George
Albert
Smith
8th President
1945–1951
The
United States
Constitution
The
Bill of Rights
Declaration
of
Independence
Born:
4 April 1870
Ordained an Apostle: 8 October 1903
President of the Twelve: 1 July 1943
President of the Church: 21 May 1945 - 4 April 1951
Died: 4 April 1951
1.
I feel that, as long as the people of this land obey, or strive to keep
the commandments of God, this liberty will continue to flow unto us. . . .
I say to you that our only hope, and the hope of the sons and daughters
that God may bless us with, to enjoy peace and liberty in this land, is in
standing by the Constitution that God has inspired to direct this
government. . . . Let us stand by the law-makers, and encourage them in
the making of just laws, and stand by the executive departments, and the
judiciary in the administration of those laws. (CR [Oct 1911] 45)
2.
We should be deeply concerned in the welfare of the nation, and sustain
good and great men, as the Lord has commanded us, in order that we may
continue to enjoy freedom. (CR [Apr 1914] 11)
3.
So today in the midst of the difficulties that exist in the world, while
there are transgressors of the laws of the land, and there are
transgressors of the laws of God, in the midst of the conflict in which we
are now engaged, this awful world war [WWI], it is a great joy and
satisfaction to my soul that while there are those persons who are
opposing this government set up by the power of God, there are no members
of this Church in good standing but are sustaining the law and order and
the government of the United States, so far as it lies in their power.
There is one Church upon the continent of America that has been taught by
God that this government has been raised up for the blessing of mankind.
There is one Church whose members cannot remain in good fellowship in it
if they criticize and find fault and tear down and oppose the legal action
of the constituted authorities of the land, with reference to going into
this war; and why? Because we have been trained by the gospel in a
knowledge of the purpose of this government. We have been taught by
inspired men, who have pointed the way, and all Israel, to a man, comes
forward in the crucial hour and says: "If I am needed, Lord, here am
I" [Abr 3:27]. If my country requires it, my all is on the altar, and
my life if need be. God help us to be worthy of our heritage, help us to
sustain the government that has been so good to us, that has made it
possible for the establishment of this work. Let us sustain good men and
great men everywhere, and pray for them as we are told to do in this same
record. Pray for the chief executive of the Nation and his associates,
asking God to inspire them to labor for the good of humanity and the
liberty of mankind. (CR Oct 1917] 45)
4.
It is our duty to pray for good men and wise men, and to hold up their
hands in their attempts to perpetuate peace and law and order among the
nations of the earth. (CR [Oct 1921] 162)
5.
There are those who would destroy the Constitution of this land; and there
are some who would rejoice if they could overthrow this Nation,
notrealizing that our heavenly Father has given us the best government on
earth. No loyal member of this great Church will raise his voice against
the government, but he will be found upholding it; he will be found
praying for those who have been exalted to the office of presidency and
for those who make the laws, under the Constitution. (CR [Oct 1922]
94-95)
6.
Our feet have been planted upon this sacred soil for a wise purpose. This
land has been dedicated for the blessing of mankind. The Constitution and
the laws that have been enacted under its provisions are calculated to
insure liberty, not license, to all who dwell here. . . .
Upon
you men of Israel—to whom the Priesthood of the Holy One has been
given—there rests an obligation. You must serve the Lord and keep his
commandments. It matters not what others may do, but for you there is only
one course, and that is to be obedient to law, and to sustain the
Constitution of this great land, and to sustain those influences and
powers wherever they may be, that are calculated to uplift the human
family. (CR [Oct 1922] 96)
7.
It is pleasing to me as a member of the Church to know that our heavenly
Father is interested in us, and in our government. . . .
In
these days of confusion, when the Constitution of our country is assailed,
by those who have no understanding of the purpose of God regarding this
great country, it behooves those who do understand to consider seriously
and faithfully, the benefits that will flow to us by honoring and
sustaining the government that was reared under the direction of our
heavenly Father.
We
are a peculiar people in many ways, and in this particularly are we
peculiar, in that we believe that the constitution of the United States
was inspired by our heavenly Father, and he has told us that he raised up
the very men who should frame the Constitution of the United States.
Knowing that, we should not be led astray by the fallacies of individuals
whose selfishness inclines them to attack that which our heavenly Father
has prepared for the people of this land. (CR [Oct 1924] 44-46)
8.
