In the 1987 General Conference, President Ezra Taft Benson shared his concerns that as a nation we have “apostatized” from several of the principles of our Constitution. I was alarmed that he used that word when describing how we have strayed from these founding values. To apostatize means more than simply turning away from something. It also means to deny it. President Benson was so concerned that the people of our country were corrupting the principles of the Constitution, and making unauthorized changes to it. By doing so, we are left without its original protections.
To help protect us, President Benson gives us four steps in avoiding this type of apostasy, and admonishes us how to “secure the blessings of liberty and ensure the protection and guidance of our Father in Heaven.
1. We must be righteous.
The world is becoming more evil as it steps further away from the righteous principles that this country was founded on. As the world is re-defining the definition of marriage and family, and attempts to take God out of public places, we are seeing a decline in public and civic virtue. It is vital that as members of the church, we uphold God’s laws and boldly declare that we want to bring morality back to our land.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated: “Those who enjoy the blessings of liberty under a divinely inspired constitution should promote
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Members of the Church are under special obligations to seek out and then uphold those leaders who are wise, good, and honest. Thus, we strongly urge men and women to be willing to serve on school boards, city and county councils and commissions, state legislatures, and other high offices of either election or appointment, including involvement in the political party of their choice.”
The Constitution DBQ The Constitution of United States is regarded by many as an important document, for it gave the common people the power to form a government the way they want. Yet, despite all the benefits that it brought to the American people at the time, people also had some concerns about the Constitution such as: it is creating a Central government that is too powerful, only white men that owns property are allowed to vote, not everyone in the nation are treated equally, etc. When the Constitution was first being drafted, Representatives from each state hoped to add terms that would benefit their own states—this lead to a heated debate on how the Constitution should be formed.
Supporting the Constitution Do you ever think about how thankful you should be that you live in America? Well you should be thankful. America gives people freedom. It was a good idea for America to ratify the Constitution. The government we had before the Constitution was called the Articles Of Confederation.
Moreover, one could argue that Protestant tolerance has evolved with time to be more “understanding” of dissimilar beliefs. For example, Strong makes the point that “the commands of the Pope, instead of the constitution and laws of the land, demand the highest allegiance of Roman Catholics in the United States.” (strong page 371) By drawing this comparison Strong is showing one of the flaws in this opposing faith that challenges not only American Laws but the Protestant dominance that is associated. Ultimately Strong warns that the loss of protestant values will lead to the growth of the “Romish Clergy.” This threat of Catholicism is purposed as a source of impending danger that simply cannot be
Unit 3 Test After the Revolution and the failure that was the Articles of Confederation, the nation needed order. Thus the nation’s leaders came together during the summer of 1787 at the Philadelphia Convention to draft the Constitution of the United States. The constitution was ratified in 1788. The Federalist Party had to gain nine of the thirteen states’ approval of the constitution to ratify it despite the goals of the Declaration of Independance. After the tyranny of the British rule, the new citizens of the United States wanted a severely limited government.
1. The Constitution originally lacked a Bill of Rights. George Mason from Virginia presented a proposal to add a bill of rights to the document. But his offer was voted down.
On an observation paper about the Constitution, Mercy Otis Warren wrote that “There is no security in the system either for the rights of conscience or the liberty of the press.” (Document 2) Which in simpler terms meant that there was no protection for the people’s rights. And in even simpler terms, he was saying that the Constitution was worse than modern art. Not only did he state this in the article, he also said that the executive and the legislative branch were “so dangerously blended that they give just a cause for alarm.”
In the 1800s, the Jacksonian Democrats were a major political group in the United States. This party had great social, economic, and political effects. Jacksonian politics and the biblical belief of honoring God deserve to be explored and compared in order to better understand both views. Once this exploration is complete, it can be concluded that Jacksonian politics, as a whole, cannot be compatible with the biblical view of honoring God because it undermined the value of community and equality, supported manipulative rule, and contradicted its own doctrines through questionable and even sinful actions. It is important to establish what Christianity says about honoring God in order to compare these two views.
Religious liberty should be able for everyone and every religion should be able to impose their values on people who want to listen. No one should be able to control a delicate subject such as religion. Many people are with religious liberty such as Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan gave a speech on Religious Liberty in which he stated, “when you stand up for your values, when you assert your civil rights to vote and to participate fully in government, your defending our true heritage of religious liberty”, which shows how he encourages his people to stand up and assert your civil right on religious freedom. Ronald Reagan’s view on religious liberty is that it should be liberated for every religion to impose their beliefs and values on people who are willing to listen to them and that people have to stand up and fight for religious liberty because if not who will.
The Bill of rights contained the most important accomplishment of the convention-The Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause was designed to protect religion from government infringement. It’s survival and proper interpretation, may directly correlate to the survival of the United
That this unalienable right (religion) is formed by personal opinions and evidence created in an individuals’ mind. He continues on with saying how religion is an obligation given to every man to respectfully pay homage to his creator, and man cannot be a member of civil society without it, but if the General Authority imposes his religious beliefs in civil society he shall live in a state of reservation. Additionally, Madison recognizes that even if this Bill were the want of the majority, that it would crush the want of the minority. He also strongly believed in the legislative’s body removal from all religious mandates, claiming that to have a free government you must preserve the separation of power and each branch must never cross the line which over step’s the individual rights of the people and that previous rulers that have
“It is yourselves who have called us to this office… we have our authority from God”. The “little speech” delivered by John Winthrop after his impeachment of “having exceeded his authority” made a strong impression on his view of natural liberty as corrupt and moral liberty as “proper end and object of society” and his authority to rule “by God to maintain law”. Winthrop’s view of authority is upon God, the divine ruler that “maintain law”. Winthrop creates a tone of seriousness to showcase his view.
In the late 1700’s, James Madison wrote the first Ten Amendments that are listed in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights were written to ensure American citizens that they have freedoms and rights that the government can 't infringe. Out of the Ten Amendments, I believe that the First and Eighth Amendment are the most significant. The First Amendment grants us freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and for people to assemble peaceably.
The new constitution, a document granting the framework for a new democratic government, replacing the Articles of the Confederation. This new document gained approval from some of the citizens, but also raised questions and concerns from others. There was a constant back and forth between the two groups on whether or not the constitution should be ratified. This editorial provides historical background on the issue and expresses my opinion on which side I would’ve chosen.
This statement is key because it displays how religious principals and characteristics promotes the protection for property, reputation, and life. Furthermore, without religion and its obligated principals, people will most likely abandon oaths, which are significant requirements in the justice system. Moreover, Washington wanted to express that if the people have integrity, honor, and commitment then they will be able to understand the meaning of respecting the laws and justice system. Also, how religion and its principles lead to the concept of morality and cannot be sustained without
“Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice, it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it.” ― G.K. Chesterton Many occasions in the United States history have shown that religion has caused many controversial questions. These questions have brought the American Justice System to a running halt, leading society to begin to ponder about the importance of freedom of religion, true meanings of the free exercise and establishment clause, and if there should be limitations imposed on the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs.