Mormon Constitutional Beliefs

When it comes to the Constitution of the United States of America and what should be expected from a Mormon President, or a Mormon in general, I could not put it in better words than those found in one of our books of scriptures, the Doctrine and Covenants in which we read a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith from the Lord Jesus Christ himself, summarizing our beliefs as Mormons in the upholding of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Briefly, we believe the Lord himself, Jesus Christ, under the direction of God, established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom he raised up unto this very purpose, and had redeemed the land by the shedding of blood. Yes, a bold doctrine, in that Jesus Christ himself both can state his judgment upon whatever he desires, as well as he speaks to a living Prophet and Apostles on the earth today (Ephesians 2:20, Acts 3:18,21, Amos 3:7).

Doctrine and Covenants 98:5-18
5 And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;

7 And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.

8 I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.

9 Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.

10 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.

11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.

12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.

13 And whoso ^alayeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal.

14 Therefore, be not ^aafraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will ^bprove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, ^ceven unto death, that you may be found worthy.

15 For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.

16 Therefore, ^arenounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to ^bturn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;

17 And again, the hearts of the ^aJews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me.

18 Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my Father’s house are ^amany mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my Father and I am, there ye shall be also.
end quote

Another reference from the Lord himself to us, his children (that includes you) in regards to the Constitution of the United States of America is as follows:

Doctrine and Covenants 101:76-80
76 And again I say unto you, those who have been scattered by their enemies, it is my will that they should continue to importune for redress, and redemption, by the hands of those who are placed as rulers and are in authority over you—

77 According to the laws and ^aconstitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the ^brights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;

78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral ^aagency which I have given unto him, that every man may be ^baccountable for his own sins in the day of ^cjudgment.

79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in ^abondage one to another.

80 And for this purpose have I established the ^aConstitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the ^bshedding of blood.
end quote

We would expect, not just from an elected Mormon president, but from any president who takes the oath and fills such a sacred office as well as from elected individuals for any public office to uphold the constitution, not as a flexible living document, but as the very document that gives the government the power to act as our agents, which was part of the original intent of the setting up of a “Federal” government, not a “National” government, as a “Federate” is an alliance of nations, in our case, of States, in which states give the federal government power to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all people of the federate states of America.

We feel our current and many past administrations have veered dangerously away from the Constitution, treating it as a completely flexible, living document, empowering  themselves and our judicial branch all rights to interpretation of such. When in reality, the rights belong to the people, and it is the very constitution that grants government the powers to act as agents of “we the people”. So, if our agents are acting out of line, we should hold them completely responsible, and we the people, should have the absolute power to remove them out of their place, and to appoint new elected officials.

Currently, it seems as though many of our government leaders, not only assert the position of interpretation of the constitution, in that they are treating it as a piece of paper with words on it, a “living document”, but have also been dangerously pushing for a pro-one-world-government for some time, leaving the safety of our sovereign country and constitution.

I love how Thomas Jefferson put it, in saying, “The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.” We believe the Constitution of the Unites States of America as the document that defines our freedoms, sovereignty, and purposes as a God-fearing, God-worshiping country, for it is in God we trust, and that is what has given us the success we have achieved as a nation. We believe, the majority of our current economic hardships are the direct results of the legalization of criminal government actions stemming from enacting Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”

To summarize these thoughts, yes, the constitution is a “living” document in the sense that it has been around longer than any other such document, and continues to be our civic touchstone – and the model for emerging democracies worldwide. But, I like how Joseph Story, a prominent 19th century legal scholar put it, when he penned that the Constitution has “a fixed, uniform, permanent construction. It should be… not dependent upon the passions or parties of particular times, but the same yesterday, today and forever.” So, no, the Constitution should not be malleable to the current trends of society.

Judges should not stray from the text’s literal meaning, and the only proper way to change the text should be by formal amendment – what Alexander Hamilton called a, “some solemn and authoritative act.”