just didn't like him. sound familiar? i mean, that's the kind of thing seems to be the founders did not want to happen, that we would get into a routine of doing this all the time because we had a policy difference or a personality difference. i'm glad it ended the way it did. i hope the message to the house of representatives, don't do this again. >> how long will senator romney be in the doghouse? >> we don't have any dog houses here. the most important vote is the next vote. >> can you talk about what is on the senates agenda going forward, and given the obvious animosity between the speaker and the president at last night state of union speech, you think this congress can really accompt anything legislatively with this white house? >> my biggest problem is with

this house of representatives. as you all know we had pretty different approaches to america's problems between the house and the senate. i think we've got a chance to do some more business. i certainly hope so. >> we believe these comments to bring you live coverage now of the national prayer breakfast, remark some president trump coming up later. this is live coverage on c-span2. >> four heads of state, president of kenya. [applause] and the former prime minister of kenya. [applause] president of albania. [applause]

and the prime minister of kosovo. [applause] now would like to introduce the head table. please hold your applause until we've introduced the entire group. >> on my far right, mrs. roberta -- [applause] >> congressman david castoff of tennessee. congresswoman small of new mexico. house republican leader kevin mccarthy, and my beautiful wife amy. and we will be joined soon by the president of united states. and the vice president of the united states, mike pence. [applause]

the second lady of united states, karen pence. our speaker later today doctor arthur brooks. the speaker of the house nancy pelosi. cc winans, and mr. alvin love the second. let's hear it for our head table. [applause] so were going to have a quick change in your program now. the congressional prayer group will sing another song. only kidding. >> are you ready? >> now we have the winner of ten grammy awards and the best person we could hope to have bring our hearts together. please welcome the great

mrs. priscilla love, also known as cece winans. [applause] >> good morning. we we're going to sing something entitled peace from god. ♪ ♪ when the night is dark, fired you had has lost its spark.

take a little peace from god, take a little peace from god ♪ ♪ let it burn in your heart. when your land is dry, rain only falls from your eyes. take a little peace from god. take a little peace from god and the river you'll find. ♪ it's yours for the taking so just take a little peace from god. it's yours for the making, so just take a little peace from god ♪ ♪ it's already given so just

take a little peace from god. he is right where you are ♪ ♪ when your faith is weak, tossed by the ways of all the sea. take a little peace from god. just a little peace from god. he has more than you need ♪ ♪ yours for the taking, so just take a little peace from god. yours for the making so just take a little peace from god ♪ ♪ it's already given to us so

just take a little peace from god. he is right where you are ♪ ♪ the bible says be anxious for nothing. make your requests known to god and the peace of god that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and mind through christ jesus. ♪ oh, yours for the taking so just take a little peace from god. yours for the making so just take a little peace from god. it's already given to us, so just take a little peace from god.

he is right where you are ♪ ♪ when the night is dark, [applause] >> cc, thank you for sharing your beautiful voice with us today. cece winans. [applause] >> the national prayer breakfast is deeply rooted in tradition of faith and the belief that jesus

teachings are a solid foundation upon which to build better relationships. at your seats today there are quotes from leaders about the role of god in their lives, and the history of this nation. at the constitutional convention into ben franklin said the longer i live, the more convincing proofs i see of this truth. that god governs in the affairs of men, and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid rex then in one of our darkest hours during world war ii, president franklin roosevelt appointed leaders to manage the american economy. at one of their meetings senator frank carlson of kansas said, agenda so important today, we'd better pray. and that's what they did at all their meetings. when the war ended, the senators decide to keep meeting for

breakfast and to pray for the work of the nation. house members began to meet shortly thereafter in their own meeting. a few years after these group started, president eisenhower called his friend senator carlson and told him, i live in the loneliest house in the world. so eisenhower began attending the send group for friendship and spiritual support. and that's when one of the attendee suggested, wouldn't it be great and wouldn't the country be encouraged to know that we did this? and with that the national prayer breakfast was born as an encouraging time were leaders of the country and for the world can gather for friendship, support, and most of all prayer. leaders throughout history have turned to prayer, including abraham lincoln who said i have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that i i had nowhere else to go. my own wisdom and that of all

about me seemed insufficient for that day. tom and i are honored to be with you this morning, and we are thankful for the support of a prayerful nation, we believe god's grace is sufficient for each day. [applause] >> jesus asked the apostles to follow him and help spread his radical message throughout the world. it was their retelling of jesus for earthshaking ideas of not only love thy neighbor, but also love your enemies. that brings us here this morning. forgive those that trespass against us, and pray for those who persecute you. what wild ideas did they thrive. in our midst? i read the wonderful gospel

reflection by bishop robert baer in two weeks, the second most followed catholic and social media after the pope. when jesus calls matthew to become his disciple and follow me, it would be easy to wonder whether matthew the tax collector and center merited jesus invite. was he worthy? i can relate to that because as a former cpa and a member of the ways and means committee, i a tax collector. like all of us i am a sinner. i'm not worthy but god loves me anyway as he loves us all. back to matthew. despite his unworthiness matthew got up and followed the lord, but where did he follow him? where did they go? not to a temple. not to a confessional or a work. they went to a party quote, while he was at table in his house, closed quote. is the first thing we read after the declaration that matthew followed him. people he calls matthew to do

anything, jesus invites him to recline in easy fellowship around the festive table, a banquet. jesus in matthew were in in a e full of other tax collectors and sinners having a good time. that's what first drew me to our weekly prayer breakfast in the capital, and that's with us national prayer breakfast is all about, sharing a meal together, tax collectors, members of congress, and centers at all. we're to heal our division, we need to spend some time together, get to know each other, stop judging each other and remember that despite our differences, many of us are motivated by love thy neighbor, and hopefully some love thy enemies as well. my father was born in italy and my grandfather used to give a speech at family weddings to give advice to new couple and he would ask -- what is this thing, marriage? marriage is like a long journey with a lot of ups and a lot of downs. but that's okay because in life,

