Sunday, December 13, 2015

Constitution and Covenants

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the connection between covenants and the Constitution of the United States.  I did not fully make the connection until I found a wonderful article published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

                According to the article, “the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution arose largely from beliefs about the importance of people making covenants with God and with one another…. 
                “In this light, it is significant that beliefs about covenant-making were essential to the development of the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution and to its ratification two hundred years ago.  For colonial Americans, the concept of covenant was not limited just to religious doctrines; it was central to their view of the world and God’s workings in it.  Not only did they believe that their churches ought to be organized by covenant, but they felt that civil government should also be set up by covenant.”

                It is a very interesting article, particularly to members of the Church who recognize the importance of covenants with God.  I encourage you to read the article that closed with this paragraph.


                “As Latter-day Saints, we would do well to remember the nature of the Constitution as a covenant.  Society as a whole, too, would do well to remember the basic principles of covenant embodied in that document and in its history.  These principles are as essential to the preservation of the Constitution as they were to its establishment two hundred years ago.  In fact, the Book of Mormon teaches that Americans will forfeit their liberties and suffer destruction if they break the covenant to worship and obey the Savior.  (See 1 Ne. 14:6-7; 3 Ne. 16:8-16; Morm. 5:19-24.)   Consider the impact it would have if the nation’s leaders and citizens today believed in the necessity of a virtuous citizenry, the sacredness of civil covenants, and the serious consequences of neglecting or breaching those covenants.”

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