Everyone Knows that Mitt Romney is a Mormon. To help others know more about his Mormon beliefs, here is an article by Quentin L. Cook, an Apostle in Romney's Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Restoring Morality and Freedom of Religion
By Quentin L. Cook
Do Latter-day Saints believe the U.S. Constitution is a divinely inspired document? The Lord Himself answered that question when He declared, “I established the Constitution … by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose” (D&C 101:80).
I
challenge all of us to work with people of other faiths to improve the moral
fabric of our communities, nations, and world and to protect religious freedom.
To do this, we need to understand and comprehend “things which have been” (D&C
88:79), with particular emphasis on events that were precursors to the
Restoration of the gospel of Jesus
Christ and that still need to be protected. These are the underpinnings of
our Judeo-Christian heritage and bless people worldwide.1
If
we understand these events, we can help protect, defend, and enhance knowledge
that will bless mankind, prepare us for the kingdom of God, and bring us
happiness and joy. Much of what we will do to improve the moral fabric of
society and protect religious freedom will be accomplished in our families and
communities.
I
will review four major “things which have been” that were precursors to the
Restoration, and then I will suggest three courses of action that will build on
the great heritage bestowed upon us.
Tyndale and the King James Bible
1. A unique and
profoundly important group of achievements occurred during the 1500s and early
1600s. William Tyndale, a man of strong religious beliefs and a
gifted linguist, translated much of the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Bible
into English. His translation contained “phraseology that we associate with the
sacredness of the word of God.”2
It was the language of religion, the language that captured the dramatic
importance of the Old Testament and the Savior’s spiritual message, ministry,
and mission set forth in the New Testament.
Tyndale’s
vision was that the common laborer, the plowboy in England, could read and
understand the Bible. His language became to religion what William
Shakespeare’s writings became to the language of literature and social
discourse in the English tongue.
With
the enhancement of the English language by Tyndale and Shakespeare, wise and
noble scholars produced the magnificent King James Version of the Bible in
1611. This great book of scripture has endured and is as important to us today
as it was 400 years ago. We share with many people a love and appreciation for
the Judeo-Christian values set forth in the King James Bible.
2. English common law and
the U.S. Constitution. At about the same time as the events just
described, Sir Edward Coke produced the consolidation of English law in written
form. His work was to law what the King James Bible was to religion.3
His volumes covered every conceivable legal topic and stated what the common
law was on each.
Many consider the provisions of the common law produced by
Coke as a foundation for several provisions in the U.S. Constitution, which
celebrates its 225th anniversary this year and is viewed by Latter-day Saints
as both inspired and necessary to the Restoration. Five elements of the
Constitution have been identified as being particularly inspired:
- Separation of powers into three independent branches of government.
- The Bill of Rights’ guarantee of freedom of speech, press, and religion.
- Equality of all men and women before the law.
- The federal system, with a division of powers between the nation as a whole and the states.
- The principle of popular sovereignty—the people are the source of government.4
These
five basic fundamentals have been a great blessing and were necessary to the
Restoration of the gospel. We share with many others a love and appreciation
for the Constitution and a concern about efforts to diminish the Bill of
Rights’ guarantee of freedom of religion.
3. Scientific
achievements, including the Industrial Revolution, the communications
revolution, and advancements in medicine. President Spencer W.
Kimball (1895–1985) acknowledged these achievements and the contribution they
provide to the kingdom of God. He saw some of this body of scientific knowledge
as a precursor to the Restoration and encouraged Latter-day Saints to
participate in the acquisition of this knowledge.5
Daniel
Walker Howe, in his Pulitzer Prize–winning history of the transformation of
America between 1815 and 1848, titled his book What Hath
God Wrought. In his introduction he focuses on professor
Samuel F. B. Morse, writing, “Morse, seated amidst a hushed gathering
of distinguished national leaders in the chambers of the United States Supreme
Court in Washington, tapped out a message” on a new device, the telegraph: “what hath god wrought.”6
“The
message ‘baptized the American Telegraph with the name of its author’: God.”7
Morse shared a “religious sense of divine providence” and saw himself as “an
instrument of providence.”8
Howe
states, “During the thirty-three years that began in 1815, there would be
greater strides in the improvement of communication than had taken place in all
previous centuries.”9
A
second communications revolution has occurred during our lifetime. The most
significant part of this involves the Internet.
