Provenance and clearification on "Elders saving the constitution ?

[marc]

If a person is a pure descendant of Nephi they will not look like a Lamanite. Moroni was a pure descendant of Lehi, meaning, his ancestors through Nephi did not marry outside their own nation. Furthermore, Lamanite can either mean a descendant of Laman or it can mean anyone who dissented from the Nephites and thus mixed with other nations. If anyone alive today is a pure descendant of Nephi, I agree they will not necessarily look like whatever a Lamanite might look like. I am not one who believes that mesoamerica is the promised land nor ever was the promised land (and I am NOT a Rod Meldrum follower), and currently people wanting to leave mesoamerica and come to CONUS seems to confirm my suspicions. Lehi was given a promised land apart from Jerusalem. Throughout the BoM, the entire land was considered a dedicated land without border. Wherever they landed and lived and consequently spread out really doesn't matter where our modern borders are concerned. Joseph Smith said that the "whole of America is Zion." New Jerusalem may be seeded in Missouri, but regardless of where it is built, it will eventually cover the entirety of North and South America. The Lamanites were said to disperse after the Nephites were destroyed because of the wars that continued amongst themselves in the Book of Mormon. Dispersion could mean they went all the way to South America. White people have been found in both North and South America pre-Columbus and so I must conclude that the defectors travelled with them and that some of them did not interbreed. If this is correct and I am not saying it is, then this would confirm the Book of Mormon in a very compelling way. I think it is important to remember that Lehite blood does not necessarily mean Nephite blood.True! And Lehi's patriarchal blessing to his children guarantee that his seed will be preserved and inherit the land. But his posterity particularly through Laman and Lemuel were guaranteed to be preserved.

To the Lamanites

[Craig Johnson]

If a person is a pure descendant of Nephi they will not look like a Lamanite. Moroni was a pure descendant of Lehi, meaning, his ancestors through Nephi did not marry outside their own nation. Furthermore, Lamanite can either mean a descendant of Laman or it can mean anyone who dissented from the Nephites and thus mixed with other nations. If anyone alive today is a pure descendant of Nephi, I agree they will not necessarily look like whatever a Lamanite might look like. I am not one who believes that mesoamerica is the promised land nor ever was the promised land (and I am NOT a Rod Meldrum follower), and currently people wanting to leave mesoamerica and come to CONUS seems to confirm my suspicions. Lehi was given a promised land apart from Jerusalem. Throughout the BoM, the entire land was considered a dedicated land without border. Wherever they landed and lived and consequently spread out really doesn't matter where our modern borders are concerned. Joseph Smith said that the "whole of America is Zion." New Jerusalem may be seeded in Missouri, but regardless of where it is built, it will eventually cover the entirety of North and South America. The Lamanites were said to disperse after the Nephites were destroyed because of the wars that continued amongst themselves in the Book of Mormon. Dispersion could mean they went all the way to South America. White people have been found in both North and South America pre-Columbus and so I must conclude that the defectors travelled with them and that some of them did not interbreed. If this is correct and I am not saying it is, then this would confirm the Book of Mormon in a very compelling way. I think it is important to remember that Lehite blood does not necessarily mean Nephite blood.True! And Lehi's patriarchal blessing to his children guarantee that his seed will be preserved and inherit the land. But his posterity particularly through Laman and Lemuel were guaranteed to be preserved.

To the Lamanites

I am not clicking any links.
I understand your opinion.

[Lexew1899]

The Constitution will be saved, but the nation certainly won’t.

[Rubicon]

I have a full binder of quotes made on the Elders saving the Constitution. I can't get to it tonight. I will try tomorrow.

I do,as well, but can't promise a timeline for posting.

I can tell you that the prophesies are all conditional ("if it will be saved, it will be the elders of this church"). Not a guarantee that it will be saved by the elders of the Church.

My personal view is that we had this opportunity, but the window has closed (we missed the boat). There are other statements that if the Constitution falls, righteous Saints will continue to uphold it's principles.

The collapse of the Constitution ushers in other latter-day prophecies, too, though about end times conditions. No weapon formed against God will prosper.

[lundbaek]

In the opening address of the October 1987 General Conference, President Ezra Taft Benson asked this question: "Do we know what prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it?" Actually, there exists an avalanche of statements by the Lord Jesus Christ, and latter-day prophets and apostles about the United States Constitution and its special significance to Latter-day Saints. And many of those statements refer to statements attributed to the Prophet Joseph Smith about the U.S. Constitution being in jeopardy and being rescued by efforts involving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. I have selected and quoted below such statements by eight latter-day Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I hope this helps.

Joseph Smith
“Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction....I know these things by the visions of the Almighty." (July 19, 1840, as recorded by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray; manuscript in Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City)
"The time will come when the constitution and government would hang by a brittle thread and would be ready to fall into other hands but this people the latter-day Saints will step forth to save it." (May 1843, James Burgess Journal, 1818-1904, Church Archives, vol. 1)

Brigham Young
"Will the Constitution be destroyed? No: it will be held inviolate by this people; and as Joseph Smith said, "The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction." It will be so." (July 4, 1854, Journal of Discourses, 7:15)
"When the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call for the "Mormon" elders to save it from utter destruction; and they will step forth and do it." (February 18, 1855, Journal of Discourses, 2:182)
"During the lifetime of the Prophet Joseph Smith he predicted that the time would come when it would devolve upon the Latter-day Saints to uplift, defend and maintain the Constitution of the United States." (May 26, 1855, Messages of the First Presidency, 3:12-14)

John Taylor
"...we have been told by Joseph Smith that when the people of this nation would trample upon the Constitution, the Elders of this Church would rally round the flag and defend it." (October 19, 1884, Journal of Discourses, 25:349-50)
"We have prophecies something like this somewhere, that the time would come when this nation would do as they are now doing - that is, they would trample under foot the Constitution and institutions of the nation, and the Elders of this Church would rally around the standard and maintain those principles which were introduced for the freedom and protection of men. We expect to do that, and to maintain all correct principles." (February 1, 1885, Journal of Discourses, 26:156)

Wilford Woodruff
"It is also part of our belief that the time will come when the country will be distracted and general lawlessness prevail. Then the Mormon people will step forward and take an active part in rescuing the nation from ruin." (December 16, 1889, Millennial Star, 50:788)

Lorenzo Snow
"They will sustain the constitution and the laws and institutions of the United States, and be the champions of liberty and of that constitution when its integrity shall be threatened," (September 15, 1898, Journal History of the Church, 3)

