Lincoln's Birthday

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the sixteenth President of the United States, and by far one of our most popular and historically significant presidents, Abraham Lincoln. A powerful president and a true leader, Lincoln was a man of exceptional talent and skill. Although he was a lawyer before turning to politics, Lincoln never obtained a law degree because he never attended more than a year or so of any formal schooling. He was an avid reader and an amazing observer of life. Lincoln was a storyteller and always had a good tale to help prove a point or teach a lesson.

One of the many things that I like about Lincoln was his incredible writing ability. Back in those days politicians usually wrote their own material and Lincoln was a master at it. Articulate, clear, eloquent, and above all his words were always heartfelt. He was a sincere man of character who lived and governed by his core beliefs.

You can see an example of what I am talking about in an excerpt from a letter he wrote to a widow, who had lost five sons in the Civil War.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and
leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride
that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Powerful.