4. A return to Judeo-Christian moral principles. This was
especially necessary for the Restoration of the gospel. A renewed emphasis on
morality occurred in both England and the United States. It involved fervent
religious awakenings, including those associated with the area of western New
York State.
The
practice of religious beliefs had been a “principal reason for the original
settlements in New England, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.” On the eve of the
Revolutionary War, religious pamphlets “topped secular
pamphlets from all thirteen colonies by four to one.”10
A
farmer who had fought at Concord Bridge on the first day of battle in the
American Revolutionary War “declared that he had never heard of Locke or
Sidney, his reading having been limited to the Bible, the Catechism, Watt’s
Psalms and Hymns, and the Almanac.”11
It was these principles that he was defending.
A
recent op-ed in the New York Times noted that many
people believe “that repairing the economic moral fabric is the essential
national task right now. … America went through a similar values restoration in
the 1820s. Then, too, people sensed that the country had grown soft and
decadent. Then, too, Americans rebalanced. They did it quietly and away from
the cameras.”12
Be a Righteous Example
How
can you help bring about this restoration of morality in our day and help
preserve religious freedom? First, be a righteous example. You must not be in
camouflage as to who you are and what you believe.
Elder
J. Devn Cornish, who prior to his call to the Seventy was a nationally
recognized pediatrician, tells of his efforts to be admitted to Johns Hopkins
Medical School. In an interview, distinguished professors at the medical school
asked him why he wanted to be a doctor. He told them that he wanted to be a
pediatrician. They interrupted him and asked how he could possibly know that
when he hadn’t even been to medical school. He explained with great passion
that he had served an LDS mission in the Guatemala–El Salvador Mission. He had
seen the enormous need the children there had for medical care. This, and the
promptings of the Spirit, had inspired in him a desire to attend medical school
and specialize in pediatrics.
He
was surprised when these world-famous physicians extended his interview. They
were interested in what he did as a missionary, his ability to speak Spanish,
and his interaction with and love for the people he had served.13
In
this so-called Mormon Moment, where there is more attention being paid to the
Church and its members, we will need to be the best examples we can possibly
be. Collectively our example will be more important than what any single member
or leader proposes. Research has shown that those who know faithful Latter-day
Saints appreciate our honesty, integrity, morality, and desire to serve our
fellowmen.
Recently
we met with a top government leader in a South American country. He also had
been a physician. We did not expect a particularly good meeting because some of
his views are not in accord with certain principles that are important to us. We
were surprised when we were received in a warm and gracious manner. He had
known only one Latter-day Saint—a fellow student in medical school. He admired
this student, knew about our beliefs, and was most respectful because of one
example of a Church member whose life was based on honesty, integrity, and
morality.
Be Civil in Your Discourse
We
need to be civil in our discourse and respectful in our interactions. We live
in a world where there is much turmoil. Many people are both angry and afraid.
The Savior taught us to love even our enemies (see Matthew 5:44).
This is especially true when we disagree. The moral basis of civility is the
Golden Rule. It is taught in most religions and particularly by the Savior.
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).
Our faith requires that we treat our neighbors with respect.
In
a general conference address I pointed out that “there are some who feel that
venting their personal anger or deeply held opinions is more important than
conducting themselves as Jesus Christ
lived and taught. … How we disagree is a real measure of who we are and whether
we truly follow the Savior. It is appropriate to disagree, but it is not
appropriate to be disagreeable. … If we show love and respect even in adverse
circumstances, we become more like Christ.”14
Be an Advocate for Religious Freedom and Morality
This
is a time when those who feel accountable to God for their conduct feel under
siege by a secular world. You understand the moral principles that are under
attack and the need to defend morality. Religious freedom all over the world is
also under attack. It is important for us to become well educated on this issue
and assume responsibility for ensuring that the religious freedom we have
inherited is passed on to future generations. We must work together to both
protect religious freedom and restore morality.
Presidents
of the Church, including President Thomas S.