-- you can't have a rose without the thorns. you can't have the good things in life without the suffering as well. you would know what the good things are without the suffering as well. we all have thorns in our lives, things we see on television, things we read in the newspaper, things that are happening in our communities and neighborhoods of the things that happen in our families, people who are ill or have trauma, lost a job. but today we celebrate the roses of life, the best part of life. when we come together as friends and family and colleagues from throughout the world, united under the banner of the message of jesus, to love thy neighbor, forgive those who trespass against us, and the really hard one, to love our enemies. [applause]

>> so tom and i were thinking about what to bring us all together, people from all 50 states from over 150 countries and all religious backgrounds. please join us in watching this video. ♪ >> john and i been thinking and praying about how we and our colleagues, democrats and republicans, could find common ground and advance the common agenda. >> we agreed religious persecution is to, in a world that we should shine a light for religious liberty. >> then this past summer speaker pelosi spoke at hearing on human rights about people wrongly imprisoned because of their beliefs and the religions.

>> this is what she had to say. >> they say if you're in prison one of the most excruciating forms of punishment that can be exacted upon you is to say that nobody remembers you, they don't remember why you were here or that you are here in prison. and we want to be sure that those prisoners no and we do believe that message gets to them, that they are not forgotten, that in the congress of the united states, important leaders such as all of you gather here are saying their names, giving letters to the authorities in china, recognizing their sacrifice, which is a sacrifice not just for them personally but a sacrifice for democracy throughout the world. >> then september president trump addressed the importance of religious freedom during a meeting of world leaders at united nations. this is what he said. >> regrettably, the religious freedom enjoyed by american citizens is rare in the world.

approximately 80% of the world's population live in country where religious liberty is threatened, restricted, or even banned. when i heard that number i said, lees go back and check it because it can't possibly be correct. and sadly, it was, 80%. as we speak, jews, christians, muslims, buddhists, hindus, sikhs, use these and many of the people of faith are being jailed, sanction, torture even murdered, often at the hands of their own government simply expressing their deeply held religious beliefs. so hard to believe. today with one clear voice guy states of america calls upon the nation's of the world to end religious persecution. >> we can all agree that we must shine a light on religious persecution and advocate for

religious freedom. >> so we reached out to sam brownback as well as house member frank wolf and ambassador tony hall who been traveling the world for over 20 years advocate for religious freedom. >> we asked them to help us put faces and names to this global concern. >> stephen weiss is a survivor, the tree of life synagogue shooting in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, he has been a faithful member for more than 30 years. >> the venerable -- the tibetan buddhist monk was imprisoned and tortured by the chinese communist party for his work documenting human rights abuses inflicted on the tibetans. >> they faced violence in pakistan because they are minority sect of muslim and several of his brothers were shot at a wedding. >> a coptic christian has overcome obstacles aiding thousands of children living in

egypt to organizations. >> -- works to her foundation the campaign for uighurs were two raises awareness of the religious persecution of uighur muslims in china. >> -- i uighur muslim was detained at the airport in beijing, china, and sentenced to life in prison for his writings to promote peace between uighurs and the hung chinese. >> sister justine is a catholic than to witness prosecution in her home state in india. many minority christians were killed or displaced as a result of the violence. >> -- was denied access to education in both myanmar and bangladesh because of his status as a persecuted rohingya muslim. >> dr. oz was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the cuban government for supporting

religious freedom and human rights. today his travel continues to be restricted by the government. >> bishop of irbil has overcome decades of danger and persecution in iraq. he's worked to protect the christian community and opened the catholic university in irbil and 2015. >> bishop benjamin of nigeria has had his home attack four times. his ministry and doors even though the attackers burned down his church and partially blinded his wife. [applause] >> we made a special invitation to many of those who you saw in the video to be with us here today, and we want them each to know that they are not suffering in secret.

we know who you are, and we are praying and working for genuine freedom for all of you and for people being persecuted for their faith throughout the world. we are all praying for you, republicans and democrats, congress and the administration. i'm going to ask our guests who were in the video, please stand and let's support them and show them our encouragement. please stand. [applause] >> were going to sit down for just a few moments and begin the program in just a few moments.

thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of united states, donald j. trump. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> good morning again, and we are thrilled to have you with us today, mr. president, , and we'e excited about this breakfast and we want to just let you know there are people from all over the world here who have been praying for you, and we want this to be a blessing to you today, so thank you, mr. president.

