As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that the Constitution of the United States of America was purposely inspired of God for the express purpose of preparing the way for the restoration of His gospel. It is the principle of religious freedom that has allowed Christ to reestablish His Church upon the earth and which continues to allow it to grow and expand and that freedom is guaranteed to us by the Constitution.

Since this is a divine document, whenever anyone seeks to add to or take away from those principles found in the Constitution they are changing what a wise God has established. This is why the Lord has said that "whatsoever is more or less than this cometh of evil." For that and other reasons God expects His people to befriend, uphold, defend and help maintain the Constitution of the United States.

Since the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and laws are enforced by those who represent us in government, it then becomes important that we elect people who not only understand but have a reverence for the principles contained in the Constitution as the only way to preserve and protected it from being altered. Even the most righteous laws can be misused and misapplied by men of evil intent therefore, it is obvious that unless we elect men who are both honest and wise, especially in the ways of the Lord, this country will come to evil.

The reason for this is because the principles found in the Constitution are based on the laws of righteousness and, no matter how smart someone may be in worldly matters, unless they govern according to the intent for which the Constitutional was written, they will eventually violate the laws of righteousness if, for no other reason, than out of shear ignorance. And, when those laws are violated, there will be unpleasant consequences, just like when any other law of nature is violated.

For us today, unfortunately, as we look at the decisions of those whom we have elected to federal office over the past fifty years or more, we find them anything but honest or wise. Although many of them profess to having a religious belief, they pay only lip service, if even that, to their faith when it comes to serving as our elected representatives. Over the years they have passed laws that have slowly stripped away from us more and more of our God-given freedoms and a large part of the reason for this is that we, as a country, seem to be electing more and more people to office who feel it is better to leave God out of our governing process than it is to rely on His guiding influence.

Worse than that, there are those who are fiercely fighting to drive the God of our forefathers out of our national conversation and replace Him with human reasoning and wisdom. As a result of their efforts, more and more politicians are being influenced by a relatively small but loud, angry, and persistent group of activists to adopt their godless philosophy. And, over the years, they have become so successful in their efforts that today even those who do seek God's will in the decisions they make are afraid to admit it in public for fear of being ridiculed.

Whereas the type of government these activists want us to adopt is referred to by many different names (Socialism being just one of them) what they always promise is that if we follow the principles they espouse -- which principles include eliminating anything associated with "God" -- that everyone's life will be much better. However, the fact is that this kind of governing has been tried many times throughout the history of the world and not one of them has succeeded in producing anything close to the kind of happiness and prosperity that we Americans have enjoyed because of our reliance on God. While their words and ideas may seem like something worthy to strive for, those who advocate such a way of governing are offering a false utopian world that can never become a reality by the means they promote.

As members of Christ's Church, we have a sacred obligation to protect and preserve our precious liberties from those who seek to replace them with something very different than what God has given us. Fortunately, there are many people of many faiths who are concerned about this problem and are trying to do what they can to return our country to the principles of governing that's contained in our Constitution. Yet, at the same time, there are many, many other people who have a sincere desire to save our Constitution who are not sure what they can do to help prevent our freedoms from being taken away and restore those principles of liberty that we have already lost.

However, there are a number of things that can be done but to do any of them first takes becoming properly informed. It is only after we have armed ourselves with the truth that we can then share that information with others.

To become informed, a great many people throughout the country listen to a number of popular conservative talk show hosts who seek to educate their listeners about what is going wrong in American politics. However, too often the education they provide consists mostly in exposing the evils committed by politicians. It appears that they feel that by showing what is going wrong they hope to motivate people to action. While that is important, because evil thrives best in secrecy, it is not enough simply to be against something. To effectively change America we must also stand for something. It isn't enough just to tell people what's going wrong in America, they also need to know what they can do to truly make it better. The real key to turning this country around is to have a large enough citizenry who is sufficiently grounded in sound principles that they not only believe in them but are willing to fight for them.

Perhaps we can illustrate this by looking at some example.

Recently, several state legislatures have taken steps to assert their rights under the tenth amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the Federal government from interfering in the rights of the states. The state legislature of Montana has passed a law saying that guns and ammunition that are made and used within the state of Montana are not subject to Federal interstate rules and regulations. Utah is preparing to pass a similar law but one that has greater teeth in it and so is Texas. Now Oklahoma and Mississippi are planning on doing the same. And some of the people in these states who are promoting this course of action are planning to go into other states and start building a grass root movement to get other legislatures to do the same thing. This is one example of how people can not only let their voice be heard but are actually doing something that will have a positive effect on this country's future.

There is a popular talk radio personality named Glenn Beck, who has been promoting his 9-12 project which is to get people to live by 9 principles and 12 values that has made America great, things such as honesty, reverence, thrift, charity, sincerity, personal responsibility, and gratitude. He is also touring the United States doing what he calls the Common Sense Comedy show that is both entertaining and informative on the subject of freedom.