I felt that on this occasion, and at this time, when there is so much
unrest in our land, that I would like to read to you what our people
conceived to be their duty to the government under which they lived. We
still believe that there is only one way whereby we may enjoy peace and
happiness, and that is by observing the constitutional law of our land,
and by sustaining that constitutional law that was inspired by our
heavenly Father at the inception of this great government. There are those
who are misguided in the belief that they may organize groups and take
into their own hands the punishment of those who have differed from them
in their ideas of religion or government. We may well understand that men
who do that come in conflict with the orderly system that our heavenly
Father has decreed should govern the children of men. . . . I am grateful
that I belong to a Church that has been directed by our heavenly Father to
observe the constitutional law of the land. (CR [Oct 1924] 47-48)
9.
Those men who framed
the Constitution of the United States were not only wise in the things of
this world, but they were inspired by our Heavenly Father who raised them
up for that very purpose. This marvelous government that we enjoy in this
favored land of liberty, was given to man that it might be a blessing to
him. Here men and women are permitted to worship God according to the
dictates of their conscience. (CR [Oct 1928] 92)
10.
The Lord raised up mighty men to establish the United States of America,
and we became a nation. He gave us a glorious Constitution for our
guidance and protection. (CR [Oct 1936] 73-74)
11.
Just think of the coming of the Pilgrim fathers to this land, and how the
Lord preserved them and made it possible for them to extend their power
when the United States was born. Think of how He blessed and raised up the
very men who prepared the Constitution of the United States. (CR
[Apr 1940] 85)
12.
If I am disposed to sustain the Constitution of this great country that we
live in; if there is a desire in my heart to uphold the great man whom God
has honored to preside over the destinies of this nation; if there is
within me love for my fellow-men and a desire to serve God and keep his
commandments, these characteristics have come to me, my friends, as a
result of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Sharing the Gospel with Others
19)
13.
It is pleasing indeed, to me, that the Lord not only inspired men to
prepare the Constitution but that he made record of the fact that he did
raise them up for that purpose. In that particular we are peculiar as a
people, for we believe that the Constitution was inspired by our heavenly
Father. It is marvelous to contemplate what has occurred since that day .
. . when wise men and great men gathered together and counseled with each
other to bring about the document that is said to be the greatest
palladium of human rights that the world has ever seen. . . . The Lord
referred here [D&C 101] to the Constitution of the United States, and
it is evident that he was looking down into the future; for he was
preparing the way for the bringing forth of his own Church, and he called
attention to the fact that in the preparation of the Constitution it was
to be such an instrument that men would be required to observe it, if they
observed his laws for he said, [D&C] Sec. 58, par. 21: "He that
keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land."
. . . We are loyal to this country and to its institutions—and have
evidenced that by sending more than thirteen thousand of our sons to
assist in this great conflict: and mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters
who remain at home are giving of their substance. . .
. . . The Constitution was so framed that every one might worship
according to the dictates of their own conscience, and we see the result
of it in the wonderful blessing that has been poured out upon this most
favored of all lands.
. . . When our Father in heaven inspired men to write the Constitution,
and give unto us the great charter that vouchsafed to us the liberty we
enjoy, he did it in order that men might develop and be free, as the
gospel of Jesus Christ intends that all men shall be. . . . They did not
understand that underlying this apparent peacefulness, in this great land,
there was a fixed determination that men should be free; that God himself
had written it, as it were by his own finger, in the Constitution of our
great government, . . . and then, when the time came, he inspired his sons
to rally around Old Glory and, if need be, give their lives that liberty
might be perpetuated in the earth.
.
. . On this day, so near the anniversary of the birth of that great
document, the Constitution of the United States, it is fitting that we
should assemble ourselves together in commemoration of it. It is proper
that the governors of the several states of this nation, and the mayors of
cities, should call attention to it. On next Tuesday, in the city of Salt
Lake, here in the valleys of the mountains, and I presume in other cities,
but in this city in our public schools and high schools there will be
delivered addresses to the children explaining to them the birth of the
Constitution, and it will be brought to their attention in a more forceful
way, perhaps, than it has ever been before.
These
things are fundamental. The real purpose is that the children of men may
learn to observe the laws of man, and observing those laws fulfill the
requirement of our Heavenly Father to obey him and keep his commandments.
So the government of the United States was begun under the direction of
our Father in heaven, as declared by his own word of mouth to be an
example unto the nations of the earth, and the liberties that we enjoy are
pointed out in a most forceful way to the children of men. . . .