Joseph F. Smith
"Joseph Smith, the prophet, predicted that the time would come, when the Constitution of our country would hang as it were by a thread, and that the Latter-day Saints, above all other people in the world, would come to the rescue of that great and glorious palladium of our liberty." (October 1912, General Conference)

Harold B. Lee
"I concluded by calling attention to the prophecy of Joseph Smith that "the Constitution would hang as by a thread....if such a downfall of the Constitution were imminent, the righteousness of this people might again importune the Almighty to save it because of their pleadings." (August 5, 1973, Bonneville Stake meeting; comments from President Lee's diary, as recorded in Harold B. Lee: Prophet and Seer, 531-32)

Ezra Taft Benson
"We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said: "Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction." (October 1987 General Conference) (July 19, 1840, as recorded by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray; manuscript in Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City)

[Rubicon]

It is said that brother Joseph in his lifetime declared that the Elders of this Church should step forth at a particular time when the Constitution should be in danger, and rescue it, and save it. This may be so; but I do not recollect that he said exactly so. I believe he said something like this: that the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and said he, If the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the Elders of this Church. I believe this is about the language, as nearly as I can recollect it.
The question is whether it will be saved at all, or not. I do not know that it matters to us whether it is or not: the Lord will provide for and take care of his people, if we do every duty, and fear and honour him, and keep his commandments; and he will not leave us without a Constitution . . . Orson Hyde, January 3, 1858, Journal of Discourses 6:151-153 (larger quote from this section; what I pasted here is likely just on one page. This is from my notes, and I don't want to flip through my books at this time to nail down the page number).
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The revolutions made by the Government of the United States, with regard to real progression generally, are small indeed; so small that it is impossible to perceive any advancement. It is true the Constitution has been revised by the voice of the people; but wherein is it bettered? Some say it is bettered; but as to the light and knowledge that now exist with regard to the true spirit of republicanism, the revolution is on the retrograde motion. No one will question for a moment that many revolutions in the United States have become in a great degree popular, notwithstanding they have been in many instances unconstitutional and in open violation of the statute laws, and have been winked at by the most influential officers of the Government. There has been a progressive revolution since the close of the war, but not in virtue, justice, uprightness, and truth. It has become quite a custom, and by custom it has the force of law, for one party to mob another, to tear down and destroy Catholic churches, drive citizens from the ballot box, disallowing them the right of franchise, and persecute, plunder, drive from their possessions, and kill a great people. Revolution in the United States is progressing; but to the true spirit of Democracy and the science of government, the Revolution I refer to is strictly opposed . . . Will the Constitution be destroyed? No: it will be held inviolate by this people; and, as Joseph Smith said, "The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction." It will be so. With regard to the doings of our fathers and the Constitution of the United States, I have to say, they present to us a glorious prospect in the future, but one we cannot attain to until the present abuses in the Government are corrected. Brigham Young, 7/4/54, Journal of Discourses 7:9, 15
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If our present happy form of government is sustained, which I believe it will be, it will be done by the people I am now looking upon, in connection with their brethren and their offspring. The present Constitution, with a few alterations of a trifling nature, is just as good as we want; and if it is sustained on this land of Joseph, it will be done by us and our posterity. Our national brethren do not know how to do it. They are not capable of controlling their own passions, to say nothing of ruling a nation. Brigham Young, 2/10/61, Journal of Discourses 8:324-325
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Will the Gentiles help us, and care for us? Will they do us good? No. And I tell you further, Elders of Israel, that you do not know the day of your visitation, neither do you understand the signs of the times, for if you did you would be awake to these things. Every organization of our government, the best government in the world, is crumbling to pieces. Those who have it in their hands are the ones who are destroying it. How long will it be before the words of the prophet Joseph will be fulfilled? He said if the Constitution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people. It will not be many years before these words come to pass. Brigham Young, 4/8/68, Journal of Discourses 12:204
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I expect to see the day when the Latter-day Saints will be the people to maintain constitutional government on this land. Men everywhere should know that we believe in constitutional principles, and that we expect that it will be our destiny to maintain them. That the prediction will be fulfilled that was made forty-four years ago the seventh of last March, wherein God said to Joseph Smith ---"Ye hear of wars in foreign lands; but behold I say unto you, they are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear of wars in your own lands;" but the revelation goes on to say that the day will come among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. A portion of that revelation has been fulfilled, the remainder will be. The causes are in operation to bring it about. We are not alone in the thought that the republic is drifting steadily in that direction; that we are leaving the old constitutional landmarks, and that the time is not far distant when there will be trouble in consequence of it, when there will be civil broils and strife; and, to escape them, we believe, men will be compelled to flee to the "Mormons," despised as they are now. George Q. Cannon, 4/8/75, Journal of Discourses 18:10
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I have said often—for I have never failed to declare it—that the Latter-day Saints or "Mormons" as we are called, expect it to be their destiny to uphold constitutional liberty on this continent, and to preserve our government and the forms thereof from overthrow and destruction. I have been taught from my boyhood that this was to be the destiny of the Latter-day Saints, and this people have been trained in the same belief, and we train our children to look forward to it, and to cherish the love of civil and religious liberty in their hearts, toleration for all men of every creed, of every nation, of every language and of every color, that all the sons and daughters of Adam, without exceptions, who dwell upon this broad land, may enjoy the inestimable blessing of liberty, and that it will be our favored and honored destiny, in the course of human events, unlikely as it may appear to-day to be the case, to preserve constitutional liberty in this land, which God has said shall be a land of liberty to all those who are righteous who dwell thereon. I have said, and I firmly believe, that the day will most assuredly come when the people of these mountains will become a great factor in the settlement of differences, in the preservation of human rights in the future, in the great contests which seem ready to burst upon us at any moment. George Q. Cannon, April 7, 1878. Journal of Discourses 20:5-6
