Showing posts with label American. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

JJ's Ancestral Roots

Dr. JJ is an American Patriot who is proud of his
ancestral roots in British Colonial America and beyond.
I have always been grateful to be a citizen of the United States of America, and am profoundly grateful for the countless blessings and opportunities I have received by virtue of that citizenship.

I am proud to be an American.

As I begin the presentation of my personal LIFE HISTORY, it is appropriate that I start by saying a few words about my progenitors, many of whom have played prominent roles as American citizens over the centuries.   

In doing so, I am reminded of the words of that legendary and victorious American Civil War General, Ulysses S. Grant, who opened his famous personal memoirs with the following statement: "My family is American, and has been for generations, in all its branches, direct and collateral." (1)

This statement can be relevantly echoed in relation to my own ancestry. 

The most famous line of my forbears were Smiths of British Colonial America (1620-1776).

Robert Smith Jr. (1625-1693) was the first of his ancestral line to emigrate to the New World. He was born in Lincolnshire, England; but lived and died across the Atlantic in Boxborough (Middlesex County) Massachusetts. The next four (4) generations of Smiths would reside in Topsfield, which, like Boxborough, was also a rural Massachusetts community not far from the greater Boston area.   

JJ stands next to statues of
Hyrum & Joseph Smith

Carthage Jail, Illinois
Robert's 3rd great-grandson was Hyrum Smith (1800-1844), born in Tunbridge (Orange County) Vermont at the turn of the 18th century. 

I, in-turn, am a 3rd great-grandson of this same Hyrum Smith who, in company with his younger brother, Joseph Smith (1805-1844)—my third great-granduncle—helped found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—and was martyred in cold blood at Carthage Jail in Illinois on June 27, 1844, for holding fast to his beliefs.  

Of these two brothers, who fell that day in defense of religious freedom and the convictions of their conscience, the following has been written:

"Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. ... [He] left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!

"Hyrum Smith was forty-four [44] years old in February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was thirty-eight [38] in December, 1843; and henceforward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world; ... They lived for glory; they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to posterity as gems for the sanctified." (2)

Joseph Smith Memorial Building
next to Temple Square.

Salt Lake City, Utah

I add my living testimony to these prophetic words of John Taylor, who was present with the Smith brothers and Willard Richards—and who received multiple gunshot wounds himself—at the Carthage martyrdom. 

In doing so I openly and unapologetically profess and proclaim the divine role that these, my forbears, played in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ—the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth (3)—in the latter days, which, in fulfillment of Joseph's own prophetic declaration, has spread across the entire globe and now numbers some 18 million members, of which I am but one. I further seek with all my heart, mind, might, and soul to hold up and further burnish their legacy in this present age, for they have indeed become "as gems for the sanctified" to me personally.  

General George Washington
The Smiths were hard-working, honest, patriotic, and God-fearing people. Robert Smith's grandson (Samuel Smith, Jr., 1714-1785) and great-grandson (Asael Smith, 1744-1830) fought for American Independence in George Washington's Continental Army, and they were not my only ancestors engaged in the revolutionary struggle. (4)

Going back even further, I am directly related to at least four (4) couples who sailed on the Mayflower, whose husbands in-turn signed its concomitant Compact. (5) 

While this fact does not make me particularly unusual in American society—even today—it remains a point of my ancestry that I deeply admire, cherish, and honor because of the faith, fortitude, courage, and resilience demonstrated by that intrepid band of transatlantic pioneers in search of religious freedom.

Moreover, given my own constitutionalist passions and proclivities, I am quite aware of the Mayflower Compact's role as a providential precursor to the United States' Constitution that would be drafted 166 years later in 1787, followed by the SAL Life Leadership Textbook and its corresponding academic templates employing the same principles 239 years after that in 2026—the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and birth of my nation.

Regardless what ancestral line of mine that you trace, all of my ancestors emigrated to either British Colonial America or the United States of America during the seventeenth, eighteenth, or nineteenth centuries; and the vast majority of these hailed from the British Isles (England, Scotland, and Ireland). 

There are a few exceptions to this general pattern of emigration. 

My surname ~ JENSEN ~ obviously reveals the existence of a significant Danish line as well. Moreover, there are a few isolated branches with roots in other, continental European nations, including Germany and France. However, the vast majority—upwards of 85%—hail from the British Isles, British Colonial America, or both.

