Many of us on the LDS Left were apprehensive about the Fifth Sunday in May, 2026. Our regular Sunday School time was going to be spent with the adults and youth together in a lesson entitled “Celebrating the Founding of the United States and the US Constitution.”
Contrary to what many on the Right have been told, we on the Left LOVE our country and its founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. We read and study these documents – and US History – avidly. Perhaps the difference in our reading is that we don’t read these documents as accomplished victories, but as ongoing challenges. We celebrate our country’s accomplishments, but we believe we also need to recognize, and continue to work on, our country’s shortcomings.
Our apprehension as this Sunday approached was that we, individually and collectively, have been in all too many situations at church, or among church members, where the not so hidden assumption of those around us was that love of country – patriotism – belonged only to those with right-wing beliefs. Those of us who do not share those political beliefs have been attacked, belittled, and ostracized. We have been told, both verbally and silently, that if we do not support right-wing politicians or policies we must not truly be faithful Latter-day Saints.
My ward
I am fortunate to belong to an LDS Ward that, although located in Davis County, Utah, and therefore heavily Republican, does not tend to discuss politics in our classes or from the pulpit. I have LDS Democrat friends in Utah that are not so fortunate.
In my ward, at least, the lesson this past Sunday went quite well. During the discussion, many admitted that they were essentially ignorant of the issues of the day because they considered themselves “apolitical.” Some even seemed to recognize that they had been negligent in their duties as citizens of a democracy and vowed to do better.
Another healthy strand that came up in our discussion was the idea that local politics probably has a greater immediate affect on our day to day lives than the more visible national politics. You could almost see this light dawning for the first time on some people’s faces.
The video
The lesson began with a 22 minute video of LDS Second Counselor in the First Presidency D. Todd Christofferson and Apostle Quentin L. Cook talking to each other about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
In his introduction, President Christofferson specifically included the Bill of Rights as part of the Constitution. He also said that the most important aspect of the Constitution “is its role in promoting and protecting the individual moral agency of God’s children everywhere.” He reminded us that agency is “fundamental to God’s great plan of happiness. He pointed out that agency allows “that we should all be accountable for our own choices in the Day of Judgement.”
The Declaration of Independence
Elder Cook quoted the following lines from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He then went on to read the important next line, “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.”
This discussion puts the Church in full agreement with Thomas Jefferson (the author of the Declaration) that 1. Everyone is born equal in the eyes of God, 2. Everyone is entitled – by God given right – to equal opportunity, and 3. The purpose of governments is to secure these rights to the people.
What might this doctrine mean for efforts to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (the much-criticized “DEI”) among God’s children? Frankly, the diversity in our world was largely created by God himself. Equity means that resources and opportunities should be allocated fairly and justly. Inclusion means that ALL individuals should feel welcomed, respected, supported and valued. Our church believes and teaches these things. Yet, most US church members belong to a political party that has virulently attacked Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and destroyed programs that promote these ideals.
The pursuit of happiness
Elder Cook then brought up an interesting point about the “pursuit of happiness” language in the Declaration. He asked what the phrase meant at the time it was written. He pointed out that “Some scholars have brought forth compellling evidence that the Founders understood the pursuit of happiness as being a quest for being good, not just feeling good. It meant the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure.” Elder Cook pointed out that we Latter-day Saints call the Father’s eternal plan (which involves repentance) “the plan of happiness.”
The Declaration of Independance, then, declares the pursuit of goodness, virtue, integrity, (ie. “happiness”), to be an “unalienable,” God-given, right. This reminds us that happiness is a function of virtue, not excess. (An obvious negative example of this is the selfish, flailing, miserable, current occupant of the White House).
The Constitution
Turning to a discussion about the Constitution, President Christofferson referred to President Dallin Oak’s April 2021 General Conference talk about the Constitution. President Oaks said that the Constitution wasn’t a perfect document, but that it accomplished a crucial purpose. He also emphasized that the Constitution can be, and has been, improved over time.
President Oak’s talk mentioned two especially important amendments to the Constitution. The first was the elimination of slavery in America (Amendments 13 and 14). The second was to guarantee to women the right to vote (Amendment 19). President Christofferson said that President Oaks was pointing out to us that the Constitution could “grow more perfect” over time.
Christofferson and Cook then talked about five specific inspired Constitutional principles that President Oaks mentioned in his talk.
- Popular sovereignty. Political power ultimately belongs to the people. President Christofferson pointed out that this means that the people have “the ultimate responsibility for the success of our own nation.” (How are we doing there?)
- Delegated power between the nation and it’s subsidiary states. (Note: the administration of elections is supposed to be a state power).
- The separation of powers. Elder Cook pointed out the the purpose of independent Executive, Legislative, and Judicial powers was “so the the three branches could exercise checks on each other.” (How well is that working today?)
- The Bill of Rights. The focus was on the First Amendment. President Christofferson briefly mentioned that he felt that “religious freedom” was “in some jeopardy,” but Elder Cook took the focus toward the idea that the First Amendment was “essential to the Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” He went on to mention that Joseph Smith wanted religious freedom for everyone.
- The rule of law. On this topic, President Christofferson said, “our loyalty is to the law, to the Constitution, not to particular individuals or certain office holders.” He also said, “We’re all subject to the law – including those who govern.” (These are two very important doctrines that MAGA LDS ignore).
I agree, but…
The video ended by encouraging the Saints to be better informed and become more active in our civic responsibilities.
I must say, as a left-leaning, LDS Democrat, I found nothing concerning or uncomfortable in hearing these two admittedly older, notably conservative, white men discuss the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the founding of the LDS Church.
I agree completely with their support of popular sovereignty, delegated power, the separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, and the importance of the rule of law. As you can image, however, I believe the problem is that every one of those inspired Constitutional principles are under direct attack and are in immediate peril of being overthrown.
It’s not enough
I can appreciate these kindly men concluding with an appeal to find unity (or compromise), where possible, and to be “civil” when that is not possible. However, I feel that they greatly underplayed the seriousness of our current situation.
The forces currently arrayed against our democratic republic and our Constitution are large, extremely well-funded, and their intentions are no longer hidden.
The enemies to our Constitution include not just Trump, but his Vice-president, his entire Cabinet, his advisors, a majority of the Supreme Court, nearly every Republican in the US House and Senate, most Republican governors, most elected Republicans to any office – at any level – in the country, the billionaire owners of social media platforms and AI companies, the increasing number of right-wing owners of what used to be “mainstream” media outlets, and, most especially, the voters who willingly gave these evil people the political power they are now using to destroy what our country used to stand for.
Personally, I would like to see some prophets seriously calling people to repentance and warning us of the doom we are quickly bringing upon ourselves.