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Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 11:56 am
by investigator
In the view of many LDS people, we must obey all laws and be subject to rulers no matter how unjust their policies or laws are. This view comes from an apathy toward understanding and applying scripture. It is a false belief that we are obligated to obey unjust laws.
Our Lord describes how he defines constitutional law In D&C 98: 5
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
Here the Lord places a comma after constitutional and then proceeds to define what constitutional law is.
Constitutional law is that law that supports that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges. That kind of law belongs to all mankind and is justifiable before our Lord.
Then our Lord says
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, [meaning supporting rights and privileges] cometh of evil. (D&C 98: 7)
If a law is not constitutional as defined by Him it is evil.
Then He follows up with a commandment on how to respond to a law that is more or less than supporting rights and privileges or an evil law.
D&C 98: 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
This is a commandment to forsake evil law. What does forsake mean? It means to abandon, to renounce to reject. It certainly does not mean to obey, honor, or sustain.
Apostle Rudgar Clawson said “ I have only this to say why judgment should not be passed upon me; I very much regret that the laws of my country should come in conflict with the laws of God; but whenever they do I shall invariably choose to obey the latter.” Juvenile Instructor 35:775)
Another scripture which is often misunderstood and applied is the 12th article of faith.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
This scripture is most often read as if there was a conjunction "and" after magistrates making the thoughts, being subject to...rulers... and obeying, honoring and sustaining the law two independent thoughts, however, the clause
in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law is connected to being subject to ...rulers... with
"in" making that clause a qualifier to being subject to rulers.
The belief in being subject to kings, president rulers and magistrates is qualified by
THEIR obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Our belief in being subject to these leaders only goes as far as they honor obey and sustain the law. This qualifier, obeying honoring and sustaining the law is
applied to the leaders and not to the people themselves.
In other words, we believe in being subject to leaders only if they obey honor and sustain the law.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 12:07 pm
by 4Joshua8
Equating the laws of man with the laws of God, as is often done these days, brings evil.
Just laws have as their foundation Eternal principles and Eternal laws. We are justified in disregarding any law that isn't aligned with the Eternal, despite the fact that doing so may bring unpleasant consequences. We just better know for sure what is and isn't aligned.
Everything on this earth is God's. Nothing belongs to us. All the evil works of our hands will be destroyed. We give Caesar's property back to Caesar so that we won't be indebted to him anymore and can be free to give all we have and are to God, come hell or high water, and will be free of the influence of Caesar. We don't give it back to stay in his influence but to be rid of his influence.
This is part of what is meant by plucking out your eye, laying up treasures in heaven, being willing to die for the truth, and being physically and permanently displaced from Babylon in cities of peace.
If man's law is on par with God's, Yeshua's words are extremist nonsense and unworthy of our attention.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 12:14 pm
by BeNotDeceived
Yes, it’s an article of faith.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 12:20 pm
by 4Joshua8
investigator wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:56 am
In the view of many LDS people, we must obey all laws and be subject to rulers no matter how unjust their policies or laws are. This view comes from an apathy toward understanding and applying scripture. It is a false belief that we are obligated to obey unjust laws.
Our Lord describes how he defines constitutional law In D&C 98: 5
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
Here the Lord places a comma after constitutional and then proceeds to define what constitutional law is.
Constitutional law is that law that supports that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges. That kind of law belongs to all mankind and is justifiable before our Lord.
Then our Lord says
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, [meaning supporting rights and privileges] cometh of evil. (D&C 98: 7)
If a law is not constitutional as defined by Him it is evil.
Then He follows up with a commandment on how to respond to a law that is more or less than supporting rights and privileges or an evil law.
D&C 98: 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
This is a commandment to forsake evil law. What does forsake mean? It means to abandon, to renounce to reject. It certainly does not mean to obey, honor, or sustain.
Apostle Rudgar Clawson said “ I have only this to say why judgment should not be passed upon me; I very much regret that the laws of my country should come in conflict with the laws of God; but whenever they do I shall invariably choose to obey the latter.” Juvenile Instructor 35:775)
Another scripture which is often misunderstood and applied is the 12th article of faith.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
This scripture is most often read as if there was a conjunction "and" after magistrates making the thoughts, being subject to...rulers... and obeying, honoring and sustaining the law two independent thoughts, however, the clause
in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law is connected to being subject to ...rulers... with
"in" making that clause a qualifier to being subject to rulers.
The belief in being subject to kings, president rulers and magistrates is qualified by
THEIR obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Our belief in being subject to these leaders only goes as far as they honor obey and sustain the law. This qualifier, obeying honoring and sustaining the law is
applied to the leaders and not to the people themselves.
In other words, we believe in being subject to leaders only if they obey honor and sustain the law.
