Ezra Taft Benson

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Introduction to Notes on Socialism

January 10, 2010 in Socialism by Greg | 6 comments

Part 1 of 11 in the series Notes on Socialism

The following is an introduction to the series of notes on socialism. Its companion series is Socialism vs Capitalism and if possible, should be read together to get an understanding of these two competing political economic theories.

This series began as an investigation into the roots of modern socialism. Many trace its “origins in the French Revolution of 1789 and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution.”1 In fact, the term “socialism” is often “attributed to Pierre Leroux in 1834, who called socialism ‘the doctrine which would not give up any of the principles of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity of the French Revolution of 1789.’”2

The Law of Consecration and Socialism Compared

Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution From a religious perspective, socialism is of interest to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it bears some similarities with various attempts by the Church to implement the “law of consecration”. For example,

The Lord revealed several purposes for the law of consecration: to bring the Church to stand independent of all other institutions (D&C 78:14); to strengthen Zion, adorning her in beautiful garments, as a bride prepared and worthy of the bridegroom (D&C 33:17; 58:11; 65:3; 82:14, 18; etc.); and to prepare the Saints for a place in the Celestial Kingdom (D&C 78:7).

Commenting on this subject, President John Taylor stated that consecration is a celestial law and, when observed, its adherents become a celestial people (JD 17:177-81). Thus, men and women today can become like as those of Enoch’s day, “of one heart and one mind,…with no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). Orson Pratt, an early apostle, observed that if the Lord’s people aspire to the Celestial Kingdom, they must begin to learn the order of life that is there (JD 2:102-103).3

Since Zion designates both a place of gathering4 and an ideal society where “the pure in heart” live in harmony5, it bears many resemblances to utopian societies – real and imagined – of the past.6

Continuing, John A. Widtsoe, an apostle, explained how the law of consecration was implemented in the early Church:

Introduction to Notes on Socialism »»

  1. “History of Socialism”. Wikipedia. 9 Jan 2009.↩
  2. “Socialism”. Wikipedia. 9 Jan 2009.↩
  3. Hirschi, Frank W. “Law of Consecration”. 1992. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. 9 Jan 2009.↩
  4. See the post the Redemption of Zion.↩
  5. Sorensen, A. Don. “Zion”. 1992. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. 9 Jan 2009.↩
  6. Nibley, Hugh W. “The Utopians.” Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. 9 Jan 2009.↩

United States Constitution

September 17, 2009 by Greg | 2 comments

The Constitution of the United States of America forms the legal foundation of the United States of America and the federal government. It describes three main branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.

The Constitution was adopted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and by 1789 was ratified by each of the thirteen states. At present, it has 27 amendments; the first ten known as the Bill of Rights.

Revelations about the Constitution

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attach a special significance to the Constitution of the United States of America. While the Church was suffering persecution in Missouri in August 1833, a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith declared:

Jackson County Evacuation of the Mormons VERILY I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted. Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord. And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them. 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. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil. I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn. 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 98:1-10).

A few months later, the Lord declared in another revelation:

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—According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment. Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood. (D&C 101:76-80).

These revelations teach that:

  1. The Constitution was an inspired document to ensure the rights and privileges of American citizens to individual freedom and liberty.
  2. Moral agency, or the right of individuals to choose good or evil, is a fundamental purpose of the Constitution.
  3. Wise men were raised up by the Lord to create the Constitution.

The Constitution – An Inspired Document

Heber J. Grant referred to the Constitution as a “heavenly banner” that is “founded in the wisdom of God”:

From my childhood days I have understood that we believe absolutely that the Constitution of our country is an inspired instrument, and that God directed those who created it and those who defended the independence of this nation. Concerning this matter it is my frequent pleasure to quote the statement by Joseph Smith, regarding the Constitution:

The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it is, to all those who are privileged with the sweets of liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a weary and thirsty land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun. (DHC-3:304)

And such the Constitution of the United States must be to every faithful Latter-day Saint who lives under its protection.