[applause] >> at this time please welcome our very special guest, the speaker of the house of representatives who has come to speak to our weekly prayer breakfast and we've been fortunate to have her come speaker nancy pelosi who's going to pray for the poor and the persecuted, and many that you saw in that video. so speaker, thank you so much. [applause] >> oh, lord, we thank all gathered at this prayer breakfast lifting our voices to the poor and the persecuted, and millions who are missing or murdered because of their faith. let us pray for all the tibetan buddhists imprisoned in china or missing for following their faith. let us pray for -- the one to

3 million uighurs in china forced from their homes and incarcerated in camps. let us pray for -- in saudi arabia and all the writers and religious thinkers in prisons for speaking their minds. let us pray for patriarch -- in eritrea and the priests, rabbis, pastors and religious leaders around the world whose freedoms have been stolen because of what they believe. let us pray for the victims of anti-semitism including those whose lives are brutally taken at the tree of life synagogue and places of worship in communities around the world. and let us pray for the countless use these, , wrinkles and muslims and other religious minorities often unseen and unnamed but been abducted, press and accused because of who they are, what they believe in their faith. as pray that the names of the persecutors also, always live on

her lips and the courage carries to our actions. and let us pray that we honor the spark in them and in all people including ourselves and that we treat everyone with dignity and respect. let us pray that we never become onion to the atrocities that continue to challenge the collective conscience of our shared humanity. for us today able of faith, leaders lawmakers and activists who can mobilize the public, we pray faith moves us to demand justice for those who are suffering. and we pray that commercial interest never blind us to the ongoing human rights struggle fought by so many throughout the world. let us raise our voices in prayer as one in the struggle for freedom, in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost. amen. [applause]

>> thank you, meta-speaker. it means so much to have you here with us today. and now someone who is attendina weekly prayer breakfast we welcome congressman david dust off to read from the holy scriptures. >> thank thank you, tom. these verses from deuteronomy are part of a prayer that we as jews are commanded to recite twice a day. the importance of this prayer is that in the very first line, the lord is our god. the lord is one. this prayer which has become so central to the jewish people, beautifully discusses ways in which our faith to be lived out and announces our declaration of faith in god. here, o israel, the lord is our god. the lord is one. you shall love the lord your god with all your heart and with all

your soul. with all your means. these words which i command you this day shall be upon your heart and you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way and when you lie down, and when you rise up. and you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand and they shall be ornaments between your eyes. and you shall inscribe them up on the door posts of your house and upon your gates. if your son ask you in time to come say what are the test was, the statute, the ordinances which god, our lord, has commanded you, you shall say to your son, we were slaves to the pharaoh in egypt, and the lord took us out of egypt with a strong hand. and the lord gave signs and wonders great and terrible upon

egypt, upon the pharaohs and upon all his household before our eyes and he brought us out of there in order that he might bring us and give us the land which he swore to our fathers. and the lord commanded us to perform all these statutes, to fear the lord our god, for our good all the days to keep us alive as of this day. and it will be for our merit that we keep to observe all these commandments before the lord our god as he has commanded us. i'm thankful and blast for the opportunity to speak in front of you today and would like to end with this priestly blessing. may the lord bless you and watch over you. may the lord called his countess to shine on you and favor you. may the lord raises countenance toward you and grant you peace. amen. [applause]

>> thank you, congressman kustoff. now would like to welcome another participant in our weekly prayer breakfast group, congresswoman small to do a reading from the holy scriptures. >> a reading from the book of john. i am the vine. you are the branches. if you remain in me and i in you, you will bear much fruit. apart from me you can do nothing. if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. this is to my fathers glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples. if you do not remain in the you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers. such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

as my father has loved me, so have i loved you. now remain in my love. if you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as i kept my fathers commands and remain in his love. i have told you this so that you may joy and the joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. my command is this. love each other as i have loved you. greater love has no more than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. you are my friends if you do what i command. i no longer call you servant because a servant does not know his masters business. instead, i have called you friends come for everything that i learned my father i have made known to you. you did not choose me, but i chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear

fruit, fruit that will last so that whatever you ask in my name, the father will give to you. this is my command. love each other here according to jesus, no matter how different we appear, we can all be connected with the bond of love. we have work to do today, to go and bear fruit that will last by obeying jesus command to love one another. [applause] >> thank you, congresswoman xochitl torres small. now we want to welcome another speaker at a weekly prayer breakfast who will say a prayer for national and world leaders, the republican leader of the house of representatives, kevin mccarthy. [applause]

>> the lord works in amazing ways. i do not believe he could've picked a better day to bring us all together to see kim and his advice. now will you join in prayer, let us pray. lord, your scripture tells us in the book of isaiah that we all like sheep have gone astray. each one of us to our own way. that will never work. we need to be together as a flock and imu in the direction of pasture, water and safety. lord jesus, we believe it when you said you are the good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. and lord, we notice that throughout history you have pointed and said shepherds to lead us, leaders of government learning culture, faith, law and even politics. we pray for the leaders we have right now. we pray for our president,

president trump, and the first lady. we pay for the vice president and the second lady. lord, we ask that you lift them up, give them your peace and your wisdom. lord, we pray for the leaders of congress, mitch mcconnell, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer, and all the members of the house and the senate. lord, please guide us out of caring division and into unity to do the peoples business. lord, we pray for the chief justice roberts and all the judiciary who tell us what the constitution means and how we should follow it. we pray for the joint chiefs of staff and the millions of military men and women who defend us and you are in harm's way. lord, we pray for their spouses and children who are lonely and fearful today. we pray for the 50 governors and thousands of mayors, police chiefs, fire chiefs, and first

responders who serve across america. we pray for the countless teachers who are trusted with our children, and lord, we pray for the leaders of our vibrant faith community who keep us steadfast in your word as they have since our nations founding. we thank you for the freedoms we enjoy every day, lord, and we pray you will continue to guide us in the way of justice. lord, we know there are almost 200 other countries in this world, and we pray for their leaders as well. for the hundreds of leaders in this room today, we pray that you would teach us all how to be shepherds, to love and care for the flock, to know it needs and the dangers it faces, and deliver from evil those who are persecuted because of their faith in you. leaders who are leaders, o lord, so all the people of the world may be blessed.

