“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” ~1 Corinthians 13:13
As I mentioned last week, Anna and I traveled to DC to participate in the Restoring Honor Rally. In this post, I share some thoughts from the event.
What does Restoring Honor Mean?
The main theme of the event centered on triplet principles of “Faith, Hope, & Charity” with the premise that increasing the expression of those principles in our individual lives will restore a measure of honor to each of us individual and, by direct consequence, bring honor to all of us collectively.
For those who don’t engage in regular scripture study, here is a brief summary of these three principles:
Faith
The Apostle Paul taught that “faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is a principle of action and power. Whenever we work toward a worthy goal, we exercise faith. In order for faith to lead to salvation, it must be centered in the Lord Jesus Christ (see Acts 4:10–12; Mosiah 3:17; Moroni 7:24–26; Articles of Faith 1:4). Faith is much more than passive belief. We express our faith through action—by the way we live. Faith is a gift from God, but we must nurture our faith to keep it strong. Faith is like a muscle. If exercised, it grows strong. If left immobile, it becomes weak.
Hope
Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. The scriptures often speak of hope as anticipation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active. When we have hope, we trust God’s promises. “Happy is he,” said the Psalmist, “that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5).
Charity
Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another. It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul (1 Nephi 11:23). Jesus declared to His disciples: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34–35).
What were the highlights?
For me, there were several highlights of the event. A full video of the event is available on the C-SPAN archives site:
- Minister C.L. Jackson’s acceptance speech for the Medal of Faith. Discussion of the women in Jesus’ life. (skip to 01:05:56 in the video)
- Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, Jr. Discussion of how her uncle would have welcomed a return to faith and honor. (skip to 01:56:54 in the video)
- Glenn Beck. Discussion of the DC monuments. Discussion of Moses and “picking up your stick”. Discussion of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Discussion of the Law of Tithing. Brings together 240 ministers symbolizing a return to God. (skip to 02:08:23 in the video)
What were the media reactions?
Both the left and the right had positive things to say about the event:
- From the liberal mainstay, New York Times: Mr. Beck Goes to Washington. “In a sense, Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ was like an Obama rally through the looking glass… But whereas Obama wouldn’t have been Obama if he weren’t running for president, Beck’s packed, three-hour jamboree was floated entirely on patriotism and piety, with no ‘get thee to a voting booth’ message. It blessed a particular way of life without burdening that blessing with the compromises of a campaign, or the disillusioning work of governance.”
- From the conservative mainstay, Wall Street Journal: Glenn Beck’s Happy Warriors. “One would not be able to find a more polite crowd at a political convention, certainly not at a professional sporting event, probably not even at an opera… Not only was the rally akin to a huge church picnic, but one had to wonder if the over-achievers in this crowd actually left the area in better shape than they found it… While [Glenn Beck] admits that he’s part entertainer and prone to over-the-top comments, his followers appear to be sincerely responding to his message that Americans need to cling to their best traditions.”
It was a wonderful trip and comforting to see so many people dedicated to being good and becoming better through an increase in faith, hope, and charity.