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XVII
The Kingdom of God vs. The Kingdom of the Devil
Man’s Foremost Duty: “Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God”
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord advised, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33; 3 Nephi 13:33) Then in giving us the Lord’s Prayer, the first request He suggested we make as we importune our Father in Heaven is: “Thy kingdom come.” At the end of our prayers He recommended that we acknowledge before God: “For thine is the kingdom.”
How many times have the words of this prayer been repeated without the supplicant realizing what Christ meant when He asked that we pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God? What is this kingdom for which we should earnestly seek; which should take precedence over other objectives and receive the foremost attention in our daily prayers?
What Is The Kingdom Of God?
A dictionary definition of the word “kingdom” is:
The territory, people, state or realm ruled by a king or a queen; a monarchy; as the kingdom of Spain. 2. The spiritual dominion of God on earth; his reign over those who believe in Christ and submit themselves to God’s will…”
Perhaps the authors of this definition would limit the meaning of the term “kingdom of God” to things spiritual, but the scriptures and the prophets do not restrict it so. As has been shown herein, the Lord has repeatedly established civil governments, prescribed civil laws, and appointed rulers for the purpose of providing free agency for His children. His direct intervention in political affairs is one of the best attested facts of religious history. This suggests that His kingdom may include physical rule as well as spiritual.
Let us consider the meaning of the term “the kingdom of God” ascribed to it by the prophets. President Joseph Fielding Smith, using the words of Elder Orson Pratt has defined it as follows:
The kingdom of God is an order of government established by divine authority. It is the only legal government that can exist in any part of the universe. All other governments are illegal and unauthorized God having made all beings and worlds, has the supreme right to govern them by his own laws, and by officers of his own appointment. Any people attempting to govern themselves by laws of their own making, and by officers of their own appointment, are in direct rebellion against the kingdom of God (Smith, Seek Ye Earnestly, p. 22, Deseret Book, 1970)
President John Taylor’s definition is similar. It reads:
The Kingdom of God, is the government of God, on the earth, or in the heavens.…If the world be the Lord’s, He certainly has a right to govern it; for we have already stated that man has no authority, except that which is delegated to him. He possesses a moral power to govern his actions, subject at all times to the law of God; but never is authorized to act independent of God; much less is he authorized to rule on the earth without the call and direction of the Lord; therefore, any rule or dominion over the earth, which is not given by the Lord is surreptitiously obtained, and never will be sanctioned by him. (Taylor, Government of God, pp. 1, 58)
These statements indicate that if the Lord’s form of government is being used in a nation; if His prescribed laws are being enforced; and if His appointees are standing at the head of government and executing His will, then the people and the territory under such a government constitute His kingdom. If the people acknowledge the Lord as their king and His appointees as His servants holding office at His pleasure and receiving any authority they possess from Him, then they are His subjects. Under these conditions it would be accurate to say that the kingdom of God is on the earth.
This may give the impression that the Lord’s kingdom exists only in that nation where no laws except His are enforced and where His leaders are in control of government. There are other statements by the prophets which appear to broaden this concept. For example, the prophet Joseph Smith stated:
What constitutes the kingdom of God? Where there is a prophet, a priest, or a righteous man unto whom God gives his oracles, there is the kingdom of God… (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 271-4)
Then let us consider these words of the Savior:
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21)
From this we might assume that even though a group lives under unrighteous laws and corrupt rulers, yet if they acknowledge God as their King, join His Church, and seek to establish only laws which have His approval, they are members of His kingdom. It would also appear that though a people belong to the Lord’s Church and hold His Priesthood, unless they accept Him as their political guide and unless they seek to maintain and uphold only those laws which have His approval, they cannot claim to be members of His kingdom.
God Has Established His Kingdom And Ruled Through Governments In Times Past
The Lord has established His kingdom on the earth and ruled over His people through government at various times throughout history. This is indicated in the following words of President Joseph Fielding Smith:
When the first government was formed on the earth, the Lord directed it by revelation and gave laws for the guidance of the people. In course of time when man began to multiply they refused to hearken to the voice of revelation and rebelled against the divine mandates that had been given them…In this manner the kingdom of God, as it was established by the Lord and intended by him to continue through all ages, came to an end In its stead man-made governments were formed and man usurped the authority which rightfully belongs to his Maker.