We honor the man that God honors. We honor Abraham Lincoln because we believe absolutely that God honored him and raised him up to be the instrument in His hands of saving the Constitution and the Union.1

George Albert Smith explained that the Constitution is the “Palladian of human rights” and should be preserved from those who seek to replace it with another form of government:

United States Constitution »»

  1. Grant, Heber J. “The Constitution – A Glorious Standard”. Prophets, Principles, and National Survival. Inspired Constitution. 9 Sep 2009.↩

Ezra Taft Benson at Moscow Baptist Church

June 29, 2009 in Communism by Greg | No comments

Earlier this month, the LDS Newsroom published a reprint of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson’s visit to Moscow’s Central Baptist Church in the midst of the cold war. According to an office memo from Grant Salisbury and Warren K. Leffler, the writer-reporter team who reported on this event:

Ezra Taft Benson in Russia in the 1970sTHE NIGHT we left Moscow to fly down to Kiev, Secretary Benson literally took us to church.

Many of the reporters laughed about it on the way, because Mr. Benson, who is a leading Mormon, had arranged for us earlier to attend a service at the Latter-Day Saints Church in West Berlin, but all the newsmen found one excuse or another for not going. In Moscow, we had no choice because the cars picked us up at the hotel and stopped at the church on the way to the airport. It was around 7:30 o’clock on the chill, rainy evening of October 1.

As the cavalcade of cars arrived at the Central Baptist Church, on a narrow side street not far from Red Square, somebody wisecracked, “Well, boys, you’re going to get to church whether you like it or not.”

It turned out to be one of the most moving experiences in the lifetime of many of us. One newsman, a former marine, ranked it with the sight of the American flag rising over the old American compound in Tientsin, China, at the end of World War II.

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Gadianton Robbers

March 29, 2009 in Book of Mormon by Greg | 9 comments

The Book of Mormon records that the Gadianton robbers “did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi” (Helaman 2:13). Who were these Gadianton robbers and why were they given such a prominent role in the Book of Mormon, such that an entire civilization was destroyed?

9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers

World Trade Center Towers on 9-11 Shortly after the events of 9/11, Gordon B. Hinckley referred to “terrorist organizations that must be ferreted out and brought down.” He went on to state:

We of this Church know something of such groups. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret organization bent on evil and destruction. In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society. We see the same thing in the present situation. (9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers).

A Pattern of the Second Coming

Since the Book of Mormon is a “pattern for preparing for the Second Coming” of Jesus Christ1, the following is a list of characteristics and quotations about this curious group that resulted in the destruction of an ancient society and which has modern parallels.

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  1. “. . . in the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet” Benson, Ezra Taft. Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988. 59.↩

American Form of Government

March 25, 2009 in Government by Greg | 11 comments

The video below is an excellent description of the republican form of government as it was created by the Founding Fathers in America. Last year as I was talking to a colleague at work, I slipped up and mentioned that our government was a form of democratic government. As soon as those words passed my lips, I knew I had made a mistake and my friend kindly corrected me.

One reason I added this video to our blog is because over the course of time, words have often been misappropriated in order to popularize social mores and push forward various political agendas. One of these phrases that has been misappropriated is the meaning of the American form of government.

Which is it? Is it a democratic form of government or is it a republican form of government? The following video explains the subtle nuances in meaning between these types of government and others.

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Many years ago, Ezra Taft Benson saw as inevitable the conflict that is brewing between those who stand for the rule of law under a republic versus those who advocate a change in America’s governing structure. He wrote:

To all who have discerning eyes, it is apparent that the republican form of government established by our noble forefathers cannot long endure once fundamental principles are abandoned. Momentum is gathering for another conflict—a repetition of the crisis of two hundred years ago. This collision of ideas is worldwide. The issue is the same that precipitated the great premortal conflict—will men be free to determine their own course of action or must they be coerced. We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said: “Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction” (Church Historian’s Office, Salt Lake City, July 19, 1840).1

As if to warn of impending danger, David O. McKay said in 1962:

Force rules the world today. Individual freedom is threatened by international rivalries and false political ideals. Unwise legislation, too often prompted by political expediency, if enacted, will seductively undermine man’s right of free agency, rob him of his rightful liberties, and make him but a cog in the crushing wheel of regimentation.

It is well ever to keep in mind the fact that the state exists for the individual; not the individual for the state. Any form of government that destroys or undermines the free exercise of free agency is wrong. Liberty becomes then license, and the man a transgressor. It is the function of the state to curtail the violator and to protect the violated.2

Sources:

  1. Benson, Ezra Taft. Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988. 623-624. See also the post Constitution to Hang by a Thread.↩
  2. Newquist, Jerreld L., ed. Prophets, Principles and National Survival. Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1964. 137; italics in original.↩

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