Our Constitution and Government

OUR CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT* By J. M. Sjodahl It has occurred to me that on this day it would be proper to give a moment of our time here to the consideration of the great government of which George Washington has been called the "father." Not that I expect to be able to say anything on that subject which you do not know; but it is well to pause occasionally, to consider the blessings we enjoy, and you will agree with me, once an alien but, thank God! for many years a citizen, that the American government is one of the greatest temporal blessings God ever vouchsafed to man. Before 1776 the country later known as the United Statesi of America consisted of 13 colonies, each under the complete control and rule of the government of Great Britain. But, as serious trouble be- tween the mother country and the colonies seemed to threaten, George Washington of Virginia was elected commander of whatever colonial forces could be raised, to the end "that the liberties of the country receive no detriment." This step was taken June 15, 1775, and was the first direct move for independence, and on July 4, 1776, a Declaration of Independence, drawn up by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, was adopted by the colonial congress. At the same time Articles of Confederation were drawn up and submitted to the people. These Articles had for their purpose the organization of a "Con- federation and Perpetual Union between the States." This was, in modern terms, a "league" between thirteen independent American states. This Confederation met with many difficulties. Each state was sovereign within its own boundaries, and as each had its own commercial and political interests, there were serious conflicts. Some wanted free trade, and others prohibitive duties. Some wanted slaves; others were opposed to that kind of labor. The debt incurred by the revolution caused heated discussions. Some states negotiated treaties with foreign countries, while the Confederation itself was without standing and credit abroad. It went so far that the opponents of the Confederation gloried in the evident failure of the new experiment in popular government, and predicted the dissolution of the Union. The situation became so critical that Congress in 1787 decided to issue an invitation to all the states to send delegates to a convention, to meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday of May, 1787, for the purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation and strengthen the Union. The response was not, to begin with, encouraging. On May 14, the day set for meeting, too few states were represented to transact *An address in the 12th- 13th Ward on Washington's Birthday, Feb. 22, 1925.

406 IMPROVEMENT ERA business. On May 25, seven of the 13 states were represented, and that was a majority. George Washington was then elected president of the convention, and when this momentous assembly was ready for work, it was proposed that "a government of the United States be established, consisting of a supreme legislature, executive, and judi- ciary," and this resulted in the forming of the Constitution of the United States, adopted September 17, 1787. The government founded on this Constitution is, as we all know, a democracy. That is, all power is vested in the people, and those who govern derive their authority from the people and exercise that authority — if they understand their position correctly — as the servants of the people. But the government is, furthermore, a representative democracy, and that fact we sometimes lose sight of. Since it is impractical in a large state for all the citizens to come together in one lawmaking assembly, or sit as judges on every case that may come up, and since every citizen does not possess the information and training necessary to make laws, or to execute them, or to interpret them, they can exercise the sovereign authority vested in them only by selecting representative men and women who have the necessary qualifications to attend to this public business for them. Those so elected are the representatives of the people, and therefore we call the government a representative government. But that means also, that when the citizens have attended to the election, which they should always do conscientiously and faithfully, then that ends their duty and responsibility as far as governing is con- cerned. All further responsibility, authority or duty is delegated to the representatives, and these should be left unhampered and receive approbation and support, as long as they do their duty well. But if they fail, and prove themselves unworthy of public confidence, then the citizens should exercise their sovereignty and remove them by the ballot or other legal procedure. When we build a house or a ship and agree with the builder about the construction, we leave the matter in his hands, but in matters of government we sometimes ignore, or forget this, and so it happens sometimes, that when a legislature, for instance, is in session, individual members are hounded, as it were, by persons outside without legal authority, who urge them to introduce this and that measure, and some- times societies and clubs exert pressure upon legislators for special in- terests, and the result is seen in laws and ordinances by the hundreds, which are passed, although they are absolutely valueless and remain a dead letter on the books. All this is wrong. It is destructive of representative government. It is one of the dangers against which the watchmen on the towers should sound a warning, whenever necessary.