in the name of the good shepherd, my lord jesus, i pray. amen. [applause] >> thank you, leader mccarthy. it's now my pleasure to present to you our keynote speaker at this prayer breakfast, dr. arthur brooks. doctor brooks is the professor of the practice of public leadership at the harvard kennedy school and the arthur c patterson faculty fellow at the harvard business school. he's a best-selling author of 11 books and a columnist at the "washington post." for the last ten years before joining the harvard faculty last summer, arthur was the president of the american enterprise institute, one of the most influential and highly respected think tanks in the world. an economist by training, arthur has spent decades studying culture and public policy. his work in topics and technical

economics to the sources of happiness has established his reputation as a prolific social scientist and an original thinker. arthur began his career as a classical musician performing for 12 years with the barcelona city orchestra and other ensembles. his favorite composer, johan sebastian bach, who said quote, the aim and final end of music is the glorification of god and the refreshment of the soul. in all his work today, arthur seeks to serve the same purpose. in his remarks today arthur will share his ideas from his most recent book, love your enemies. ladies and gentlemen, dr. arthur brooks. [applause] >> thank you, tom. mr. president, what an honor to

be with you. vice president pence, speaker pelosi, all of you, i am so honored and grateful to join you at the national prayer breakfast today. as you've heard i'm not a priest. i'm not a minister. i'm a social scientist, university professor but most importantly, i'm a follower of jesus. jesus who taught each of us to love god -- [applause] and who taught us to love each other. today i get to talk to you about the biggest crisis facing our nation, and many other nations today, it's the crisis of contempt and polarization that is tearing our societies apart. but if i do my job in the next ten minutes i promise not to depress you. on the contrary, going to show you what i believe that this crisis, in this crisis relies the greatest opportunity we've ever had as people of faith to

lift our nations up and to bring our people together. now as leaders you all know perfectly well, better than anyone, that when you have an old problem like the problem of contempt and polarization, that the old solutions don't work. you have to think differently, all new solutions come from new thinking. this is true in public policy as it is in your personal lives. here's an example of the latter. my friends, i have three children, two of whom are still teenagers. pray for me. my second son carlos, two years ago when you're still in high school, here in the washington, d.c. area, he had let us to have a terrible parent teacher conference, my wife and i fear we were with the head of the school and it was a great problem. he was not living up to his potential. it was an old problem, , ongoin, getting worse. his grades, what's going to happen?

afterward, it was a grim. my wife and i were in the car. i was driving. it was silent. finally she said, we need to think about this old problem in an entirely new way. i said, i'm all ears, sweetheart. i'm at the end of my rope. she said, at least we know he's not cheating. [laughing] [applause] to start us today on this path of new thinking about the crisis of content and polarization, i want to turn to the words of the ultimate new thinker. histories greatest social entrepreneur and as a catholic, my personal lord and savior, jesus. here's what he said as recorded in the gospel st. matthew chapter five, verse 44. 44. you've heard it was said, love

your neighbor and hate your enemy but i tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of the father in heaven. my friends, that is the theme of this breakfast today, love your enemies. that's thinking differently. it changed the world starting 2000 years ago and it is subversive and counter intuitive today as it was then. problem is the devil is in the details. how do you do it? how to do in a country, in a world that is being roiled by political hatred and differences that we just can't seem to bridge decks to begin we need to make it personal. when you do make the problem personal. i remember it when it became personal to me. i make my living speaking. i do about 17575 speeches a year. it's a privilege and to speak to all different audiences, conservatives, liberals, believers, atheists, everybody. what a privilege.

in 2014, 11 i was giving giving a speech to a large group of conservative clinical activists, 600 people people. very fired up. and i got there a little bit early and a look at the program. all the other speakers and andi realized i was the only one of the program not running for president. thought to myself, that's a mistake. but there are not any mistakes, my friends, only opportunities. so i asked myself, what can i say that politicians can't? the answer is, anything i want. [laughing] so i gave my speech. in the middle i stopped and they said, my friends, you've been giving a lot of applause to the speakers are today and you agree with them, and i agree with them, too, but i want you to remember the people who are not here. they are not here, they wouldn't be comfortable. they wouldn't be comfortable

because they don't agree with these ideas. who are they? political liberals. i want you to remember, they are not stupid and they are not evil. they are just americans who disagree with us on public policy. and if you want to persuade them, which you should, you can only do it one way, and that's with love. .. >> at that moment my mind went to seattle. why? because that's my hometown and as some of you know, seattle is the most politically progressive place in the united states. my father was a college professor.

my mother was an artist in seattle, washington. what do you think their politics were? i'm politically conservative. i'm the outlier in my own family. let me tell you something about my parents, they were not stupid and evil, they were followers of jesus and brought me up as a christian and gave me good values and taught me to think for myself, which i did at great inconvenience to them. that day political polarization became personal to me and i want it to be personal to you on this day. so let me ask you this, how many of you move somebody with whom you disagree politically? i'm going to round that off to 100%. the rest of you are on your phones. [laughter] >> are you comfortable hearing someone on your side insult that person that you love? make it personal, my friends. this reminds me of a lesson my

father taught me about moral courage. we're always taught that we need to stand up to the people with whom we disagree and that's a good thing to do. look, we need a competition of ideas. this is america. the great thing about america is there's no knocking the night and jack booted thugs because people disagree with us. god bless this country, we've achieved this. [applaus [applause] >> so moral courage is not standing up to the people with whom you disagree. moral courage is standing up to the people with whom you agree on behalf of those with whom you disagree. can you do it? are you up for it? why can't we do it? why am i so bad at that. i'm not going to lie. why aren't we doing this more? why can't we get out of this dark place that we don't like? some people say we're too