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But there are other evils under which mankind groan. There are evils in regard to wealth and the management of property, the organization of capital and the organization of labor, the relations, that labor shall bear to capital, and capital to labor. There are questions of this kind that press themselves upon the attention of statesmen, and upon the attention of every man of thought and reflection, and he sees there is room for the exercise of the most profound wisdom, and the greatest talent in order that these things may be corrected. It devolves upon us, Latter-day Saints, to help to accomplish this work. It devolves upon us, and will devolve upon us more particularly in the near future, to maintain upon this continent and through this broad land pure republican institutions, constitutional liberty in its broadest sense. For the day is not far distant when the power such as is growing up in the mountains will be needed. Conflict of parties, an increase of party feeling, an increased disposition to take possession of power by any means, no matter what it might be, are becoming general in the United States. This is so self-evident that no man, unless completely wedded to the idea that this nation will exist in perpetuity, can fail to see for himself that there is a crisis approaching in the affairs of our nation. Already the feeling prevails that in order to accomplish certain things fraud is justifiable. Money is used to an extent in the accomplishing of certain results in government affairs, and in politics that you, as a people who live in these mountains, have scarcely any conception of. And this is increasing. What the end will be is not difficult to foretell. Republicanism ceases to be republicanism whenever fraud enters into the decision of questions and the will of the people cannot be properly ascertained . . . The time will come when we will have power; at present we are in the minority, and it pays for scribblers to write about us and hold us up to ridicule. But suppose the Latter-day Saints had control; suppose their ideas were fulfilled, that is, that we, as it is destined we shall be, were the people who uphold Constitutional government upon this continent, who restored the government to its primitive condition when all the political parties shall have fallen into chaos; would we feel at liberty to say that none but the Latter-day Saints should be elected to offices of trust and responsibility? No. Joseph Smith set the pattern; he taught the brethren who were with him better ideas; you well-informed Latter-day Saints know that there are two powers which God has restored in these the last days. One is the Church of God, the other the Kingdom of God. A man may belong to the Kingdom of God and yet not be a member of the Church of God. In the Kingdom of God, using it in a political sense, there may be heathens and Pagans and Mahommedans and Latter-day Saints and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and Catholics and men of every creed. George Q. Cannon, April 6, 1879. Journal of Discourses 20:202, 204
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Need we be surprised that they should trample under foot the Constitution of the United States? No; Joseph Smith told us that they would do it. Many around me here knew long ago that they would do this thing and further knew that the last people that should be found to rally around that sacred instrument and save it from the grasp of unrighteous men would be the Elders of Israel! John Taylor, October 6th, 1879. Journal of Discourses 20:318
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If they can afford to treat us in this way, they will soon treat others in the same way. And they will tear away one plank of liberty after another, until the whole, fabric will totter and fall; and many other nations will be cast down and empires destroyed; and this nation will have to suffer as other will. And it will be as Joseph Smith once said, "When all others forsake the Constitution, the Elders of this Church will rally around the standard and save its tattered shreds." We will come to its rescue and proclaim liberty to all men. John Taylor, November 30th, 1879. Journal of Discourses 20:357
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The Prophet Joseph Smith said that "The Constitution of the United States was given by the inspiration of God." But good, virtuous and holy principles may be perverted by corrupt and wicked men. The Lord was opposed by Satan, Jesus had his Judas, and this nation abounds with traitors who ignore that sacred palladium of liberty and seek to trample it under foot. Joseph Smith said they would do so, and that when deserted by all, the elders of Israel would rally around its shattered fragments and save and preserve it inviolate. John Taylor, April 9, 1879. Journal of Discourses 21:31
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It is a difficult matter, many times, for men of the world to understand the literal fulfilment of revelation; in fact, some of our leading men, men of wisdom, men who have enjoyed a good portion of the Spirit of the Lord—it has been difficult for them to understand the fulfilment of prophecy. In conversation with persons with regard to the affairs of our nation, I remember President Young telling them that there would be a division in our nation between the North and South. "But," said they, "that cannot be; the stability of our government is of too durable a nature to even permit of any such thing." This is the way that our leading men felt before the rebellion; this is the way, as a general thing, that leading men feel to-day. They cannot comprehend, it is not in their hearts to believe in the fulfilment of prophecy; they cannot understand how it is that any power or wisdom that God can exercise, can bring to pass the prophecies that remain to be fulfilled . . . As Latter-day Saints, we can in a measure understand, when we come to reflect that God rules and overrules and can do anything he has a mind to with regard to the fulfilment of these events. I believe the Bible; I believe the Book of Mormon; I believe the Doctrine and Covenants, and I believe that the predictions they contain will in their fulfilment roll upon our heads, and upon the heads of this nation, and upon the heads of the people of Zion, and the judgment of God, that have been proclaimed in the hearing of the people for the last fifty years, through the mouth of Joseph Smith and of Brigham Young and the apostles and the elders of Israel, by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost—not one jot or tittle of what has been declared will fall to be ground unfulfilled, and the Latter-day Saints ought to be prepared for them. Wilford Woodruff, August 1st, 1880. Journal of Discourses 21:297
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It is really astonishing to see what efforts are being made to accomplish the overthrow of rule and government in Russia, Austria, Germany, Spain, England, Italy, France, Turkey, etc. These things are beginning to spread among and permeate the nations of the earth. Do we expect them? Yes. These secret combinations were spoken of by Joseph Smith, years and years ago. I have heard him time and time again tell about them, and he stated that when these things began to take place the liberties of this nation would begin to be bartered away. We see many signs of weakness which we lament, and we would to God that our rulers would be men of righteousness, and that those who aspire to position would be guided by honorable feelings—to maintain inviolate the Constitution and operate in the interest, happiness, well-being, and protection of the whole community. But we see signs of weakness and vacillation. We see a policy being introduced to listen to the clamor of mobs and of unprincipled men who know not of what they speak, nor whereof they affirm, and when men begin to tear away with impunity one plank after another from our Constitution, by and by we shall find that we are struggling with the wreck and ruin of the system which the forefathers of this nation sought to establish in the interests of humanity. But it is for us still to sustain these glorious principles of liberty bequeathed by the founders of this nation, still to rally round the flag of the Union, still to maintain all correct principles, granting the utmost extent of liberty to all people of all grades and of all nations. If other people see fit to violate these sacred principles, we must uphold them in their entirety, in their purity, and be patriotic and law-abiding and act honorably toward our nation and to its rulers. It is truly deplorable to see our President, the President of this great and mighty nation, one of the greatest rulers in the world stricken down by an assassin. Yet these things we have to mourn over. But in all cases it is for us to be true to our God and to our religion, to obey the laws of God, cleaving to correct principles, letting purity, virtue, honor, truth and integrity characterize all our acts, that we may be the blessed of the Lord. John Taylor, July 3d, 1881. Journal of Discourses 22:143
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Wilford Woodruff, October 23, 1881. Journal of Discourses 22:346 We have a constitution that was given by inspiration from God to man. I believe it is the best human form of government that was ever given to the human family. Now, I say if our rulers and governors become corrupt and attempt to trample those principles under their feet; though the nation itself might go to pieces, yet it is beyond the power of man to destroy the principles of the constitution. They may destroy one another, yet the principles contained in that instrument will live, and the God of heaven will maintain them until Jesus Christ comes in the clouds of heaven to set up His throne in Jerusalem, and to reign on the earth a thousand years.