A wise man once pointed out to me that I have been blessed with "a rich and an illustrious ancestry." 

He was correct in his estimation. 

In addition to the Mayflower band and the august Smith line of revolutionaries and religious reformers, my family tree is chock full of Latter-Day Saint Pioneers who braved the hostile dangers of ocean crossings and overland treks via covered wagons and handcarts to reach their ultimate home in Utah, where I would eventually be born in 1979. 

A hundred years before my birth, my paternal ancestors just missed becoming Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers in Southern Utah in 1879. Nevertheless, William Adams (1822-1901) and his family followed soon after in the early 1880s. Later that decade, in 1888, my second great-grandfather, George Albert Adams (1864-1935) was one of the four (4) Founding Fathers of my hometown of Monticello, Utah. (6)

Not all of my ancestors have such a lustrous legacy. 

My most infamous direct progenitor is John Doyle Lee (1812-1877), a fourth great-grandfather who tragically was involved in carrying out the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Iron County, Utah, in September 1857. Despite any and all complexities involved in the situation, including much personal and familial good that John had accomplished throughout his difficult pioneer life, there is no denying the horrific nature of the crimes for which he was ultimately convicted of and hung, and it remains a stain on my ancestral legacy to this day.    

I share this unsavory inclusion from my ancestry to emphasize that my progenitors—while unusually noble on the whole—were still imperfect mortals just like me, and in some cases were even guilty of egregious crimes... much like anyone else's family tree.  

Of my many admirable ancestors, my personal favorite is Mary Fielding Smith (1801-1852). 

Born in Honeydon (Bedfordshire) England, Mary and her two siblings, John and Mercy, emigrated to the Toronto, Canada area in 1832. In time, they joined a Methodist congregation led by a preacher named John Taylor—a future LDS convert, Apostle, and Church President.

In the mid-1830s, Taylor and his wife met Parley P. Pratt, a Latter-Day Saint missionary. The Taylors then introduced Pratt to the Fieldings. Both Taylors and all three Fieldings—and others of Taylor's congregation—were converted to the new faith and baptized in 1836.

Soon afterward, the Fielding trio moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where they joined with the main body of Latter-Day Saints and became acquainted with Joseph and Hyrum Smith and their families.  

Around this same time, Hyrum lost his wife, Jerusha, to complications involved in the birth of their youngest child—a daughter named Sarah. At the urging of his brother Joseph, a recently widowed Hyrum sought for Mary's hand in marriage. Following a brief, but tender and sincere courtship, the two were wed on Christmas Eve 1837. 

Mary bore Hyrum two additional children, adding to the six he had already brought forth and parented with Jerusha before her death. Mary played an important and prominent role by Hyrum's side during the final years of his life. 

While I admire and love Hyrum for all of the expected reasons, Mary remains my favorite ancestor in part because I believe her lot was, in some respects, even more challenging than Hyrum's. After all, it was Mary who had to continue on after Hyrum's martyrdom, raising a family by herself, leading them westward to the Salt Lake valley in an intrepid and legendary manner, and then carving out a hardscrabble existence and subsistence in that arid and barren desert landscape without the aid of her husband. 

Just imagine how stark and insufferable life in the Great Basin must have been after spending a lifetime in the lush verdures of England, Toronto, and the Mississippi Valley!  

SIX (6) Generation Photo
Hyrum Smith (1800-1844)
Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918)
Hyrum Mack Smith (1872-1918)
Joseph F. Smith (1899-1964)
Pauline S.J. Zaugg (1946-present)
Jordan R. Jensen (1979-present)
It is little wonder to me that Mary's health gave out after only four (4) years battling against the brutal challenges life had thrown her way. Her reunion with her beloved husband in the world of Spirits must have been a glorious and joyful occasion after so much suffering and loss.  

Second and third only to Mary Fielding, I have always looked up with great honor, respect, and admiration to my great grandfather, Hyrum Mack Smith (1872-1918) and great-great grandfather, Joseph Fielding Smith (1838-1918). 

The former was an Apostle of the Lord from 1901 (at age 29) until his seemingly untimely death of appendicitis at age 45 in January 1918. The latter, Hyrum's father, was ordained an Apostle by President Brigham Young in 1866, and later served as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 1901 until his own passing in November 1918—later that same year his son Hyrum had passed away.  

