Constitutionalism

The purpose of this post is to try to lay out some of the core elements of the constitutional system that was set up by the Founders when our country was formed. I do so in order to be able to address some major changes in that system that have come pass in the last 100 years or so and how those changes threaten our freedom.

Just and Holy Principles

From ancient times The Lord promised that to those whom He brought to the New World it would be a land for freedom, so long as they would serve Him and keep His commandments (2 Nephi 1:5-12). The Lord later declared the He raised up "wise men" to establish the Constitution of the United States to accomplish this promise of freedom. It does so by protecting people's rights and allowing them to freely act out their moral agency to adopt doctrine and principle as they may choose, that all men and women "might be accountable for their own sins" (D&C 101:77-80). We are warned that we need to "befriend" all laws that are constitutional, because "whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil" (D&C 98:4-10).

The Lord described the Constitution as being based upon "just and holy principles" (D&C 101:77). These principles on which the Constitution is based are outlined for us in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration begins by teaching us that there is a system of laws that existed before Governments were instituted, laws that are above Governments and to which all governments and peoples will be held accountable. These are referred to as "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God," and when infractions of those laws occur against a people, they are justified in "[dissolving] the political bands that have connected them with another."

The Declaration goes on to list some of the "laws of Nature and of Nature's God" which King George had violated and which justified their declaring independence from Great Britain. These laws are described as "truths" which are "self-evident," implying their universality and unchanging nature. They include:

• All men and women are created equal
• They have rights which are unalienable, meaning they cannot be taken away
• Their rights are given to them by their Creator
• Among these are the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• Securing these rights is the primary reason that Governments are instituted
• Government's power can only be just if through the consent of the governed
• If a Government becomes destructive of those rights, people have a right and duty to abolish that Government and replace it with another.

New Governments

The Declaration then states that when a new Government is formed, the people are to build it upon the foundation of those "just and holy principles" (D&C 101:77) outlined in the first few paragraphs of the Declaration and organize its powers in the way that will best protect their safety and happiness. This framing of governmental powers is what the Founders undertook to do in 1787 in writing the Constitution, having been "raised up" by God to do this (D&C 101:80). They understood that their charge was to base that Government on the self-evident truths found in "the Law of Nature and of Nature's God." They knew that popular governments had been tried many times in the past and had failed. They knew that another chance to prove that mankind was capable of self-government may not come for a long time and they had to get it right.

The Declaration goes on to name specific examples of how King George had violated "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," foreshadowing the key elements of the Constitution that would organize the Government's powers in a way that would best protect "their safety and happiness." The following section will attempt to outline those key elements and give examples from the Declaration of how King George's rule had not measured up to those standards.

Core Constitutional Elements

Representative Government

• "He (King George) has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the legislature."
• "He has dissolved Representative House repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people."
• "For imposing taxes on us without our Consent."

Separated Powers

• "He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good."
• "He has made judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries."
• "He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies..."

Limited Government

• "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance."
• "He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands."
• "For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world."

These three constitutional pillars, Representation, Separated Powers, and Limited Government, would become the bulwark by which the new Government would secure the natural rights of the people, protecting their "safety and happiness," becoming the "new Guards for their future security." The entirety of the Constitution was written to fix these three pillars permanently into the system of government of our Nation. It delineates the three co-equal branches of government, with checks to ensure that too much power does not congregate into the hands of a single individual or group of individuals. It lays out how the sovereign people are to elect their representatives to fulfill the functions of Government in "securing these rights," as the Declaration teaches to be the primary reason for Governments to exist. It clearly states that the Government is to be one of enumerated powers and that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." It states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

In Summary

When the Founders set out to construct a system of government to secure the rights of the people, based on their consent, they knew that they would someday be accountable to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," as all of us will be. They also understood that not even a perfect constitution, written by God directly, could govern a corrupt and immoral people or save them from the same fate as the fallen civilizations of the past. America will remain a land of Liberty, as promised by The Lord (2 Nephi 1:5-12), if we as a people remain a moral people. The Constitution was set by God's hand to protect that freedom, through the principles and structures stated above, and He warns that "whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil" (D&C 98:7). Thus, behooves us to "befriend" the Constitution, uphold it's supporters, and confront it's enemies if we hope to retain our freedom and preserve it for our posterity.