For there ain't no doubt, I love this land...

I've had a moment to reflect as so many of us do on this day each year. I decided today that I don't think of 9/11 as a day of sadness, because as a naive 13-year-old, the words "World Trade Center" had just entered my vocabulary. The memory is associated with a lot of fear and confusion for me. I came across this video this morning:



It took me back to that night as I was sitting in my living room watching with the rest of the country. At that moment I remember my fear and confusion being replaced by peace. My heart swelled with gratitude because the man we had elected to lead this country was quoting the bible, and offering condolences to an entire nation. As I think about it now, that day, and the following days after, as a nation we showed what it meant to be strong. Not because we went to war, but because we remembered our neighbors, our freedom, and our God.

President Monson wrote a feature in The Washington Post on the tenth anniversary of 9/11:

"There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well"

One of the frustrations that comes with this recollection, is the realization of how far we've strayed. How the "renewal of faith has waned" as President Monson put it. How expressions of charity have given way to a society of entitlement. Some have even gone so far as to say that the founding fathers were, in fact, not religious or that their beliefs had no effect on the constitution. Now is when the sadness comes for me.

So as we remember where we were 12 years ago, let's also keep in mind the feelings of patriotism, brotherly love and faith we felt.