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John Taylor, March 5th, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:34, 36 "But," say you, "have we not certain constitutional rights?" Yes, on paper, but when you get through with them, the paper does not amount to much; it is like pie-crust, easily broken. We do not pay much attention to these things. Honorable men will be governed by constitutions, and laws, and principles, but dishonorable persons will not . . . If the rulers of this nation can afford to tamper with the sacred rights of the people guaranteed by the Constitution of this great nation, and ruthlessly tear down the temple of freedom erected at the cost of so much blood and treasure, instead of anticipated glory, they will bring destruction upon the nation and ruin and infamy upon themselves. The sacred bulwarks of freedom once tampered with, the floodgates of anarchy and confusion will be thrown open and dissolution and ruin will follow in their train in rapid succession. It is for us to sustain and maintain the principles guaranteed in that sacred palladium of human rights—the Constitution of the United States, and to contend inch by inch in every legal and constitutional manner for our own rights and human freedom, leaving misrule, anarchy, violations of law and the trampling under foot of the rights of man and constitutional guarantees to religious fanatics and clamoring demagogues; and if they can afford to tamper with those sacred guarantees, we certainly can afford to have them do it. It is for us to seek more exalted ideas, to abide by constitutional law, to maintain inviolate the principles of human freedom, and to contend with unwavering firmness for those inalienable rights of all men—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and to seek continually to our God for wisdom to accomplish so great, noble and patriotic a purpose.
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John Taylor, April 9th, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:62, 66, 67 Congress will soon have something else to do than to proscribe and persecute an innocent, law-abiding and patriotic people. Of all bodies in the world, they can least afford to remove the bulwarks that bind society together in this nation, to recklessly trample upon human freedom and rights, and to rend and destroy that great Palladium of human rights—the Constitution of the United States. Ere long they will need all its protecting influence to save this nation from misrule, anarchy and mobocratic influence. They can ill afford to be the foremost in tampering with human rights and human freedom, or in tearing down the bulwarks of safety and protection which that sacred instrument has guaranteed. It is lamentable to see the various disordered and disorganized elements seeking to overthrow the greatest and best government in existence on the earth . . . We have no fault to find with our government. We deem it the best in the world. But we have reason to deplore its maladministration, and I call upon our legislators, our governors and president to pause in their career and not to tamper with the rights and liberties of American citizens, nor wantonly tear down the bulwarks of American and human liberty. God has given to us glorious institutions; let us preserve them intact and not pander to the vices, passions and fanaticism of a depraved public opinion . . . Now then what shall we do? We do not wish to place ourselves in a state of antagonism, nor to act defiantly, towards this government. We will fulfil the letter, so far as practicable, of that unjust, inhuman, oppressive and unconstitutional law, so far as we can without violating principle; but we cannot sacrifice every principle of human right at the behest of corrupt, unreasoning and unprincipled men; we cannot violate the highest and noblest principles of human nature and make pariahs and outcasts of highminded, virtuous and honorable women, nor sacrifice at the shrine of popular clamor the highest and noblest principles of humanity! We shall abide all constitutional law, as we always have done; but while we are Godfearing and law-abiding, and respect all honorable men and officers, we are no craven serfs, and have not learned to lick the feet of oppressors, nor to bow in base submission to unreasoning clamor. We will contend, inch by inch, legally and constitutionally, for our rights as American citizens, and for the universal rights of universal man. We stand proudly erect in the consciousness of our rights as American citizens, and plant ourselves firmly on the sacred guarantees of the Constitution
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Joseph F. Smith, April 9th, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:70 We are told here that no man need break the laws of the land who will keep the laws of God. But this is further defined by the passage which I read afterwards—the law of the land, which all have no need to break, is that law which is the Constitutional law of the land, and that is as God himself has defined it. And whatsoever is more or less than this cometh of evil. Now it seems to me that this makes this matter so clear that it is not possible for any man who professes to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make any mistake, or to be in doubt as to the course he should pursue under the command of God in relation to the observance of the laws of the land . . . The Lord Almighty requires this people to observe the laws of the land, to be subject to "the powers that be," so far as they abide by the fundamental principles of good government, but He will hold them responsible if they will pass unconstitutional measures and frame unjust and proscriptive laws, as did Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, in relation to the three Hebrew children and Daniel. If lawmakers have a mind to violate their oath, break their covenants and their faith with the people, and depart from the provisions of the Constitution where is the law human or divine, which binds me, as an individual, to outwardly and openly proclaim my acceptance of their acts?
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Erastus Snow, April 7, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23: 91, 92 we are further told that we should uphold and maintain that law which is the Constitutional law of the land; for, the Lord said, the Constitution was established by wise men whom he raised up for that purpose, after the land had been redeemed by bloodshed. This doctrine was taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith, in the early days of this people, and cannot be separated from the religion we have embraced; and by the help of the Lord we mean to maintain those principles to the end, notwithstanding that some of our American statesmen wax wanton in their feelings and tyrannical in their acts and expressions, while religious bigots and political demagogues are undermining the foundations of our American institutions . . . And following the war has been inaugurated an era of degeneracy in public morals, degeneracy in politics and religion, a degeneracy in the minds of our statesmen which has shown itself in a desire on their part to tamper with the sacred rights of man, to tamper with every part of the government, not even excepting the Supreme Court, which, up to the time of the civil war, was looked upon by the American people as almost beyond temptation, and beyond the probability of being corrupted or bribed. But alas! the Supreme Court itself has been tampered with. And for many years, almost from the commencement of that effort to break down the barriers of the Constitution and to settle this vexed question of slavery by violence—from that time politicians have sought to sustain themselves in violent, revolutionary and unconstitutional measures by foisting into the Supreme Court partisans who are already imbued with extreme political notions and ideas, whose carrying them with them on the bench has resulted in many decisions which after ages will greatly deplore and point out as the stepping stones to the destruction of our free institutions.
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George Q. Cannon, November 20th, 1881. Journal of Discourses 23:104 the day will come—and this is another prediction of Joseph Smith's—I want to remind you of it, my brethren and sisters, when good government, constitutional government—liberty—will be found among the Latter-day Saints, and it will be sought for in vain elsewhere; when the Constitution of this land and republican government and institutions will be upheld by this people who are now so oppressed and whose destruction is now sought so diligently. The day will come when the Constitution, and free government under it, will be sustained and preserved by this people. This is saying a great deal, but it is not saying any more than is said concerning the growth of this work, and that which is already accomplished. I have just turned to the revelation upon this subject, which says: "And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another."