Today
this wonderful land is not only a land of liberty and hope to us, but
there goes out from these shores across the mighty ocean to other peoples
encouragement in the struggle that they are making, that they may have
something to do with the government that directs their destinies. (JH
[15 Sep 1918] 4)
14.
It is the duty of every man and every woman who is worthy of the name,
Latter-day Saint, to give such information to the officers of the land as
will enable them to enforce the law and put aside the wickedness that has
developed so rapidly since the great World War [WWI]. We not only believe
in honoring the law, we not only believe in obeying the law, but we
believe in sustaining the law, and that can only [be] obtain[ed] by
individual service. . . . This is our country, our heavenly Father gave it
to us, and he expects each of us to show our appreciation of our
birthright by helping in every possible way to purify society, and to
develop those traits of character, and those virtues, that will enrich the
community and prepare an environment for those who are now growing up and
those who are yet unborn. . . .
.
. . I do beg of you, my brethren and sisters, that you will appreciate,
and sense fully the wonderful gifts of our heavenly Father, your mountain
homes, your valley homes, your plain homes, your heritage, and the grand
flag that represents the liberty of the greatest Nation upon the earth,
and represents the combined wisdom of the very men whom our Father says he
raised up to give to us the Constitution of this favored land. When we see
that starry flag, men should uncover their heads in reverence, and our
sisters should evidence their appreciation of it. Wherever we go, let us
keep in our hearts this thought: this is the land of Zion, dedicated for
the blessing and the uplift of mankind. ("Progress of the M.I.A.—Their
Slogans" 902-04)
15.
That was the voice of him now stilled in death [Abraham Lincoln], who gave
his life because of his desire for the perpetuation of the liberty that
was guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States. He was
unafraid. When the duty was placed upon him to battle for the liberties of
mankind, he dedicated his life to that purpose, and in due time, our
Father in heaven accepted his offering, and his name is emblazoned upon
the pages of history as a great and noble man who dared to do right, and
his praises will be sung and his virtues extolled throughout all time.
I
am grateful that there is inherent in the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints a determination to sustain the laws of the land. I am
grateful for the government that our Heavenly Father gave to us, for he
has said that he raised up wise men to prepare for us the Constitution of
this great nation. ("Lincoln . . . and This Land" 77)
As
the President of the Church
16.
Now, there are many things that I might talk about, tonight, but I want to
raise my voice to you and say, our Heavenly Father raised up the very men
that framed the Constitution of the United States. He said He did. He gave
to us the greatest Palladium of human rights that the world knows anything
about, the only system whereby people could worship God according to the
dictates of their consciences without, in any way, being molested when the
law, itself, was in effect. Now that is what the Lord gave to us. That is
the Constitution of this country. Yet, we have people who would like to
change that and bring some of those forms of government that have failed
absolutely to make peace and happiness and comfort any other place in the
world, and exchange what God has given to us—the fullness of the earth
and the riches of liberty and happiness. Yet, there are those who go
around whispering and talking and saying, "Let us change this
thing." I am saying to you that to me the Constitution of the United
States of America is just as much from my Heavenly Father as the Ten
Commandments. When that is my feeling, I am not going to go very far away
from the Constitution, and I am going to try to keep it where the Lord
started it, and not let anti-Christs come into this country that began
because people wanted to serve God. (CR [Apr 1948] 182)
17.
He was ready to organize His Church, or would be soon, and so He raised up
men that knew how to frame the Constitution of our great country and made
it possible for an organization such as is in this house tonight to enjoy
the blessings that we have enjoyed all these years, sometimes under
difficulties, of course, but not the trials and distresses that other
countries have had. So let us appreciate it and let us evidence to our
Heavenly Father that we do appreciate it, not by talking about it but by
letting our light so shine—the light of righteousness, the light of
faith, the light of honesty, the light of generosity, the light of
truthfulness, all those things that our Heavenly Father indicates that we
should manifest to the world—let that light so shine that others seeing
our good works will desire to be identified with an organization that
seeks to live the commandments of God and honor Him. (CR [Apr 1948]
183)
18.
Since the God of this choice land is Jesus Christ, we know that his
philosophy of free agency should prevail here. Thou didst amply
demonstrate this great principle to us by raising up wise men for the very
purpose of giving us our constitutional form of government, concerning
which thou hast said:
.
. . I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the
rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
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. Therefore, it
is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. 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. . . (D&C
101:77-80.)
