Topic: Government, Loss of Freedom, Matches 16 quotes.

As the happiness of the people is the sole end of government, so the consent of the people is the only foundation of it, in reason, morality, and the natural fitness of things. And therefore every act of government, every exercise of sovereignty against or without the consent of the people is injustice, usurpation, and tyranny. It is a maxim that in every government there must exist somewhere a supreme, sovereign, absolute and uncontrollable power; and it never was, or can be delegated to one man or few; the great Creator having never given to men a right to vest others with authority over them unlimited either in duration or degree.

When kings, ministers, governors, or legislators, therefore, instead of exercising the powers intrusted with them according to the principles, forms, and proportions stated by the Constitution, and established by the original compact, prostitute those powers to the purposes of oppression; to subvert, instead of preserving the lives, liberties and properties of the people, they are no longer to be deemed magistrates vested with a sacred character, but become public enemies and ought to be resisted.

Source: John Adams
Works, I, p. 193.

Topics: Government, Good; Government, Loss of Freedom

In September, 1923, eighteen years ago, at a religious service in this Tabernacle, I mentioned certain trends I then saw. They were: a spirit of revolution that threatened the very foundations of government everywhere, indeed the destruction of the existing bodies politic of the world; the unrestricted immigration of aliens who were foreign and in tradition hostile to our systems of government; the enhancement of the power of the Federal Executive; the breaking down of the mutual independence of the three branches of government,—executive, judicial, and legislative; the disappearance of local self government and the assumption of control by the Federal Government of the very details of our lives; the curtailment of our constitutional guarantees under the Bill of Rights; the building of class in our nation and of class conflict and hatred; the spread of Bolshevism, we call it Communism now, working for the overthrow of our government, the doing away with religion, even the overturning of our family relationshps.

During the eighteen years passed since then, I have on all opportunities repeated these observations.

I will leave you to make up your own minds how far these trends have become realities.

Source: President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
General Conference, April 1941

Topics: Freedom, Loss of; Government, Loss of Freedom

Overseas it is the struggles of nations that fix our attention. In our own fair land we are disturbed by myriads of strikes and lockouts, industrial disputes, struggles of class against class, groups against groups, parties against parties, etc., in great number. In all of these cases clever propaganda, accompanied by some type of force, are the weapons of the struggles.

To see all of these things makes us fear and tremble for the morrow, for it is evident that a mighty revolution is in progress the end of which will be a profoundly different America from the historic country we received from the founders of the Republic. In those days the patriots fought against taxation without representation, the fight being the spark that set the revolution aflame. Today we fight for representation without taxation. We struggle for all the advantages of a benevolent government, set up by ourselves, made rich by the strong arm of the law seizing whatever it can from him who has.

We fight against being taxed, but demand more and more of the benefits that taxes provide. Is this not a struggle to get something for nothing, at least to get more and more for less and less?

We listen to smooth-tongued demagogues, accept as truth their wild vagaries and enthusiastically follow their cunning and selfish leadership. Why? Is it not in the hope of getting for ourselves more and more for less and less? We become adherents of various groups, pay membership dues, sometimes participate in disturbances, and engage in various other kinds of activities. Why? Is it not in the hope of getting more and more for less and less?

In all of these things do we stop to ask ourselves if our conduct squares with the thirteenth article of our faith? We profess to hate communism and fascism and stoutly deny that we would give the slightest support to either of these isms. Do we ever stop to think that in many respects these isms have much in common and that many of the things we do are heartily supported by communists who see in them an application of communistic principles? We are willing to overthrow some of our established methods and institutions, apparently without realizing that in so doing we take step after step that brings us nearer and nearer to communistic objectives.

Source: Elder Joseph F. Merrill
General Conference, October 1938

Topics: Freedom, Loss of; Government, Loss of Freedom

I am, I say, therefore disturbed only over the problems that may arise here with us. You students of history know well that the adverse circumstances, the poverty, the want, the unemployment and the depletion of the value of the currency of the various European nations laid the foundation for dictatorships; unknown dictators arose who offered security against want, against poverty, against need, and like drowning men grasping at straws, the nations of the earth accepted the proffer, and sold their liberties for bread.

That is not the spirit of one of the founders of this republic who said: “Give me liberty or give me death.” Liberty, one of the most precious things, must be preserved. I have said in many places to our Latter-day Saint brethren and sisters who are converts from abroad: “I cannot blame you for being proud of your English ancestry, your Scotch ancestry, or your German ancestry, but when you joined this Church and came to America you should have kissed that all goodbye, and it is not my business to glorify the dictators who now reign, no matter how good I may think their services are to that nation from which I came; it is not my business to glorify them, but to become loyal to the government of the nation in which I live.” I hope we shall not find any Latter-day Saint members glorifying the conditions that are in their Old World homes.

Source: Elder Melvin J. Ballard
General Conference, October 1938

Topics: Government, Loss of Freedom

Ten Thousand Commandments

The breakup of the leading integrated companies and the divorce, divestiture, or dissolution of the biggest producers and distributors, whether integrated or not, is a luxury the country cannot afford. Its “great concentrations of economic power” in American industry are more essential to the nation’s defense than its great concentrations of administrative power in Washington.

The new interpretations of the antitrust laws endanger the political structure of the country. They disintegrate the law, making it a respecter of persons, which tends to be no law at all. They upset the balance of power between Congress and the courts, by judicial legislation, which is a usurpation of Congress’ role. Whatever “power” they take away from business organizations will not revert to the people but is automatically being appropriated by government agencies.

Source: Harold Fleming
The Freeman, January 1993, p.18

Topics: Government, Loss of Freedom; Law

Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one’s government is not necessarily to secure freedom.

Source: F. A. Hayek

Topics: Democracy; Government, Loss of Freedom

We loudly acclaim our devotion to, and love for American ideals, and pose as patriotic, law-abiding citizens, while the very men who enact our laws, and are appointed to enforce them, too often violate the law, and the trust reposed in them, as if they were exempt from that which they require others to obey. Our trusted agents who have the management of our public affairs, too often prove themselves to be rogues and swindlers by uniting with the men whom they profess to detect and prosecute, to rob us of that which they are employed to protect.

Men, profound in their knowledge of the law, too often use their great learning, not to uphold and magnify the law, but to pervert it, and find means by which we may avoid its just requirements. Self confessed criminals, guilty of the most heinous crimes, premeditated in their execution, are turned loose upon defenseless, law-abiding communities, to continue their criminal practices upon those whom the law is designed to protect.

Source: President Anthony W. Ivins
General Conference, October 1924

Topics: Government, Loss of Freedom; Government, Power

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