PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — Former Vice President Mike Pence told a crowd of supporters he’s confident that, even as the nation is severely divided, God is at work.
“I just think it’s good to remember as we’re in a very divided time in the life of our nation. … I understand that even in these challenging times, God is at work. That he’s working even in the divisions that we see and the disappointments we experience,” Pence said.
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He and former second lady Karen Pence, both devout Christians, were the headliners at the annual Celebrators Conference in Pigeon Forge, the gathering of about 10,000 seniors run by Phil Waldrep Ministries. President George W. Bush addressed the same conference in 2018.
The Pences spoke mostly about the conference’s outlined topics of faith, family and support for the military. Even though the evening began with Waldrep reciting the preamble of the Constitution and military branches were honored throughout, politics weren’t discussed beyond calling for the nation to pray for government leaders.
The two spoke respectfully about military service — though Mike did not serve, both of their fathers served and their son, Michael, and son-in-law, Henry Bond, are both active military members. They spoke about praying for the military, thanked the crowd for their prayers and got a rousing applause when he said the U.S. military is the “greatest force for good the world has ever known.”
The evening had a homecoming feel of sorts, and while questions from audience members were approved beforehand, the answers were revealing. Mike Pence gave his testimony of how he became a Christian as a young man, and Karen spoke at length about her prayer life.
But in a stark contrast to the spirit of the night, as the Pences recited their favorite Bible verses and explained what they mean to their family, inboxes across the country pinged with a new email from Pence’s former boss President Donald Trump.
The message was a real-time example of the division Mike Pence spoke about as the former president backed the group America First Legal in its fight “against the Biden Administration’s lawless assault on our citizens, our freedoms, our borders and our treasured way of life.”