President Nelson and I thought we would start a Blog (nysm-nelson.blogspot.com) and post some occasional thoughts or information. This post was patriotically inspired by the fact our family has 11 birthdays in July and mine (Sis. Nelson) is on July 4th. I have been reading a series of books (Prelude to Glory by Carter) on the Revolutionary War. Maybe if I had been more of an historian (I am not), the information wouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Miracle. The main thing was the miracle it was that we even won the Revolutionary war. The British were the most powerful and wealthiest army in the world. The Continental Army was made up of a random, rag-tag group of Colonists who just wanted to be free.
Soldiers. Many of the men who volunteered as soldiers entered the army assuming that the war would only last a few months. They didn’t even bother to take any winter clothes with them. The war lasted for eight years (1775-1783). Not only were thousands lost in battle, but thousands died of disease, starvation or frozen to death especially during the winter at Valley Forge where the temperatures dropped below zero. Only one in three soldiers had shoes (Wikipedia). During their nightly two-hour guard duty, they would stand on a felt hat to keep their feet from sticking to the ground. Over 2,500 died at Valley Forge without once even engaging in battle. Many were buried in a mass grave and their families never knew what had become of them.
British. The British were incredulous that they had lost the war to such a “lowly class” of people--farmers, merchants, blacksmiths, etc. Almost immediately after their surrender at Yorktown, the British were lined up, ushered into the boats that would take them back to England
Money. The Congress didn’t have any power under the Articles of Federation to tax—thus they had no way of raising money for maintaining an army. The money they did have—that they printed was worthless. Much of the war effort had to be financed by donations from wealthy men, but it wasn’t enough.
Depression/Collapse. Congress couldn’t pay the soldiers for their services. After the war they returned home broke. They weren’t able to pay their mortgage, their bills, or support their families. In spite of their service in the Continental Army, many were thrown into debtors’ prison--they never received the promised re-numeration from the government. The country was in a deep depression. Their sacrifices for liberty had apparently been for nothing. The country was in chaos and on the verge of collapse.
Constitution. The last effort to save the country from dissolution was the drafting of a new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation, forming a new government. In Philadelphia
Ratification. There was great opposition to ratifying the Constitution. There had never been anything like this form of government in the history of the world—the people had nothing to compare it to. They couldn’t understand how common people working with the educated rich could together govern a country. They feared that it would turn into a similar situation that they had in Europe —isolated groups of people fighting other isolated groups of people and the aristocrats ending up with all the power. Because of the on-going uncertainly, even some of our greatest patriots opposed it. However, the Constitution was eventually ratified, but only after much struggle, infighting, and sacrifice.
I never realized the extent that the hand of the Lord played in America America
SEMINAR FOR NEW MISSION PRESIDENTS
(Marriot Center
Dear Missionaries;
We thought you would be interested in some of the changes that are taking place in missions throughout the world as a result of the age changes for missionaries. Many of you may have already read the article.
A talk by Elder David F. Evans at the Mission Presidents’ Seminar contained the following update:
*70,274 - Number of missionaries serving, far surpassing all prior levels.
*85,000 - Number projected to reach later this year
*58 - New missions created
*30% - Less time spent at missionary training centers (MTC). “It was found that missionaries who spent 30 percent less time were just as proficient as those who stayed longer.”
*Sister Training Leader – There will be “the creation of a new leadership calling…the ‘sister training leader,’ who is called to help the mission president train and care for other sister missionaries. Sister training leaders participate in the newly created mission leadership council, which takes the place of the former zone leader council and which includes the wife of the mission president.”
*Internet – “Beginning in certain designated missions in North America , missionaries will begin including the Internet as a tool to find those who are interested in the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Some examples are:
Mormon.org
lds.org
Facebook
chat
text messaging
video conferencing such as Skype
*Church buildings – “Missionaries will be authorized to use Church buildings where there is already filtered Wi-Fi network for missionary purposes; proselyte on the Internet daily for approximately one hour during less-productive times, usually in the morning; establish a mission Facebook account, etc. At all times, missionaries will monitor each other’s work and “follow the principles of basic missionary safety.”
“We tested online proselyting with almost 3,000 missionaries in 30 different missions. We have found that proper guidelines and instruction, missionaries can and do work and proselyte effectively and safely online.”
Investigators. In another talk by Elder L. Tom Perry, he pointed that as well as working with investigators, missionaries will be focused on members, pointing out that “they are all a part of the work of salvation:” new converts, less-active members, active members (strengthening them) along with family history and temple activity. With the focus on strengthening everybody, missionaries should have very little down time--they will be too busy.
We thought that you would be interested in these updates. Keep up your missionary work. Remember, the Lord has never released you from that calling.
Love, President & Sister Nelson
