We sold well over 100 books, gave away a dozen prizes (including a photo session with Scott and an iPad!), and most of the people who came stuck around and participated in a number of good conversations going on all afternoon. It was a great day! I appreciate everybody coming and showing their support!

Of the many things I wanted on the cover, one was the background image. I specifically asked for a photo with ominous clouds in the sky and a glowing sun out on the horizon. Unusual, perhaps—but I believe it carries significant meaning.

The more obvious of the two elements is the clouds. They represent the dark and turbulent times in which we live. In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley declared that “There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.” These clouds symbolize that storm.

As friends reviewed the cover, I was asked several times whether the sun was setting or rising. I smiled each time, pleased with the question, and my answer was always “it depends.” In his notes on the Constitutional Convention, James Madison records the following:

Doctor Franklin, looking toward the President’s chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising sun from a setting sun. I have, said he, often in the course of this session, and the vissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President, without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.

The glowing sun conveys the same idea for our own day: is the sun rising or setting on our liberties? As the storm approaches, are our liberties on the increase or decrease?

And more importantly, what are we doing about it?

These are all valid questions, and the answers may add context to the book itself.

My blog has long served as a platform to share my ideas and observations. Some of my articles are lengthy and contain in depth research on the topic; others are short, terse, and often controversial. Over the years this intellectual outlet has aided me in my own quest to discover and understand truth.

I am a firm believer in eternal principles. I believe that ancient and modern prophets have revealed God’s will on a variety of topics, including and especially political ones. I believe that religion and politics are not mutually exclusive; indeed, religion can, does, and should affect politics. I believe that the Latter-day Saints, armed with the revealed word of God, have the opportunity to be the world’s foremost champions of individual liberty.

As I review the current political climate, I think that this book is being released at an extremely opportune time. Consider the interesting fact that two members of the LDS Church are currently seeking election to the office of United States President. Should Mormons vote for one or either simply because they share a religious affiliation? Do these two candidates espouse a political philosophy that is guided by our faith?

Also consider the rise of libertarianism and its focus within the Republican presidential race. Ron Paul and Gary Johnson are the two candidates whose platforms have helped give the topic of individual liberty additional attention. Other candidates are promoting policies which have a similar foundation.

The rise of these two factors in our political discourse has created an environment in which Latter-day Liberty will be well received, I think. This book discuses what Mormon theology has to say about government and politics, what liberty and agency are, and why understanding these topics (including and especially their application to controversial political issues) is essential.

In short, I wrote this book because I think that members of the LDS Church should be strong advocates for individual liberty, and that our doctrine offers significant support for such a stance. As I wrote in the book’s preface:

I believe that a fundamental aspect of the good news of the gospel is the message of agency and liberty. Men of God, both ancient and modern, have spoken on this issue repeatedly. Unfortunately, I also believe that their collective counsel has gone mostly unheeded. My purpose in writing this book is to provide an analysis of what liberty is and how it applies to government and politics, using logic, reason, and secular sources of information, in addition to the abundant scriptures and statements from prophets and apostles which relate to these issues.

I hope you’ll purchase a copy and take the time to consider the material I’ve presented. Be sure to also read reviews from those who have already read it; perhaps their words of support will convey the importance of this subject!