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George Q. Cannon, April 3, 1881. Journal of Discourses 23:122-123 It seems like a very strange thing to say, but on all proper occasions I say it with a great deal of pleasure, at home and from home, that I have been taught form early life that the day would come when republican institutions would be in danger in this nation and upon this continent, when, in fact, the republic would be so rent asunder by factions that there would be no stable government outside of the Latter-day Saints; and that it is their destiny as a people, to uphold constitutional government upon this land. Now, a great many people think this is a chimera of the brain; they think it folly to indulge in such an idea; but the day will come nevertheless. There are those in this congregation who will witness the time that the maintenance of true constitutional government upon this continent will be dependent upon this people, when it will have to be upheld by us.
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Moses Thatcher, April 8th, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:208-209, 210, 211, 213. Oppressions, frauds and wrongs we may for a time endure. We may as in the past be subjected to annoyances and to the petty tyranny of small tyrants, but we know in whom we trust, and we are not ignorant of what the final result will be. Traitors may arise and seek to trample upon the provisions of the Constitution, but right here in these mountains—on the backbone of the continent—will grow the men who will preserve intact that sacred inspired charter of human rights, under the just provisions of which millions will rejoice long after usurpers and traitors shall have been buried in oblivion . . . If statesmen and lawmakers disregard the Constitution by overriding and trampling on its provisions . . . I hold the act to be no less treasonable than if performed by private citizens. I say treasonable because disregard for the Constitution by the nation's lawmakers, must ultimately result in their rejection by the people, or in the dissolution of the Government . . . George Washington, in his farewell address to the American people, foreseeing, perhaps, what might occur, uttered the following forcible sentiments: "If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed." Very different are these sentiments from those uttered not many years since by a prominent republican leader in the House of Representatives, who, when asked if he, as a lawyer, would state to the House that the measure introduced by him, and then under consideration by it, was in its provisions in harmony with the Constitution, answered with a sneer, "Why, any justice of the peace would tell the gentleman it is not constitutional, but it is a measure we want and one we shall pass, and by the time its constitutionality is tested, it will have accomplished the object we have in view" . . . Let us maintain the Constitution of our country, and all laws enacted in conformity therewith, realizing that the destruction of the Constitution must lead to the ruin and destruction of the Union.
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Erastus Snow, February 26th, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:233 we are satisfied that ere long [Mormons] will be a tower of strength in the land, not to menace the institutions of our country as enemies, as foolish men and women insinuate; not to menace public morality or private virtue; but to the contrary, when the nation, ripe in sin and iniquity, led on by reckless demagogues and politicians, shall applaud the acts of the legislators and judges and leading men in laying the axe deep in the tree of liberty, until they shall sap the juices that give life to our institutions, and thus undermine the foundation of good government, it will be sons and daughters of polygamous Utah, that will be found the true friends of human liberty, the true friends of that heaven-born freedom that has come to us through the fathers of our nation.
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John Taylor, August 20th, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:239, 241 if other people can afford to trample under foot the sacred institutions of this country, we cannot. And if other people trample upon the Constitution and pull it to pieces, we will gather together the pieces and rally around the old flag, or what is left of it, and proclaim liberty to the world, as Joseph Smith said we would. Is that treason? I do not know; no matter, it is true. Are we going to hurt anybody? No. If they were hungry I would feed them; if they were naked I would clothe them, and learn to do good for evil as Jesus did. But I would say, "O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly, mine honor be not thou united." Do them good? Yes, but do not enter into the associations referred to. We want to mix up with honorable men and women . . . But if the nation can stand [unconstitutional] legislation, we can as long as they can. We will try to do right and fear God, and observe His laws, and seek to pursue that course that our Heavenly Father will approve, and we will have His Spirit to be with us and rejoice together in the fullness of the Gospel of peace.
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John Taylor, October 8, 1882. Journal of Discourses 23:266, 270 Another thing God expects us to do, and that is to maintain the principle of human rights . . . But we owe it to ourselves as men, we owe it to our families, our children, and to posterity; we owe it to the lovers of freedom in this land, of which there are thousands, yea, millions, who despise acts of oppression and tyranny; we owe it to all liberty-loving men, to stand up for human rights and protect human freedom, and in the name of God we will do it, and let all the congregation say Amen. (The immense congregation responded, Amen.) Joseph, the despised of his father's house became their deliverer. Moses, the foundling and outcast of Egypt, became the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel. Jesus, the despised Nazarene, introduced principles that revolutionized the moral ideas and ethics of the world. And it may not be among the improbabilities, that the prophecies of Joseph Smith may be fulfilled and that the calumniated and despised Mormons may yet become the protectors of the Constitution and the guardians of religious liberty and human freedom in these United States . . . We will leave the wicked in the hands of God: He will deal with them in his own way. We are told that the wicked shall slay the wicked; and one thing that I am sorry over in this nation is this: that they are striking at the tree of liberty and trying to fetter humanity and bring men into bondage, they are laying the axe at the root of this government, and unless they speedily turn round and repent and follow the principles they have sworn to sustain—the principles contained in the Constitution of the United States—they will be overthrown, they will be split up and divided, be disintegrated and become weak as water; for the Lord will handle them in his own way. I say these things in sorrow; but as sure as God lives unless there is a change of policy these things will most assuredly take place.
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Orson Pratt, October 26, 1879. Journal of Discourses 24:31 The Constitution is one thing; corrupt politicians are another thing. One may be bright as the sun at noonday, the other as corrupt as hell itself; that is the difference. Because we have a good Constitution that is no sign that the strong arm of the law, founded upon that Constitution, will protect the minority as well as the majority. The politician may suffer the majority to trample upon the rights guaranteed by that Constitution to the minority. They have done it before, and perchance they will continue to do it until they are wasted away. Then will be fulfilled another saying in this same chapter which I have read—"For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." Now, there are a great many cities in the United States that will not be totally destroyed when the inhabitants are swept off the surface of the earth. Their houses, their desolate cities will still remain unoccupied until Zion in her glory and strength shall enlarge the place of her tents, and stretch forth the curtains of her habitations. That is the destiny of this nation, and the destiny of the Latter-day Saints.