angry. everybody is angry with each other, screaming, terrible, social media, pretty dark. i don't think it's anger. anger is a hot emotion that says i care what you think and i want to change it. the psychologists have actually found that anger and divorce are uncorrelated. i've been married for 28 years to a spaniard and i want to tell you the secret to my 28 years of happy marriage, it's the lack of correlation between anger and divorce. [laughter] >> the problem isn't anger, my friends, the problem is what psychologists call contempt. arthur shoppenhaur says that contempt is the conviction of utter worthlessness of another human being. when you're treated with contempt, you never forget it. the world's leading expert in marital reconciliation is dr. john gotman of university of washington, brought thousands

of companies back together on and their way divorce court. he can sit with down for an hour with a couple who, and can tell. eye rolling, sarcasm, derigs. contempt kills marriages, contempt kills relationships, contempt kills love and contempt is ripping our country apart. we're like a couple on the rocks in this country. don't believe it? turn on to one another. we, i mean me, looking at youtube, and having a debate on public policy with a woman i don't agree with. she made an ill-considered point and i rolled my eyes.

that's an unforced error, it's a habit and it's tearing our society apart. so, how do we break the habit of contempt? some people say we need more civility. we need more tolerance. i say nonsense. why? because civility and tolerance are a low standard. if i told you that my wife esther and i are civil to each other you'd say we need counseling. jesus in the gospel of matthew didn't say tolerate your enemies. he said love your enemies. love them. answer hatred with love. how are you going to do it? how am i going to do it? i'm going to give you three pieces of homework. i'm a harvard professor, i get to give homework. this is your homework and mine. first, ask god to give you the strength to do this hard thing. to go against your human nature, to follow jesus's

teaching. you believe jesus' teaching, act like it, me, too. love your enemies, ask god to take political contempt from your heart and sometimes when it's just too hard, ask god to help you fake it. second, make a commitment to somebody else to reject contempt. i mean, look, of course, you're going to disagree. you need to disagree with other people. that's what makes america great is disagreement, is the competition of ideas, a part of democracy. it's right and good, but do it without contempt. ask somebody to hold you accountable. if you're a public leader, maybe make that commit publicly and finally, go out looking for contempt. it's your opportunity for moral perfection. why? because when people treat you with hatred and you answer with love, it's like being a missionary, isn't it?

i have missionaries on both sides of my family and the most amazing thing about missionary, they're soulful in the face of rejection. you know what nobody's ever said before, oh, good, there's missionaries on the porch. [laughter] >> pretend we're not home! and yet, they're full of joy. why? because there's darkness and they have light and they're bringing light to darkness. now, if you can't find contempt to be a missionary, you need a wider circle of friends. you need more people who disagree with you. you're in an echo chamber. look, this is your opportunity to show people what leadership is all about. run toward the darkness, bring your light. my sisters and brothers, when you leave this national prayer breakfast today and go back to your lives and go back to your jobs, you're going to be back in a world where there's a lot of contempt. see it as your opportunity.

i want you to imagine that there's a sign over the door as you leave, it's a sign that many of you have seen in churches. it's not a sign in churches coming into the church, it's the sign you see over the doors going out into the parking lot. here is what it says, you're now entering mission territory. if you see the world, if we see the world outside this room as mission territory, who knows? we might just mark this day, february 6th, 2020, the national prayer breakfast in washington d.c., as a point at which our national healing begins. my friends, thank you, god bless you. god bless america. [applaus

[applause] >> thank you, arthur brooks. and now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce the president. and mr. president, your presence here means so much to all of us and we are thankful for your attendance every year. your job has enormous challenges and incredible burdens each day. i'm reminded of the words of jesus who said come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest. take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for i am gentle and humble in heart and you'll find rest for your souls, for my yolk is eayoke is easy and my

burden is light. and mr. president, our hope is that you will not be burdened, but instead you'll be encouraged by the people in this room and the people in this room. as you go from this place knowing that people all around the world are praying for you and your family. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the president of the united states, donald j. trump. [applaus [applause]. [applause]

. [applause] >> thank you. >> well, thank you very much. i'm working very hard for you, i will tell you and sometimes you don't make it easy and i certainly don't make it easy on you. and i will continue that tradition if i might this

morning and, arthur, i don't know if i agree with you, but i don't know if arthur is going to like what i'm going to say. but i love listening to you, it was really great. thank you very much. and thank you, congressmen for the great job you've been doing in the relationship and the help, you're a warrior, thank you very much. and kevin, you're a warrior, thank you. the job you've done is incredible. it wasn't supposed to be that way. a lot of extra work, unnecessary work. it's wonderful to be with the thousands of religious believers for these 68th annual national prayer breakfast. i've been here from the first one where i had the privilege of being asked, i've been with you for a long time before that, and we've made tremendous progress. tremendous progress. you know what we've done. i don't think anybody's done

more than all of us together during this last three years. and it's been my honor, but this morning, we come together as one nation blessed to live in freedom and grateful to worship in peace. as everybody knows, my family, our great country, and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people. they have done everything possible to destroy us and by so doing, very badly hurt our nation. they know what they are doing is wrong, but they put themselves far ahead of our great country. weeks ago, and again yesterday, courageous republican politicians and leaders had the

