Church History

In 1976, almost 50 years ago, I was a young primary aged boy who had been tasked to learn a line for a play being performed by my elementary school celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which is also known as the birth of the United States of America.  I got to say a line that had little meaning to a seven-year-old boy, “give me liberty or give me death!”  This only served to make me wonder why anyone would choose death, period.  But as a young portrayer of Patrick Henry, who uttered that line at the end of a speech he gave to the colony of Virginia in order to muster support for the pending fight that was to ensue between the colonies of British America and England, I was participating in the bicentennial celebration that was taking place throughout the United States that summer.

As a young man I didn’t have the understanding or desire to learn why this was so important, but my mother did.  She would tell her nine children, of which I am the youngest, just how important and significant this celebration was, not just to us as a nation, but to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints everywhere.  It may seem odd to think that activities of Lexington and Concord that took place in 1775 and a simple, yet earnest prayer uttered by a young boy in a grove of trees in the spring of 1820 have any relation at all, but the two events and the subsequent shifts in history that they created are more closely tied together than is realized.

September 17, 1787 would have seemed just like an ordinary day to anyone who was alive then; for them it would have been another day of work, of learning or just living, except in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where a miracle had taken place.  Thirty-nine men signed a document that would forever change the trajectory of mankind.  The Constitution established a new form of government that was based in individual liberty and freedom.

April 6, 1830 seemed like a regular day as well, except for a small number of people who gathered into a humble wood cabin in Fayette, New York to witness the restoration of Jesus Christ’s true church.  Both of these events, almost fifty years apart, may seem distinct of one another, but they are interconnected as well because without the one happening prior to the other, the restoration would have never taken place.  The Lord revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.” (D&C 101:80).  The Constitution was written in order to allow for the restoration of His truths and power upon the earth once again and the ensample needed for the world to learn how freedom may be wrought by all nations.

Now, fast forward two plus centuries later, the question should be asked, how are we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, suppose to defend the Constitution if we do not take the time to learn about it?  This is a question that has come to my mind in the past several months while I have watched the political strife that consumes the nation and continues to create more emotion than logic in the discussion of our future.  If we truly believe in the scriptures and the prophecies of Joseph Smith, the prophet, then we have an obligation to study, learn, and then defend the Constitution from attacks.  And, if we understand prophecy, we know that a time will come when the Constitution has become so thread bare due to all the attacks on it, from legislation to outright disobedience, that it will hang by a thread. We also know that at that time it will be the elders of the Church who are to save it from utter destruction.

Some may question why?  Why save it?  What makes the freedoms established in the Constitution so important that God referenced it in latter-day revelation with His support as well as a call to the members of the Church everywhere to defend and stand fast by the Constitution (see D&C 98:4-8, 101:76-80)? While doing research for a book, I have spent the last three years studying what the Constitution is and what it gave us.  In the process I have gained an even stronger testimony while learning why it was important to the world then, and why it matters to us and the world now.  Much like ancient scripture are important to us today, the Constitution and the type of government it established is also important because it paved the way for personal freedoms to be secured by the people.  These God-given, constitutionally guaranteed freedoms are imperative to every Christian, every Jew, and every Muslim who believes in scripture and the accountability of self.

True freedom, defined by established rules and laws by societal virtues and morals, is essential in our seeking eternal salvation.  Under the framework of freedom we are given a crucial responsibility: the ability to make our own choices, as President Thomas S. Monson emphasized (see The Three Rs of Choice, General Conference Oct. 2010), where accountability comes in the form of consequences.  Without freedom to choose, how do we experience choice and consequence?    When decisions and their consequences are removed, we are hindered in the ability to learn the skill of self-control, understand compassion, and appreciate the value of selfless service.  With the absence of consequences, the opportunity for self-awareness and personal growth would be lost, while equally rewarding all without merit would create no true benefit.  This scenario ultimately breeds chaos and disorder, known as anarchy, or total and utter control, called tyranny.

