Why Men Establish Governments

One fundamental political truth which will be considered is that men establish governments for the purpose of compelling the citizens to obey a code of private morality. This code is contained in a set of laws which govern human conduct. Such laws may be classified into these two types: (1) Those which condemn and punish certain conduct as evil and harmful; (2) Those which compel the performance of other conduct considered good and beneficial.

When men make laws, and thus determine which conduct is so evil it should be punished and which is so good it should be compelled, they do so by referring to their own religious, ethical or moral beliefs. Indeed there is no other point of reference for distinguishing good from evil. And so no matter who makes the laws, be they kings, dictators, legislatures or the people themselves, they express their most intensely held moral convictions in the laws they favor.

Source: H. Verlan Andersen
The Moral Basis for a Free Society

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Have you ever thought, my brethren and sisters, of the miracle of the establishment of this government, and the blessings which you enjoy under it as compared with other people? The Lord did not give the dominance of the United States to a certain race, that the traditions, language and prejudices of the old world might be established here as they were in all of the great country to the South of us.

To the devoted faith of the Puritan separatists of New England was added the industry and patriotism of the Dutch reformers who had settled at New York, the gallantry and chivalry of the English cavaliers of Virginia, and the light-hearted energy and patriotism of the French at New Orleans. Protestants, Catholics and people without church affiliations united together, just the combination of elements to give us the Declaration of Independence which won our freedom, and the Constitution, which is the foundation upon which our system of government rests.

These men, whom the old world referred to as a mob, declared that in this country all men should be equal before the law. They declared that men were born with certain rights which could not in justice be taken from them, among which was the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, or not worship at all if they so desired; that all men were entitled to life, to liberty, the possession of property, freedom of speech and the press, and above all and most important, that they should enact and administer their own laws and that they should not be deprived of any of these privileges without due process of law. The most sacred privilege granted us was the right of franchise by which every citizen was entitled to cast his ballot for the men who were to represent him in enacting and administering the law. It is upon the proper use of this sacred heritage, bequeathed to us by our fathers, that the perpetuity of our government depends. It may declare war or maintain peace, it may bring peace and good order to society, or tribulation, confusion and final dissolution. It controls your property and mine. We come or go at its behest. Our very life depends upon the proper use of it.

Source: President Anthony W. Ivins
General Conference, October 1928

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The Lord says: “When the wicked rule, the people mourn.” Wise men, good men, patriotic men are to be found in all communities, in all political parties, among all creeds. None but such men should be chosen.

Source: “Can This Be True?”, signed by The First Presidency
January 1928

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Is there anything which will contribute more to the peace and happiness of mankind than chaste living? The perpetuity of our government depends upon the stability of our homes, and the stability of our homes depends upon the purity of the parentage in those homes, the fathers as well as the mothers.

Youth of the land, when we say, keep the faith, we are but asking you to be patriots as well as to be true men, to be strong in your youth, that you may be worthy of fatherhood; young women, that you may possess the beauty of honorable and worthy motherhood. Thus you will contribute to the strength of your community, to the strength and perpetuity of the nation you love.

Source: Elder David O. McKay
General Conference, October 1928

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Other nations might boast of their kings, but the King of America, proclaimed by the patriotic fathers who founded it and established it, is the great God of heaven. This must continue to be the sentiment of the people of America if these glorious institutions shall be preserved, and in our hands is the sacred keeping of these great and glorious principles.

Source: Elder Melvin J. Ballard
General Conference, October 1928

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God bless you, my brethren and sisters, keep us all from the sins of the world, keep us clean and unspotted. Make us more devoted if possible to his word and more loyal and patriotic to the government of which we form a part. For without this government the Church of Christ could not exist, unless God should manifest his power in an unusual manner in our behalf. He has raised up this government and the men who direct its affairs for our protection and benefit, for the protection and benefit of the people of the world in righteousness.

Source: President Anthony W. Ivins
General Conference, October 1926

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At all times these champions of liberty have been opposed by that arch enemy of God, even Satan, that rebelled against God in the beginning, and those who followed after him, and, as always, through human instrumentality, they killed the prophets, they persecuted the saints, they crucified the Savior of the world and put to death his apostles, those mighty men of God who preached his gospel in all the then known world, and transmitted their testimony in holy writ for the generations which were to come. Surely power was given unto Satan to make war with the Saints and overcome them as John the Revelator tells us.

The darkness that followed these tragic events has been rightly called the dark ages, and was only partly dispelled by the great reformers who were, however, not reformers but Protestants who made effective protest against the darkness and tyranny that held the world in spiritual bondage and most abominable idolatry.

All these, together with the discovery of America and the founding of our glorious republic under the guiding hand of Providence, were the necessary preliminary preparations for the restoration of his glorious gospel and the setting up of his Church and kingdom upon the earth, never to be thrown down nor given to another people; where the perfect law of liberty shall be supreme and mankind shall be liberated from the bondage of sin, and Satan shall be bound for a thousand years during the great millennial reign of peace when Christ shall be our king and subdue all enemies under his feet.

Therefore God raised up another champion of human liberty even Joseph Smith the great prophet of the latter days, to usher in this glorious dispensation, the climax of which, not yet attained, shall be the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Source: Elder Rulon S. Wells
General Conference, October 1926

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I pray for the people of the world; not only for the Latter-day Saints, but I pray God’s blessings upon every loyal, patriotic man and woman that is endeavoring to do right, and to uphold the laws of the countries where they reside. I pray God’s blessings upon the President of these United States of America. I thank God for the loyalty and the patriotism of the Latter-day Saints. I thank God that we believe that the constitution of our country was given to us under the inspiration of the Living God, and that the Lord supported George Washington and the patriot fathers of this country.

Source: President Heber J. Grant
General Conference, October 1924

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I do not believe that in this great country of ours which has been so lauded during this conference, there will ever be a satisfactory upholding of the Constitution, a decent conformity to laws and statutes and ordinances unless there e at the basis of all patriotism and loyalty to country, a deep-seated conscious reverence for the God of the land. It may seem to some of my fellow citizens an almost fanatic view to take that religion is so inseparably associated with the inception of this great government and its existence as to form an integral part of the loyalty and devotion of true citizens of the State; but I assert it nevertheless. I believe America to be a Christian country. I believe the principles which are set forth in her fundamental laws to be derived from, consciously, the Savior of the world. His precepts, his principles of truth and living, have been set forth by the founders and the fathers in our laws and statutes; and America, in order to continuously and satisfactorily fill her great mission as a mighty nation, must conform to those fundamental laws and principles of truth, in my humble judgment. Reverence for the Lord does not bring forth the class of men and women who today assail the fundamental laws of this land. The who are designated as the Reds, the Anarchists, those who are inimical to our established institutions, I venture, could they all be found out and analyzed, would not be men who love God and who revere his name and who acknowledge his power and his supremacy in the earth. The loyal citizens in this Country, in my humble opinion, are to be found among the God-fearing, God-loving people who still trust him and honor him, who recognize his great providence in the inception and growth of this mighty country; and when reverence for God fades and gives way, loyalty, patriotism, devotion to country, will likewise vanish.

Source: Elder Stephen L. Richards
General Conference, October 1924

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