wisdom, fortitude and strength to do what everyone knows was rig right. i don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. nor do i like people who say, i pray for you, when they know that that's not so. so many people have been hurt and we can't let that go on. and i'll be discussing that a little bit later at the white house. we're joined today by two people whose faith inspires us all, our amazing, wonderful friend, vice-president mike pence and his wonderful wife

karen. [applaus [applause] >> thank you. thank you to all of our great political leaders out there, so many that i've been working with so hard over the last three years and we've accomplished so much and to members of my cabinet in attendance, secretary mike pompeo, mark esper, david bernhardt, gene scalia, betsy devos, robert wilkie and administrator coronza. joining us --. [applause] for this cherished tradition are a lot of friends in the audience, many really have

become friends, they are political leaders, they've become great friends. that's all i get to meet anymore, that and the enemies and the allies and we have them all. we have allies, we have enemies, sometimes the allies are enemies, but we just don't know it, but we're changing all that. but thank you all and thank you all for being here, i also want to welcome foreign dignitaries from more than 140 countries. that's something. [applaus [applause] >> everyone here is united by a shared conviction, we know that our nation is stronger, our future is brighter and our joy is greater when we turn to god and ask him to shed his grace on our lives. on tuesday, i addressed congress on the state of the union and the great american comeback, that's what it is.

[applaus [applause] >> our country has never done better than it is doing right now. our economy is the strongest it has ever been and for those of you that are interested in stocks, it looks like the stock market will be way up again today. according to the latest gallup poll that just came out a little while ago, a few minutes ago, american satisfaction is at the highest level ever recorded. can you imagine? and that's from gallup, no friend of mine. [applause] >> 90% of americans say they're satisfied with their personal lives. how about that? isn't that something? just came out today. they must have known i was going to be here. [laughter] >> in everything we do, we're creating a culture that

protects freedom and that includes religious freedom. [applause] as i said on tuesday in the house chamber, in america, we don't punish prayer, we don't tear down crosses, we don't ban symbols of faith, we don't muzzle preachers, we don't muzzle pastors. in america, we celebrate faith. we cherish religion, we lift our voices in prayer and we raise our sights to the glory of god. [applause] so much of the greatness we have achieved, the mysteries we've unlocked and the wonders we've built, the challenges we've met and the incredible heights that we've reached has come from the faith of our

families and the prayers of our people. before america declared independence, patriots in all 13 colonies came together in days of fasting and prayer. in the bitter cold of valley forge, washington and his men had no food, no supplies, and very little chance of victory. reminded me a little bit of 2016, we had very little chance of victory, except for the people in this room and some others believed we were going to win. i believed we were going to win. but what they did was have an unwavering belief that god was with them. i believe that, too. god is with the people in this ro room. before a single skyscraper rose up in new york city, thousands of poor american families donated all they could to build

the magnificent st. patrick's cathedral. [applause] when buzz aldrin landed on the moon, he said, houston, i would like to request a few moments of silence and then he read from the bible. at every stage, our nation's long march for civil rights was inspired, sustained and uplifted by faith, prayer, and devotion of religious believers, to protect faith communities i have taken historic action to defend religious liberty, including the constitutional right to pray in public schools. [cheers and applause]

we can also talk about the johnson amendment. we can talk about mexico city policy. we've done a lot. but i also recently took executive action to stop taxpayer dollars from going to colleges and universities that spread the poison of anti-semitism and bad things about christianity. [applause]

we are upholding the sanctity of life, the sanctity of life. [applause] and we are doing that like nobody has ever done it before from this position. you better get out and vote on november 3rd because you have a lot of people out there that aren't liking what we're doing and we're pursuing medical breakthroughs to save premature babies because every child is a sacred gift from god. [applause]

together we are building the world's most prosperous and inclusive society. we are lifting up citizens of every race, color, religion and creed. we are bringing hope to forgotten communities and more americans are working today. 160 million, a little bit short, just a little bit, 160 million we've never been even close, than ever before. think of it, more americans are working today, almost 160 million, than ever before. our unemployment numbers are the best in the history of our country. a more specific -- [applaus [applause]

>> number and numbers that you hear me say, if you listen, african-american, asian-american, hispanic-american, the best unemployment numbers in the history of our country. women, best in 71 years. sorry, we'll have you there soon, soon-- have to apologize for the women, 71 years, but the best unemployment numbers. we have-- we're doing things that nobody thought possible. we're setting records that nobody thought achievable. and to give former prisoners a second chance at life, which so many people in this room have worked on for so long. we passed criminal justice reform into law and i signed it nine months ago. [applause]

and it's proving more and more that america is indeed a nation that believes in redemption. what's happened with prisoners is a miracle. prisoners would come out, nobody would give them a job and oftentimes, most of the time, all of the time they'd go back into prison. they'd get caught doing something bad. they had no money, they had no hope, they had no job. now they're coming out into a booming economy and employers are hiring them and to a certain extent maybe because they're having a hard time getting people. first time in our country's history, actually, we're running out of people. we have plants moving in by the thousands. we have car companies coming from japan and from germany, from lots of other places and we need people, and employers

are hiring prisoners, and they would have never done it, except for what we've done with criminal justice reform, but even before that, because the economy has become so powerful. and these prisoners have done an incredible job. the employers are saying, why didn't i do this 20 years ago? so it's an incredible thing, what's happening to people that are given a second chance and sometimes a third chance, in all fairness. and it's something that everybody in this room should be very proud about because you've always felt that way long before it was fashionable. so i want to thank you for that. [applaus [applause] >> as we revive our economy, we're also renewing our national spirit. today we proudly proclaim that faith is alive and well and thriving in america and we're going to keep it that way.

