A Lesson From The Book of Mormon

And now behold, it came to pass in the commencement of the fortieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there began to be a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites.

For behold, Pahoran had died, and gone the way of all the earth; therefore there began to be a serious contention concerning who should have the judgment-seat among the brethren, who were the sons of Pahoran.

Now these are their names who did contend for the judgment-seat, who did also cause the people to contend: Pahoran, Paanchi, and Pacumeni.

Now these are not all the sons of Pahoran (for he had many), but these are they who did contend for the judgment-seat; therefore, they did cause three divisions among the people.

Nevertheless, it came to pass that Pahoran was appointed by the voice of the people to be chief judge and a governor over the people of Nephi.

And it came to pass that Pacumeni, when he saw that he could not obtain the judgment-seat, he did unite with the voice of the people.

But behold, Paanchi, and that part of the people that were desirous that he should be their governor, was exceedingly wroth; therefore, he was about to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against their brethren.

And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold, he was taken, and was tried according to the voice of the people, and condemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion and sought to destroy the liberty of the people. (Helaman 1:1-8)

There is a time to debate, to contend, and to decide. And then there is a time to get things done. The former is now over, and the latter is upon us.

The voice of the people has spoken, and it has spoken in favor of Barack Obama.

He was not my first choice for the Presidency, and I didn't vote for him. But he is going to be the President. And he is going to be my President. I will support Barack Obama. I won't agree with everything he says or does, nor with all of his policies and decisions. But I believe he is an honorable man with good intentions. I'm not going to spend the next four years trying to convince everyone who voted for Obama that they're idiots. I'm going to try to work with them, in what little ways I am able, to try to get done the things that need to get done for the good of our country and our communities. I hope others will do the same.

In saying this, I'm not supporting the idea that we don't stand up for what we believe in. We still fight for that which is right in our minds and our hearts. But maybe we fight a little less, and maybe we work a little more. Maybe we realize that the folks on the other side of the political aisle from us have some good ideas, just like we do. Maybe we start looking first for what we have in common rather than what divides us. Maybe we decide not to try so hard to pick political fights. Maybe we decide to try compromise instead of confrontation.

While listening to the radio this morning, I heard a lot of people calling and texting in sentiments like, "Barack Obama is not my President." Get over yourselves. This is no longer about you—and in truth, it never was. It's about what's best for our country. We've had so much divisiveness and contention over the past sixteen years. It's poisoned our politics and polarized our population. In some ways, it's made bipartisan cooperation a thing of the past.

Whether we agree personally with the nation's choice for President or not, isn't it about time to put all the bickering and infighting behind us? Aren't our country's problems more important than all of that?

Isn't it about time that we truly become the United States of America again?