GatheringFamilies

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2020-11-13 17:33:45 -

It has been 400 years since the Pilgrims landed on the American Continent. They didn’t arrive as soldiers, or treasure hunters. They came as families, husbands, wives, sons and daughters; As well as extended family and close friends.
This isn’t the first time a family came to the American continent. The family of Jared came across the ocean on barges that were “tight like unto a dish”. And Lehi and Sariah’s family made their voyage on a ship. God needs family to build great nations. And the families mentioned above covenanted with God to help them do just that.
In the case of the families of Jared and Lehi, this covenant between God and family should have lasted forever. Unfortunately, as their descendants became less reliant on this sacred covenant, they looked for other human beings, kings, to take on the responsibility of covenant making and keeping in order to keep them safe. After all, when things don’t go right, it is much easier to complain to a king than it is to answer to God.
It’s ironic that the civilizations that the families of Jared and Lehi left behind followed the same pattern of turning to a human king. Because of this, they became the kind of societies that needed escaping. Which brings us back to the families of the Mayflower. They needed to escape a society that allowed kings to rule over their conscious, removing their families’ ability to covenant with God.
For the past 400 years, our nation has been growing, one covenant family at a time. Just like in previous American civilizations, modern families have been forgetting their covenant with God and are happily handing their freedom of conscience over to other human beings. We may not use the name, “king”, but the effect is the same. This is creating the same consequences as the nations of the past and we are losing our freedom of conscience at an exponential rate.
On this 400-year-anniversary of the families of the Mayflower landing on the American continent, today’s families are facing the possibility of not being able to “Gather together to ask the Lord’s blessings” with our extended family and friends. Those who look to other human beings to take responsibility for our covenants with God have allowed “kings” to rise up once again. These “kings” now hold in their hands the ability to keep their subjects from gathering to commemorate this 400th anniversary. This turn of events would be poetic if it were not so tragic.
Unlike the families of Jared, Lehi, and the Mayflower, we have nowhere to escape. Our homes have been a refuge of the storm for so long, and now the storm is at our very doors. Our only recourse is to return to our God, remember our covenant with Him, and pray for the hearts of our “kings” to be softened.
“Let thy congregation escape tribulation. Thy name be ever praised! Oh Lord, make us free!”
-Jenny Baker,
#GatheringFamilies #Come Home
(Art by Morgan Weistling)

It has been 400 years since the Pilgrims landed on the American Continent. They didn’t arrive as soldiers, or treasure hunters. They came as families, husbands, wives, sons and daughters; As well as extended family and close friends. This isn’t the first time a family came to the American continent. The family of Jared came across the ocean on barges that were “tight like unto a dish”. And Lehi and Sariah’s family made their voyage on a ship. God needs family to build great nations. And the families mentioned above covenanted with God to help them do just that. In the case of the families of Jared and Lehi, this covenant between God and family should have lasted forever. Unfortunately, as their descendants became less reliant on this sacred covenant, they looked for other human beings, kings, to take on the responsibility of covenant making and keeping in order to keep them safe. After all, when things don’t go right, it is much easier to complain to a king than it is to answer to God. It’s ironic that the civilizations that the families of Jared and Lehi left behind followed the same pattern of turning to a human king. Because of this, they became the kind of societies that needed escaping. Which brings us back to the families of the Mayflower. They needed to escape a society that allowed kings to rule over their conscious, removing their families’ ability to covenant with God. For the past 400 years, our nation has been growing, one covenant family at a time. Just like in previous American civilizations, modern families have been forgetting their covenant with God and are happily handing their freedom of conscience over to other human beings. We may not use the name, “king”, but the effect is the same. This is creating the same consequences as the nations of the past and we are losing our freedom of conscience at an exponential rate. On this 400-year-anniversary of the families of the Mayflower landing on the American continent, today’s families are facing the possibility of not being able to “Gather together to ask the Lord’s blessings” with our extended family and friends. Those who look to other human beings to take responsibility for our covenants with God have allowed “kings” to rise up once again. These “kings” now hold in their hands the ability to keep their subjects from gathering to commemorate this 400th anniversary. This turn of events would be poetic if it were not so tragic. Unlike the families of Jared, Lehi, and the Mayflower, we have nowhere to escape. Our homes have been a refuge of the storm for so long, and now the storm is at our very doors. Our only recourse is to return to our God, remember our covenant with Him, and pray for the hearts of our “kings” to be softened. “Let thy congregation escape tribulation. Thy name be ever praised! Oh Lord, make us free!” -Jenny Baker, #GatheringFamilies #Come Home (Art by Morgan Weistling)

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