OUR CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 40 7 Inspired of God The next point to note is that the great instruments of human liberty, on which this government is built, were inspired by our heavenly Father himself. On this great truth let me read a few lines in Doc. and Cov. 101:76-80, and let me say, this revelation was given through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the year 1833, when the Saints in Missouri had been driven and scattered and were exposed to untold sufferings during a cold winter. The Lord, through his prophet, told the Saints: "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 * * * * 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." Here we are expressly told that the Lord not only "suffered" the laws and constitution of the United States to be written, but that he himself established the constitution. It was God, who raised up such men as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and their associates, for the very purpose of breaking the chains of bondage and establishing individual liberty. They were the instruments in hisi hands to do this particular work. America is, in a particular sense, God's country, just as Palestine was, and still is, as will be evident in the future. The country was for centuries hidden from the rest of the world, until the time came for the curtain to be raised, by the voyages of Columbus and others, and then, when the time came, the standard of human liberty was unfurled — an ensign to all nations. But let us not forget, that the great movement, which culminated in the war for independence and the constitution of the United States, did not begin here on this continent. Let us remember that the funda- mental principles embodied in that magnificent document were brought here by the pilgrim fathers from Great Britain and Holland, and by others who followed in their footsteps. A great deal of preparatory work had been done by such men as Wycliffe and Tyndale and their heroic followers in Great Britain and on the European continent; by John Huss, the Bohemian, who, like Tyndale, was burned at the stake for his faith; by Luther, Melanchton, Carlstadt in Germany, by Calvin, the French reformer, and Zwingli, the Swiss defender of the truth, as he saw it; by Savonarola, the Italian martyr; and then by the Wald- enses, Albigenses, by the martyred Colligny and the Huguenots, by Lollards, Mennonites, and others who lived and suffered for the principles of human liberty, not to forget the great hero from the

408 IMPROVEMENT ERA north, Gustavus Adolphus, who, at the battle of Luetzen in 1832, gave his life for the liberty of mankind. All this work, all this conflict and seeming chaos in the history of the world, was but preparatory to the great results of which we have become the beneficiaries. It was the crushing, the mixing, the cutting and grinding, the polishing and fitting, of the material needed for this grand structure that we may call our home. Now let us ask: what was the purpose of God in this great work? Was it intended for the benefit of only a small part of the human family? No, to suppose that would be a serious mistake. The Jews fell into that error and became so wrapped up in themselves that they lost sight of the mission entrusted to them, and their policy was therefore broken up and they, themselves, were scattered to the four winds. The Lord, in the revelation just read, tells us the purpose of his great work. He says that the laws and constitution of America were established "for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles." Note, "all flesh," that is God's purpose with regard to this government, whatever the purpose of man may be. And I think that must have been the divine ideal to which President Woodrow Wilson sought to give a tangible form, when he delineated a United States of the World after the divinely inspired pattern of the United States of America. He, however, was misunderstood. The time for the realization of that vision, although given to all prophets of God from the beginning of the world, had not yet come. But it will come. This country is God's country, and its government, as outlined in the constitution, is God's government. But the whole earth belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. He is its Creator and its Redeemer. And when the plan of salvation was formed, God said to him: "Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Psalm 2:7, 8.) The earth, then, is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, no matter who claims it, and eventually the principles of the divinely-inspired Ameri- can government will extend to all parts of it, as the little stone in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. The very fact that the Lord established his Church here, and made provisions for the preaching of the gospel to all nations, is evi- dence of his purpose to make this form of government universal; for wherever the gospel of Christ is accepted and carried out, there the brotherhood of man under the celestial law of equality is a real ideal and at least a potential actuality. Now then, it becomes the duty of every true Latter-day Saint to study our fundamental law and the government founded on it, and to guard and defend our constitutional institutions against assaults from within and without. The Prophet Joseph at one time said the time would come when the constitution would be in danger, and that,

OUR CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 409 if it be saved at all, it will be by the elders of this Church. (Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 152.) This, then, is part of our mission. Party politics may be more or less important. The Prophet once declared: "I wish to be let alone, that I may attend strictly to the spiritual welfare of the Church." — History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 259. And on another occasion he said: "In relation to national matters, I want it to go abroad unto the world that every man should stand on his own merits. The Lord has not given me a revelation concerning politics. I have not asked him for one. I am a third party and stand independent and alone. I desire to see all parties protected in their rights." — History of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 526. But on the constitution itself, its divine origin and purpose, we have revelation. And by sustaining it and all constitutional laws, and by sustaining the goverment in all that is in accordance with those laws, and with truth, justice and righteousness, we are hastening the coming of the universal reign of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Holding Your Overcoat I would hold your coat when 'twas time to go On those first cool evenings of early Fall; It was my joy to serve you so — You were the king and I was the thrall. All the early evening / would command, In my queenly power I would gloat: "Take me out to hear the band!" "Kiss my eyes!" "Dear, kiss my hand!" But at parting time I would meekly stand Holding your overcoat. And I would think, while standing there, "Three days must pass e'er you come again; Three days before I can kiss your hair; Three days of longing; three days of pain!" Then the coat that I held seemed very dear; I kissed the band that caressed the throat, The turned-up collar that touched the ear, The breast — ah, your heart would be beating here! When I was far, it would be near, So I kissed your overcoat. You were so tall, you must bend toward me; I must reach as high as I could, tip-toe; Then I would whisper, "How will you reward me For this hard service, before you go?" You would turn to me, serious, though your eyes were gay. And all unsmiling, you'd gravely say, "Love, I have nothing with which to pay." Yet I was in debt, when you went away, For holding your overcoat! Salt Lake City, Utah OLIVE F. WOOLEY BURT.