nobody will have it changed. it wasn't happen as long as i'm here, it will never ever happen. [applause] something which wasn't done nearly enough, i could almost say wasn't done at all. we're standing up for persecuted christians and religious minorities all around the world. [applause] like nobody has ever done. the last year at the united nations i was honored to be the first president to host a meeting of religious freedom. it was based all on religious freedom. that was the first meeting of its kind ever held at the united nations. there i called upon all nations to combat the terrible injustice of religious

persecution and people listened. and countries that we give billions of dollars to, they listened because they had to listen. it's amazing how that works, isn't it? like nobody ever played that game before. weeks ago, a 21-year-old woman who goes by the name of mary was seized and imprisoned in iran because she converted to christianity and shared the gospel with others. in venezuela, the dictator maduro has arrested church leaders. at the state of the union i was honored to host the true and legitimate president of venezuela, juan guaido. [applause] good man. i told him that all americans stand with the venezuelan people in their righteous

struggle for freedom. yesterday our administration launched the international religious freedom alliance, the first ever alliance devoted to promoting religious liberty. it was something. really something. [applaus [applause]. more than 25 countries have already joined our campaign. i want to thank secretary of state mike pompeo along with ambassador sam brownback who are both here this morning for leading this historic initiative. thank you very much. thank you, mike. [applause] all of us here today reaffirmed these timeless truths. faith keeps us free. prayer makes us strong and god alone is the author of life and the giver of grace. [applause]

with us this morning is a pastor who embodies the miracle of faith and the power of prayer, reverend gerald toussaint from louisiana. reverend toussaint is an army veteran, a truck driver and a pastor. he leads the same church that his father led, mt. pleasant baptist church, which has been a pillar of the community for more than 140 years. last year mt. pleasant was one of three african-american churches in louisiana that was destroyed in fires set by a wicked hate-filled arsonist. yet, in the wake of such shocking evil, america witnessed the unshakeable unity, devotion and spirit of reverend toussaint and his entire, highly spirited,

beautiful congregation. families quickly came together in prayer. soon people from all across louisiana came to help any way they could. americans in all 50 states and 20 different countries heard about it and they donated more than $2 million to help rebuild mt. pleasant and the other two churches that were there. [applause] on easter sunday, just days after he lost his church, reverend toussaint preached about what it all meant.

what does it mean? the easter season, he said, is a fitting metaphor for recent events. it was dark the day that jesus was crustfied. it was dark at night when they burned our church. what has happened since is like a resurrection, old things are gone, but it's going to be a brand new start and it's going to be better than ever, reverend. [applause] better than ever. fantastic. fantastic. [applause]. and today, just 10 months later, the ground is cleared, careful plans have been made and they're beautiful plans, and construction is about to begin on the new and very, very magnificent mt. pleasant church. congratulations. [applause]

the reverend says that we're rebuilding because that's what jesus does, he rebuilds. he lives and he breathes as what he does, he wants it to be rebuilt. it was torn apart, but it's being rebuilt again and i'll bet you, it will indeed be bigger, better, and nicer than before. what do you think, reverend? yes? and it's going to have your mark on it. it did have and now it has every great -- and your father is looking down on you right now and he's very, very proud of the job you've done. thank you very much. [applause] very much inspirers, reverend. thank you. well, i want to just thank everybody. this has been very special.

tell your congregation that -- and all of your people that we have 350 million people in our country, they're proud americans and they respect what we're doing, even those that you don't think so much like us, respect us, want to be with us, they're respecting our fight. and we are in a fight, religion in this country and religion all over the world, certain religions in particular are under siege. we won't let that happen. we are going to protect our religions. we are going to protect christianity. we are going to protect our great ministers and pastors and rabbis, and all of the people that we so cher ish and that we so respect.

america is eternally in the debt of our nation's african-american churches all throughout this country. that's why it's so fitting and so -- that's one of the reasons we chose this particular church in louisiana. for generations they've bravely fought for justice and lifted up the conscience of our nation and we're greatful beyond any measure, but i can say that going beyond that, we're grateful to the people in this room for the love they show to religion. not one religion, but many religions. they're brave, they're brilliant, they're fighters, they like people, and sometimes they hate people, i'm sorry, i apologize. i'm trying to learn.

[laughter] not easy. it's not easy. when they impeach you for nothing then you're supposed to like them, it's not easy, folks. i do my best. but i'll tell you what we are doing, we we're rear storing hope and spreading faith. we're helping citizens of every background take part in the great rebuilding of our nation. we're declaring that america will always shine as a land of liberty and light unto all nations of the world. we want every nation to look up to us like they are right now. we were not a respected nation just a few years ago. we had lost our way. our country is respected again bye everybody. [applause] this morning, let us ask, father in heaven to guide our steps, protect our children,

and bless our families, and with all of our hearts, let us forever embrace the eternal truth that every child is made equal by the hand of almighty god. thank you. god bless you and god bless america. thank you all very much, thank you, thank you. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the president to leave us along with the vice-president and mrs. pence. sir, as you go, know that millions of people around the world are praying for you and we thank you so much for being here with us and please remain in your seats until the president and the vice-president leave. [applause] ♪ ♪

