The Object of Proper Laws

Having established the eternal reality that God sanctions proper government and holds men accountable for the laws established and administered by government, the prophetic word from D&C 134 that Elder Benson has used to introduce his treatment on the proper role of government then proceeds to outline the only conditions under which laws will lead to the perpetuation of peace and prosperity.

"[I] believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life. . ."

A critical review of this brief statement establishes some important concepts.

First, a government cannot exist in peace if it does not establish laws that meet the criteria God set forth. This declaration is one of pro-action. Peace cannot exist unless such laws are enacted.Threfore, the absence of such laws will lead to loss of peace. This establishes a mandate and a responsibility of those involved in government to ensure such laws are established. It is likewise the responsibility of the people to ensure their representatives in government comply with this charge. At times, to our great misfortune, our government has failed to live up to this heavenly duty. And why is a failure to establish such laws so dangerous? Why does the absence of such laws lead to conflict? Because, as outlined in the Book of Mormon, "the natural man is an enemy to God." When men are left to act unrestrained by proper laws, anarchy prevails and the natural inclination of humankind leads to man abusing the rights of other men. Laws are needed to protect the rights of men from being trampled upon by others.

Additionally, when a government fails to enact righteous laws, the government itself can not persist in peace because the inherent desire for freedom swells and the government is overthrown in order to establish one that does protect individual rights. For this very reason many have been led to declare, along with President J. Reuben Clark, that the price of freedom has always been human blood. And so we can see that when government fails in this sacred responsibility, it results in conditions that lead to misery, violence, death and destruction. That is not what God wants for His children. If mankind would but believe and adhere to the word of God pertaining to this matter, much of the misery that has existed in our world could have been avoided.

Of even greater concern is the situation in which government not only fails to enact proper laws, but the laws that are established actually operate in opposition to the purposes God has established. God has declared that laws are to "secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life". What happens when the laws established by government actually undermine or destroy these principles? How precarious is our state when we allow such things to occur in our government.

If government does live up to its charge and establish laws as required by God, the verse then states that we, as a people, must hold these laws inviolate. What good does it do to establish a law if government fails to enforce the law, or if the people fail to obey the law? A law is not a guideline, suggestion, or recommendation. When laws are properly established, we must honor and sustain them. Only through obedience to law, and enforcement of the law for those who refuse to comply, can we consider that the laws are held inviolate. When laws are not enforced justly, or when the majority of people fail to comply, it likewise results in the loss of peace. One of the most Godless manifestions of failure to hold a law inviolate occurs when lawmakers seek to exempt themselves from the obligation to comply with expectations imposed upon the citizenry. Very recently the Congress of the United States passed new healthcare legislation that established guidelines, requirements, and obligations for individuals and organizations. However, a provision of the law exempted members of Congress from being subject to the new program. Such flagrant disregard for the rule of law is in direct opposition to God's command to hold laws inviolate.

There can be no misunderstanding. God requires that government establish laws which comply with the conditions he has set forth, and that the nation holds these laws inviolate. Anything more or less than these leads to the loss of peace and prosperity.

Let's take a closer look at what God requires of proper laws.

Free Exercise of Conscience

It is worth taking a moment to consider what is meant by freedom of conscience. Conscience is universally known as, essentially, the inherent sense of what is considered right and wrong. Greg Peter's of the University of New Brunswick explains it this way. "The defining characteristic of conscience in a democratic society is the freedom to have, hold and act upon (or not ) one’s conscientiously-held beliefs. No action, legislative or otherwise, can be taken against the conscience of an individual."

Men are free to believe as they choose. They are also free to act or not act upon their beliefs, so long as their action or inaction does not infringe upon the rights of others. Government exists to protect this freedom. If government fails to do this, men are deprived of the most fundamental of rights, the freedom to believe as they choose.

The precedent for this is outlined in the Book of Mormon. In fact, through Book of Mormon teaching we find that this freedom is such an important and fundamental part of the condition of man, that even when the wicked use it as a shield behind which they attempt to accomplish evil ends, righteous societies still hold it inviolate. We learn through the unfortunate account of Nehor that those who followed his path of priestcraft ". . . durst not lie, if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished; therefore they pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any man for his belief." (Alma 1:17)

Later, when Korihor became a primary antagonist to the church, the same principle was affirmed. "Now there was no law against a man's belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds. For thus saith the scripture; Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve. Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him. But if he murdered he was punished unto death; and if he robbed he was also punished; and if he committed adultery he was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness they were punished.For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man's belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equal grounds." (Alma 30:7-11)

The teachings of latter-day prophets have likewise upheld this essential principle of freedom. President Wilford Woodruff said the following in 1883. "There is one thing I wish to say to the congregation, and I would say the same to the whole world if I had the power-it is this: I have heard the Prophet Joseph Smith say on several occasions when speaking on the agency of man, and the liberty and rights of men, that if he were emperor of the earth, having control of the whole human family, he would give every man, woman and child the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, leaving them to be responsible alone to their Creator for their individual acts. These are my sentiments, and they are the sentiments of this people today, and have been from the beginning of the organization of this Church and I trust will be to the end of time. And this we believe to be a principle emanating from heaven; and while we accord this right to our fellow men, and while we declare it to be a heaven-born right guaranteed unto all American citizens through the same Constitution of our country, we claim the exercise of the same right ourselves; and we claim it by the laws of God to man. . . . You may wish to know why I make these remarks. I will tell you. Because God himself grants this right to every human being upon the earth irrespective of race or color; it is part of the divine economy not to force any man to heaven, not to coerce the mind, but to leave it free to act for itself." (JD 23:76)

In light of the words of scripture and the revelations of latter-day prophets, we must conclude that the freedom of conscience is essential to proper government. When government fails to protect this divine right, or passes laws that deprive citizens of this right, there can be no peace among nations.