There have been times when governments have been directed by the Lord, and his will has been followed as it was made known through divinely appointed prophets. This was the condition of the city of Enoch; in the days of Israel in Palestine, when they were not rebellious; among the Nephites through much of their history, especially during the two hundred years following the crucifixion of Christ. However with these and a few other exceptions, almost from the beginning men have rejected the guidance of the Lord; they have cast out or killed the prophets and have refused to recognize the voice of God in their affairs. The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof but that has not retarded fallen man in his usurpation of governmental authority which does not rightfully belong to him. (Smith, Seek Ye Earnestly, Deseret Book Co., 1970, pp. 2 1-22)
From this we learn not only that the Lord’s kingdom has been on the earth in the past, but that it is His purpose to maintain it here at all times.
Most people refuse to obey the Lord’s laws and leaders. Because they have freedom to do so, the overwhelming majority have refused His offer of political leadership. As President Smith has stated, “Almost from the beginning men have rejected the guidance of the Lord.”
The foregoing material contains facts regarding man’s duty to seek the kingdom of God. These facts seem to be receiving very little attention today. Among the more important of these facts are the following:
1. Membership in the Lord’s kingdom is possible here and now and is not to be regarded as a goal attainable only in the distant future.
2. The Lord’s kingdom encompasses not only what men call ecclesiastical matters, but also those which are political as well. His rightful sovereignty extends over government as well as Church. As Creator and Governor of the earth and all things therein, it is His inherent right to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all nations.
3. God’s commandments cover political as well as religious duties, and it is not possible for man to become a completely loyal member of God’s kingdom without complying with both.
4. Without the Lord’s guidance, men are as incompetent to properly conduct political affairs as they are to conduct those which are religious, and any people “attempting to govern themselves by laws of their own making, and by officers of their own appointment, are in direct rebellion against the kingdom of God.”
This last fact directs our attention to the “Thou Shalt Not” commandment here involved. As is usual, there are negative as well as affirmative duties here which must be understood and obeyed before the blessing is merited. The negative duty in this case is, “Thou shalt not build up the kingdom of the Devil.” (See D&C 10:56) To better understand what this duty consists of, let us consider the nature of the devil’s kingdom.
The Kingdom Of The Devil
The kingdom of the Devil is as much a physical reality as the kingdom of God. The scriptures describe both as actual organizations among men here on earth. If the kingdom of God is “an order of government established by divine authority” as the prophets have said, we may assume that the kingdom of the Devil is an order of government established under his influence and subject to his control. This conclusion is supported by the thesis advanced herein that the devil’s church is prostituted government because according to the words of Nephi, the Great and Abominable Church and the Kingdom of the Devil are one and the same. Nephi equated the Devil’s Church with his kingdom in the following passage:
But behold, the great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof
For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance… (2 Nephi 28:18-19)
The Great Conflict Of Mortality: The Kingdom Of God Vs. The Kingdom Of Satan
If both the kingdoms of God and Satan, when established, include control of government, and if these two contending forces are both trying to build up their respective kingdoms, the ensuing conflict for control of government could be the most important contest of earth life. Furthermore, decisions regarding political matters may be some of the most vital men make because they constitute a choice between the two kingdoms. This choice between good and evil government comes before all people because everyone lives under a civil government of some type. This is the one organization with which all become familiar. Its activities are constantly before us, affecting our lives in innumerable ways. Thus everyone has the opportunity, and ofttimes the necessity, of making decisions regarding the rightness or wrongness of what government does. Whether or not the fact is realized, in making these decisions, men choose between organized good and organized evil.
Furthermore, every decision regarding a law constitutes a clear cut choice between good and evil. This is so because every law requires the use of compulsion in its enforcement. When compulsion is used, free agency is affected either rightly or wrongly. It cannot be both ways at once. If the only effect of the law is to punish evil (acts designed to destroy freedom), then it protects free agency by punishing those who undertake to destroy it. If the effect of the law is to punish good or innocent behavior (acts designed to protect or increase freedom), free agency is not protected but, on the other hand denied.
