economy and has the hearty support of traitors like Bernie Sanders. As one article put it, the “leading Leftists seem to blindly follow the well-worn blueprints of internal destruction.” In pushing for a minimum wage – and an increased minimum wage at that – the “leftists” in our nation are taking us to the brink of economic catastrophe.

The above are only a few of thousands of real-life examples of businesses – even large business chains – which have gone out of business directly because of minimum wage laws. The website Facesof15 documents many more cases of businesses closing, moving, or downsizing because of the mandatory minimum wage drive – destroying the claims of the Bernie Sanderses among us. Yet despite the mass of evidence, the crowds continue their delirious chant for a mandatory minimum wage, apparently not thinking about or understanding the consequences. Their eyes see only dollar signs, yet they fail to realize that in the long run everyone will have less green in their wallets because of minimum wage laws.

When you see someone – a political candidate, a professor, a media personality, or whomever – advocate a mandatory minimum wage or a “living wage,” you know that that person either has zero economic sense or wishes harm to our Republic. Whether they promote a minimum wage hike because of ignorance of maliciousness makes no difference in the end – the consequences will be disastrously the same, especially for the poor. The U.S. economy literally cannot afford a federally mandated minimum wage hike.

As important as the fact that a mandatory minimum wage harms businesses and hurts the overall economy is, it is only is a secondary reason we should oppose the idea. Of far more importance are the moral and legal reasons why we cannot afford to institute a mandatory minimum wage.

Morally speaking, is it right to steal a person’s money? Is it just to steal a business’s wealth? It is correct to rob an employer of his profits and give them to his workers by the force of law? Is wealth redistribution an ethical or moral idea? The answer to each of these questions is the same: NO.

A mandatory minimum wage is nothing but theft. Perhaps indirect theft, like taxation, but theft nonetheless. This is so because the law forces one person to give his money to another or else suffer negative consequences. It is highway robbery to deprive a restaurant owner, for instance, of his livelihood by forcing him to give his money to his workers – workers, mind you, who willingly agreed to work for the wage they are currently receiving and who are not entitled to receive one cent more.

It is a dastardly thing to suggest we use the force of law to redistribute wealth from one segment of the population (employers) to another (employees). It is morally reprehensible to take from one person his property and give it to another without the consent of the person losing it. That is communism, folks. And just like communism, minimum wage laws should be abolished.

A minimum wage hike is also problematic in terms of legality. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land and all laws, federal, state, or local, must conform to it. Does the Constitution give authority to Congress – the body responsible for making laws – to take money from one segment of the population and give it to another? Is Congress empowered to fix the level of wages at a given point? Where, pray tell, does the Constitution say that the American People gave the government the right to take money from one person without his consent and give it to another? I fail to see where the Constitution authorizes our representatives to dictate how we run our businesses and how much we pay our employees.

I do not see it in the Constitution because it is not there! Such a provision does not exist. The right of private property was sacred to our Founding Fathers. They knew that there is no Liberty without the right to control private property (hence the reason the anti-Liberty communists seek to “abolish” private property). Property does not refer merely to land or structures. One’s assets, money, wealth, etc., are part of his “property.” Employers should be able to do with their property what they want, including pay their employees however much they choose. When we deprive businesses of their right to pay employees the wage they agree upon with the employee, we steal, in a measure, their Liberty, and infringe upon their property rights.

Isn’t it time we woke up to reality? Reality doesn’t care about your feelings – it hits you hard and fast whether you believe it in or not. And the reality is that mandating a minimum wage harms the economy (especially small businesses), violates the Constitution which defends our private property rights, and is inherently immoral.

Considering the economic infeasibility, unconstitutionality, and immorality of the mandatory minimum wage concept, isn’t it time we abandoned it? Will we abandon this failed idea or will we continue to play into the communists’ hands? They want nothing more than to wreck our economy and bring us to our knees. Will we allow them to do so simply because we see with our feelings and not with reason, logic, and evidence? While having a few extra bucks seems like a good thing, isn’t it a better thing to keep our economy afloat and let what’s left of our free enterprise system work?

As society has embraced socialist economics – a national bank, inflation, high taxes, high regulation, minimum wage laws, so-called anti-discrimination hiring laws, etc., – our economy has plummeted. By contrast, when we followed the Constitution, kept government out of our economic affairs, and possessed a truly free enterprise system, our economy boomed and helped produce the greatest, wealthiest, most powerful nation in the history of the world. So which future do we want – a Jacksonian era of prosperity and Liberty or a Stalinist nightmare of poverty and slavery? The choice is ours. And the mandatory minimum wage issue is a litmus test for where we stand on the broader question of individual Liberty.

Zack Strong,

August 2, 2019.

Please view the following PragerU videos for quick breakdowns on the minimum wage.

“How Does the Minimum Wage Work?”

“What’s the Right Minimum Wage?”

The American Citadel

Defending our Faith, Families, and Freedom.

Monthly Archives: August 2019

To Be Prepared for War

Indispensable Men: George Washington

You Do NOT Determine My Rights

Communist Party USA at 100

Vaccine Tyranny

What I See Coming

My Witness of Christ

Minimum Wage Madness