There are many other ancestors I admire, respect, and seek ever to venerate for their quiet (or prominent) lives marked by courage, faith, integrity, hard work, industry, and love of and fealty toward family.

My paternal grandfather, Ned Adams Jensen (1918-2004), an army radioman during World War II, landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He then pushed forward as part of George S. Patton's 3rd Army to help liberate Europe from the grasp of the Nazi regime. My own father was conceived while Grandpa Ned was on leave in early 1943. Dad was two years old when Grandpa Ned returned home to Monticello, Utah in the fall of 1945 to meet his son for the first time.  

In September 1963, my father left the United States to serve a 2-year, full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints overseas in England. Dad's first missionary companion was Hyrum Wayne Smith (1943-2019), grandson of Hyrum Mack Smith and great-grandson of Joseph F. Smith, previously mentioned. 

After completing his first year in the mission field, Dad was summoned to the office of Elder Mark E. Peterson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was serving as the leader of all European Missions at the time.

Hyrum Wayne Smith and Rex Buckley Jensen
Serving together in the European Mission Home
London, England
1964.
Elder Peterson had called Hyrum W. Smith to serve as his personal assistant, and he needed a second assistant to serve as Hyrum's missionary companion. He was specifically looking for someone with sound clerical (typing) skills. Hyrum knew that my dad—his former companion—also happened to be an expert typist, and presented his name to Elder Peterson as his second assistant. 

Peterson approved Smith's proposal, and Dad became his second assistant and the missionary companion of Hyrum W. Smith for the second time. 

A few months later, on January 24th, while Dad and Hyrum were serving Elder Peterson together in London, Sir Winston Churchill died. A few weeks after that, Dad and Hyrum were released from serving Elder Peterson and transferred elsewhere in the mission.  

Then, approximately one month later, in March 1965, Hyrum Wayne Smith and Rex Buckley Jensen were assigned to serve together as missionary companions again for a virtually unprecedented third time. Apparently the Mission President gave Hyrum leverage over which missionary he wanted to serve with to finish out his mission, and so he chose to reunite with my father for his final three (3) weeks. 

"Three times in three different locations in three different calendar years ('63, '64, and '65)" was a refrain I heard several times growing up as my father would tell and retell what was for me a rather riveting story of how he met and became good friends with the man who would eventually pair up my mom and dad. 

After returning home and enrolling at Brigham Young University, Hyrum introduced Dad to his little sister, Pauline, on September 18, 1965—exactly two years to the day that he had first met Hyrum in England on September 18, 1963. 

It didn't take Mom and Dad long to fall head-over-heels in love with each other and 11 months later, on August 24, 1966, they were wed in the Salt Lake Temple. 

Thirteen (13) years later, almost to the day—August 21, 1979—I was born at the small, rural hospital in Monticello, Utah, the fifth son and sixth of seven children born to Rex Buckley and Pauline Smith Jensen (now Pauline S.J. Zaugg).  

And that's how my story began!

Rex Buckley Jensen
1943-present
Starting next week, I will begin publishing the actual journal records of my life, beginning with excerpts from my Dad's own journals that reference me between the years 1979 and 1986, after which I will proceed to publish my own journal records—edited for a public audience—beginning in 1987.  

I wish to pay sincere and honored tribute to my father for his conscientious journaling habit throughout his life. His example has been most intriguing and inspiring to me throughout my own life.  

Dad began his own life's voluminous diarist habit in 1961 as a junior in high school. For much of the rest of his life, he kept a daily journal. When I was growing up, he had the first 20 years of his personal journals bound in attractive, bright red bound volumes (8.5 x 11-inch). He further granted me complete freedom to peruse these journals at my leisure. 

I am so grateful that Dad took the time to write down such a detailed record of his life. I am further grateful for his kindness and openness in sharing his journals with me. 

It is from these journals that the next eight (8) week's article are extracted, with Dad's permission, of course.   


Dad's collection of nearly 7,000 pages of personal journals.
 

Dr. JJ

Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

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Notes:

1.  Grant, U.S. (1995). Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York, NY: Dover Publications. Page 1. 

2.  Doctrine & Covenants Section 135. 

3. Doctrine & Covenants 1:30.

4.  Solomon Mack (1732-1820), born the same year as General George Washington, and the father of Lucy Mack Smith (Hyrum & Joseph's mother) also fought for the revolutionary cause. 

