A Moral and Religious People

I recently finished listening to the Federalist Papers on Audible. These are a compilation of essays from James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton to the people of New York in defense of the United States Constitution as the state determined whether to ratify it in 1787 and 1788. As I listened to their arguments I was impressed by the thoroughness of their thinking and the wisdom of their words. As they methodically went through almost all parts of the Constitution it was clear to me that the framers of the Constitution did nothing haphazardly or without careful thought and consideration for the long term. It is indeed miraculous that these “wise men” were able to craft a government which, while imperfect, has lasted for nearly 2½ centuries and counting. One of the recurring themes in the papers is the need to control potential abuses in the government so that the people’s freedoms are preserved to the greatest extent possible. As he summarized the need for the separation of powers and checks and balances in the government, Madison wrote this in Federalist 51: “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” The Constitution and government were designed to give enough power to the government to adequately regulate the affairs of the population while at the same time putting controls in place to limit the power of the those at its head.

I believe that widespread religion and belief in God among this country’s citizens are major reasons that the Constitution, in addition to its inspired organization of government, has been so successful. Religion helps the Constitution in fulfilling both these missions as described by Madison: it helps citizens to live within the bounds of the laws and for leaders of government to maintain a sense of accountability to a higher power. John Adams famously wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” A religious, God-fearing people will maintain a sense of right and wrong for which they will have to answer for their actions to a Supreme Being more powerful than even the government. One of our declarations about government also says this: “We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society” (Doctrine and Covenants 134:1). This emphasizes that those in government will also stand accountable to God, a fact which will also tend to help those in power not to abuse that power. Certainly that power has been misused throughout our history as a country, but those who understand their relationship with God taught in almost all religions will be at least less likely to do so: “Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment” (1 Nephi 10:20)

With the movement today trying to silence religious ideas from the public square, Elder Rasband spoke about the general need for religion and religious freedom in his most recent general conference talk. He questioned, “If religion is not there to help with shaping character and mediating hard times, who will be? Who will teach honesty, gratitude, forgiveness, and patience? Who will exhibit charity, compassion, and kindness for the forgotten and the downtrodden? Who will embrace those who are different yet deserving, as are all of God’s children? Who will open their arms to those in need and seek no recompense? Who will reverence peace and obedience to laws greater than the trends of the day? Who will respond to the Savior’s plea ‘Go, and do thou likewise’?” He then declared, “We will! Yes, brothers and sisters, we will.” Perhaps one of the best ways that we can defend the Constitution as a Church is to continue to practice and preach these principles—honesty and forgiveness, charity and kindness, peace and obedience—so that we stay a “moral and religious people” who fear God and can be governed by the those whom we elect. We must defend the right to religious liberty and continue to show its efficacy to the good of the whole community on the public stage.