Election Day: We have a President!

Shayna
Nov 5, 2024
3 min read

Savannah inspired this post. She suggested that our kids should know something about what our elections are like, why we need a democracy and give the kids a chance to understand how grateful we are to have a President (who we get to elect) rather than a King.

First of all, let's listen to Wee Sing America all day! haha. I grew up on this and learned a lot. I still remember all the songs. And I love America!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=OLAK5uy_klrJoAvN_j-uyrdGGnB9S8bl5oKS65N5Y&v=HkE5v6sdpsQ

Wicked Versus Righteous Kings

My first thought went to the Book of Mormon. King Mosiah is the rightful heir in a long line of kings. His grandfather was King Mosiah, then his father King Benjamin. They were good and righteous kings--prophets even. But King Mosiah well knows the wickedness one man (or one king) can bring to his people.

Let me set the stage. King Mosiah has four sons (Aaron, Ammon, Omner and Himni). Now these sons actually rebelled against God and went about with Alma the Younger (who was the son of the prophet and leader of the church) and they sought to destroy the church. They have since repented and left on a fourteen year mission to teach the Lamanites about Jesus Christ. These four sons are the "rightful heirs" to the throne --meaning, it is their right to become king because of the family they were born into. But what happens if these sons don't want to be king?

King Mosiah has another idea.

Kings come to leadership by virtue of their lineage. Another example in the Book of Mormon is Zeniff. He leads his people righteously and ultimately brecomes king. When he dies the kingdom falls to another leader, his son, Noah. King Noah rules in wickedness and causes the people to commit iniquity. After King Noah is killed, his son, Limhi becomes king and he too is righteous as his grandfather.

In Mosiah 29 King Mosiah declares:

Now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people. Therefore I will be your king the remainder of my days; nevertheless, let us appoint judges, to judge this people according to our law; and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God.

For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction! Yea, remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations, and also the wickedness and abominations of his people ... now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood... and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God; And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness;... and thus an unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness

Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

America is different

We all know about the American Revolution. It started when a King (George) started to impose taxes and other laws on the American Colonists. They felt it was unfair and did not want to pay the tax. The most popular story is the Boston Tea Party when the colonists threw almost 100,000 pounds of tea into the harbor! Boy, was King George upset.

So the colonists, among whom were men inspired by God determined that this was not right. They believed that the people should have a voice and thus the American Revolution began. America won the war and became a democratic republic.

What is a Democratic Republic?

Democracy is a system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives. Let's learn a little bit more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uitn1AiCZrY

How Voting Works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrG7zBUDiqQ

Let's take a vote!

We decided to vote on what would be for dinner tonight. haha.

First we'll need to register to vote.

Then we made our own ballot for the 2024 DINNER ELECTION and had the kids come into the "Rowe Family Hall" (in the living room) and voted between pizza and haystacks. haha.