Current Lessons
Principles of Good Government No. Thirteen
The Lord’s Work and Gift of the US Constitution
At Christmas we think of gifts, and the United States Constitution is a great gift from the Lord – The Restored Church of Jesus Christ has a unique and remarkable understanding about the Constitution. Some people agreed that the Constitution was inspired, but the Church goes to the next step. Not only was it inspired, but the Lord specifically claimed credit for it: “I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose…” (D&C 101:80).
The Lord established the Constitution on the principles of agency and accountability and to protect religious freedom – The Lord said He provided that the Constitution be established and that it should be maintained for the rights and protection of all mankind according to just and holy principles. The just and holy principles are moral agency and accountability. (See D&C 77-78) Agency and accountability go together. If we do not have agency we cannot be held accountable for our choices including choices about keeping the commandments of God, and our opportunity for growth is limited. This is why a primary purpose of the Constitution is to protect religious freedom. The leaders of the Church devote great effort in promoting religious freedom worldwide.
There are moral absolutes, somethings are right, and somethings are wrong – "The founders who established this nation believed in God and in the existence of moral absolutes – right and wrong – established by this Ultimate Law-giver. The Constitution they established assumed and relied on morality in the actions of its citizens" (Dallin H. Oaks, Preserving Religious Freedom, February 4, 2011, Chapman University School of Law). John Adams, our second president, said: We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion...Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.”
Moral relativism is the opposite of moral absolutes, and moral relativism threatens our freedom - Moral relativism denies the existence of divine standards of right and wrong, and concludes there is no sin. Korihor in the Book of Mormon was a great advocate this doctrine. (See Alma 30:16-17) Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of moral relativism: "What has caused the current public and legal climate of mounting threats to religious freedom? I believe the cause is not legal but cultural and religious. I believe the diminished value being attached to religious freedom stems from the ascendancy of moral relativism. More and more of our citizens support the idea that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made and can be accepted or rejected as one chooses. Each person is free to decide for himself or herself what is right and wrong. Our children face the challenge of living in an increasingly godless and amoral society” (Ibid).
Because the Constitution is from the Lord there is opposition, and it is attacked is in many ways – The Constitution is attacked by those who believe in moral relativism and have their own agenda. Ignorance and complacency are also great threats to the Constitution and our religious freedom. A large percentage of the US population are ignorant and/or complacent about the Constitution and the importance of religious freedom. We have a great responsibility to educate others about the importance of the Constitution and religious freedom, and it begins with our own family, our children and grandchildren.
The Lord said; “The works, and the designs, and the purpose of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught” (D&C 3:1) – I believe this applies to the Constitution, and I also believe the words of President Ezra Taft Benson: "We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said: 'Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.' (July 19, 1840, Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City.)...."I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. But it will not be saved in Washington. It will be saved by the citizens of the nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of the Church - men and women who will subscribe to and abide by the principles of the Constitution" (Constitution - A Heavenly Banner).