In my opinion, an unqualified assertion that we are obligated to obey the law of the land because of what it says in the 12th article of faith, is an assertion that comes from Gadiantons in the church and their influence on church leaders.
The assertion, and the article of faith, demands qualification. It is obviously untrue when taken as worded without qualification.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 12:56 pm
by WikiUp
Read D&C 134:5. The obligation to "sustain and uphold ... governments" ENDS when the individual is NOT protected "in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments ..."
"... sedition and rebellion are unbecoming" are only to be punished when a individual IS PROTECTED in their rights and rebels.
This principle was established in Kirkland, Ohio in August 1835 by Joseph Smith when the Book of Commandments (now the D&C) was first published.
5 We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 6:44 pm
by lundbaek
I believe that "...while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights..." means AS LONG AS. My thinking is that if government ceases to protect our inherent and inalienable rights, that we are justified in throwing off that government and replacing it with a just government. Having said that, however, it seems to me that now, at this time, the FP & Q12 would advise against such action in order to protect itself from retribution by unjust government. It seems we waited too long.
By way of example, the 16th Amendment permits Congress to collect taxes on income regardless of its source, in spite of Article 1, Sections 2, 6, & 9, which forbid direct taxes that are not assessed in proportion to the census.
I cannot make a case for the graduated income tax being unconstitutional, but it seems unjust to me.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 11:17 pm
by gigarath24
We are told to sustain rulers not necessarily follow their laws. In practice this means not following unjust laws then when caught plead guilty and serve your sentence with dignity. This is the Lord's pattern. Ever wonder why so many prophets modern and ancient were imprisoned, executed, or worse? Because they openly defied unjust laws, plead guilty as a testimony to their faith, and peacefully accepted their punishment. Civil Disobedience is a divine principle.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
by Gospel Donkey
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 12:04 am
by Robin Hood
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
You point out what happens, not what should happen.
If I lived in a country which banned food storage, I would still store food. The church as a corporate body is not going to publicly encourage its members to defy the law, but the individual member is obligated to.
We ought to obey God rather than men.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 1:23 am
by Gospel Donkey
Robin Hood wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 12:04 am
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
You point out what happens, not what should happen.
If I lived in a country which banned food storage, I would still store food. The church as a corporate body is not going to publicly encourage its members to defy the law, but the individual member is obligated to.
We ought to obey God rather than men.
There is no requirement to disobey the law of the land. If the government determines lockdown due to covid, Church attendance is stopped. If conscripted to go fight and kill people in a war you don't agree with, the teaching is to obey the law of the land.
This forum is overrun by anarchist and prophet stoner's. Every man doing what they please.
God,`s requires that we obey the law of the land. When 2 laws are in contradiction the higher law is kept.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 3:30 am
by Luke
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 1:23 am
Robin Hood wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 12:04 am
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
You point out what happens, not what should happen.
If I lived in a country which banned food storage, I would still store food. The church as a corporate body is not going to publicly encourage its members to defy the law, but the individual member is obligated to.
We ought to obey God rather than men.
There is no requirement to disobey the law of the land. If the government determines lockdown due to covid, Church attendance is stopped. If conscripted to go fight and kill people in a war you don't agree with, the teaching is to obey the law of the land.
This forum is overrun by anarchist and prophet stoner's. Every man doing what they please.
God,`s requires that we obey the law of the land. When 2 laws are in contradiction the higher law is kept.
If the laws of the land contradicts the laws of God, the laws of God must come first
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 4:15 am
by Gospel Donkey
Luke wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:30 am
If the laws of the land contradicts the laws of God, the laws of God must come first
You only say that because you live in a free country, but that is going to be tested very soon. In fact Americans currently accept many unconstitutional law, and you a d the Church abide by the law.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 4:17 am
by samizdat
investigator wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:56 am
In the view of many LDS people, we must obey all laws and be subject to rulers no matter how unjust their policies or laws are. This view comes from an apathy toward understanding and applying scripture. It is a false belief that we are obligated to obey unjust laws.
Our Lord describes how he defines constitutional law In D&C 98: 5
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
Here the Lord places a comma after constitutional and then proceeds to define what constitutional law is.
Constitutional law is that law that supports that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges. That kind of law belongs to all mankind and is justifiable before our Lord.
Then our Lord says
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, [meaning supporting rights and privileges] cometh of evil. (D&C 98: 7)
If a law is not constitutional as defined by Him it is evil.
Then He follows up with a commandment on how to respond to a law that is more or less than supporting rights and privileges or an evil law.
D&C 98: 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
This is a commandment to forsake evil law. What does forsake mean? It means to abandon, to renounce to reject. It certainly does not mean to obey, honor, or sustain.
