House Upon The Sand

House Upon The Sand

By Mark C. Peterson - All Rights Reserved 2000



CHAPTER 1

REMEMBRANCE

Nothing is so certain as change, or as unchanging as human nature. For good, or for ill, I have experienced the veracity of this truth over the last several years. As the tumultuous sands of time shifted beneath these United States, I saw all I knew, or thought I knew, crumble, as our lives were forced to settle on the bedrock of truth. So I write this remembrance of all that which happened. The cascade of those events poignantly reminds me of two ancient prophets, and their words.



Moroni 9:12-15 "(And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people) But O my son, how can a people like this, whose delight is in so much abomination-How can we expect that God will stay his hand in judgment against us? Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face!"



Mormon 6:16-20 "And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return."



Words, just words. I had read them numerous times, but until now I had not felt the power of the emotions and reality behind these words. They were like some forgotten memories that bubbled up to the surface as these words came alive before my eyes. His words became my memories of a nation once great and good, kind and gentle, a nation once filled with people willing to sacrifice their very lives for God and their fellow man. That nation now is but a withering shadow of its former self. Mormon lamented for a Nephite civilization whose beautiful cities once covered his homeland, and for a people who once were cultured and civilized. He must have felt the weight and sorrow that comes from watching those you love turn from righteousness to a life of evil, a life that you know will destroy them. For him, that sorrow was magnified millions of times, for those who died were not just words, they were people he knew. They were friends and associates. They were children playing in the streets and women in the markets. They were people he once greeted in business and in church. They were the workers in the shops and in the fields, the soldiers in the military and yes, they were his family. Then they were gone, consumed by the consequences of the evil that they embraced.



Words, just words that now have come alive as I look with sorrow over a modern nation in ruins, a nation once filled with people whom I loved, a nation once filled with people who had also embraced evil. That nation has now been consumed away by the consequences of that evil. The historical verity for the consequences of sin to repeat themselves shows no regard for time, geography, technology or wealth. Now I too stand as a witness to the truth that not just people but also nations are held accountable for their sins. It is as though the destruction of America was some kind of a delayed time broadcast of the Nephite nation's demise, a kind of instant rerun 1600 years later.



Words, just words that now have become a shared memory with that great prophet from so long ago. But there is a difference. For Mormon the end was the total loss of all he knew, and then silence for 1400 years. For me the result is different. For me, out of the "ashes" a nation of righteousness even now is rising around me in these mountains. This time there will be no silence, for there are yet millions who love the Lord and are willing to serve Him. The tragedy is that their number represents such a small portion of what once was the United States of America.

Long ago DeTocqueville said that America was great because it was good, and so it was. Generally speaking, the golden threads of that goodness found themselves woven through the fabric of our country for several hundred years. Then some generations back, the arrogance of evil men began the systematic removal of that goodness and truth that had bound us together for so long. Strand by strand the strength of our national fabric was stripped bare, until the cloth that remained bore only the most superficial resemblance to its previous self. It had the appearance, but the substance was gone and so was its strength. Forgotten was the truth that strength and power are found in righteousness and a pure Christ-like love. Forgotten was the humble voice of gratitude from a once grateful nation that had looked to heaven for its guiding and protecting hand. Ignored were the words of almighty God who decreed that this land was a choice and a promised land, and that whatever nation should possess it must serve Christ or be swept off when they were ripe in iniquity. Ignored were the words of King Mosiah who warned that when the voice of the people would choose iniquity, they would be visited with great destruction.



Like the Nephites before us, we had become a perverse people, delighting in mischief, denying and rejecting the words of Christ, reveling in all manner of abominations, boasting in our own might and wealth, taking advantage of one another and running after violence and sin. Our people and leaders actually came to think that their wealth and power came from their own wisdom, their own business acumen, and from their huge military might and clever political intrigues. Now that has failed and the wicked are gone or dying, and I feel to say as Mormon said, "Oh ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord... Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss." Words once ancient now are alive again, and all too real.



I am Clay Freeman. I have watched change after change wash over our country like successive tidal waves. Those changes have evolved from chaos, to tyranny, to war and invasion. Now, those destructive waters are receding.



The war is coming to an end. Soon the invaders will be gone, save those who begged to stay. Our reconnaissance is sending back sad but vivid pictures of a land filled with desolation. Each town they pass through, each city they explore is empty. The inhabitants are gone. The ferocious nature of the invasion is shown with each turn of the head. Bombed out buildings fill each city center. Block upon block of houses stand as forlorn witnesses of the cruel drama that had so recently been acted out on each street. Homes and businesses alike seem to mourn their masters, who once gave them life. Now they silently await an unknown future, their doors ajar and windows broken. Strewn about the streets and countryside are the decaying bodies of a once beautiful people, their fine and costly apparel now rent and stained. Everywhere, there are cars and trucks abandoned. The only things moving are the beasts of the forest, the roving packs of dogs and the fowls of the air. They have been feeding on the bodies of the dead. The stench of death wafts about, carried by the winds.



