In August 1833, the Spirit of the Lord revealed to Joseph, “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” (D&C 98:8-9). The Lord knew America’s new Constitution, “though perhaps the most perfect developed through the centuries, . . . was not without [its] defects.” (Restoration of the Divine Church by James A. Barker, p. 83) The Lord also knew that the “restored organization of the Church has needed no change” (Ibid).

In August 1835, at a conference at Kirkland, Ohio, “A declaration of belief regarding governments and laws in general” was adopted by unanimous vote and given a preamble that reads, “That our beliefs with regard to earthly governments and laws in general may not be misinterpreted nor misunderstood, we have thought proper to present at the close of this volume our opinion concerning the same” (D&C 134: intro). The words of D&C 134 were carefully crafted so the principles of liberty and freedom deeply embedded in this section could become guidelines of liberty for “all mankind,” regardless of which nation they then lived in, or, in our generation as the Gospel embraces the world, may live in, especially the words, “and such laws as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign”(vs. 3). James A. Barker later wrote “The government of the Church reconciles the principles of authority and individual liberty and has all the advantages, both of an authoritative government and of a democratic government, and none of their weaknesses.”   

            Is there any wonder then, that our generation, those of us charged with proclaiming the Gospel of truth unto “all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people” continue to hear the Lord’s prophets and apostles challenge, and admonish, us, often with promised blessings, to “search the scriptures,” as did the Lord (John 5:39), that we “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make [us] free” (John 8:32). The Lord, through his servants, continues to issue proclamations unto the world. In 1995 “The Family - A Proclamation to the World” was issued. The Lord proclaimed, through his servants, in clear concise words to a confused world that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” This too, now becomes another prophet’s proclamation on liberty.                                                                             Continue to Page Six ===>