By Harold Pease, Ph. D.
Most Christians believe that the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution and the resultant emergence of the most powerful free nation of all time are evidences of Gods inspiration and direct aid. For instance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds it as a tenet of faith that Christ bestowed the U. S. Constitution upon this nation “by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose,” and their members believe it will remain so as long as this nation remembers their God. In this column we will use their references documenting the strength of this relationship between Christ and freedom because they offer the most blatantly stated language of that relationship as originating from Christ. Their citations for the claim come from the Doctrine & Covenants and the Book of Mormon, which members consider as scripture along with the Old and New Testaments.
It is good to remember every July 4th and Sept. 11 who gave us our independence, liberty and the U.S. Constitution, and consider what measures we today use to protect it and teach our children its principles. Members also believe that Christ raised up another people on the American continent before our own and also gave them liberty. These citations and this story of its ancient inhabitants follows.
Doctrine &Covenants 98 :4-10.
4 And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.
5 And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;
7 And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.
8 I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
9 Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
10 Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.
D & C 101:77-80.
77 According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
78 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.
79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
80 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 109:54.
Christ is the author of the dedicatory prayer of the Kirkland Temple, verse 54 of that prayer says “… may those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever.”
Book of Mormon, Mosiah 26:10-32
Under King Mosiah in the Book Of Mormon Christ establishes separation of church and state. Alma Sr., head of the newly established Church of Christ, sent those accused of sin to King Mosiah to be judged by him as a government responsibility. But King Mosiah “said unto Alma: Behold, I judge them not; therefore I deliver them into thy hands to be judged.” Alma fearing that he might offend God in the matter “pours out his whole soul to God.” Wherein “the voice of the Lord came to him.” He is taught that Alma’s judgement has only to do with those who will not repent and only with respect to their membership in Christ’s church here on earth. The rest is by Christ himself in the final judgement day. But the doctrine of separation of church and state is established between Mosiah and Alma as early as 120 BC, many centuries before it is established in the U.S. Constitution as Amendment I.
Book of Mormon, Mosiah 29:1-41 and Helaman 4:22. None of King Mosiah’s sons wanted the throne having once been unrighteous men. So Mosiah established a new form of government called “Reign of the Judges” where the people had no king but voted for judges to be their leaders which took effect upon Mosiah’s death about 92 B.C. Helaman 4: 22 tells us that by 61 years of the new kingless government, about 31 B.C. (Christ came to them 64 years later about 33AD), “that they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or “that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the people.” IMPORTANT: Christ gave Mosiah this new form of government just as he did our Founders theirs.
We know of only a few times in recorded history where monarchs, or potential monarchs, refused leadership so that the people could elect their own leaders, with Nephi being one. Solon, chosen archon or chief magistrate in Athens, about 594 BC who later resigned and left for the University of Alexandrea in Egypt. He was fascinated with the new ideas of democracy floating around but knew it could never be tried while he was in Athens with power to overrule it. Before leaving he established the first democracy in world history where the people elected their own rulers.
All the sons of King Mosiah rejected their fathers throne, as described above, as did George Washington who could have been King in America had he wanted it. He declined but reluctantly agreed to be the first Republic’s first president. He accepted a second term only reluctantly.
With certainty we will one day learn of Christ’s hand in establishing democracy in Athens as well. Because the city states of Greece were mostly democratic the soil was fertile for the ministry of the Apostle Paul and the spread of the gospel post Christ outside Israel and from their to Rome, then to Europe, Great Britain and then to America from which now it is taken to the whole world in a massive way. Freedom, especially religious, facilitated the spread of Christianity but had to be totally in place and protected before a Restoration could succeed.
Of course, Mosiah’s experiment with freedom could not have helped our Founding Fathers as that information was not available until after 1830. Still, tenants of freedom may have surfaced via them. Iroquois legend credits a white god as the origin of their democracy sometime between 1570 and 1600—for the warring tribes located in upper New York and southeastern Canada—which exists still today. The Iroquois Confederacy consisted of the: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. Benjamin Franklin and other Founders may have emulated in part the Iroquois “The Great Law of Peace” for America’s Articles of Confederation.
But members believe the U.S. Constitution to be a stand alone revelatory document. It created a Republic, a major and critical refinement of democracy, and is destined to be for the “protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;” and to “be established forever,” as Christ said.
Dr. Harold Pease is an expert on the United States Constitution and a syndicated columnist. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College. Read his weekly columns at www.LibertyUnderFire.org Column # 827.