But a loving Heavenly Father showed us a better way.  Through His only begotten Son and His Atonement, He showed us that while freedom may have inherent dangers, we may mitigate them through proper earthly self-governance: obedience to covenants.  Heavenly Father could have allowed for the establishment of powerful rulers or kings and left them to control our lives, but this was contrary to His plan for man.  We need only look to King Noah to see the evil they create for themselves and their subjects (see Mosiah 11).  We are taught in the Doctrine and Covenants, “That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.” (D&C 101:78).  If choice and consequence are removed, responsibility and accountability are lost, righteous people are then open to being persecuted.  As it says in scriptures, when the wicked rule, the people mourn (see Proverbs 29:2).

Every member, regardless of where he or she lives in the world, owes a debt of gratitude  to the Constitution and the precepts it established that allow for the doctrine of liberty found in freedom of self-government.  We owe gratitude to the men God raised up who fought for this opportunity to develop the godly principles it contains and the freedoms it recognizes, subsequently codified through the amendment process found in the Constitution.

This process is one of the best examples of why the Constitution truly left the ability for self-government in the hands of We the People.  The resulting first ten amendments gave the world what would become known as the Bill of Rights, not granted to man from man, but known to be what we were entitled to as children of a loving Heavenly Father that secured the necessary freedom in order for Him to restore His truths to earth in this, the last dispensation.  This is why the Constitution matters to every single member of the Church throughout the world.  This is why we are told to befriend the Constitution and stand fast by it.  It has been able to set a light to the world, showing how a system of self-government helps spread freedom that in turn allows the true gospel of Jesus Christ to move more freely throughout the world.  We are now seeing the benefits and blessings of the temple brought closer to the members throughout the world as more and more are announced, many in more remote places and locations that were never before imagined.  As freedom spreads, so does peace among nations, and peace is what brings greater opportunity for the light of the Gospel to be shared and understood.

The latter-day opportunity to live close to temples has given us the ability to accomplish the work of redeeming Israel on both sides of the veil, a work which cannot be accomplished in the darkness of tyranny, for the precepts of self-control, compassion, or service will not be learned.  We are here to become, to grow, to act, not be acted upon.  We cannot expect freedom to be left alone while we sit passively by allowing for the forces of tyranny to work at chipping away the foundation of liberty and freedom that is the Constitution.

If we choose to sit idly by, saying we have been told not to be political, then we have misunderstood the assignment.  Members of the Church have a greater responsibility to be engaged in the process of civics, no matter where we live in the world.  It is only by sacrificing some of our time, in order to become informed and engaged, that we may be found worthy of the blessings that freedom brings.  This isn’t politics, which has become the manipulation of information and people in order to garner power and control.  Civics is the process by which we actively participate in the process of self-government in truth, with the goal of preserving freedom.  Disagreements, discussions, and debates are inevitable, but do not need to create contention.

This is where Christ-like love needs to be applied, and an open heart to understand truth, for that is where discussion and debate need to begin on the common ground of truth, as President Russell M. Nelson taught, “God is the source of all truth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embraces all truth that God conveys to His children.” (see What is True?, General Conference Oct. 2022), there is absolute truth and it is up to us to learn and abide by it, in all aspects of our lives.  If we are willing to have open and intellectually honest discussions, then we will be able to have the opportunity to teach and to learn from one another.

The only way all the blessings of the gospel may be enjoyed is by living in true freedom and the only way true freedom may be maintained is by living the principles of the gospel.  The Constitution may only protect us if we take the time to protect it.  The adversary knows that the easiest people to enslave and keep that way is an ignorant people.  For all choices have a consequence, as stated earlier, and the choice of ignorance brings the consequence of tyranny, and the loss of gospel truths.

I can’t fit into the Patrick Henry costume my sister so lovingly sewed for me almost 50 years ago, but I have the words I uttered now etched in my heart, “give me liberty or give me death!” has deeper and greater meaning to me now than ever before and I have tried to teach its importance to my five children as my mother taught her nine.  As we approach the 250^th anniversary of America’s declared independence and the 200^th anniversary of the restoration of Christ’s true Church, may we be willing to take time to study the true principles of free government found in the Constitution.  May we seek for understanding of how God organized His kingdom on earth, not just in this last dispensation, but even in the times of past dispensations.  And may we recognize how He guided the Founding Fathers in their development of our Republic.  The Constitution laid the foundation for the restoration of His Church and the continued blessing of religious freedom in the U.S., as well as the expansion of freedom and the gospel to the rest of the world.