America’s 250th Birthday

Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of men signed their names to a document that changed everything.

Not just for themselves. Not just for the colonies. For the entire course of human history – including ours.

As Latter-day Saints, we have always understood July 4th as something more than a birthday party for a nation. We believe the founding of the United States was not an accident of history. It was preparation.

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith in 1833 that He had a hand in establishing the Constitution of this land. President Jeffrey R. Holland taught that over several centuries and with “meticulous preparation and precise timing,” the Lord created conditions of freedom essential to the coming forth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Think about what that means.

The First Vision could not have happened in a country where government controlled religion. The Book of Mormon could not have been published in a society without freedom of the press. The organization of the Church, the missionary work, the gathering of Israel – none of it could have unfolded the way it did without the particular freedoms the founders of this nation bled and died to establish.

The Declaration of Independence was not just a political document. It was the Lord preparing the soil for the Restoration.

And now, 250 years later, we live in the blessings of what those founders made possible – and what generations of Americans, including thousands of Scouts and Scouters who pledged to do their duty to God and country, have sacrificed to preserve.

That phrase has never been just a formality. Duty to God. Duty to country.

For Latter-day Saint Scouts, those words appear at the very beginning of the Scout Oath – before anything else. Before duty to others. Before duty to yourself. And they appear in that order on purpose: because freedom of conscience, freedom to worship, freedom to gather and build the kingdom of God – these are not separate from Scouting’s mission. They are Scouting’s foundation, planted in the same soil as America’s.

This Independence Day falls in a year when our Church’s 1st Presidency has invited all members to participate in a unified fast on July 5, 2026, to express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray for its strengthening throughout the world.

The day after America’s 250th birthday. That timing is not an accident either.

Joseph Smith said it plainly: “It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul – civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race.”

That’s not a political statement. That’s a covenant one. As you celebrate this July 4th – whether you’re safely watching fireworks, cooking out with your family, or spending the day in a Scout uniform in a parade – take a moment to feel the weight of what you’re celebrating.

A nation the Lord prepared. Freedoms that made the Restoration possible.

A program built on Duty to God and country that is still producing young people of character after 116 years. And a community of Latter-day Saint Scouters who are still here, still serving, still believing it matters.

Happy 250th, America. We’re grateful.