There
are those, our Heavenly Father, both within and without our borders, who
would destroy the constitutional form of government which thou hast so
magnanimously given us, and would replace it with a form that would
curtail, if not altogether deprive, man of his free agency. We pray thee,
therefore, that in all these matters thou wilt help us to conform our
lives to thy desires, and that thou wilt sustain us in our resolve so to
do. We pray thee that thou wilt inspire good and just men everywhere to be
willing to sacrifice for, support, and uphold the Constitution and the
government set up under it and thereby preserve for man his agency.
We
thank thee that thou hast revealed to us that those who gave us our
constitutional form of government were men wise in thy sight and that thou
didst raise them up for the very purpose of putting forth that sacred
document.
Wilt
thou, O our Father, bless the Chief Executive of this land that his heart
and will may be to preserve to us and our posterity the free institutions
thy Constitution has provided. Wilt thou too bless the legislative and
judicial branches of our government as well as the executive, that all may
function fully and courageously in their respective branches completely
independent of each other to the preservation of our constitutional form
of government forever.
We
pray that kings and rulers and the peoples of all nations under heaven may
be persuaded of the blessings enjoyed by the people of this land by reason
of their freedom under thy guidance and be constrained to adopt similar
governmental systems, thus to fulfil the ancient prophecy of Isaiah that
". . . out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem." ("Dedicatory Prayer . . . Idaho Falls
Temple" 564)
19.
We have over three thousand missionaries in the world and many of them
will be led to homes which before were closed but will now be open to hear
their testimonies. It is our responsibility to carry the message of the
gospel not only to the civilized world but also to those who are not
considered to be so civilized. All this has been made possible because 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
wonderful 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. ("The Work of God"
267)
19.
It is your duty and mine to remember in our prayers the President of the
United States of America, to remember the men who represent us in the
Congress of the United States, to remember the executives of the states of
the nation, and to pray for them that they may have divine aid. They are
God's sons, every one of them, and he wants them saved and exalted. (Improvement
Era [Nov 1945] 721-22)
20.
Again we pray, help us to love one another and to be worthy of our nation,
the Constitution, and the men who gave their all in order that we might
enjoy these blessings. ("Dedicatory Prayer: This Is the Place
Monument" 12; also in Sharing the Gospel with Others 131)
21.
During the great struggle for independence in the country under the
leadership of George Washington, our Heavenly Father was preparing the way
for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its purity.
He
gave to certain individuals the inspiration to frame the Constitution of
the United States that has been referred to in this conference, the
greatest palladium of human rights that we know anything about. Under such
a Constitution the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth one
hundred nineteen years ago. . . .
Joseph
Smith, the Prophet, and his brother Hyrum (the great-great-grandfather of
the man who sits at my left here on the stand and grandfather of the man
who sits behind me in this congregation) died as martyrs at the hands of a
wicked mob. They were sacrificed not for any wrong they had done but
because they had sought to teach the truth and call the people of the
world to repent before it was too late. The work has gone on and under the
Constitution of the United States we have been permitted to carry on in
this great land. We have been permitted to teach the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Our missionaries of course have gone all over the world, but I am
speaking now of the United States of America. However, there are many
people, many men and women in this land, some of whom may be friends or
relatives who are misguided by the idea that the Constitution of the
United States isn't as fine a system of government as they have in Russia
or Germany or Italy or some other part of the world, notwithstanding the
fact that the Lord himself said that he raised up the very men who framed
the Constitution of the United States and directed that the membership of
this Church should pray for and sustain those who represented the
Constitution of this land. I hold in my hand the Bible and can read the
Ten Commandments that were given to Moses for the guidance of the people
wherein the Lord told Moses what the people should live for and do. If
those Ten Commandments had been lived up to by the people of the world
down to the present time, this earth could long ago have been
celestialized. But the people refused.
You
know, and I know, that the Ten Commandments contain the will of our
Heavenly Father, and I am grateful, not only for the civil laws but also
for the laws God has given to us. I feel bound to conform my life to the
teachings of the Ten Commandments. I feel equally bound to sustain the
Constitution of the United States which came from the same source as the
Ten Commandments. Unless the people of this great nation can realize these
things and repent, they may forfeit the liberty that they now enjoy, and
the blessings that are so multiplied among us. I do hope and pray that
they will discover before it is too late that God has spoken again. Your
responsibility and mine is to let our light so shine that others seeing
our good works will be constrained to glorify him who is the Author of our
being. ("From a Prophet to His People" 303-04)
22.