Apostle Rudgar Clawson said “ I have only this to say why judgment should not be passed upon me; I very much regret that the laws of my country should come in conflict with the laws of God; but whenever they do I shall invariably choose to obey the latter.” Juvenile Instructor 35:775)
Another scripture which is often misunderstood and applied is the 12th article of faith.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
This scripture is most often read as if there was a conjunction "and" after magistrates making the thoughts, being subject to...rulers... and obeying, honoring and sustaining the law two independent thoughts, however, the clause
in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law is connected to being subject to ...rulers... with
"in" making that clause a qualifier to being subject to rulers.
The belief in being subject to kings, president rulers and magistrates is qualified by
THEIR obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Our belief in being subject to these leaders only goes as far as they honor obey and sustain the law. This qualifier, obeying honoring and sustaining the law is
applied to the leaders and not to the people themselves.
In other words, we believe in being subject to leaders only if they obey honor and sustain the law.
In a democratic country, the best ways to fight unjust laws, is not with guns or ammo, but with peaceful protests, elections, and persuasion. You get lawyers that understand the Constitution, and offer persuasive arguments to the courts to do their job and to follow the Constitution. You also accept the results of elections even if your candidate or party did not win. Not accusing others of stealing elections without presenting evidence of such and not rousing up people in a mob to take over government buildings.
Though it is hard for many here to accept, Trump failed to persuade enough people to vote for him, and persuaded more people to vote against him. There are many reasons for this. And unlike in the previous election, where the third party vote was enough to deny Hillary the election, there was no such division. So the anti Trump vote coalesced to Biden, and Biden won.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 4:31 am
by Robin Hood
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 1:23 am
Robin Hood wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 12:04 am
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
You point out what happens, not what should happen.
If I lived in a country which banned food storage, I would still store food. The church as a corporate body is not going to publicly encourage its members to defy the law, but the individual member is obligated to.
We ought to obey God rather than men.
There is no requirement to disobey the law of the land. If the government determines lockdown due to covid, Church attendance is stopped. If conscripted to go fight and kill people in a war you don't agree with, the teaching is to obey the law of the land.
This forum is overrun by anarchist and prophet stoner's. Every man doing what they please.
God,`s requires that we obey the law of the land. When 2 laws are in contradiction the higher law is kept.
"We ought to obey God rather than men" Acts 5:29
I totally disagree with your post and it appears Peter does too.
One of the reasons we have had such destructive wars leading to the slaughter of literally millions of innocent people is because people obeyed the law and went to fight.
We are absolutely required to disobey unjust laws that are contrary to God's.
Do you believe it is right to abort babies because the government says you can only have one child per family (China)? Are you saying that if you lived in China and your wife fell pregnant with your second child you would obey the law and volunteer to have your baby killed?
Just think about what you're saying.
Where do you personally draw the line?
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 5:47 am
by Luke
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 4:15 am
Luke wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 3:30 am
If the laws of the land contradicts the laws of God, the laws of God must come first
You only say that because you live in a free country, but that is going to be tested very soon. In fact Americans currently accept many unconstitutional law, and you a d the Church abide by the law.
No, I say it because it's the truth...
Where do you live?
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 19th, 2021, 5:49 am
by Luke
samizdat wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 4:17 am
In a democratic country, the best ways to fight unjust laws, is not with guns or ammo, but with peaceful protests, elections, and persuasion.
Democracy is a myth
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 20th, 2021, 4:20 pm
by Benjamin_LK
samizdat wrote: ↑January 19th, 2021, 4:17 am
investigator wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:56 am
In the view of many LDS people, we must obey all laws and be subject to rulers no matter how unjust their policies or laws are. This view comes from an apathy toward understanding and applying scripture. It is a false belief that we are obligated to obey unjust laws.
Our Lord describes how he defines constitutional law In D&C 98: 5
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
Here the Lord places a comma after constitutional and then proceeds to define what constitutional law is.
Constitutional law is that law that supports that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges. That kind of law belongs to all mankind and is justifiable before our Lord.
Then our Lord says
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, [meaning supporting rights and privileges] cometh of evil. (D&C 98: 7)
If a law is not constitutional as defined by Him it is evil.
Then He follows up with a commandment on how to respond to a law that is more or less than supporting rights and privileges or an evil law.
D&C 98: 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
This is a commandment to forsake evil law. What does forsake mean? It means to abandon, to renounce to reject. It certainly does not mean to obey, honor, or sustain.
Apostle Rudgar Clawson said “ I have only this to say why judgment should not be passed upon me; I very much regret that the laws of my country should come in conflict with the laws of God; but whenever they do I shall invariably choose to obey the latter.” Juvenile Instructor 35:775)
Another scripture which is often misunderstood and applied is the 12th article of faith.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
This scripture is most often read as if there was a conjunction "and" after magistrates making the thoughts, being subject to...rulers... and obeying, honoring and sustaining the law two independent thoughts, however, the clause
in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law is connected to being subject to ...rulers... with
"in" making that clause a qualifier to being subject to rulers.