State by state, the reports indicate a startling fulfillment of the Lord's warning that all the evil people would be swept away in an overflowing scourge of destruction. Each search party is finding the same sad vista. Entire states now stand empty, devoid of human inhabitants. This same story is being found up and down the West Coast, throughout the Midwest and South, and along the East Coast. The stated purpose of the Alliance Army, which was to destroy the U.S. population, has been achieved with unimaginable completeness. Who would have thought that they could be that thorough? I will tell more later.



The great economic strength of our country now sits idle. The farmlands grow only wildflowers and grass. The factories are quiet, except for the buzzing of flies and the scurrying feet of mice. Shopping centers, convenience stores and malls bear mute witness to the wanton looting and vandalism that swept through them, only to leave them desolate and rejected once the mobs had what they wanted. The great investment houses, commodity markets and stock exchanges, all stand in startling silence, like ancient temples recently vacated by their disillusioned worshipers who suddenly realized that their gods were false. The once brilliant lights of the cities, that brightly flaunted their defiance against the night, are gone, revealing a glittering sky filled with stars. Power plants, great and small, no longer work, but seem to sit in fitful sleep awaiting someone to wake them. Everywhere, the promise of America seems in ruins. Only in the western mountains is that promise still shining, and it is getting brighter by the day.



Truly, America is a land of promise, established by the loving hand of an almighty God. He decreed that whosoever lived here must worship him in righteousness, and then he promised that if they would do this, he would bless them with freedom and prosperity. That freedom and prosperity was poured out in abundance upon the heads of our founding fathers. They had streamed across the Atlantic Ocean in search of religious and political freedom, and they found it. That freedom grew, fitfully at first, but then it began to coalesce into a need for independence that found its greatest bloom in the Constitution. The oppressive and paternalistic hand of government was finally gone. The full breath of freedom invigorated our infant nation and it flourished, both spiritually and physically, as our forefathers sought to follow Christ and make their own fortunes. The expediency of self-interest in a moral and self-reliant people created a panorama of prosperity that dazzled the eyes of people all over the world.



Then a change began. The seductive voices of self-appointed intellects began to disparage the political wisdom of our founding fathers and the divine wisdom of Christ. The oppressive and paternalistic hand of government again began to creep in, only now it was not coming from a monarchy in England, it was being fashioned right here in America, in our own halls of power and finance. Like some deadly virus that spreads ever so slowly at first, it grew. Each change was so small that surely no one would object, and, of course, each change was for our "good," and was done in the name of social justice and fairness. The philosophy of socialism and social psychology was the vehicle whereby evil men set themselves up as our leaders and caretakers.



Their arrogance knew no bounds, as they said they knew better than the average citizen of this country about how to run our economy, our government, our education system, our media and our homes.



These evil men hated the Constitution, for it hindered their grab for power, but they knew the people of America would not easily give it up. So, in the name of creating a "living" Constitution, these evil ones designed a way to "redefine" the Constitution. With lies and deceptions they cut one piece of truth after another out of the cloth our founding fathers had woven so carefully. The powers of the government were expanded ever so slowly, even as the liberties of the people were stolen away. Incrementalism, they called it. Do it in small bits, they said, and the people will accept it, never realizing where all these "little" changes were going. Vast tracts of land were put under government control. A central bank was created that was privately owned. A tax system was established that would allow for the confiscation of income to pay for the socialist programs. The government claimed the need to control the education system, so that a subtle propaganda program could be created that would turn our children away from the truths of the founding fathers and Christ, and lead them toward a humanistic and socialistic system. A need to remove Christ from government, education and public life would be falsely pushed on the public in the name of Thomas Jefferson. These evil men claimed the government had a responsibility to protect us at every turn, even as they increasingly interfered in our homes and families. They redefined what was good for our children, and callously destroyed many families who disagreed with them.



On and on these changes went until the philosophy of socialism and social psychology had contaminated every aspect of American life. Over time the public allowed itself to be seduced by the fervent but false promises of the paternalistic attitude of government, which claimed to serve all, but in reality only served itself. The more these leaders claimed to care about us and feel our pain, the more they used the masses to achieve their own goals, enslaving them in the process. Even as these evil ones drained the country of its wealth by excessive taxation, they threw some scraps back to the people. These scraps, however, were entangled with so many strings that the population of the country soon found itself tied in on every side with laws, regulations and bureaucrats. Soon the burden was so great that the back of the economy was broken. This catastrophe was greatly magnified by the spiritual bankruptcy of the country.



