Wow. This is the last blog.
any thoughts or feeling that you have on Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
I think Lincoln was a remarkable man. He was obviously a great orator. I think he made some very insightful statements in his second inaugural address.
I think the beginning shows that he was tired. He had been waging a long war and fighting very hard. The war put a lot of strain on him, as well as probably a lot of years.
I agree with Dr. Holzapfel that the statement, "and the war came," was a very profound one, in a literary sense. Lincoln's view on the war seems to have been very moderate. He seemed to love the country and its people without distinguishing between rebels and those loyal to the union. He believed in the cause of emancipation, but he wanted to preserve the union. He was the president who helped us make the transition from union to nation. He was a brilliant leader.
I like the insights Dr. H. had about Lincoln's view of God. We don't often understand what His purposes are, but we know He has them. I love the scripture in 1st Nephi that essentially says, "I know not the meaning of all things; nevertheless, I know that He loveth His children." I also think Lincoln's statement, "with charity for all," should be applied in life in general. He was a great leader!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Amazing Grace
The movie Amazing Grace starts out with some text talking about the slave trade in the time period in which the movie is set. The text says something to the effect of:
The British empire was the worlds greatest empire. It was built on the backs of slaves. All but a very few considered the slave trade acceptable. Of these few, even fewer were brave enough to speak out.
This quote is one of the big reasons international slave trade was so difficult to stop. Though horrible things happened on the sugar plantations in Jamaica, people were more worried about their own wallets.
Many people had vested economic interests in the slave trade. Sugar plantations were lucrative. It was hard to stop slavery in America for the same reasons. Everyone had slavery in their pockets. Politicians had interests in slavery. They were more worried about this than the many cruelties which were caused by the slave trade. A man in Parliament in the movie, when the abolition of the slave trade was brought up, said that, basically, if they didn’t have slaves, there would be no plantations to fill the coffers of the kingdom. There were many people who did support the end of the slave trade, but they were often afraid to show it because of the overwhelming opposition, as well as their constituency. Members of Parliament had to worry about election. If their constituents depended on slavery for their livelihood, they were not likely to reelect members of Parliament that tried to get rid of that livelihood.
Even more members of Parliament were against slavery outright due to their own economic interests. They were not about to abolish an institution that did so much for them.
Another issue with ending the international slave trade was a general lack of knowledge. The part of the movie when the protagonist had the well-off people on the boat see the slave ship and had them smell the horrible smell of death coming from it was the start of his campaign for the end of the slave trade. Many people were made aware of the horrors of slavery. There was a long list of horrors. On slave ships, people were kept in extremely cramped quarters, with virtually no room to move. They had horrible illnesses. When there were storms, people would be thrown overboard. People weren’t well fed. They were treated very cruelly. When they got to the plantations, there were more horrors in store for them. They were treated terribly. They were branded, marked by other men. Many of them died on the plantations, as well. To me, one of the most touching scenes of the movie was when the former slave pulled out the shackles and told how he was bound by them. He then proceeded to show the branding mark on his chest.
Another reason the end of the International slave trade was so difficult was because of the war with France. War often tends to eclipse all other issues. Such was the case with England on the brink of war with France. When the war was coming on, and until England seemed likely to win, people did not want to hear of much else. Change, when the American Revolution was so fresh in the mind of Great Britain, and the French Revolution such a new thing, was almost equivalent to revolution. People were scared of war. They did not like anything that challenged the King. Though the king was insane at the time, people didn’t like anything to contradict him. At one point in the movie, the Prime Minister told Wilberforce that anything opposing the king would come to be considered sedition. One of these things was slavery. People were spreading pretty wild rumors about the abolitionists, including William Wilberforce. They said that one of his compatriots was a French spy. These rumors hurt the abolition of the slave trade as well. They discredited the people who were fighting the hardest against it.
These people made many, many sacrifices for the cause in which they believed so fiercely. They fought hard, giving up youth, health, time, money, reputation and mental stability. They presented the same bill in Parliament, one to abolish the slave trade, year after year, only to have it shot down by those who objected it. Yet, they still kept fighting. It was a very difficult battle. Eventually, they made some headway by “cheating” and making a law that attacked the slave trade from the side, so to speak. It took even more years to finally get the bill abolishing the slave trade passed in Parliament. Eventually, however, despite great difficulties and with extremely great sacrifice, they won the battle to end the slave trade.
“God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms.” This quote has been the case in so many instances throughout the world’s history. The end of the slave trade had to occur first in the hearts of the people. It is no easy task to change the world. There have been heroes in its history who strove to do just that, but they have had to accept the fact that things take time. Men have their agency, and God will not force their hands.
The end of the slave trade took so much time and effort because people did not want the slave trade to end. They had monetary interests in slavery. People are often greedy by nature, and they will protect their own pockets at the cost of human life. Many people were indifferent. They had other concerns besides slavery that took precedence in their lives. Many were ignorant of the horrors of the slave trade. It ended because people like William Wilberforce and his allies were willing to fight to end it. They were willing, at great personal cost, to educate people and bring them to an awareness of the evils of the slave trade. And they were willing to give their all to fight that terrible institution.
The British empire was the worlds greatest empire. It was built on the backs of slaves. All but a very few considered the slave trade acceptable. Of these few, even fewer were brave enough to speak out.
