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| "And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I have raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood." D&C 101:80 |
| Having declared America to be a land of liberty, God undertook to raise up a band of inspired and intelligent leaders who would write a constitution of liberty and establish the first free people in modern times. The hand of God in this undertaking is clearly indicated by the Lord himself in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these words: "...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)...God declares that the United States Constitution was divinly inspired for the specific purpose of eliminating bondage and the violation of the rights and protection which belongs to "all flesh." -Ezra Taft Benson |
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| "We believe that no government can exist in peace except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free excercise of conscience, the right and control of property and the protection of life." D&C 134: 1-2 |
| "The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it is to all those who are privileged with the sweets of liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a thirsty and weary land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun." - Joseph Smith (Epistle to the Church from Liberty Jail, March 25, 1839) |
| "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." -Thomas Jefferson (the Declaration of Independence) |
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| "The Lord in his wisdom saw the necessity of giving us a nation in which we could thrive. In no other nation under heaven could the Church have been organized and gone forward as we have in this nation. The founding of the United States was not an accident. The giving to us of the Constitution of the United States was not an accident. Our Heavenly Father knew what would be needed, and so he paved the way to give us the Constitution. It came under the influence of prayer, and he guided those who framed that wondeful document. I hope that the membership of this Church will not be deceived into thinking that other plans, other forms of government, other systems of direction whatsoever, are desirable. I want to say to you without any hesitation that no form of government in the world can be compared favorably with the government God gave to us. This is his plan." -George Albert Smith |
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| "We believe that the Lord has been preparing that when he should bring forth his work that, when the time should fully come, there might be a place upon his footstool where sufficient liberty and conscience should exist, that his Saints might dwell in peace under the broad panoply of constitutional law and equal rights. In this view we consider that the men in the Revolution were inspired by the Almighty, to throw off the shackles of the mother government, with her established religion. For this cause were Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington and a host of others inspired to deeds of resistance to the acts f the King of Great Britain, who might have been led to those aggressive acts, for aught we know, to bring to pass the purpose of God, in thus establishing a new government upon a principle of greater freedom, a basis of self-government allowing the free exercise of religious worship." -Brigham Young |
| A Mormon perspective on America and Civil Government continued... |
| Part 1 of 2 |
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