The people in this great land of promise now had broken the divine mandate that governs this continent. Generally, they were no longer righteous and were actively rejecting Christ and his commandments. Twice before, in past millennia, great civilizations had arisen on this land, only to turn to evil and finally be destroyed. There is a second part to God's promise for this chosen continent. It says that if the people should turn away from Christ, and become ripe in iniquity, they will be destroyed. God has decreed that no evil civilization would be allowed to continue here forever, and so it was, and so it is now. There is an allegory that perhaps expresses this more clearly.



ALLEGORY OF THE MANSION

There was a landlord who built a beautiful mansion on his choicest piece of land. Of all his properties it was the finest, and so he said, "I will save this mansion and land for my most faithful children." And he set up a strict and unbreakable lease with the property, that whosoever lived there must honor him and take care of the mansion and keep it in good repair, or they would be destroyed. So he sent some of his most faithful children to live there. He told them that they could live there as long as they obeyed the lease that he had set up with the property. For a long time they honored the lease and lived happily. Then they began to damage the mansion and left it in disrepair. The landlord sent some of his servants to warn his children that they must obey the lease or they would be destroyed. These rebellious children ignored his warnings and killed his servants. Soon they became angry one with another and divided into two groups, and ended up killing all within the mansion. This grieved the landlord, but he desired still the use of this choice place. So he cleansed and repaired the mansion, and sent others of his children to live at the property. They, too, were told of the strict and unbreakable lease. For a time, this second group of his children honored the lease and lived happily. Then they, too, began to damage the mansion and leave it in disrepair. So he sent some of his servants to warn this second group of children that they must obey the lease or something bad would occur, but these children also ignored his warnings, and killed his servants. Soon, they also divided into two groups and began fighting among themselves. In time, half of these children died from the fighting. This time, the landlord evicted the remaining half of his children from the mansion. He forced them to live in the shed behind the mansion where they suffered greatly. Now he said "these my faithful children have disregarded my choice property, so I will give it to strangers." So, for the second time, he cleansed and repaired his mansion. Then he sent for the strangers to come and live in the mansion. After a short time, the landlord called a third group of his faithful children from a far country to come and live in the mansion with the strangers. His children told the strangers of the landlord's lease, and admonished them to honor it. They told the strangers that the lease was strict and unbreakable. For a time, the strangers and this third group of his children, lived happily in the mansion. They obeyed the lease. Then some of the strangers began to damage the mansion and leave it in disrepair. They also invited foreigners in who knew not the landlord. In their pride, these strangers and foreigners now said to themselves, "we have not seen the landlord for a long time. Therefore, let us kill his children and take this choice property for ourselves." So they plotted. The landlord knew of their great evil, so he sent some of his servants to warn these people that they must obey the lease or they would be destroyed, but these evil ones ignored the warning and killed some of his servants. Sadly, half of the landlords children in the third group joined the evil men. Gladly, a small group of the strangers listened to the landlord's servants and repented and joined with the still faithful children of the landlord. Now for the third time, the inhabitants of the mansion were divided into two groups, a larger group plotting to seize the mansion, and a smaller group trying to honor the lease. At this time, the remnant of the landlord's children from the second group, who had been living in the shed, humbled themselves and asked the landlord to forgive them, and let them live in the mansion again. The landlord saw their humility, that it was genuine and permanent, and so he said, "Yes, you may live in the mansion again. But first, we must cleanse the mansion of all the evil strangers and foreigners who plot against me and my righteous children." The landlord waited until the evil ones began persecuting his righteous children. He knew this would strengthen his faithful children and reveal those who were not worthy of remaining in the mansion. At this point, before the plot of the evil ones could be fully carried out, the landlord called forth his many servants from a far and armed them with power. He also armed his righteous children in the mansion, and those in the shed, with power. Now his servants and righteous children came together. They destroyed the evil ones. Then the landlord burned the choice property to rid it of the corruption that the evil ones had caused, and he rebuilt his mansion and gave it over to his faithful children from the second and third groups, along with the few faithful strangers. They lived happily in the mansion.



As the allegory foretold, the wicked are almost gone in America. Righteousness has finally returned and is now found in every aspect of life, from our families, to our businesses, to our schools, to our churches, and finally to our government. Our prosperity has returned and soon we will go back and begin building the New Jerusalem. I look forward to seeing my children and grandchildren grow up and live in this new era. Things are becoming so good now that it is helping our memories and images of the recent destructions and sorrows to fade away. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me go back and start from the beginning of the trouble, before the time of great sorrow gripped the nation.