I have not, to-date, done a deep dive to discover exactly how many of my ancestors served in the American Revolution. Nevertheless, with nearly 100 direct (and hundreds more collateral) ancestors falling within the two generations of those who fought in the American revolution, it is plausible to assume that scores, if not hundreds of my direct (or indirect) progenitors were somehow engaged in the struggle and quest for independence. 

5.  John Tilley (1571-1621) and Joan Hurst (1571-1621)  — my 11th great-grandparents.

John Howland (1592-1672) and Elizabeth Tilley (1607-1687)  — my 10th great-grandparents.

Edward Fuller (1575-1621) and Mrs. Edward Fuller (Ann) (1575-????)  — my great-grandparents.

Samuel Fuller (1608-1683) and Jane Lathrop (1614-1683) — my 9th great-grandparents.

6.  The other three Founding Fathers of Monticello were: Frederick I. Jones, Charles E. Walton, and Parley R. Butt.

Monday, May 2, 2016

An American Bible and The Dangers of Presentism

Were America's Founding Fathers Good Guys or Bad Guys?
Authenticists and Postmodernists approach this question
using divergent methodologies.
The purpose of this article is to outline the dangers of a practice called "Presentism."

What is presentism?

According to Ross K. Baker, a distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers University, presentism is a "term used in academic circles to describe the application of contemporary moral standards to people who lived long ago." [1]

When historians and others engage in presentism, they set themselves up as judges in an anachronistic court of condemnation.

Who are the targets of these postmodern revisionist judgements?  The answer to this question is varied.  However, the favorite targets of presentist historians and postmodern judges are often historical figures who are, in many regards, worthy of our just admiration, commendation, gratitude, and respect.  Postmodern purveyors of presentism are particularly fond of demonizing the Founding Fathers of the United States while glancing over, or entirely ignoring, their august lives and unprecedented achievements.

An American Bible in my personal Library
From an early age, I have had a love of great books.

I was born in an obscure, diminutive, magnificent little hamlet in the four corners area of the United States (Monticello, UT).  This area is so out-of-the-way (it is a 4-5 hour drive from the nearest major metropolitan area) and is surrounded with such an eclectic and surreal panorama of topographical scenery that when Hollywood movie director Andrew Stanton needed a filming location resembling the extraterrestrial planet Mars for his movie, John Carter, he chose to roll his cameras in the Four Corners area!

I'll never forget seeing the movie trailer for John Carter back in 2012 because I immediately recognized the iconic monadnock known as Shiprock—located in the northwest corner of New Mexico.  Any Monticelloan would recognize this famous landmark, which, on a clear day, you can see from elevated parts of town, despite its being located nearly 100 miles away.

Click HERE to watch the trailer for John Carter.

Despite being born far beyond the reach of most of the outside world and before the days of the Internet, I was blessed to be born to a family with educated parents who valued books.  And thanks to the civic-minded contributions of community pillar Dorothy Adams—a great aunt of mine—Monticello had a public library.

The Monticello branch of the San Juan County Library was not large; all of the books were contained in one big room.  Nevertheless, it was sizable enough to contain thousands of books—more than I could ever hope to read in my youth.  As such, it provided me with a perpetual supply of books and other materials I could check out and study at my leisure.  Even better, the librarian had a portable cart of books that was kept stocked with out-of-circulation books for sale; and the price was usually right for a poor teenager's budget!

Thus it was that I happened upon one of the most cherished volumes in my personal library—An American Bible—which is a wonderful anthology compiled by Alice Hubbard, the wife of American essayist and philosopher, Elbert Hubbard (author of A Message to Garcia).  I purchased the book for the sizable sum of 50 cents!  It was perhaps the best half-dollar I ever spent.

The American "Prophets" as Hubbard dubbed them, are as follows: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Robert G. Ingersoll, Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and her husband, Elbert Hubbard, whose writings she lovingly, albeit nepotistically, lavished nearly half the book's contents, despite his relative obscurity compared to the other "Prophets."