We believe that the Constitution of the United States was inspired by our
Heavenly Father, and he has told us that he raised up the very men who
should frame the Constitution of the United States. Knowing that, we
should not be led astray by the fallacies of individuals whose selfishness
inclines them to attack that which our Heavenly Father has prepared for
the people of this land. ("Obedience to Law" 429)
23.
I am grateful for the privilege that came to me of being reared in this
part of the world under a government that God himself said was prepared by
men that he raised up for that very purpose. I refer to the Constitution
of the United States. ("Our Father's Work" 790)
24.
If there is any doubt in your minds about this being a blessed land in
which you live, and that an all-powerful hand directs its destinies,
remember that it was the Lord himself who raised up wise men to give to us
our Constitution [D&C 101:80]—the greatest palladium of human rights
that any people have ever known. . . .
.
. . He [the Lord] watched over them [the Pilgrims] and safeguarded their
descendants and those who followed them to America, and in due time, there
came an opportunity to establish liberty such as humankind had not known
before. The Lord raised up Washington, and with him that body of men who
fought valiantly to establish for us in this land a government for which
surely we are all grateful. . . .
The
Lord has watched over his land: He directed Columbus to these shores: he
led the Pilgrims here; he established the Constitution of the United
States, and through the Prophet Joseph Smith restored the everlasting
gospel to bless the children of men. If they will accept it and obey it,
it will result in the salvation of the human family. ("For Law and
Liberty—and Salvation" 869-70)
25.
The Lord raised up men to frame a Constitution for this nation because it
was his nation. It was his desire that the people here would be blessed
and there have been no people in all the world who have been more blessed
than those who live in the United States of America.
We
have every comfort that you can think of, every blessing that is enjoyed
by people in any other nation, and then we have the privilege of
worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience
because the Lord himself made that provision in the Constitution of the
United States and in the framing of the laws that govern this nation.
("Welfare Program, A Wonderful Thing" 699)
26.
No nation in the world has a constitution that was given to it by our
Heavenly Father except the United States of America. I wonder if we
appreciate that. The Lord gave us a rule of life for this great nation,
and as far as we have lived up to it and taken advantage of it, the nation
has grown, and the people have been blessed. But there are many people who
prefer, or at least they seem to prefer, something else.
As
one man said to me, "Why not try what Russia has tried and Germany
has tried?" And my answer to him was, "Why try something that
has already failed? Why not hold on to what the Lord has given?" The
Constitution of the United States was written, it is true, by men, George
Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and others who were their associates, but
we have in this book that I have in my hand, the book of Doctrine and
Covenants, a revelation in which the Lord tells us that the Constitution
of the United States was prepared by men raised up by him for this very
purpose.
As
Latter-day Saints we ought to know that there is nothing better anywhere
else. And so we should cleave to the Constitution of the United States and
in doing so, earn the blessings of our Heavenly Father. ("Liberty
Under the Constitution" 964)
27.
When the Constitution of our country is assailed, openly or subtly, by
those who have no understanding of the purpose of God regarding this great
country, it behooves those who do understand to consider seriously and
faithfully the benefits that will flow to us by honoring and sustaining
the principles of government that were divinely established. . . .
There
is only one way whereby we may enjoy peace and happiness, and that is by
observing the law of our land, and by sustaining the principles embodied
in the Constitution which was inspired by our Heavenly Father at the
inception of this great government. So, as Latter-day Saints, we may know
that no man is a faithful member of this Church who lends himself in any
way to break down that organized system of laws that has been prepared for
the good of all mankind. . . .
I
say to you: Sustain the Constitution of the United States, and let not our
voices be heard among those that deride or would violate the Constitution
that is so important for us and for all men.
I
am grateful to my Heavenly Father for his advice to us that we support the
Constitution of the United States and maintain the liberty that we enjoy
under it. ("Perpetuating Liberty" 93-94)
Jesus
Christ Joseph Smith
Jr.
Brigham Young
John Taylor
Wilford Woodruff
Lorenzo Snow
Founding
Fathers Joseph F. Smith Heber J. Grant
David O. McKay
Joseph F. Smith
Harold B. Lee
Spencer Kimball Ezra T. Benson Howard Hunter
Gordon Hinckley First Presidency Elders
Citizens
Rule Book
