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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