From my earliest memories, I have enjoyed studying about the men and women who founded our great Nation, as well as the gifted writers, philosophers, and poets who have enriched our Country's vast canon of literature.  Like many other books containing the history and writings of great men and women throughout our nation's history, I have benefitted from reading An American Bible.  The men lionized in Hubbard's anthology, and other men and women like them, contributed much that was good, right, and true to our Nation's unfolding story.  The lives and legacies of these leaders are, in fact, one of the primary reasons that America became the greatest nation in the history of the world.

It is true that these men and women were not perfect—no mortal leader in our country's history (or any other's) was or is.  But it is in our collective interest to hold up the positive aspects of their lives and legacies and thereby allow their powerful examples to positively influence our own walks through life.

Unfortunately, postmodernists tend to focus only on the negative aspects of America's founding fathers and mothers—and America in general.  While the fundamental tenets of postmodernism posit that there really isn't any objective right and wrong, postmodernists are always first in line to hypocritically point out all of the "Sins" of those who, in actuality, made our Nation great.

For a postmodernist, there is no such thing as "Truth" with a capital "T."  But when it comes to their own truth, they are ironically certain and intractably inflexible.  Whimsical or evolutionary as their deconstructed "truth" may in fact be, postmodernists are quick to capitalize, star, asterisk, bold, and underline their own homespun dogma.  They also like to add obtrusive neon lights that shine forth in a militant attempt to coerce others to embrace their view through social intimidation, political fiat, or any other culturally tenable means.  Those who don't agree with them are castigated as misguided heretics and unenlightened cretins.

Postmodernists focus on
faults and failings
while downplaying
or even ignoring virtues.
To postmodern presentists, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were not great men who helped win our War of Independence and build our country by assisting in the framing of its two masterful founding documents.  No, to a postmodernist, these men were evil, prejudiced slave holders whose legacy of slaveholding has left an irrevocable blight of darkness upon American history for all of us.

Postmodernists like to apply the perverse paint of presentism to the pages of history. To a presentist, George Washington is an evil man because he should have been following every accepted standard and mores of the twenty-first century even though he never even lived to see the nineteenth.  Is that realistic?  Is that even fair?  (I should note here that unlike many of his contemporaries, Washington actually freed his slaves in his will).

Click HERE to learn more about Postmodernism

Click HERE to read more about the AGE of AUTHENTICISM aiming to replace it.


Authenticists acknowledge shortcomings
& sins, but focus on virtues and victories.
Objective truth demands that we admit Washington and Jefferson's categorical moral error of slave holding.  I don't think anyone in possession of any moral sense would counter this reality.  I certainly don't.  Slave holding for any reason in any era can rightly be condemned as immoral.  But does this moral lapse when slavery was deeply embedded in the culture of the time discount the extraordinary contributions of these remarkable men to our Nation?

To this question I answer with a resounding, No!

Unfortunately, in their eagerness to focus entirely on the sins of those they don't like or agree with, postmodernists cynically toss out the proverbial "baby with the bathwater."  Instead of heralding what a great man or woman did right in his or her life and honoring whatever meaningful service they contributed to our nation, they choose instead to hold up and even actively promote a legacy polluted by their sins.

There are many problems with this practice.  First, it places the focus on what "not to do" rather than what "to do," which is a pedagogical recipe for failure.   Second, instead of seeking out objective truth about the panoramic dynamic of history's multi-dimensional realities, it strives to rewrite the narrative altogether, casting it subjectively in whatever light pleases one's own ideological prerogative.   Third, it exposes an agenda that is skewed in favor of a particular constituency.  Fourth, it divides rather than unifies by perpetuating divisions that existed decades or even centuries ago into contemporary society.

In what is sometimes a postmodernist's well-intentioned efforts to objectify history, what actually occurs is the reopening of wounds that could and should have healed long ago.  By continually reopening wounds instead of striving to heal them, the erstwhile divisions linger—and in some cases widen—ironically taking us backwards instead of forwards in our understanding of, and reaction to, historical narratives.  As a result, we become an increasingly divided nation both socially and culturally.

