In Alma Chapter 10, Amulek recounts his conversion story. In verse 6, Amulek explains that he resisted the call of God until the fourth day of the seventh month. As a missionary, I remember jokingly telling people that this was the “Fourth of July” in the Book of Mormon and that this was Amulek’s Spiritual Independence Day. Today, while on my normal morning run, I was pondering how to articulate another article I am writing when I received a clear impression that I needed to write about the Four Indpedendce Days that each Latter-day Saint should observe and celebrate. I felt strongly that the other article I was writing (Which was also about Independence Day) needed to wait until I wrote this one. Then the ideas poured into my head with the various points, quotes, and scriptures to teach them. So here is my attempt to convey what I was given.
1st. Our Spiritual Independence Day
Just like Amulek in Alma 10:6, each of us should record, memorialize, and celebrate our Spiritual Independence Day. This could be the day that we first recall feeling the Holy Spirit conveying the love of God, it could be the day that we made covenants with the Lord in the Waters of Baptism. Or like Amulek, it could be the day that we became born again, accepting Christ and committing our lives to God and His work.
The Prophet Alma attempted to help his people remember their day of Spiritual Independence when he wrote: “Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? … if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:14, 26)
Each of us should ponder and apply the words of Alma. Have we had a Spiritual Day of Independence? If not, let us choose this day to have one. And if we have had a Spiritual Day of Independence, can we still sing the song of Redeeming Love? If not, we might need to renew our covenants with full purpose of heart and thus have another Spiritual Day of Independence.
2nd. Our Day of Financial Independence
When first publishing the Book of Mormon, Joseph, and the early Saints, went into debt to finance the printing. The Lord quickly counseled Joseph in Doctrine and Covenants 19:35, “Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage.” The Lord commanded the early Saints again in the Kirtland Era, “verily I say unto you, concerning your debts—behold it is my will that you shall pay all your debts.” (Doctrine and Covenants 104:78.) And finally, in Proverbs 22:7 we are told that “the borrower is servant to the lender.”
From these three verses, each of us can learn the Lord’s attitude towards debt. We should adopt the same attitude. We should pay off any debts that we have contracted and free ourselves from bondage, thus declaring our Financial Day of Independence.
Beyond these three scriptures, the prophets have repeatedly warned us to avoid debt and pay off the debt we have. Why is it so important to be Financial Independence? President Marion G. Romney, the father of Church Welfare Services taught, “Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse.”
Thus our Financial Day of Independence is not merely celebrating that we are debt-free, it is celebrating the fact that we no longer owe our future to another. We now have the ability to consecrate ourselves and all that we own, have, and our very lives to the Kingdom! Until we are Financial Independent, we cannot give our full selves to the Lord as we have given at least part of ourselves to another. Therefore, avoid debt, and celebrate the day that you can declare your Financial Independence.
3rd. Our Day of Independence From Addictions
I believe and have repeatedly taught that addiction is the devil’s imitation of the atonement. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught that Satan “uses addiction to steal away agency.” Satan knows that it is our fallen nature to seek addictions as coping mechanisms to the stresses of life. Rather than turning to Christ and His Gospel, we all too often turn to addictions.
Now, not all addictions are inherently evil actions like pornography. In fact, some of the most common addictions in the Church are things we must do simply taken to the extreme, like overeating, watching TV, playing sports/video games, or using cell phones. I know many people, who are addicted to food. It is their coping mechanism. When things are hard, when the stresses of life mount, or when they flat out feel depressed or lonely many people turn to binge eating. That has become their addiction of choice.
Regardless of what our addictions might be, M. Russell Ballard taught: “If anyone who is addicted has a desire to overcome, then there is a way to spiritual freedom—a way to escape from bondage—a way that is proven… there is hope for the addicted, and this hope comes through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The day we declare our independence from addictions is the day that we reclaim our God-given agency from Satan. It is the day we choose God. The day we celebrate and renew our ability to live up to our Divine Nature. Yes, our Day of Independence From addictions is the day we celebrate choosing to put off the natural man.
4th. The Independence Day of The United States of America
Regardless of where a Latter-day Saint lives, or any free man/woman for that matter, they should celebrate the Fourth of July as a holy day. The day that we celebrate the Independence Day of the United States of America is not merely a day we celebrate the birthday of America, as every nation has such celebrations, the Fourth of July represents the first lasting enshrinement of the concept of unalienable rights, aka God-given rights.
Prior to the Declaration of Idnepdnce from England, it was understood that rights, if any right existed at all, came from the Monarch. The declaration of American independence was a declaration of independence of ALL people from the notion of serfdom, the notion that rights come from the government and therefore can be revoked by the government. (See this masterful conference talk by Ezra Taft Benson on this topic)
The chain of events starting with the Declaration of Independence and the ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights a few years later marked the end of the era of Kings and Emperors and the bringing of the era of freedom. Every single constitution in the world has sprung from these inspired documents. Thus, no matter where you live, and no matter your opinion of the current state of America, every single Latter-day Saint should celebrate the freedom they possess on the Fourth of July and recognize where it came from.
More so than just celebrating their freedoms, they should be united in protecting and fighting for said freedoms. David O. McKay declared, “Next to being one in worshiping God, there is nothing in this world upon which this Church should be more united than in upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States.” (Conference Report, Oct. 1939, Page 105). And more recently, in 2021 Dallin H. Oaks renewed that declaration of our duty when he taught, “Our belief in divine inspiration gives Latter-day Saints a unique responsibility to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and principles of constitutionalism wherever we live.” (For more quotes on the United States Constitution by the Brethern, see “18+ Quotes From Modern Prophets and Apostles on the Constitution of the United States“)
Therefore what?
Regardless of where we live, let us celebrate our Independence from sin, debt, addiction, and monarchies. Let us share these stories with our families. Let us record them in our personal and family histories! And, if we have yet to fully declare our independence from sin, debt, or addiction, let us resolve to start today. We can choose Christ today and by so doing make today our Day of Independence.