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Ray got a letter this week from a friend whom he deeply respects. I love this knowledgeable, well-read, highly-educated man’s long-view perspective. He lamented briefly about comments by some in government and the media and the disquieting views they hold. He said that their comments reveal their ignorance of history, and he believes that their ignorance should cause people to disregard their views.

Thank you for teaching your children so that they will be able to discern what so many Americans are unable to discern because they simply do not know the past.

This whole problem reminds me of a verse from a song I learned in Sunday School.

Be careful little ears what you hear.
Be careful little ears what you hear.
The Father up above is looking down in love,
So be careful little ears what you hear.

Thank you for taking care in what your children hear.

The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Proverbs 18:15 

Yesterday I was writing a lesson for our next curriculum for grades 1-4. The purpose of the lesson is to introduce the idea of America being one country with fifty states.

“Woman creating map of United States showing states and counties,” 1922. Courtesy Library of Congress.

It was fun to think about the fifty states in ways other than a list of states in alphabetical order or a list of states in the order they came into the Union. I liked thinking about how a child of 6 to 9 might connect with the idea of the fifty states.

The first connection I thought about was license plates. I still like to look at license plates on the Interstate or in a parking lot at a historic site.

I also thought about state quarters. The U.S. Mint issued the last one in 2008, but many are still in circulation. As I wrote about the quarters, this is what I said in this early draft which may change a great deal over the coming months.

Each state is like every other state in some ways, but each state is unique, too. The next time you see a quarter, look to see if it is a state quarter. Between 1999 and 2008, the United States government designed a quarter for each state. The tails side of each quarter has a picture showing one way that the state is unique. The tails side of the quarter also has the name of the state, the year the state became part of the United States, and the words E Pluribus Unum. E Pluribus Unum is the U.S. motto. It means “out of many, one” in the Latin language. America has many people and fifty states, but we are one country.

As I thought about writing today’s post for you and that lesson for young children, I thought about the concept of unity. Unity is important to our Father.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.
Psalm 133

Division is easy. Unity takes diligence.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord,
implore you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
showing tolerance for one another in love,
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3

Unity takes love and forgiveness.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience;
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other,
whoever has a complaint against anyone;
just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Beyond all these things put on love,
which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:12-14

As Christians, let’s be examples to the world of what unity looks like. As Jesus prayed in some of His last words before His crucifixion:

The glory which You have given Me
I have given to them,
that they may be one,
just as We are one;
I in them and You in Me,
that they may be perfected in unity,
so that the world may know
that You sent Me, and loved them,
even as You have loved Me.
John 17:22-23

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