Professor Baker of Rutgers University (quoted at the beginning of this article) recently wrote a compelling argument against "Presentism" in a USA Today newspaper op-ed.  According to Baker, presentism:
"Mercilessly subjects history and historical figures to contemporary social enlightenment.  It is smug and self-satisfied and pats itself on the back for its own high-mindedness, but it is ignorant of context and erects impossibly high obstacles to which virtually no major figure can measure up.  Certainly no one who had to endure the give-and-take of politics and the chore of dealing with people with whom they did not agree." [2]

Perhaps the most prominent example of extended presentism in the last generation was Howard Zinn's famous book of revisionist history, "A People's History of the United States."  While Zinn is correct in wanting to lend an objective and fair voice to ALL people and groups throughout history, and while there are undoubtedly elements of history that are not properly covered for objective accuracy, the overall tone and tenor of Zinn's treatise suggests that America is ultimately an evil country led by corrupt, white leaders who made life hell for everyone except for themselves.

Postmodernists and presentists are famously cynical and pessimistic; they are also profoundly contradictory and hypocritical.  They hand down merciless judgments regarding who was good and who was evil while simultaneously suggesting there really is no objective good and evil in the first place.  Moreover, they concurrently spend their lives and careers focusing on the sins of whoever they don't like or disagree with, implying all the while that they and their historical acolytes live and lived lives that were beyond reproach.

In answer to these postmodernists, I issue a clear and unapologetic message.  My message comes from the only man who ever claimed—and for which a third of the world's population believes—to have actually lived a perfect life. The message is simple and lucid: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Since none of us can make a legitimate claim on perfection, let's ALL stop throwing stones at each other and strive to study objective history (insomuch as we possibly can) with an emphasis on the redeeming qualities of history's actors, rather than continually trumpeting the worst angels of their nature.

FREEDOM FOCUSED is calling for a reset on the relationship
with our imperfect, but noble Founding Fathers.
Authenticists do not turn a blind eye to the sins and horrors of the past or present.  They do, however, choose to focus on the positive with regards to historical figures and present actors.  They are quick to identify evil in all of its forms, eschew its variety of insidious influences, and fight against its menagerie of diabolical impacts; but they devote the majority of their time and effort to focusing on whatever good exists in everyone in an effort to create more good in their own lives and the lives of others.  They are practitioners of appreciative inquiry.  They accomplish this by holding up the good examples of people, rather than focusing unduly on magnifying their shortcomings, failures, and errors—especially when those errors are judged by anachronistic moral standards that are simply unrealistic.

I invite ALL Americans to reconsider the virtues of our Founding Fathers.  I do not ask you to excuse or pardon their moral failings (which they, like ALL of us, certain had).  I simply ask you to look at them for what the really were—imperfect, yet extraordinary men and women without whom we would not possess the liberty we enjoy today; a liberty which has made possible our respective rights to write out our diverse viewpoints on the subject.    

If you want to get off to a great start, I encourage you to buy and read a book called "The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution" by W. Cleon Skousen, and "The Real Thomas Jefferson" by Andrew M. Allison and edited by W. Cleon Skousen et al.

Click HERE to buy a copy of The Making of America.

Click HERE to buy a copy of The Real Thomas Jefferson.

Notes:

[1] Baker, R.K. (2015).  Voices: Democrats foolishly purge heroes: By Applying Today's Standards, Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson & FDR Get the Boot.  USA Today. 10 August 2015.  URL: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/08/07/democrats-presidents-jefferson-jackson-wilson-fdr/31207363/  Click  HERE  to access article 

[2] Ibid



God Bless the United States of America—a blessed land of promise—now, and always.

Click HERE to buy a copy of Dr. Jordan Jensen's new book, Self-Action Leadership: The Key to Personal, Professional, & Global Freedom.

........................................................................................................................................................



SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP is the key catalyst for initiating transformational leadership that lasts in any organization. The truth of the matter really is that simple; and the transformation of organizations through the holistic development of individuals really is that difficult—yet altogether possible for anyone willing to invest the time, effort, and sacrifice required to achieve authentic, transformational results.

Unlike any training program that has ever preceded it, Self-Action Leadership provides a single vehicle wherewith individual self-leaders can discover—and then act—upon the great truth that HOLISTIC personal development and growth spanning the mental, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, and social elements of our individual natures is within the grasp of each one of us.

Note: Freedom Focused is a non-partisan, for-profit, educational corporation. As such, we do not endorse or embrace political figures. We do, however, comment from time-to-time on historical or political events that provide pedagogical backdrops to illuminating principles contained in the SAL Theory & Model.


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JJ's Ancestral Roots

Dr. JJ is an American Patriot who is proud of his ancestral roots in British Colonial America and beyond. I have always been grateful to be ...