The belief in being subject to kings, president rulers and magistrates is qualified by
THEIR obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Our belief in being subject to these leaders only goes as far as they honor obey and sustain the law. This qualifier, obeying honoring and sustaining the law is
applied to the leaders and not to the people themselves.
In other words, we believe in being subject to leaders only if they obey honor and sustain the law.
In a democratic country, the best ways to fight unjust laws, is not with guns or ammo, but with peaceful protests, elections, and persuasion. You get lawyers that understand the Constitution, and offer persuasive arguments to the courts to do their job and to follow the Constitution. You also accept the results of elections even if your candidate or party did not win. Not accusing others of stealing elections without presenting evidence of such and not rousing up people in a mob to take over government buildings.
Though it is hard for many here to accept, Trump failed to persuade enough people to vote for him, and persuaded more people to vote against him. There are many reasons for this. And unlike in the previous election, where the third party vote was enough to deny Hillary the election, there was no such division. So the anti Trump vote coalesced to Biden, and Biden won.
Violence is a “last resort”. By that much it’s only to be used when other means are exhausted or impractical. I doubt that God would condemn someone living in Nazi Germany who helped get Jews out of occupied territory because the Nazi laws were so unjust and in contradiction to the laws and the Nazis killed people just for questioning them.
I doubt God will condemn early church member Karl Maeser because his being baptized a member of the church was a criminal offense in Germany at the time.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 20th, 2021, 4:25 pm
by Benjamin_LK
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
Not having plural marriage makes sense in an international church because it’s the same rules for everyone worldwide.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 20th, 2021, 4:28 pm
by Benjamin_LK
investigator wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:56 am
In the view of many LDS people, we must obey all laws and be subject to rulers no matter how unjust their policies or laws are. This view comes from an apathy toward understanding and applying scripture. It is a false belief that we are obligated to obey unjust laws.
Our Lord describes how he defines constitutional law In D&C 98: 5
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
Here the Lord places a comma after constitutional and then proceeds to define what constitutional law is.
Constitutional law is that law that supports that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges. That kind of law belongs to all mankind and is justifiable before our Lord.
Then our Lord says
And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, [meaning supporting rights and privileges] cometh of evil. (D&C 98: 7)
If a law is not constitutional as defined by Him it is evil.
Then He follows up with a commandment on how to respond to a law that is more or less than supporting rights and privileges or an evil law.
D&C 98: 11 And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.
This is a commandment to forsake evil law. What does forsake mean? It means to abandon, to renounce to reject. It certainly does not mean to obey, honor, or sustain.
Apostle Rudgar Clawson said “ I have only this to say why judgment should not be passed upon me; I very much regret that the laws of my country should come in conflict with the laws of God; but whenever they do I shall invariably choose to obey the latter.” Juvenile Instructor 35:775)
Another scripture which is often misunderstood and applied is the 12th article of faith.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
This scripture is most often read as if there was a conjunction "and" after magistrates making the thoughts, being subject to...rulers... and obeying, honoring and sustaining the law two independent thoughts, however, the clause
in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law is connected to being subject to ...rulers... with
"in" making that clause a qualifier to being subject to rulers.
The belief in being subject to kings, president rulers and magistrates is qualified by
THEIR obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Our belief in being subject to these leaders only goes as far as they honor obey and sustain the law. This qualifier, obeying honoring and sustaining the law is
applied to the leaders and not to the people themselves.
In other words, we believe in being subject to leaders only if they obey honor and sustain the law.
The issue is that how just a law is should not be a matter of following your political partisan lines, it should be a matter of whether or not that law protects or is destructive of someone’s natural rights. Even then disobedience should be done only if other means are either exhausted or impractical.
Re: Are we obligated by scripture to obey unjust laws and leaders?
Posted: January 20th, 2021, 10:33 pm
by Fred
Gospel Donkey wrote: ↑January 18th, 2021, 11:46 pm
You yankies forget very few countries have inalienable rights or a free constitution.
We should work to get just laws enacted, but need to sustain the law of the land regardless if righteous or not. The article of faith is a quote from Scripture.
The church teaches food storage, but only as allowed by local law. Countries where missionary work is prohibited, the members and elders are not sent out to preach.
Plural marriage in the church was withdrawn due to law of the land changing..
You better learn what words mean. Every person on the earth, regardless of country have inalienable rights. A Constitution has absolutely nothing to do with it. All our Bill of Rights did was recognize that they already exist. They are self evident. And inalienable means that they can not be taken away by a communist country or satanic dictator. No piece of paper issues inalienable rights. If it did, they would not be inalienable.