The following scripture confirms the truth that every act of compulsion must be classified as either righteous or unrighteous:
when we undertake to…exercise…compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness,…Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. (D&C 12 1:37)
In this passage a distinct line is indicated between compulsion which is righteous and that which is unrighteous, and the penalty for crossing that line is most severe. Then in the following scripture, the Lord draws a distinct line between laws which protect freedom and anything which “is more or less than this:”
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil. (D&C 98:5, 7)
From these scriptures we may conclude that some laws are suitable for the Lord’s kingdom while others are suitable for Satan’s. There is no law which is appropriate for both. Every use of force which Christ has commanded, the Devil opposes and vice versa. Compulsion is either right or wrong, but it cannot be both at once; neither can its inherent nature change; this is as eternal and unchangeable as the personage which commanded its use. It may not be wrong to assume that a knowledge of the distinction between righteous and unrighteous compulsion is essential to membership in God’s kingdom. If we either oppose the Lord’s laws or favor Satan’s, we can expect to be excluded, thus the necessity of being able to distinguish between the two is most apparent.
We have undertaken elsewhere in this work to distinguish between those laws which preserve freedom and those which destroy it. Let us make that same distinction again by observing what government must and must not do to protect the Lord’s system of stewardship which is an essential feature of His kingdom. But first let us consider what that system is and why it must be protected.
The Lord’s System Of Stewardship
There is much scriptural evidence that unless one is able to live the principles of the United Order, he is not a candidate for the kingdom of God or the celestial degree of glory. (D&C 78:4-7; 82:17-21; 105:3-5) On various occasions the members of the Lord’s Church have successfully lived these principles. Regarding the City of Enoch we are told:
And the Lord called his people zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. (Moses 7:18)
Also according to the following scripture, the righteous Nephites and Lamanites who survived the destruction of the wicked among them complied with this higher law:
And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land…and every man did deal justly one with another.
And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free… (4 Nephi 2-3)
Less than a year after the Church was established in these latter days, the Lord once again gave the commandment to live the United Order. (D&C 42:30-32) While that commandment has since been suspended until after the redemption of Zion (D&C 105:34) and replaced by the law of tithes and offerings, it appears that the necessity of learning to abide by its principles still remains for those who would obtain membership in God’s kingdom.
There are two basic laws connected with living the United Order:
(1) Consecration, and (2) Stewardship. Those who live the law of consecration must recognize that the earth and everything therein belongs to the Lord. All they have including their time, their means, and their possessions constitute a stewardship given them by Him. To signify recognition of this fact, those in the United Order voluntarily transferred all of their property to the Lord’s Church “with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken.” (D&C 42:30) Having done this, the consecrator then received back from the Church “as much as is sufficient for himself and family.” (D&C 42:32) As is stated in another revelation, the bishop is to “appoint unto this people their portions, every man equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs.” (D&C 51:3) This constituted a man’s stewardship. It was his private property, and his rights thereto were protected by government. As the revelation states:
And thus all things shall be made sure, according to the laws of the land (D&C51:6)
As legal owner of the property which constituted his stewardship, a member of the United Order could do with it as he pleased. He could operate it for the purpose of making a living, sell it, give it away, or will it to his heirs. However, if he lived the principles of the United Order, any surplus which his stewardship produced over and above his necessities and wants was to be “cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church.” (D&C 82:18; 70:7) Let it be recognized, however, that this duty was no more legally binding upon him than was his duty to consecrate the property in the first instance. A person was as free to refuse to live the principle of the United Order as we are free to refuse to live the law of tithes and offerings today. Private property should be fully protected by the laws of the land in either case. Thus, it is seen that the right of the individual to own and control property is indispensable to the operation of the Lord’s system of stewardship. Therefore, government enforced laws must exist which protect this basic right.
Stewardship Essential To The Plan Of Free Agency
Individual stewardships are the very heart of the Lord’s plan of free agency, for without them there can be no accountability. Only where men are given custody over property or other possessions together with the freedom to superintend them can they by rewarded or punished. The necessity of stewardships is often mentioned in the scriptures. The following passage is typical:
For it is expedient that i, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which i have made and prepared for my creatures. (D&C 104:13. See also D&C 72:3; 70:4, 9)
The Lord explained His system of stewardships in His parable of the talents. Therein He stated that,
the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability… (Matt. 25:14-15)
Let us note that the Lord did not deliver the same amount of goods to each steward, but “to every man according to his several ability,” apparently as those abilities had been developed up to that time. Just as there are extensive differences in stewardship in this life, even so according to this parable, there will be even greater differences at the beginning of the next life, for when the Lord returned from his journey, he held each of these three stewards accountable for the use they made of their talents and rewarded them accordingly. The slothful servant was deprived of the single talent he had failed to improve, and it was given to the one who had doubled the talents given him.