Right and Control of Property

There are few American institutions that have come under greater attack in our day than the right to own and control property. This was a foundational concept with the fathers of our Constitution, but many in our day have failed to see its true value and meaning. In a gospel sense, the right and control of property is central and inextricable to the law of stewardship. Man cannot be stewards unless they have something over which to exercise stewardship. It is what men choose to do with their property that defines him and ultimately reflects the degree to which he has come to be like our Savior.

The prophetic word on the essential nature of private property has been abundant.

David O. McKay taught very succintly in these words:

"The right of private property is sacred and inviolable." (General Conference Oct 1961)

Howard W. Hunter expanded on the heavenly principle of private property and delivered important teachings relative to this truth and the role it plays in our eventual salvation.

"The right to own and control private property is not only a human right; it is a divine right. We will largely be judged, if I understand the Savior's teachings correctly, by how we use our property voluntarily for the blessings and benefit of our Fathers other children. . . If you deprive a man of his right to fail in the righteous use of his property, you also deprive him of his right to succeed. If you remove from a man his right to 'go to hell,' you likewise remove his free agency to go to heaven." (BYU Devotional Address March 1966)

A host of social and political philosophies have arisen over centuries past that claim the abolition of private property as one of their central tenets. Socialism and Communism both adhere to centralized control of property as key to their platform. The wisdom of men asserts that the selfish drive of mankind to accumulate more and more property, and the consequent failure of men to use their acquired property to serve others, renders private ownership undesirable and evil. This is fallacy. Yet, even among faithful members of the church, the ownership of private property is considered a vice and deplored. From the early days of the latter-day church there have been those among the membership who have mistakenly believed that the United Order is a system of collective ownership of property, and individual property rights will be suspended when this order is finally ushered in. This, likewise, is fallacy. Private control of property is actually a central tenet of the United Order. Under this heaven inspired structure, each man will be given a stewardship over property, and will then use that property to benefit himself and others. The efficacy of the United Order in bringing about prosperity for all is not because property is held in common and all are given according to their needs, but rather because men have arrived at such a state of righteousness that they choose of their own free will to impart of their substance in a manner that lifts his neighbor. Of equal importance in the United Order is the condition in which men attain to such a state of righteousness that the tendency to be idle is eradicated and men are industrious and seek to multiply the stewardship they have been given.

The right and control of property is not the instigator of social inequity, poverty, or misery as men such as Karl Marx and his followers would have us believe. In fact, we are taught in Section 134, and subsequently  Elder Benson that the absence of private property will actually lead to such miserable conditions. This has been demonstrated over and over throughout history. Socialism has never been successful in any land. Communism has led to unprecedented violence, death and misery.

Laws must exist to guarantee the right and control of property to her citizens. Otherwise, whether due to the failure to enact laws that support this aim, or the passage of laws designed to purposely deprive men of this right, it will result in peace and prosperity being lost.

The Protection of Life

The right to live is the most basic of all rights we enjoy in a temporal sense. Though this is given as a gift from our Father in heaven, it is one we earned through obedience and faith in our pre-mortal existence. Since we kept our first estate, we were endowed by our Father with the right to take a mortal body and live on this earth to further our progression toward exaltation. Since God has bestowed this right upon us, no one has the authority to deprive us of it. As such, government must, as its most fundamental function, pass laws that protect life. This was established as a legal imperative from the beginning, and has been universally codified by the Lord through Moses when we were given the Ten Commandments.

All civilized societies acknowledge the illegality of murder and establish punishment for those who are guilty of such a crime. But in all too many instances throughout history, governments have usurped control over life and death, and have presumed to make murder a right of the state. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Saddam Hussein, and countless others have not only failed in their charge to pass laws to protect life, but have used the instrument of government to carry out murder on a massive scale. There can be no peace in society when government either fails to protect the sanctity of life of the citizenry, or when government itself deprives men of their right to life.

In modern times the protection of life as a function of government and an object of proper laws has taken on much greater significance. With the advances in medical science that have occurred in the past century, the insidious practice of abortion has become prevalent. How far have we fallen in society when it is considered by many as a virtue to end the life of humans in embryo? They believe that the function of the law is to protect people in their rights to destroy life. This is done in the most diabolic of manners, through citing the protection of freedom of choice as justification for depriving others of the most basic right to live.

This aspect of the role of government in the protection of life is undoubtedly controversial, but we would do well to consider whether our nation is abiding by God's charge to pass laws that protect life when we have legally protected, and in some instances, encouraged and enabled the destruction of countless lives before they've even had a chance to take their first breath.

Elder Benson has laid a solid foundation for discussing the proper role of government by using scriptural truths to express the fundamental object of government's charge to create laws that protect the peace and prosperity of society. If we are to understand the role of government envisioned by our founders and sanctioned by our God, we must acknowledge the importance of government establishing righteous laws, and the divine charge to sustain these laws. At the most basic level, certain laws must exist if peace is to maintained. These essential laws involve the protection of freedom of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.