The Berlin Wall ~ 22 Years Ago

20 years ago today the Berlin Wall came down. (This Post was accidentally left in my Draft Folder. It should have been posted on November 9 2009. Now, in just 5 few days it will have been 22 years since the Berlin Wall came down)

The concrete barrier was part of the Iron Curtain erected by the German Democratic Republic after World War II and completely split Berlin in half, creating East and West Germany. It was guarded by towers and trenches where many people lost their lives trying to escape.

I had read about those who had dropped their children over the wall hoping they would have a better life on the other side and those who had lost loved ones trying to escape. Many people went to extreme measures to help others escape from Eastern Germany and had risked their own lives in the process. I had always felt empathy for those who were separated from loved ones on the other side of the wall and imagined the horror they felt knowing they had not escaped in time.

On November 9, 1989 after civil unrest and a feeling of revolution had swept across Eastern Europe the wall came down. I watched the events unfold on television as crowds on both sides of the wall flung sledge hammers at it and watched it crumble. Many grappled for something to cling to as they climbed on a portion of the wall to see over or cross it for the first time. People celebrated and cheered, and many jumped on the concrete pieces as they fell. It was an incredible feeling of euphoria.

I remember the joy I felt for so many people who were suddenly free to see beyond the Iron Curtain that had held them captive and separated them from freedom for years. For several weeks people chipped away at the wall and collected pieces for souvenirs and eventually it was mostly all gone. It was a great miracle in their lives and a wonderful piece of history to witness!

Ten years later my son James served a mission in Berlin. If the wall hadn’t come down he wouldn’t have been blessed to minister to those people who had previously been trapped on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall. He had the opportunity to visit museums and historical sites and on a P-Day he and his companion hiked to a place where a large portion of the wall had been. He learned much of their strength and fortitude and much of their suffering. I know it made him more grateful to live in this great land of America!

Learning what these people lived through has made me more grateful for my freedom and given me hope that with strength from God I too could survive something horrible and difficult. As I think about the history I have witnessed in my lifetime I am even more grateful to have a knowledge that the Lord is in control of all the events that unfold in the world. He has the power to free His people in His own due time. It strengthens my faith knowing that if we are required to suffer through difficult times like the people of East Berlin we can be assured that God has not forgotten us and will free us when He sees fit.

President Benson Warns America

A friend of mine just posted the following video which I saw years ago. Following her post a few people mocked it and said President Benson didn't speak for God, wasn't a righteous man, used scare tactics to make people believe Communism was a threat to Americans, and that the Law of Consecration was the greatest form of Socialism according to the scriptures and latter-day prophets. These comments made me livid! I generally stay out of people's mindless discussions, but I just couldn't hold back on such an important topic. I love and respect Ezra Taft Benson and knew he had the light of Christ in him. I know what he said about this topic was true, and I couldn't stand by while people said disparaging things about this great man. This was my response to their unenlightened comments:

President Ezra Taft Benson was an amazing man, full of love and very inspired. He spoke the word of God. He toured Europe following WWII as the Secretary of Agriculture in U. S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cabinet. He witnessed firsthand the ravages of war brought on by the works of evil men like Hitler and Stalin. He saw what happens when Socialism, Communism, and dictatorship reigns. He didn't use scare tactics but quoted proof of what he had seen through his own eyes, and from the accounts of people he had met. He vowed to spend his entire life trying to ensure that his predecessors wouldn’t have to live under any type of Socialism, Communism, or under the reign of any evil leader, because he had seen how they destroy lives and take away individual freedoms. These forms of government are totally opposite of the Law of Consecration. It is lived only by choice and is a plan where all who participate do so willingly, not by force, and offer all they have for the good of everyone. They can choose to participate or not, where as Socialism and Communism offer no choice. And all those who choose to live the Law of Consecration are required to contribute and earn their keep in order to receive, as opposed to Socialism and Communism where the masses are forced to give all they have to the government so others who aren’t willing to do anything for it can receive. The Law of Consecration is a law of equality for the good of everyone, not something forced on them so that only a few choice people can prosper, hold all the power, and dictate how the majority will live!