Immediately following the account of the parable of the talents in Matt. Ch. 25, the Lord explains that He judges all men on the basis of what they do with their talents or stewardship:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory…
And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats;
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you… (Matt. 25:31-34)
This scripture goes on to say that those who inherit the Lord’s kingdom use their stewardship to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the sick and in prison, while those who are selfish are sent away into everlasting punishment.
It is a fact of the utmost importance that the Lord cannot hold a man accountable for the development of the talents given him—whether he be given five, two, or a million—unless he has the freedom to develop those talents. It is a fact of equal importance that a person can neither be rewarded in the kingdom of heaven for his charity, nor punished for his greed, unless he is left free to dispose of his stewardship as he sees fit. Therefore, in the Lord’s kingdom, the right of the individual to acquire and control property must be protected.
Laws Necessary For The Protection Of Stewardship
There are four types of laws which are authorized by the Constitution of the United States and were adopted by the founding fathers. These laws are necessary to protect individual stewardship. They are as follows: (Note: The U.S. Constitution is included herein as Appendix 1)
1. Criminal laws which provide protection against those who take, injure, or destroy the stewardship of others;
2. Laws which provide for defense against foreign aggressor nations; (These laws might be classified as criminal laws because they provide protection against foreign criminals.)
3. Contract and tort laws which permit those who have been injured by the intentional or negligent conduct of others to have their claims litigated and enforced;
4. Laws which make it possible for government to perform the above functions by compelling each person whose stewardship is protected to pay his fair share of the taxes and perform other necessary duties, such as serve in the armed forces.
Laws Which Destroy And Prohibit Stewardship
Since every law which affects freedom either protects or destroys it, and since all laws essential to its protection were authorized by the original Constitution, unless a law which affects freedom is permitted by that document, it is inimical to the Lord’s system of stewardships. There are almost an infinite number of laws which have this effect, but most of them may be properly classified into three groups which will now be discussed.
1. Laws which hinder or prevent the acquisition of a stewardship. In a well developed economy where there is a marked division of labor, one acquires a stewardship of property by entering some specialized field and producing a large quantity of goods and/or services for sale to or exchange with others who also are engaged in mass production. Under such conditions a person may be hindered or prevented from acquiring a stewardship by laws which make it difficult or impossible to enter business. There are a large variety of such laws including licensing laws, zoning laws, employment laws which forbid the hiring of a person because of age, sex, race, etc., and collective bargaining laws which prevent employees from bargaining directly with employers.
In trying to justify such laws, people tend to confuse a proper function of government—that of punishing crime—with an improper function—that of destroying stewardships. They erroneously imagine that licensing laws, for example, are necessary criminal laws. This utterly false notion can be dispelled by noting that existing criminal laws already provide for the punishment of every conceivable type of crime, and neither licensing nor regulatory laws can add anything to them. Neither do licensing or regulatory laws add anything to the rights of the buying public. The tort and contract laws already provide that a person may secure redress for injuries committed either intentionally or negligently, and that is all the protection which government can afford without destroying freedom.
2. Regulatory laws. Laws which deny the steward the freedom to manage his own property are not authorized by the Constitution and are destructive of those “rights and privileges” which belong to all mankind. The multitudinous regulatory measures under which government commissions, boards, bureaus, and agencies regulate agriculture and labor, finance and banking, transportation and communication, mining and manufacturing, trades, professions, etc. all have the effect of preventing the property owner from making his own decisions about his stewardship.
3. Compulsory charity laws. Laws which authorize and direct government officials to forcibly take property from its rightful owner and make a gift thereof to those to whom it does not belong, prevent the property owner from deciding for himself how charitable he will be with that property and thereby destroy the basis upon which the Lord intends to judge the world. (Matt. 25:31-46) This constitutes a direct violation of the commandment, “thou shalt not steal.” The evil nature of the act is not changed in the slightest merely by changing the number who are involved in its commission. The Lord’s commandments apply with as much force to group action as individual action, and anyone who favors laws which destroy stewardship in this manner can hardly expect to inherit the kingdom of God unless he repents.
