Faith, Family, and Freedom: A 40-Year Lesson in Leadership

In 1984, I was a Captain in the Air Force attending a conference at Ramstein AB, Germany, headquarters for US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). The keynote speaker at one of the leadership sessions was General Robert C. Oaks, 4-star commander and chief of USAFE. General Oaks was also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and years later, after his military retirement, became a general authority of the Church.

I distinctly remember General Oaks’ speech. It was inspiring! His focus was on the importance of establishing and keeping righteous priorities, both as officers in the Air Force and in our personal lives. His message was simple -- faith, family and freedom. Be faithful to your core values, be fully committed to your family, and protect your freedoms as an American – they are a gift from God.

General Oaks’ message is as true and important today as it was 40 years ago. It was faith, family and freedom that formed the bedrock of a new nation, the United States of America. As stated in the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”   

We live in a special nation, one that has been consecrated by the hand of God for good, so long as we continue to maintain righteous priorities. Our fundamental rights as citizens are to be free – free to speak, free to worship as we choose, and free to pursue our lives based on the desires and motivations of our heart. These rights are not granted by men. They are granted by a loving Heavenly Father who has established agency – the right to choose – as an essential and eternal principle of heaven. We have defended these rights for the past 250 years and it has propelled our nation into the greatest force for good in the history of the world. May we boldly protect these divine rights for the next 250 years, with the same degree of courage and commitment as our nation’s founders, who “pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor” to preserving the unalienable rights of our nation: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.   

—Bishop Bob Watts, Wake Forest 2nd Ward