Spencer Kimball
12th President
1973–1985
The
United States
Constitution
The
Bill of Rights
Declaration
of
Independence
Born:
28 March 1895
Ordained
an Apostle: 7 October 1943
Acting President of the Twelve: 23 January 1970
President of the Twelve: 7 July 1972
President of the Church: 30 December 1973-5 November 1985
Died: 5 November 1985
As
an Apostle
1.
Early in this dispensation the Lord made clear the position his restored
church should take with respect to civil government. In the revelation he
gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he said: "And now, verily I say
unto you concerning the . . . law of the land which is constitutional,
supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges,
[that it] belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
"Therefore,
I, the Lord, justify you . . . in befriending that law which is the
constitutional law of the land." (D&C 98:4-6.)
Every
Latter-day Saint should sustain, honor, and obey the constitutional law of
the land in which he lives. ("Guidelines to Carry Forth the Work of
God in Holiness" 4-5)
As
the President of the Church
2.
We don’t believe in government welfare systems!
We teach our people to be thrifty, so that if they get into
financial trouble they can look to their family, then to the church, but
never to the government.
3.
The only way we can keep our freedom is to work at it...not some of
us, all of us... not some of the time, but all of the time.
So, if you value your citizenship and you want to keep it for
yourself and your children and their children, give it your faith, your
belief, and give it your active support. (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball
- Teachings of Pg. 405
4.
The only way we can keep our freedom is to work at it. Not some of us. All
of us. Not some of the time, but all of the time.
So
if you value your citizenship and you want to keep it for yourself and
your children and their children, give it your faith, your belief, and
give it your active support in civic affairs. (TSWK 405; from an
address given at the Rotary Club, Salt Lake City, UT, 8 Jun 1976)
6.
Those who oppose all references to God in our public life have set
themselves the task of rooting our facts, tributes, and symbols so
ingrained in our nation that their elimination could only be interpreted
as an official act of hostility toward religion.
Our Constitutional law forbids that. (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball –
1979)
7. We are grateful that
thou didst cause this land to be rediscovered and settled by people who
founded a great nation with an inspired constitution guaranteeing freedom
in which there could come the glorious restoration of the gospel and the
Church of thy Beloved Son. ("President Kimball Dedicates Temple"
81)
8.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored in 1830 after
numerous revelations from the divine source; and this is the kingdom, set
up by the God of heaven, that would never be destroyed nor superseded, and
the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great
mountain and would fill the whole earth.
History
unfolded and the world powers came and went after ruling the world for a
little season, but in the early nineteenth century the day had come. The
new world of America had been discovered and colonized and was being
settled. Independence had been gained and a constitution approved and
freedom given to men, and people were now enlightened to permit truth to
be established and to reign.
No
king or set of rulers could divine this history; but a young, pure, and
worthy prophet could receive a revelation from God.
There
was purpose for this unveiling of the history of the world so that the
honest in heart might be looking forward to its establishment, and
numerous good men and women, knowing of the revelations of God and the
prospects for the future, have looked forward to this day. ("The
Stone Cut Without Hands" 9)
9.
This restoration was preceded by a long period of preparation. The
Pilgrims and other Europeans were inspired to find this American haven of
refuge and thus people this land with honest and God-fearing citizens.
Washington and his fellows were inspired to revolt from England and bring
political liberty to this land, along with the more valuable treasure of
religious liberty so that the soil might be prepared for the seed of the
truth when it should again be sown. ("Absolute Truth" 7)
10.
Few men have enjoyed more of the guidance of the Holy Spirit
than did President Woodruff. He was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ,
was valiant and true all his days, and, in the provinces of the Lord, he
was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. He is the one who dedicated the Salt Lake Temple in 1893, and it
was to him that the founders of the American nation appeared in the St.
George Temple, seeking to have the temple ordinances performed for them.
That was very unusual, brethren, and those kinds of miracles and visions
and revelations were rather unusual, as you would know. These men of the
American Constitution had lived in a day when the gospel was not upon the
earth, but they were upright, good men who were entitled to all of the
blessings which come to us. ("Preparing for Service in the
Church" 47)
11.
President Ronald Reagan has proclaimed the week beginning Sept. 17 (the
195th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of Sept. 17, 1787) as
Constitution Week and has urged all Americans to observe that week by
stressing the importance of the Constitution to our individual freedoms
and form of government.
In
view of this proclamation and because of the high esteem in which the
Constitution has been held by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints since the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we encourage
leaders and members of the Church in the United States to heed President
Reagan's proclamation and during this week to remember with appreciation
before the Lord the great blessings of liberty and opportunity which are
guaranteed to the citizens of the United States. The First Presidency.
("First Presidency Urges Support of Constitution Week" 4)
12.
The Mormon people who are citizens of [the United States of] America today
are intensely loyal to its Constitution and desire in every way to promote
the God-given freedoms it was designed to protect. They have had
experience with the tragedy that results when those freedoms are not
protected, but this only feeds their determination to do all within their
power to protect these freedoms, both for themselves and others,
everywhere. (TSWK 405; from an address given at the rededication of
the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge, Omaha, NE, 21 Apr 1979)
Jesus
Christ Joseph Smith
Jr.
Brigham Young
John Taylor
Wilford Woodruff
Lorenzo Snow
Joseph F. Smith
Heber J. Grant
George A. Smith
David O. McKay
Joseph F. Smith
Harold B. Lee
Founding
Fathers Ezra T. Benson Howard Hunter
Gordon Hinckley First Presidency Elders
Citizens
Rule Book