Monson, have made it clear that all religions hold truths and that we
should work together for the common good. In his inaugural press conference,
President Monson emphasized this cooperation. He stated, “We have a
responsibility to be active in the communities where we live … and to work
cooperatively with other churches. … It’s important that we eliminate the
weakness of one standing alone and substitute for it the strength of people
working together.”15
Our
joint effort should be to protect important civic values like honesty,
morality, self-restraint, respect for law, and basic human rights. An important
study established, “The associations between religious freedoms and other civil
liberties, press freedoms, and political freedoms are especially striking.”16
If we fail to diligently protect religious freedom, we risk diminishing other
important freedoms that are important both to society and to us.
Our
challenge is to help people without religious faith understand that the
protection of moral principles grounded in religion is a great benefit to
society and that religious devotion is critical to public virtue.
Many
U.S. founding fathers, including George Washington and James Madison, pointed
out that shared moral values espoused by different religions with competing
doctrines allow societies to be bound together.17
Unfortunately, religious influence has often been replaced by so-called secular
religions. “For instance, humanism and atheism function as secular religions
binding their adherents through common belief and ideology.”18
Many
philosophers have been at the forefront in promoting secularism and rejecting a
moral view of the world based on Judeo-Christian values. In their view there is
no “objective moral order” and no reason “to choose one goal over another.”19
They believe no preference should be given to moral goals.20
A British high court recently denied a Christian family
the right to foster children because the children could be “‘infected’ by
Christian moral beliefs.”21
The ruling demonstrates just how radically things have shifted.
One
of the reasons the attack on moral and religious principles has been so
successful is the reluctance of people of faith to express their views.22
Extraordinary effort will be required to protect religious liberty. Our
doctrine confirms what the U.S. founding fathers and political philosophers
have advocated.
“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” (D&C
134:2). Religious conscience is grounded in one’s belief in being
accountable to God for conduct. The effort of secularists and governments to
coerce conduct in conflict with religious conscience leads to social disunity
and is a primary reason that religious liberty is essential for civil peace.23
The
role of religion in blessing a secular society was set forth succinctly by
Alexis De Tocqueville in his classic Democracy in America.
He stated, “The greatest advantage of religion is to inspire … principles.
There is no religion which does not place the object of man’s desires above and
beyond the treasure of earth, and which does not naturally raise his soul to
regions far above those of the senses. Nor is there any which does not impose
on man some duties toward his kind, and thus draw him at times from the
contemplation of himself.”24
My
challenge is that we join with people of all faiths who feel accountable to God
in defending religious freedom so it can be a beacon for morality. We caution
you to be civil and responsible as you defend religious liberty and moral
values. We ask that you do this on the Internet and in your personal
interactions in the neighborhoods and communities where you live. Be an active
participant, not a silent observer.
In
conclusion, our reason for undertaking the objectives to
be an example, to be civil in our discourse, and to
be an advocate for religious freedom is to serve mankind and follow the
teachings of Jesus Christ. In doing so, our efforts will be blessed by heaven
and will further the purposes of this life established by a loving Father in
Heaven.
Prophetic Counsel
We can help restore morality and preserve religious freedom
by
- Being a righteous example.
- Being civil in our discourse.
- Being an advocate for morality and religious freedom.
Answering Questions
Do
Latter-day Saints believe the U.S. Constitution is a divinely inspired
document? The Lord Himself answered that question when He declared, “I
established the Constitution … by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto
this very purpose” (D&C
101:80).
Since
the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
who called the U.S. Constitution “a heavenly banner” (in History
of the Church, 3:304), latter-day prophets have said the Constitution is
divinely inspired, declaring that America by divine design was prepared as the
place for the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. The freedoms and
protections enumerated in the Constitution—including freedom of speech,
assembly, and religion—made the Restoration possible.
The
Church respects the rule of law and constitutional government in every nation
and expects Latter-day Saints to adhere to the law, to use their influence to
promote and preserve their God-given rights, and “to make popular that which is
sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound” (Joseph Smith,
in History of the Church, 5:286).
Elder
Dallin H.
Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has observed: “After two
centuries, every nation in the world except six have adopted written
constitutions, and the U.S. Constitution was a model for all of them. No wonder
modern revelation says that God established the U.S. Constitution and that it
‘should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to
just and holy principles’ (D&C
101:77)” (“The Divinely Inspired Constitution,” Ensign,
Feb. 1992, 68).
For
more information on preserving religious liberty, go to mormonnewsroom.org/official-statement/religious-freedom
and mormonnewsroom.org/article/introduction-religious-freedom.
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