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George Q. Cannon, June 25, 1882. Journal of Discourses 24:49 The time must come when the principles of truth and righteousness will prevail over the land; and it is our destiny to maintain them and make them universal. The prophecies that were made by the Prophet Joseph Smith concerning this nation and us will be fulfilled. He said that the time would come when the Latter-day Saints would be the only people that would maintain constitutional principles upon this land. I have been taught from my youth that that was the destiny of this people; that this nation would drift away from the Constitution and Constitutional principles; that mobocracy would reign, and the principles of right would be sacrificed to the power of might. And we can see this coming to pass. In former times mobs came against us with cannon and muskets, with powder and ball, and the torch, and life and property alike fell sacrifices to their violence. That was the expression of the popular will; it found vent in illegal forms, the laws being trampled upon to satisfy its demands. But matters have changed. Mobocracy to-day assumes the forms of legality, and, therefore, in meeting this power you have to wrestle with it under the form of law. In the early days when the mob came upon us we could take our guns and meet it, but when a mob comes backed up by law, clothed in the garb of the law, claiming shelter under the Constitution, it is very different; and that is our position to-day. We have fought mobs from the beginning; there have been times when we have held our own, determined to stand our ground; at other times we have been driven; until, at last, we found refuge in these mountains. Now we are subjected to another sort of test, and I look upon it as necessary to develop us and to prove us. I accept this, in the providence of God, as a means to school this people. It will make statesmen and legislators of us; it already shows the necessity of education; it will have the effect also to broaden our views, to enlarge our intellects, and to stir up our young men and our young women to prepare themselves for usefulness. We have to be a superior people; we have to educate our children, and make them the peers, and I may say, the superiors of all others, for we have the principles which will make us a superior people. And in order to become such a people, I do not know any better training that we could have than that which we are now receiving, unpleasant though it may be. Read the history of New England and you will see that we are passing through precisely the same training that the colonists there did. It developed them, and was the means of making them the great people that they have since become.
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George Q. Cannon, June 20, 1883. Journal of Discourses 24:222-223 I consider everything connected with the future growth of the human family is connected with the growth and development of this people. I know this is saying a great deal, but nevertheless it is true. And as God lives the day will come that constitutional government and the rights of man will have to be maintained by the Latter-day Saints, and that at a time when there will be no other power upon this land that will be able to make headway against the tide of evil that will flood the country. And it will be due to our organization that we shall be able to stem it. God has given us an organization that is magnificent, as our enemies freely admit. We are a consolidated power. And when anarchy reigns, as it will do, for it is coming, and every man that opens his eyes to see the evils that abound—if he does not persistently resist the truth—must have a secret dread of it in his heart; when that comes, there will be no power upon this continent that will be able to stem it, except the organization which God has given to us.
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Moses Thatcher, April 6th, 1883. Journal of Discourses 24:300-301 There are boys growing up in these mountains who will so learn to love liberty, and will so desire to see all humanity free, that they will maintain the principles of our national constitution and all just principles, and will invite the oppressed of every land and clime to enjoy liberties which God will maintain in His Kingdom—the liberty wherewith Christ will make them free.
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Erastus Snow, March 9th, 1884. Journal of Discourses 25:109, 116 Let no one attempt to seize upon this expression as one of treason, of disloyalty to government, of defiance of the power of this great country. It is not spoken in that spirit, nor with any such intent; but it is the outspoken declaration of that faith which underlies the movements of this people, and which has led them on to victory from the beginning. You may write it down as a prophecy, but not as a threat, not as a defiance, not as a treasonable utterance. We recognize our allegiance to the general government: we recognize that it is our duty to sustain constitutional law and the institutions of our common country, and if men in power overstep their legitimate bounds, and exercise power that is not vested in them under the constitution, and violate its sacred provisions in their zeal to trample upon the liberties of the Saints, or hedge up their ways, it is our duty to bear and forbear, until the Lord says—"'Tis enough," and until He shall open the way, in His own wonderful manner, to bring about a change and our release . . . The result will doubtless be this: We shall be crowded upon from time to time—but no more, I apprehend, than God in His wisdom will permit—and the very acts of persecution and unfairness that will be directed against us, will bring out and develop the elements of excellency that will make our young men statesmen, and that will make them lovers and defenders of right and liberty, until, in the due time of the Lord, there will grow up in these mountains a race of people that will not only defend the Constitution, but defend the flag of the nation, and at the same time be willing to extend the principles of freedom to all who desire to receive them.
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George Q. Cannon, July 21st, 1878. Journal of Discourses 25:260 you will see the day, and it is not far distant, when these mountains will be the stronghold of a free people, and when men will come here because the principles of the Constitution will be maintained here; and they will be protected in their political and religious rights.
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George Q. Cannon, August 31, 1884. Journal of Discourses 25:274 We have been taught to believe that the time will come when constitutional government will be overthrown upon this land, and that it will be the province of the Latter-day Saints to uphold those principles which God inspired the founders of this government to embody in the Constitution; and it seems to be fast approaching.
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John Taylor, October 19th, 1884. Journal of Discourses 25:348, 349-350 How is it? Why, the Constitution is treated by the politicians of to-day as the Bible is treated by professors of religion. You talk with "Christians upon" the Bible, and you will find that they believe it when it is shut. They will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send it to the heathen, but when you come to open it, they themselves don't believe in it . . . Although I have yielded in this matter in order that I might not be an obstructionist, and do not wish to act as a Fenian, or a Nihilist, or a Communist, or a Kuklux, or a Regulator, or a Plug Ugly, or a Molly Maguire, yet, sir, we shall stand up for our rights and protect ourselves in every proper way, legally and constitutionally, and dispute inch by inch every step that is taken to deprive us of our rights and liberties." And we will do this in the way that I speak of. We are doing it to-day; and as you have heard it expressed on other occasions, it looks very much like as though the time was drawing near when this country will tumble to pieces; for if the people of this nation are so blind and infatuated as to trample under foot the Constitution and other safeguards provided for the liberties of man, we do not propose to assist them in their suicidal and traitorous enterprises; for we have been told by Joseph Smith that when the people of this nation would trample upon the Constitution, the Elders of this Church would rally round the flag and defend it. And it may come to that; we may be nearer to it than some of us think
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John Taylor, December 14th, 1884. Journal of Discourses 26:38-39 We will do right, we will treat all men right, and will maintain every institution of our country that is according to the Constitution of the United States, and the laws thereof, and we will sustain them. By and by, you will find they will tear the Constitution to shreads, as they have begun now; they won't have to begin; they have started long ago to rend the Constitution of our country in pieces; and in doing so they are letting loose and encouraging a principle which will re-act upon themselves with terrible consequences; for if law-makers and administrators can afford to trample upon justice, equity, and the Constitution of this country, they will find thousands and tens of thousands who are willing to follow in their wake in the demolition of the rights of man, and the destruction of all principles of justice, and the safeguards of the nation; but we will stand by and maintain its principles and the rights of all men of every color, and every clime; we will cleave to the truth, live our religion and keep the commandments of God, and God will bless us in time and throughout the eternities that are to come.