The Establishment Of The Kingdom Of The Devil Over The Earth
So many freedom-destroying laws of the three types discussed above have been adopted in every nation today that the Lord’s system of stewardship has been largely abolished all over the earth. Furthermore, lawmaking bodies at every level of government continue to grind out massive amounts of new legislation each year, almost all of which increase state activity at the expense of individual freedom. A substantially accurate description of conditions now prevailing in “democratic” nations is contained in a prediction made over 130 years ago by Alexis de Toqueville in his book, Democracy in America published around 1840. The following is an excerpt therefrom.
I think, then, that the species of oppression by which democratic nations are menaced is unlike anything that ever before existed in the world;…I seek to trace the novel features under which despotism may appear in the world. The first thing that strikes the observation is an innumerable multitude of men, all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives….
Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate.…It provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living?
Thus it every day renders the exercise of the free agency of man less useful and less frequent; it circumscribes the will within a narrower range and gradually robs a man of all the uses of himself…
After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community unity. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and un4form, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd…. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd..
[The people] devise a sole, tutelary, and all-powerful form of government, but elected by the people. They combine the principle of centralization and that of popular sovereignty; this gives them a respite: they console themselves for being in tutelage by the reflection that they have chosen their own guardians. Every man allows himself to be put in leading strings, because he sees that it is not a person or a class of persons, but the people at large who hold the end of his chain.
By this system the people shake off their state of dependence just long enough to select their master and then relapse into it again (de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Book Four, Ch. VI)
This statement is a tribute to de Tocqueville’s astonishing foresight, but only a prophet of God could predict present conditions 2500 years before their occurrence and provide a true explanation of them. This, the prophet Nephi did and the essence of that explanation is contained in the following passage:
And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. (1 Nephi 14:11)
Latter-day prophets have given this same explanation. In a message from the First Presidency of the Church read in general conference, Oct., 1942, Satan’s plans to set up the world’s greatest tyranny were described in these words:
Satan is making war against all the wisdom that has come to men through their ages of existence. He is seeking to overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government, and religion rest. He aims to have men adopt theories and practices which he induced their forefathers, over the ages, to adopt and try, only to be discarded by them when found unsound, impractical, and ruinous. He plans to destroy liberty and freedom—economic, political, and religious, and to set up in place thereof the greatest, most widespread, and mast complete tyranny that has ever oppressed men. He is working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods..
He comes as a thief in the night; he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Without their knowing it, the people are being urged down paths that lead only to destruction. Satan never had so firm a grip on this generation as he has now.…We condemn the outcome [of the war] which wicked and designing men are now planning; the world-wide establishment and perpetuation of some form of communism on the one side, or some form of Nazism or Fascism on the other. Each of these systems destroys liberty, wipes out free institutions, blots out free agency, stifles free press and free speech, crushes out freedom of religion and conscience. Free peoples cannot and do not survive under these systems. (C/R,Oct. 1942 pp. 13, 15)
In 1962, the late President and Prophet, David O. McKay expressed how extensively Satan is destroying freedom throughout the world in these words:
Today, freedom—political, economic, and individual freedom—lies destroyed or is in the course of being destroyed over great areas of the globe. And it has been destroyed and is being destroyed in the name of freedom.…A ruthless dialectical battle is being waged against the Christian way of life, against political liberty, against individual freedom, and it is being waged in the name of Freedom. Black becomes White; Tyranny becomes Freedom; The Forced Labor Camp stands for Liberty; The Slave State is represented as Democracy. This is the deadly challenge of Communism. (Conf. Rep., Oct. 1962, pp. 6,7)
Our living prophet, President Joseph Fielding Smith in the following passage has stated that he believes that we are living in the days prophesied by Nephi when Satan’s kingdom would be established “among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people:”
The United States is not the kingdom of God, neither is England, Germany, or France…Satan has control now, No matter where you look, he is in control, even in our own land. He is guiding the governments as far as the Lord will permit him. That is why there is so much strife, turmoil, and confusion all over the earth. One master mind is governing the nations it is Satan himself (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 3, pp. 314-315)
While this statement was made some years ago, Satan’s control has continued to increase since then. People everywhere are giving up more and more of their freedom to those conducting the affairs of his kingdom. Local governments continue to surrender their rightful powers to the states, the states to the nations, and the nations to a single world government. Massive wickedness, instantaneous communication, rapid transportation, and a fearful arsenal of sophisticated weapons are serving to establish Satan’s kingdom and make him ruler over the whole earth.
