Lessons of 2025
Lesson No. Thirty

Modern Minutemen and Two Shots Heard Around the World

The American Revolution began 250 years ago on April 19, 1775. As we prepare for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, we should remember the American Revolution started 15 months before on April 19, 1775. A handful of Minutemen, who had been warned by Paul Revere that the British were coming to confiscate their arms and munitions, gathered at the Old North Bridge in Concord Massachusetts. There they engaged 700 British regulars (red coats) and fired “the shot heard around the world.”

Today, near this bridge is the Minute Man Monument which depicts a young man with musket in hand as he leaves his plow in defense of freedom. The first stanza of the Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson is inscribed on this monument I memorized these words when I joined the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War:
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
“Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world."

“Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which were required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. Minutemen were selected from militia by their commanding officers. Typically 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength. The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle” (UShistory.org).

The American Revolution was the first “shot heard around the world”. This was the shot referred to in the Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson mentioned above. It was fired by minutemen at the beginning of the American Revolution, and it began a series of events which are of world-wide and eternal importance. The first event was the founding of the United States which took place with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This lead to the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1877. These two events were necessary prologue to the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because for the first time in thousands of years religious freedom had been established on the earth.

Religious freedom is America’s most important export – Our Constitution reversed the long history of religious oppression – For centuries the church and state were one and the same. Ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights changed this. Elder Dallin Oakes observed: “The United States Constitution was the first written constitution in the world. Frequently copied it has become this nation’s most important export in that every nation in the world but six have adopted a written constitution and ours was the model for all of them” (Ensign, February 1992).

Modern minutemen. These include true patriots that are engaged in the battle to establish and strengthen religious freedom around the world, including the United States. Modern minutemen are patriots of both genders and of all ages who are willing to serve and sacrifice to bring religious freedom to their country. In this way they continue to fire the first shot heard around the world.

The worldwide effort to limit religious freedom is the greatest challenge to the Church in fulfilling its mission to take the gospel to the world – In speaking to the rising generation on October 13, 2009 at BYU-Idaho now President Dallin H. Oaks said: "There is a battle over the meaning of [religious] freedom. The contest is of eternal importance, and it is your generation that must understand the issues and make the efforts to prevail." In a private conversation President Oaks told me that the that the greatest challenge to the Church in fulfilling its mission to take the gospel to the world is the increasing effort in many nations, including the United States, to limit religious freedom. The Church continues to put great emphasis on the importance of religious freedom, and it works hard to educate its members of this fact.

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the second and the most important “shot heard around the world”. The first shot heard around the world was fired so that the second shot could be heard around the world. The second shot is the ongoing Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which began with the First Vision to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1820, and it will continue until the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by His Restored Church, has penetrated every continent and is sweeping every country. Today, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are in most countries of the world, and they teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every community where they serve. Today, there are over 74,000 full-time teaching missionaries; over 31,000 senior service missionaries; and over 4,200 young service missionaries who are teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who are part of a great volley of shots being heard around the world. The number of missionaries will continue to grow.

The minuteman’s “shot heard around the world” was prologue to the restoration of the gospel. Missionaries using the Book of Mormon, rather than a musket, now “fire the shot heard round the world.” When these missionaries finish their mission and return home most will continue to be part of both the first and second shots heard around the world for the rest of their lives. The accompanying picture is of Sister Bella and Madie Rynearson, two missionary twin granddaughters who use the Book of Mormon to fire the shot heard around the world.

Testimony. It has been my privilege to have given both military and missionary service. I have concluded that the gospel, far more than the force of arms, will bring freedom in all of its dimensions to the world. We can be part of “the shot [being] heard round the world” by living and sharing the gospel. This is the greatest contribution we can make to establish religious freedom and build up the kingdom of God throughout the earth.

Released on August 3rd. 2025.