[inaudible conversations] >> if you'd please be seated. please be seated. and let's welcome bac back cc winans to sing a closing song. [applaus [applause] >> this song is about a woman who had an encounter with jesus and because she was forgiven much, she loved much. ♪

alabaster box. ♪ ♪ the room grew still as she made her way to jesus ♪ ♪ she stumbled through the tears that made her blind ♪ ♪ she felt such pain, some

spoke in anger ♪ ♪ heard folks whisper, there's no place here for her kind ♪ ♪ still on she came through the shame that flushed her face ♪ ♪ until at last she knelt before his feet ♪ ♪ and though she spoke no words, everything she said was heard ♪ ♪ as she poured her love for the master from her box of alabaster ♪ ♪ so i've come to pour my praise on him like oil from mary's alabaster box ♪

♪ oh, i bless the place so don't be angry if i wash his feet with my tears ♪ ♪ and i dry them with my hair ♪ ♪ 'cause you weren't there the night he found me ♪ ♪ you did not feel what i felt when he wrapped his loving arms around me ♪ ♪ and you don't know the cost, not of this oil in my alabaster box ♪ ♪ no one knows what you've been through ♪ ♪ i can't forget the way life used to be 'cause i was a prisoner to the sin that had me

bound ♪ ♪ and i spent my days, i poured my life without measure into a little treasure box i thought i found ♪ ♪ oh, until the day when jesus came to me ♪ ♪ and healed my soul with the wonder of his love ♪ ♪ now i'm giving back to him all the praise he's worthy of ♪ ♪ i've been forgiven and that's why i love him so much ♪ ♪ so i've come to pour my praise on him like oil from

mary's alabaster box ♪ ♪ oh, thank you, lord ♪ ♪ so don't be angry if i wash his feet with my tears and dry them with my hair ♪ ♪ 'cause you weren't there the night he found me ♪ ♪ you did not feel what i felt when he wrapped his loving arms around me ♪ ♪ and you don't know the cost, not of this oil ♪ ♪ you don't know the cost of my praise ♪ ♪ you don't know the cost, not of this oil in my alabaster

box ♪. [applause] >> god bless you. >> can we just sing one chorus together. ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪. [applause] >> cece winans, let's give her a big thank you. [applaus [applause] well, this has been a great warning. love your enemies is a tough message, not everybody seems to get it, but we'll work on it. >> we're getting there. >> we're not going to give up, are we? it's not really a message that's easy to sell in this world today, but woo we've got to keep pushing the message of

love. when we started to put this program together, who could give us a benediction to inspire us together to build a better world. it was john's idea, only one name, john lewis of georgia. [applause] a pioneer, a prophet, icon in the struggle for human rights and most of all, a humble servant of god. because of his struggle against cancer he could not be here with us today. but via a videotape this made this week we give him the last word of this morning, please rise and join hands around your tables as congressman john lewis leads us in the benediction. benediction. >> good morning, i would like to ask all of you to bow your heads. brothers and sisters become to the national prayer breakfast

in peace because peace is what we desperately need now more than ever before. as a people of faith, as people of hope, we need the blessings of god almighty. it does not matter whether you live or how much money you have in your bank account, it does not matter what language you speak or the color of your skin, it does not matter whether you worship one god, many gods or no gods, we're one people, one family. call it the american family, call it the world family, we are brothers and sisters. we live in a blessed land. we have been blessed by god

almighty and we have a mission and a mandate to be a blessing to our fellow human beings. as dr. martin luther king, jr. said on one occasion, i have decided to stick with love, for hate is too heavy a burden to bear. many years ago i thought i saw that as a young person, a march across a bridge in selma, alabama, where i was beaten and left bloody and unconscious. i thought i was going to die, but i never hated the people that beat me because i chose the way of peace, the way of love and the way of nonviolence. for the god's almighty help me

and he is keeping us all here. so we must become truly one family and hold on to each other. we must believe in one another, we must never give up on our fellow human beings. today now, we go in peace, we go in love and we commit to treating each other as we would treat ourselves, amen. >>. [applause] >> amen and go in peace. [applaus [applause]. [inaudible conversations] >> well, coming up today here and c-span2, house speaker nancy pelosi will be holding her weekly news conference on capitol hill, that's live at

10:45 eastern and then coming up at noon eastern, it's president trump, he's expected to make a statement on the impeachment trial and his acquittal in the senate. a little bit later, democratic presidential candidate pete buttigieg speaks with veterans at american legion in merrimack, new hampshire live coverage at 2:00 eastern. watch our coverage on-line at c-span.org and listen with the free c-span radio app. our campaign 2020 coverage continues saturday at 6 p.m. eastern, live from the new hampshire democratic party annual mcintyre shaheen club dinner, joe biden, pete buttigieg, tom steyer, senator michael bennet, deval patrick, senator elizabeth warren, amy klobuchar, andrew yang.

watch on c-span, c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. >> 75 years ago this month the united states, great britain and the soviet union met to discuss a post world war ii germany and liberated europe and sunday 4 p.m. eastern on american history tv's real america, the documentary of that meeting, the conference. >> i come from the crimea conference with a firm belief that we have made a good start on the road to a world of peace. never before has have the major allies been more closely united, not only on the war aims, but also in their peace aims. >> at 4:30 on oral histories we'll talk about medal of honor reseive yent hershel woody williams as he recounts his

experiences as a marine in iwo jima. >> the marines around me raised their weapons in the air and that kind of stuff and i thought everybody lost their minds for a second and i couldn't figure out what was going on and then i caught on what was going on because then i looked and there's up on top of mount sarabachi. >> american history on c-span 3. >> senate minority leader chuck schumer spoke to reporters about the impeachment trial of president trump and the acquittal yesterday in the senate. this briefing is about 15 minutes. minutes. >> good afternoon, everybody. this is clearly not a happy day