The Duty To Seek For Good, Honest, And Wise Men
In addition to the political duties to “befriend” the laws of God and oppose the laws of Satan, one who seeks for the establishment of God’s kingdom is also obligated to seek for officers who are disposed to uphold the laws of freedom. This duty is expressed in the following passage:
Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil. (D&C 98:10)
Both the need as well as the difficulty of complying with this commandment is indicated by the following scripture:
We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. (D&C 121:39)
The “sad experience” of mankind does indeed bear out the truth that there are extremely few men who can safely be entrusted with authority. Religious as well as secular history teach that only those who are righteous will curb the almost universal disposition to exercise unrighteous dominion. However, when a nation is righteous enough to deserve them, the Lord will make available men who can be entrusted with the power of government. This He did when He raised up the wise and God-fearing men through whom He established the laws and Constitution of the United States. Those men sought to establish a government of freedom under which the kingdom of God could be established. For example, they adopted as our national motto: “In God We Trust.” Washington, in his first inaugural address paid homage to—that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the council of nations…
John Adams concluded his first inaugural address with these words:
And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue his blessing upon this nation and its government.
It is men of this calibre who must be sought for diligently if we would maintain that atmosphere of freedom within which the Lord’s kingdom can be established.
Separation Of Church And State
The conclusion has been drawn herein that to obey Christ’s commandment to seek His kingdom, one must favor only laws which are authorized by Him and seek only for men who acknowledge His right to reign. Does one violate the doctrine of separation of church and state when he takes this attitude toward his political duties? Let us consider what this “separation” doctrine means. Its correct meaning is succinctly expressed in the first article of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution which says:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…
It cannot be contended that there is a union of church and state as long as this prohibition is observed. As long as there are no laws adopted or enforced by government respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, there is a strict separation of church and state. The doctrine of “separation” cannot encompass either more or less than this without contradicting itself. If its meaning is broadened so as to prohibit men from holding political office because of their religious affiliation or convictions, then it sanctions laws respecting an establishment of religion. This is also the case if the doctrine is used to sanction laws which prohibit churchmen or church leaders from expressing their views on political issues either within the church or without. Of course, religious leaders are subject to the laws against libel, slander, and treason the same as other citizens. On the other hand, as citizens, they have the same rights to express their political convictions, even though such convictions find their basis in their religious creed.
Men who believe in God and belong to churches are entitled to as much political freedom as are atheists and agnostics; and religious leaders have as much right to seek and hold political office as do those who are not religious leaders. To deny a man the privilege of voting his conscience or running for office because of his affiliation with a religious movement is as much a violation of the doctrine of separation of church and state as to deny political freedom to one not so affiliated.
Thus, it is most apparent that there is no violation of the doctrine of “separation” when a person votes for a candidate for the reason that such candidate believes in the kingdom of God and acknowledges Christ as the head of that kingdom. Neither can there be any valid objection to the adoption and enforcement of laws which build up that kingdom, for within that kingdom every man’s freedom is protected and no laws will be enforced respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there
of. God’s kingdom is one of perfect freedom and the only laws enforced therein are those which enforce the universal standard of morality discussed herein in Chapter VIII. It was there shown that this standard is based upon the universal desire for freedom and the common knowledge of those acts and intents which destroy its elements.
All rational men, regardless of religious differences, know this standard and although they may be inclined to ignore it and violate the freedom of others, they desire to have it enforced to protect their own. Therefore, it may with perfect justice be enforced against all men. The unbeliever and the skeptic as well as the pious may, without violating their consciences, be held morally accountable for failing to support those laws which protect freedom. As the Lord has stated:
that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind… (D&C 98:5)
He has also stated that those laws which He suffered to be established,
should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles. (D&C 101:77)
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