Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress
NEWSLETTER
Volume 1 Number 13
February 28, 2002 8:00 pm MST

To: Full RSICC Membership and Friends

http://www.rsicc.org/Newsletter/2002/Feb28_Mandates.htm


"Mandates, mandates, mandates, and more mandates," Laura moans, as one rule
is stacked on another, one requirement on another during the formative
stages of RSICC. Such accumulation of restrictions seems a cruel paradox
when the mission of the organization is to come up with a form of world
government that will protect freedom in an ideal way.

The Lord replies: "Blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion,
who have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good
things of the earth, and it shall bring forth in its strength. And they
shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with COMMANDMENTS
NOT A FEW, and with revelations in their time--they that are faithful and
diligent before me." (Doctrine and Covenants 59)

Freedom. What is freedom. Do commandments or rules or restrictions
contradict freedom?

Does the string on the kite limit its freedom? yes it does. But it enables
a greater freedom, to fly high.

Do the rules of the road limit freedom? yes they do. But they enable an
expanded freedom to drive anywhere, even in crowded conditions, and be able
to reach a destination, without utter chaos. (I'm not implying that all the
rules of the road are justified.)

Do the rules of mountain climbing limit freedom? yes they do. But they
enable a larger freedom to attain the summit.

When willfully accepted, such limits on freedom are not bondage, they enable
us to reach a desired destination.

Our aim at RSICC is high. There will be limitations to who we accept into
membership; and we will expect certain things from those who join us.

Without such restraints, we would not accomplish our objective but would be
lost in chaos.

The Olympic athlete willfully submits him/herself to all kinds of rigorous
"rules" regarding diet, exercise, sleeping, not to mention all the
parameters of the sport.

Is it a contradiction to freedom for a ballroom dance competition to require
certain form, or for a hockey game to have certain rules? Of course it is
not.

What makes you think that we as a rigorous organization set out with a
monumental task will not have rules of form, restrictions on becoming a
member, parameters within which to operate?

If we didn't have any, we would not go anywhere. The more we have and
willfully agree to submit to, the further we will be able to go, so long as
their purpose is to steer us in the direction of our goal.

You don't just wake up one day and say, "I'm going to go climb Mount
Everest," and then set out that very day to begin your ascent. Without
training, and gear, and knowledge, and a team, you would surely die. Is
that freedom? Yes, you are free to die. But if you wish to accomplish your
objective, you willfully submit to the rules of what it takes to accomplish
that objective.

Why should we be any different?

Freedom, separated from willful restraint, is chaos. Entropy. Black hole.

Freedom, combined with willful restraint, is creation. There are no limits
to what you can accomplish.

That is why church and state are ideally married, not utterly divorced. The
utter divorce of government and religion leads to the chaos end, because
freedom is separated from willful restraint. The unity of gospel and
government, on the other hand, leads to unlimited accomplishment because
freedom is combined with willful restraint.

Hence the name Patriot Saints. Government and Gospel, working harmoniously
together. The government protects the freedom, and ensures that one
person's violation of another person's freedom do not go unanswered. The
gospel then provides the basis for the willful restraints that enable one to
attain great heights of accomplishment.

Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress = those saints who are the tithe
of the tithe, those who are the most dedicated of the saints -- dedicated to
the ideals of the gospel -- setting forth on a mission of establishing a
government to protect the freedoms of all mankind; with the understanding
that such freedom is to be most valued when it is combined with willful
restraint as epitomized by the gospel.

That is what we are about.

So yes, mandates, mandates, you can expect more and more mandates as we
define who we are and what we are about and how we are going to accomplish
our objective.

We are not climbing the local hill for a picnic. We are going for Everest.
An in our case, no one has ever been there before, at least not on this
earth.

Pack your gear and shape up. It's not going to be easy.

If you don't discipline yourself to the requirements of the journey, you
jeopardize the entire mission, and will need to be excused. We would love
to have you along with us, but we cannot let you do so if you will not
comply with what it takes to accomplish the objective. You have freedom to
leave. That is freedom. You have freedom to stay. That is freedom. The
choice is yours. Which version of freedom will you opt for? Freedom with
willful restraint for the accomplishment of lofty purposes, or freedom with
no restraint that leads to deterioration into utter oblivion?

You know what my decision is.

The summit.

If you want to come with, then you will need to do what it takes to get
there.

Right now we are at base camp, getting geared up and acclimatized for the
ascent. We have not yet begun the ascent even. We are still getting things
in shape. People like Joel and Greg and others of us are like the advance
team that have gone out ahead to scout out the terrain and provide
recommendations for how we should proceed. Our task is to review their
recommendations and then implement a course accordingly.

Once we begin the ascent, the further we go along, the less we can afford to
have people out of line with the purpose of our mission. That is why we
need to have strong commitment going into this. It has been fairly easy to
come and go up to this point, and that is okay for base camp. But once we
begin the ascent, we need people to be firmly ready and dedicated to both
the mission and the requirements of the mission.

Those are the facts of it. Are you up to it? If so, then let us know.
Don't just keep it to yourself. We need to know if you stand with us and
the requirements that will accompany this task.

I, Sterling D. Allan, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I support the
development of a constitution for the entire world as well as for nations,
states and communities, that will protect the freedom and fundamental rights
of all mankind, and that I will encourage the responsibility required for a
person to thrive in this environment of freedom; that I will defend this
cause against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to this cause; that I take this obligation freely, without
any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and
faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which I am called to
fulfill as my conscience directs: So help me God.

Notice that I have added to this affirmation from yesterday's version. I
added the part about "and that I will encourage the responsibility required
for a person to thrive in this environment of freedom." The key word:
responsibility. Responsibility demands willful restraint. The gospel is
the ideal tool for both engendering and enabling willful restraint.

Mandates, mandates, bring 'em on. Praise the Lord for mandates.

Sincerely,

Sterling D. Allan
facilitator, Remnant Saints Inter-Continental Congress
http://rsicc.org

===================

The above offering was in response to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rs_public/message/857
which was follow-up from
http://www.rsicc.org/Newsletter/2002/Feb27MrSmith_Affirmation.htm
and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rs_public/message/843