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George Q. Cannon, January 18th, 1885. Journal of Discourses 26:142, 156 the men who are now engaged in their assaults upon us because of our religion, are traitors to this Government, and they are the most deadly enemies to the Government of the United States that can be found anywhere upon the face of the earth. They are laying the axe at the root of the tree, and are taking measures to destroy this Government, because it can only, as I have said, be preserved by maintaining the principles of liberty that are contained in the Constitution which God gave to the land, or which He inspired men to frame for the land. But in our contention for liberty—for we to-day are the defenders of the Constitution, and we shall have Constitutional principles to maintain and defend in the courts of the nation, we are being forced into this duty and position—God will bless us and preserve us, and carry us off triumphantly, and the words of Joseph, which were inspired by the Almighty, will be fulfilled to the very letter, namely, that the Elders of this Church will be the men who will uphold and maintain the Constitution of the United States, when others are seeking to trample it in the dust, and to destroy it . . . while other men are seeking to trample the Constitution under foot, we will try to maintain it. We have prophecies something like this somewhere; that the time would come when this nation would do as they are now doing—that is, they would trample under foot the Constitution and institutions of the nation, and the Elders of this Church would rally around the standard and maintain those principles which were introduced for the freedom and protection of men. We expect to do that, and to maintain all correct principle. I will tell you what you will see by and by. You will see trouble, trouble, trouble enough in these United States. And as I have said before I say to-day, I tell you in the name of God, Woe! to them that fight against Zion, for God will fight against them. But let us be on the side of human liberty and human rights, and the protection of all correct principles and laws and government, and maintain every principle that is upright and virtuous and honorable
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Orson F. Whitney, April 19, 1885. Journal of Discourses 26:202 The old fable which AEsop tells of the woodman who went into the forest to get a handle for his axe, describes accurately the position in which we find ourselves. The woodman went and consulted the trees of the forest, asking them to give him a handle for his axe. The other trees, the stronger ones, arrogating to themselves authority and ignoring the rights of others, thought that they could dispose of them as they pleased. They conferred together and decided to grant the request, and they gave to the woodman the ash. The ash fell; but the woodman had no sooner fitted the handle to his axe, than he began upon the other trees. He did not stop with the ash, but he hewed down the oaks and the cedars, and the great and mighty monarchs of the forest who had surrendered in their pride, the rights of the humble ash. An old oak was heard to complain to a neighboring cedar, "if we had not given away the rights of the ash we might have stood forever; but we have surrendered to the destroyer the rights of one, and now we are suffering from the same evil ourselves."
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Erastus Snow, May 31, 1885. Journal of Discourses 26:226 Well, we were told by the Prophet Joseph Smith, that the United States Government and people would come to this: that they would undermine one principle of the Constitution after another, until its whole fabric would be torn away, and that it would become the duty of the Latter-day Saints and those in sympathy with them to rescue it from destruction, and to maintain and sustain the principles of human freedom for which our fathers fought and bled.
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George Q. Cannon, November 23rd, 1884. Journal of Discourses 26:286 we shall maintain organized government. Others may trample upon the laws of the land; others may seek to bring us into bondage; but we shall be free through the help of our God, and our country shall be a free country; for if others trample upon the Constitution, we will elevate it, we will bear it aloft, we will invite the men of all cities and all parts of our lands to come and dwell in peace and safety protected by that glorious instrument, and the principles it contains, that God helped the founders of this government to frame.
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Moses Thatcher, October 8th, 1885. Journal of Discourses 26:333-334, 334-335 As an American citizen I deplore it, but I tell the Latter-day Saints this afternoon that this great government is not strong, and the reason is they have torn up the foundations of the structure that was built by our fathers. They have ripped up the moorings of the great ship. They have allowed mob rule to get power in this land, and like a dark cloud, secret societies are gathering around. And while it may be smiled at, yet I tell you this nation stands as it were upon a mine. When the Knights of Labor and the different brotherhoods can say in calm language that within thirty minutes they can stop the motion of every car wheel between Omaha, Nebraska, and Butte, Montana, I say to you there is power there. More than five years ago, certain secret societies instituted what were called the Pittsburg riots. The State militia was called out to quell them, and they were not able to do it. The army of the national government was appealed to, and a United States officer told me that when he led his soldiers to Pittsburg he feared to give the word of command to fire upon those insurgents "for," said he, "I did not know whether they would obey or turn round and fire upon their officers . . . Would to God we had statesmen with eyes clear enough to see! Would to God that they would pull out of their eyes the "Mormon" mote and behold the beam that threatens the nation. The occurrence at Rock Springs, and the mutterings we hear from the Atlantic to the Pacific ought to be a warning that the day is not far distant, unless the Democratic and Republican parties open their eyes to the situation, when desolation and war will be in this government . . . I will say when this nation, having sown to the wind, reaps the whirlwind; when brother takes up sword against brother; when father contends against son, and son against father; when he who will not take up his sword against his neighbor must needs flee to Zion for safety—then I would say to my friends come to Utah; for the judgments of God, commencing at the house of the Lord, will have passed away, and Utah, undisturbed, will be the most delightful place in all the Union. When war and desolation and bloodshed, and the ripping up of society come upon the nation, I have said to such, "Come to Utah and we will divide our morsel of food with you, we will divide our clothing with you, and we will offer you protection." I will tell you, my brethren and sisters, the day will come, and it is not far distant, when he who will not take up his sword against his neighbor, will have to flee to Zion for safety; and it is presupposed in this prediction that Zion will have power to give them protection. We are not going to do it outside of the government, either; we are going to do it inside the government. There is no power in this land to turn this people against the government of the United States. They will maintain the Constitution of this country inviolate, and although it may have been torn to shreds they will tie it together again, and maintain every principle of it, holding it up to the downtrodden of every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and they will do it, too, under the Stars and Stripes. They will stand with their feet firmly upon the backbone of the American continent and maintain the principles which cost their fathers so much, and those principles cannot be taken away by men who violate their oath of office, and betray their trust. I tell you that there are boys growing up in these mountains who have the principles of human liberty grounded deep in their hearts, and they will maintain them, not only for themselves, but for others. God speed the day I say—if the nation pursues its downward course and tears up these fundamental principles of government which have made them strong—when the Constitution may be rescued and all men and women shall be free again.

