Do I Have a Dream?

Today as we were eating some cake to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday (Katelund really wanted to do that for "Marthin Luther King". I pulled up his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on U tube. All though I have heard it many times before, for some reason this time it was different. It spoke to my soul on a completely new level.

I am so grateful that we don't live in a day where such extreme intolerance for race is exhibited openly, frequently, and without any remorse. I couldn't imagine what life must have been like back then. As I was looking around at the crowd that was there that day, I was surprised to see how many white men and women were in attendance and actively taking a position against racism. I wonder if I had lived during that time if I would have taken a stand. If I would have had the courage to make my voice heard in standing up for what I knew to be right and wrong. Or would I have passively stood by as I silently lived my own life?

Throughout the history of our country and our world, there have been so many incredible men and women who have sacrificed so much in defending righteousness and freedom. Yesterday as we went on a family walk in the freezing cold, I was talking with Cory about how hard it must have been to have traveled across the plains as a pioneer in such extremely cold conditions. I couldn't imagine not ever being able to escape the harshness of the wind or the coldness that permeates in every bone of your body. They sacrificed so much for the cause of Zion and religious freedom.

All of these thoughts have left me to think about my own sacrifices and my own willingness to actively and passionately take a stand for freedom and righteousness. In a world where family, marriage, and virtue is openly being attacked, am I being an activist? Am I doing and saying enough to make a stand for what I know to be right? Am I sacrificing as much for God's kindgom as those early Saints did? Or am I just passively sitting by living out my life on the sidelines. I can't help but wonder when the day comes when all is said and done, will I have made any difference. Will I have had a dream, one which I lived and died defending?