LDS principles of good government

In August of 1835 a conference of the LDS Church voted to add an appendix to the back of its soon to be published Doctrine and Covenants. It was entitled “A Declaration on Government and Law.” It is now Section 134 of the book.

This declaration contains a number of principles that deserve to be reemphasized within the Church.

Governments are good and necessary

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man;

Doctrine and Covenants 134:1

At the very beginning of the declaration is a statement that God created governments for the good of mankind. This means that government is, or at least can be, good. God intends for us to have governments here on the Earth. This is in direct contradiction to Ronald Reagan’s oft-quoted claim that “Government is the problem.”

Actually, a properly-functioning government is the solution to many problems. It is the method civilized societies use to come together to accomplish big projects that benefit everyone (like roads and bridges, postal service, police and fire protection, water and sewer lines, educating our children, etc.)

Government regulations are essential

We believe … that to the laws all men owe respect and deference, as without them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror; human laws being instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, between man and man;

Doctrine and Covenants 134:6

Capitalists, and the politicians who serve them, always complain about government regulation of any kind. They always place profit ahead of any other consideration.

The LDS Declaration on Government says that regulating the interests of individuals and nations is the “express purpose” of having laws, and that without them the “peace and harmony” of society will be “supplanted by anarchy and terror.” Governments, and the laws and regulations they provide, are essential to the very existence of civilization.

The law should be respected and defended

Everyone owes “respect and deference” (vs.6) to the law. The Declaration says that “sedition and rebellion” (vs. 5) are wrong and should be punished.

This means that those who participated in the January 6, 2021 Insurrection at the US Capitol, as well as those who organized and supported it, should be jailed. According to the Declaration, the Latter-day Saints are actually expected to help the government bring these people to justice!

… and for the public peace and tranquility all men should step forward and use their ability in bringing offenders against good laws to punishment.

Doctrine and Covenants 134:8

Freedom of conscience is important (though not absolute)

We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience,

Doctrine and Covenants 134:2

Section 134 strongly supports the free exercise of conscience. This principle is usually mentioned by church members in terms of religious freedom, but freedom of conscious is larger than just the freedom of religious belief. It includes all personal convictions and values.

People find it easy to judge the convictions and values of others. We also tend to defend our own convictions vigorously – even blindly. What LDS Church members need to remember is that others are just as entitled to their convictions as we are.

The point of proclaiming a belief in freedom of conscience is that we should allow others the right to make choices just as much as we insist on our own right to make choices.

The only limit to this idea is when one person’s convictions are harmful to others. An obvious example of this is racism. A racist may claim that their personal thoughts don’t hurt anyone. Actually, however, our inward beliefs influence our actions even when we are not consciously aware of it.

It is the collective ingrained, unexamined, prejudiced thoughts and beliefs of people that makes up the systemic racism in our society. Freedom of conscience is not a license to hate.

Separation of church and state

We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government,

Doctrine and Covenants 134:9

The Declaration on Government strongly supports the separation of church and state. Throughout the document it enumerates different purposes and roles for governments and for churches.

Governments are to make and administer laws “for the good and safety of society”(vs. 1), while churches are to prescribe “rules on spiritual concerns” (vs. 6). Governments and churches should respect and support each other, but they should not infringe on each other’s territory.

There are more than a few elected LDS Republican officials who need to be reminded to keep these structures separate.

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Sources

“Module 1: Freedom of Conscience,” Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, United Nations.
Nathaniel Manderson, “Now evangelicals want to depict “social justice” as un-Christian: I hope God will forgive them,” Salon, November 13, 2021.