[tmac]

Unfortunately, the landscape of the Church, its leadership and membership have completely shifted and changed since those statements.

As I survey the “Mormon” landscape today I can’t really identify anyone who I have any real confidence in their incentive, motivation, let alone ability to accomplish that.

I realize that it can’t be done without the active hand of God involved, but as of right now I am not even aware of any one capable of being an effective tool in that regard. And the more experience I have with the younger generations, the less confidence I have in them.

[Rubicon]

Unfortunately, the landscape of the Church, its leadership and membership have completely shifted and changed since those statements.

As I survey the “Mormon” landscape today I can’t really identify anyone who I have any real confidence in their incentive, motivation, let alone ability to accomplish that.

I realize that it can’t be done without the active hand of God involved, but as of right now I am not even aware of any one capable of being an effective tool in that regard. And the more experience I have with the younger generations, the less confidence I have in them.

This is why I personally think we have passed the window where we could have saved the Constitution. I place the turning point I'm the 1980s, but am open to it being much earlier.

People still have tremendous influence within their own spheres of influence, and that's where we can make a difference. Teaching correct principles, raising families people want to emulate, etc. will be what advances God's purposes as the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. As some of the statements indicate, we will still be the receptacle of true principles in the Constitution, even while it and nation's are crumbling.

[GeeR]

Talk about superfluous overkill! The greatest and most correct commentary on Joseph Smith's words on the "saving" of the Constitution are right in front you and you do not see it. I'm referring to Ezra's Eagle Prophesy and U.S. Presidential Chronology that was unfolded to us as recent as 2015 ! This is a precursor to the fulfillment of Joseph's prophesy! It is like the Rosetta Stone that opens up the correct interpretation of this vague prophesy. It essentially provides us with a date when the deep state will surprise attack the United States not unlike the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,1941. That date is inferred in the prophesy to be the year 2024 and also inferes that we won't have a presidential election that year! Time to wake up! Orson Hyde was correct when he said there will be an attempt to "overthrow" the government and Constitution by our "foe." Our Constitutional freedoms are about to be replaced with a Global autocratic and despotic form of government, that is why our so-called church leaders are acclimating us to that change by identifing us now as "good Global Citizens."

[TheDuke]

Obviously the last days will end when Jesus comes to put an end to the anti-Christ as no one else has the power to do it but Jesus. Right up to that time there is war. According to Isaiah and others there are still nations on the earth, yet Assyria has taken over much of the world, including Babylon, but apparently not Egypt (Eagle), Lion and the Bear. So, one would see that from this and other prophecies that the US (Egypt according to modern mapping of nations, i.e. per Gileadi) stands when Jesus puts his foot upon the mountain in Jerusalem. What form? We hear weakened, spent, broke, burnt, a shell, etc... so as stated above one must assume the nation isn't anything like today, but that the "heart" or "core" survives, this is the constitution.

Now, no one knows how Jesus will set up his reign for the millennium. I feel (IMO) he will surely do it as he has always done, through local channels, i.e. in US with a local government. Those who want to think he will come back and put on a crown and alternately sit in daily judgement in Jerusalem and Mo for the whole world as a typical king are extrapolating w/o backing or justification. Jesus has worlds w/o number, he may put in place some NWO but he will not sit and rule it himself (he says his servant will BTW) and it doesn't say how. It doesn't say a single nation, or that church and state will be merged or there will be some sort of United Order, or anything... Zion will exist but it doesn't say the entire earth will be Zion. It doesn't say it will be terrestrial or celestial.. There is a reference to following celestial "principles" but that is so vague a truck could drive through it, I mean even world today often follows celestial "principles" to some degree.

Anyway, after all is said and done, not just from JS prophecies, but OT ones, it seems the constitution will survive, and I feel by "all good people working together". Of which hopefully many are Christians and LDS and even Native Americans. As, I have said before Jesus defines Israel (in modern times or last days) as those that keep his commandments or those that love him (same thing), i.e. good people. Therefore the seed of Jacob which is Israel not Lehi's small piece) are his followers. they will lead the continuation of good parts of the US including the simplified statement "constitution". But in the end the constitution is only paper, it isn't the house, senate, SCOTUS, president, etc... and surely not all the crap that has been added since. All that may be gone, but the "principles" of the constitution will survive as the are based on the principles of celestial kingdom mapped to the telestial sphere.

[GeeR]

"Since no particular time was given for fulfilling this prophecy (the prophecy of saving the Constitution), members of the Church have often wondered about its timing. The prophecy clearly indicates a single, identifiable episode yet to come."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... t?lang=eng

Yes, Ezra's Eagle Prophecy and U.S. Presidential Chronology infers what that "single, identifiable episode yet to come" will be--the changing of the guard i.e. changing from Nationalism to Globalism or a One World Governent and machinations are currently in the works to make Tedros king of the world in 2024.

[GeeR]

You might be interested to know that 3 apostles of the church have come out in General Conferance (Oct.2017) to war against and demonize nationalism. It was Cook, Andersen and Ballard who taught us all the lie that nationalism should be conflated with "sexism" and "racism." So much for the doctrine of our leaders not leading members astray!

Ezra Taft Benson has straightened us out about the lie of nationalism which is 'it fosters jealously, suspicion and hatred of other countries which leads to war.' "How many times has this utter nonsense been repeated without challenge as though it were some kind of empriical and self-evident truth! What kind of logic assumes that loving one's country means jealousy, suspicion and hatred of all others? Why can't we be proud of America as an independent nation and also have a feeling of brotherhood and respect for other proples around the world? As a matter of fact , haven't Americans done just that for the past 200 years? What people have proured out more treasure to other lands, opened their doors to more immigrantism and sent more missionaries, teachers and doctors than we? Are we now to believe that love of our own country will sudenly cause us to hate the peoples of other lands?

It was the late Herbert Hoover who pointed out the social poison in the current derision of American nationalism: We must realize the vitality of the great spiritual force which we call nationalism. The fuzzy-minded intellectuals have sought to brand nationalism as a sin against mankind. They seem to think that infamy is attached to the word "nationalist." But that force cannot be obscured by denunciation of it as greed or selfishness--as it sometimes is. THe spirit of nationalism springs from the deepest of human emotions. It rises from the yearning of men to be free of foreign domination, to govern themselves. It springs from a thousand rills of race, of history, of sacrifice and pride in national achirevement. (Quoted by Eugene W. Castle, Billions, Slunders and Baloney, p.259 )

An Ememy Hath Done This, p. 156