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Praise the Lord for mandates?
announcement to rs_public
Praise the Lord for mandates,
mandates, and more mandates!!
Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress
NEWSLETTER
Volume 1 Number 13
February 28, 2002 8:00 pm MST
To: Full RSICC Membership and Friends
Mandates, mandates, mandates, and more mandates," Laura moans, as one
rule is stacked on another, one requirement on another during the formative stages of RSICC. Such
accumulation of restrictions [actually, it wasn't really nearly as bad as she made it sound] seems a
cruel paradox when the mission of the organization is to come up with a form of world government
that will protect freedom in an ideal way.
The Lord replies: "Blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my
gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth, and it shall bring
forth in its strength. And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with
COMMANDMENTS NOT A FEW, and with revelations in their time--they that are faithful and diligent
before me." (Doctrine and Covenants 59)
Freedom. What is freedom. Do commandments or rules or restrictions contradict freedom?
Does the string on the kite limit its freedom? yes it does. But it enables a greater freedom, to fly
high.
Do the rules of the road limit freedom? yes they do. But they enable an expanded freedom to drive
anywhere, even in crowded conditions, and be able to reach a destination, without utter chaos. (I'm
not implying that all the rules of the road are justified.)
Do the rules of mountain climbing limit freedom? yes they do. But they enable a larger freedom to
attain the summit.
When willfully accepted, such limits on freedom are not bondage, they enable us to reach a desired
destination.
Our aim at RSICC is high. There will be limitations to who we accept into membership; and we will
expect certain things from those who join us.
Without such restraints, we would not accomplish our objective but would be lost in chaos.
The Olympic athlete willfully submits him/herself to all kinds of rigorous "rules"
regarding diet, exercise, sleeping, not to mention all the parameters of the sport.
Is it a contradiction to freedom for a ballroom dance competition to require certain form, or for a
hockey game to have certain rules? Of course it is not.
What makes you think that we as a rigorous organization set out with a monumental task will not have
rules of form, restrictions on becoming a member, parameters within which to operate?
If we didn't have any, we would not go anywhere. The more we have and willfully agree to submit to,
the further we will be able to go, so long as their purpose is to steer us in the direction of our
goal.
You don't just wake up one day and say, "I'm going to go climb Mount Everest," and then
set out that very day to begin your ascent. Without training, and gear, and knowledge, and a team,
you would surely die. Is that freedom? Yes, you are free to die. But if you wish to accomplish your
objective, you willfully submit to the rules of what it takes to accomplish that objective.
Why should we be any different?
Freedom, separated from willful restraint, is chaos. Entropy. Black hole.
Freedom, combined with willful restraint, is creation. There are no limits to what you can
accomplish.
That is why church and state are ideally married, not utterly divorced. The utter divorce of
government and religion leads to the chaos end, because freedom is separated from willful restraint.
The unity of gospel and government, on the other hand, leads to unlimited accomplishment because
freedom is combined with willful restraint.
Hence the name Patriot Saints. Government and Gospel, working harmoniously together. The government
protects the freedom, and ensures that one person's violation of another person's freedom do not go
unanswered. The gospel then provides the basis for the willful restraints that enable one to attain
great heights of accomplishment.
Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress = those saints who are the tithe of the tithe, those who
are the most dedicated of the saints -- dedicated to the ideals of the gospel -- setting forth on a
mission of establishing a government to protect the freedoms of all mankind; with the understanding
that such freedom is to be most valued when it is combined with willful restraint as epitomized by
the gospel.
That is what we are about.
So yes, mandates, mandates, you can expect more and more mandates as we define who we are and what
we are about and how we are going to accomplish our objective.
We are not climbing the local hill for a picnic. We are going for Everest. An in our case, no one
has ever been there before, at least not on this earth.
Pack your gear and shape up. It's not going to be easy.
If you don't discipline yourself to the requirements of the journey, you jeopardize the entire
mission, and will need to be excused. We would love to have you along with us, but we cannot let you
do so if you will not comply with what it takes to accomplish the objective. You have freedom to
leave. That is freedom. You have freedom to stay. That is freedom. The choice is yours. Which
version of freedom will you opt for? Freedom with willful restraint for the accomplishment of lofty
purposes, or freedom with no restraint that leads to deterioration into utter oblivion?
You know what my decision is.
The summit.
If you want to come with, then you will need to do what it takes to get there.
Right now we are at base camp, getting geared up and acclimatized for the ascent. We have not yet
begun the ascent even. We are still getting things in shape. People like Joel and Greg and others of
us are like the advance team that have gone out ahead to scout out the terrain and provide
recommendations for how we should proceed. Our task is to review their recommendations and then
implement a course accordingly.
Once we begin the ascent, the further we go along, the less we can afford to have people out of line
with the purpose of our mission. That is why we need to have strong commitment going into this. It
has been fairly easy to come and go up to this point, and that is okay for base camp. But once we
begin the ascent, we need people to be firmly ready and dedicated to both the mission and the
requirements of the mission.
Those are the facts of it. Are you up to it? If so, then let us know. Don't just keep it to
yourself. We need to know if you stand with us and the requirements that will accompany this task.
I, Sterling D. Allan, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I support the development of a constitution
for the entire world as well as for nations, states and communities, that will protect the freedom
and fundamental rights of all mankind, and that I will encourage the responsibility required for a
person to thrive in this environment of freedom; that I will defend this cause against all enemies,
foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to this cause; that I take this
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and
faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which I am called to fulfill as my conscience
directs: So help me God.
Notice that I have added to this affirmation from yesterday's version. I added the part about
"and that I will encourage the responsibility required for a person to thrive in this
environment of freedom." The key word: responsibility. Responsibility demands willful
restraint. The gospel is the ideal tool for both engendering and enabling willful restraint.
Mandates, mandates, bring 'em on. Praise the Lord for mandates.
Sincerely,
Sterling D. Allan
===================
The above offering was in response to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rs_public/message/857
which was follow-up from
http://www.rsicc.org/Newsletter/2002/Feb27MrSmith_Affirmation.htm
and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rs_public/message/843
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