Dear Friends, The Christmas season is upon us, and across Idaho families are gathering around tables and Christmas trees. The decorations are up, families are together, and for a few days we get to step back from the day to day and remember what matters most. The past few years have been tough on a […]
Every Christmas Eve since 1949, The Wall Street Journal has reprinted former editor Vermont Royster’s timeless essay, “In Hoc Anno Domini”. It reminds readers that the world changed forever on the night Jesus was born—and that from that moment began humanity’s long, uneven march toward freedom. Reprinted often in The Gem State Patriot News, Royster’s piece remains worth pondering […]
This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since. When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was […]
Christians have celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ for nearly two thousand years. The image of a baby boy, the Son of God, laid in a manger, visited by shepherds and heralded by angels, has left an indelible impression on cultures throughout the world. While some mistakenly apply the lessons of the Christmas […]
Sharing and Giving: The Moral Weight of Ownership There is a subtle but profound difference between sharing and giving. Modern ears often treat the words as interchangeable, but they represent opposing moral postures toward the world. G. K. Chesterton once described this difference vividly: sharing is a collectivist act, a gesture without full participation of the heart, while […]
Dear Friends, Christmas is almost upon us and our year is drawing to a close. We are now surrounded by the beautiful decorations of the yuletide season, along with the stress – the frantic shopping, the wrapping, the baking and cooking, the social gatherings, and all the exhausting obligations we place on ourselves. Most of […]
We must surely be a country loved by God as we have endured four long years of persecution by a government that we voted into office. There are those who have tried to destroy this great republic with more negativity than I have ever witnessed in my 79 years on this earth and it is […]
Dear Friends, This Christmas season, I was again deeply honored when Idaho’s Star Garnet Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers asked me to host their Hero Tree in the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol. The tree was created and meticulously researched by Anna Workman, the director of the Sgt. Chris Workman Memorial Scholarship […]
May God Bless all of us in this troubled world we live in. The Gem State will not publish next week as our staff enjoys time with their families. And there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Lo, the angel of the Lord came […]
Without a doubt, Christmas is the happiest time of the year. With every package placed under the tree children look forward to Christmas with greater anticipation. Families and friends look forward to a great meal and fellowship around the table. People who ordinarily would not listen to anything you might care to share often are […]
Dear Friends, This holiday season, I was deeply honored when Idaho’s Star Garnet Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers asked me to host their Hero Tree in the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol. The tree was created and meticulously researched by Anna Workman, the director of the Sgt. Chris Workman Memorial Scholarship Fund. […]
Questions we should all Ponder over the Holidays We don’t let athletes bet on games they have the ability to influence. Why do we allow Congress to invest in companies they regulate? Why is it that so many are more outraged that Brittney Griner was stuck in Russia than they were about innocent Americans being […]