💔🎤 A Voice Cut Down, A Cross Lifted Higher

I’ll tell you what, brothers and sisters… this one hurts.
A young Christian man — Charlie — husband, daddy, truth-speaker — gone in a flash, just for speaking his mind.

And now? The songs are pouring out. Ballads of grief, laments like psalms, raw anthems of sorrow and defiance. Not just one tune — but a whole chorus rising from the ashes. The people are singing because their hearts can’t stay silent.

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🕊️ They Stole the Breath of a Faithful Man

It’s the line I can’t shake:

How dare they steal the breath from a faithful man?
How dare they stain the grass where his boots once stood?

That’s what happened. A coward pulled the trigger, but the real crime was against truth itself. Against the simple courage to stand on a stage, Bible in hand, and say: “Our children matter. Our faith matters. Hope is not dead.”

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🔥 The Double Standard

If the tables were turned, you know what would happen. Fires in the streets. Sirens all night. News anchors weeping.

But because it was a Christian voice?
Because it was a cross and not a rainbow flag?
Because it was a father praying, not a celebrity preaching?

Silence.
Candles, not riots.
Prayer, not revenge.

And isn’t that just like the followers of Christ? The Savior told us plain:

“Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.”(Matthew 5:44)

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📖 The Scriptures Speak

From the Book of Mormon:

“The righteous need not fear… they shall be lifted up at the last day.” (1 Nephi 22:17)

From the Nemenhah Records:

“Think not that the Peacemaker hath forgotten the poor, the oppressed, and the slain. For their names are written, and they shall rise in remembrance when the world is washed clean.”

From the Bible:

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Charlie’s name is written. His witness won’t be erased.

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🌌 Carrying the Banner Forward

These songs, these tears, these prayers — they all say the same thing:

We will not let go of his hand.
We will carry the banner he bore.
We will keep lifting the cross higher.

And that’s our charge too. To make our lives the song, to stand for truth in a storming land, to teach our children that courage is never wasted.

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🙏 Our Choice in This Hour

Friends, this isn’t just about Charlie. This is about us. Will we be silent when the cost rises? Will we bow to the darkness or will we keep the flame alive?

The Book of Mormon warns:

“Wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men… for they shall perish.” (2 Nephi 28:26)

And the Savior promises:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

So here’s the call: Listen to the Shepherd. Lift the cross higher. Stand, even if the world mocks you. Even if the price is dear.

Because the light of Christ cannot be snuffed out.

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📜 A Note About the Scriptures

A friend commented that he wished I had only quoted the Bible. You know what — he’s right in a big way. The Bible is our first and greatest witness of Jesus Christ. It’s the book that carried His words across centuries and oceans, into our homes and into our hearts. I love it, and I’ll be sure to use more Bible verses in what I share here.

At the same time, I also believe the Lord has promised us even more. Ezekiel wrote:

“Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah… then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph… and they shall become one in thine hand.” (Ezekiel 37:16–17)

The Bible is the “stick of Judah,” and the Lord has said there will also be a “stick of Joseph.” And history tells us there are many other writings the Lord has given — some included in the Bible, some left out when men compiled the canon in the days of the Nicene Creed. But all of them, when they are true, point us to the same Savior.

Here are a few Bible verses that speak the same truths I shared above:

• “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” (Psalm 34:7)

• “He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.” (Psalm 72:4)

• “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

• “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)

• “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.” (1 Corinthians 16:13–14)

• “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:5)

• “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

So yes — I treasure the Bible. And I also welcome every word of Christ the Lord chooses to give, no matter the language, no matter the nation. Because at the end of the day, it is His voice that saves, and His Spirit that leads.