This quote is one of the big reasons international slave trade was so difficult to stop. Though horrible things happened on the sugar plantations in Jamaica, people were more worried about their own wallets.
Many people had vested economic interests in the slave trade. Sugar plantations were lucrative. It was hard to stop slavery in America for the same reasons. Everyone had slavery in their pockets. Politicians had interests in slavery. They were more worried about this than the many cruelties which were caused by the slave trade. A man in Parliament in the movie, when the abolition of the slave trade was brought up, said that, basically, if they didn’t have slaves, there would be no plantations to fill the coffers of the kingdom. There were many people who did support the end of the slave trade, but they were often afraid to show it because of the overwhelming opposition, as well as their constituency. Members of Parliament had to worry about election. If their constituents depended on slavery for their livelihood, they were not likely to reelect members of Parliament that tried to get rid of that livelihood.
Even more members of Parliament were against slavery outright due to their own economic interests. They were not about to abolish an institution that did so much for them.
Another issue with ending the international slave trade was a general lack of knowledge. The part of the movie when the protagonist had the well-off people on the boat see the slave ship and had them smell the horrible smell of death coming from it was the start of his campaign for the end of the slave trade. Many people were made aware of the horrors of slavery. There was a long list of horrors. On slave ships, people were kept in extremely cramped quarters, with virtually no room to move. They had horrible illnesses. When there were storms, people would be thrown overboard. People weren’t well fed. They were treated very cruelly. When they got to the plantations, there were more horrors in store for them. They were treated terribly. They were branded, marked by other men. Many of them died on the plantations, as well. To me, one of the most touching scenes of the movie was when the former slave pulled out the shackles and told how he was bound by them. He then proceeded to show the branding mark on his chest.
Another reason the end of the International slave trade was so difficult was because of the war with France. War often tends to eclipse all other issues. Such was the case with England on the brink of war with France. When the war was coming on, and until England seemed likely to win, people did not want to hear of much else. Change, when the American Revolution was so fresh in the mind of Great Britain, and the French Revolution such a new thing, was almost equivalent to revolution. People were scared of war. They did not like anything that challenged the King. Though the king was insane at the time, people didn’t like anything to contradict him. At one point in the movie, the Prime Minister told Wilberforce that anything opposing the king would come to be considered sedition. One of these things was slavery. People were spreading pretty wild rumors about the abolitionists, including William Wilberforce. They said that one of his compatriots was a French spy. These rumors hurt the abolition of the slave trade as well. They discredited the people who were fighting the hardest against it.
These people made many, many sacrifices for the cause in which they believed so fiercely. They fought hard, giving up youth, health, time, money, reputation and mental stability. They presented the same bill in Parliament, one to abolish the slave trade, year after year, only to have it shot down by those who objected it. Yet, they still kept fighting. It was a very difficult battle. Eventually, they made some headway by “cheating” and making a law that attacked the slave trade from the side, so to speak. It took even more years to finally get the bill abolishing the slave trade passed in Parliament. Eventually, however, despite great difficulties and with extremely great sacrifice, they won the battle to end the slave trade.
“God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms.” This quote has been the case in so many instances throughout the world’s history. The end of the slave trade had to occur first in the hearts of the people. It is no easy task to change the world. There have been heroes in its history who strove to do just that, but they have had to accept the fact that things take time. Men have their agency, and God will not force their hands.
The end of the slave trade took so much time and effort because people did not want the slave trade to end. They had monetary interests in slavery. People are often greedy by nature, and they will protect their own pockets at the cost of human life. Many people were indifferent. They had other concerns besides slavery that took precedence in their lives. Many were ignorant of the horrors of the slave trade. It ended because people like William Wilberforce and his allies were willing to fight to end it. They were willing, at great personal cost, to educate people and bring them to an awareness of the evils of the slave trade. And they were willing to give their all to fight that terrible institution.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Restoration
The 2nd Great Awakening started a religious frenzy in the US. It lead people to be much more aware of religion in general. Joseph Smith’s family was right in the thick of this intense religious movement, in Palmyra, New York, part of what was called the “burned over district” because it had so much religious fervor. Joseph Smith’s family background was a little eclectic, in a religious sense. His father was not a big believer in organized religion. He tended toward Universalism in Vermont, where the family lived before moving to Palmyra, but stopped going to church when he relocated to New York. He was, however, a very religious, visionary man. Joseph’s mother had Presbyterian leanings. She had promised God as a young mother that she would be good and go to church if He healed her. She strove to do this. Joseph himself tended toward the Methodist faith, but he was in great religious turmoil. Being young, he had a hard time knowing what to believe. The 2nd Great Awakening directly contributed to Joseph’s First Vision in a very big way. It made him aware, at a very young age, of religion. At the age of 14, he was still young enough to be humble and not think he knew everything. Being afflicted with such religious confusion, he decided to go straight to the source (the Bible), himself. The 2nd Great Awakening contributed greatly to Joseph’s First Vision. In fact, after learning what I have learned about it, how prominent it was in American life at the time, I would say it directly spurned it. I am grateful for the circumstances that brought about the restoration. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. There are many great religions in this world, many of which manifested themselves in the 2nd Great Awakening, which I think was inspired by Heavenly Father to pave the way for the Restoration. I think that, ultimately, is the way the 2nd Great Awakening is related to the Restoration. It provided an environment that encouraged Joseph Smith to think about religion and pray about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)