Another popular talk show host by the name of Sean Hannity is also going all over America putting on what he calls his Freedom Tour, which is being aided by some top named entertainers. In this way he is hoping to draw a greater number of people to hear the message of freedom he has to tell them. These are the kinds of events that people from all walks of life can come to and not only be entertained but become educated about the principles of freedom.

Mark Levin, who is another talk show host and a Constitutional scholar, has written a hugely successful book entitled "Liberty and Tyranny." Not only has he shared a great wealth of information with his readers on Constitutional law but they, in turn, can then share that book or the ideas in it with others as a way to educate people.

Back in 1971 a professor named W. Cleon Skousen started a little organization on the campus of BYU called "The Freemen Institute." Today it has grown into a nationwide organization called "The National Center for Constitutional Studies." (NCCS) located in Washington, D.C. He has also written a book entitled, "The 5,000 Year Leap" that provides a wealth of historical and inspiring information about our country.

On a smaller scale, in Virginia, there is a college that sponsored an Education Conference entitled "Let Freedom Ring" where noted scholars and educators on American Constitution, History, and Law spent two days giving seminars that were open to the public on the principles of liberty. In Miichigan, there is another college that gave a free 8 hour on-line seminar on the Constitution. And there are many more similar examples that can be cited of people who are doing their part to educate others about the principles of freedom and liberty.

But there is much, much more that still needs to be done in this area and that's where we, as ordinary individuals, can step up to do our part.

One way we can do this is by starting our own freedom group. Most of the people who organized and promoted the tea parties were just ordinary mothers who took it upon themselves to bring people together so their voice could be heard through peaceful protests. These events have caught the imagination of people all over the country and because of their efforts more and more people are joining this movement. Similar but different kinds of events can also be held by other ordinary people. And the way it can begin is by uniting people of similar feelings and drawing upon their ingenuity and talents to find ways to take the message of freedom to others.

Examples of what could be done include asking local libraries to have an American History Day where they highlight books on American history or have speakers come to the library and talk about our history. Another way is to contact local high schools to put on patriotic plays or sponsoring an Appreciate America Day and inviting as many people from the community to come to these events. Still another way is to have a monthly community movie night where movies with a strong patriotic theme are shown.

With the popularity of YouTube, ordinary citizens can produce videos that teach about our Constitution or the history of our country. There is one man who has produced a number of such videos who goes before the camera dressed as and impersonating Patrick Henry and then gives dramatic, inspiring, motivational presentations about our Constitution. These kinds of videos can also be put on CDs that can then be shared with others at schools, lodge meetings, or similar kinds of gatherings. Writing books, pamphlets, and other forms of literature is another way of getting the message out to others. The point of these examples is to show that there is an endless number of ways that people can teach, inspire, and motivate others about our country, Constitution, liberty, and freedom.

But not everyone has such creative talent so another way our voice can be heard is by joining an existing group and giving them our support. For example, a person could write to the National Center for Constitutional Studies and ask what they can do to be of help in spreading the message in their home town. That might include setting up opportunities or meetings for the NCCS to come and give their presentation. Another way could be by joining a grass roots movement to petition the state to pass laws that will preserve our freedom. In this way people who are not good at organizing or who don't have the ability to speak or write persuasively can use what talents they do have to help promote the ideas of those organizations they believe in. This can include doing such things as making posters, mailing out literature, working the phone banks, or giving donations.

It's in this way that people from all over America can do things that will help get others enthused and educated about politics and, at the same time, give the public something to believe in rather than just being against what is happening in our government.

This is how the other side has been so effective in promoting their agenda. They have organized themselves in small and large groups all across the country to get their message out and to instill it into the minds of as many people as they can the ideas they want to champion. As a result of their efforts, many people today have come to believe the lie that the Constitution prevents the State and religion from mingling with one another. And it is by getting people to accept that belief that they then are able to get people to accept the false premise that there should be no religious influence in government. (For a more in-depth look at this subject see Separation of Church and State and Freedom From Religion )

An example of how they have promoted themselves is an organization called ACORN. Through this program they gather people to their cause by reaching out to them through a community action program and getting them to actively take part in promoting and furthering the cause of the organization. There in another group who goes by the name of "The Liberty Tree" which is a "Foundation for a Democratic Revolution." Their stated purpose "is uniquely committed to building a new democracy movement for the U.S.A." They provide "legal, organizing, and policy support to on-the-ground campaigns for democratic reform in every area of American life." While this may sound like a worthy group to be associated with, the people who make up this organization hold ideas that are very different from that found in our Constitution. They include such far-left leaning people as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Robert Redford, and the editors of The Progressive, which is a very politically liberal publication.

For the past 80 years, the other side has been relentless in their efforts to educate Americans on the need for bigger government and over those decades their efforts have gradually achieved great success. It is now time for us to go forth with the same zeal, determination, and dedication to reeducate the public to the wisdom of our founding fathers. If we don't then we are surrendering our country to the enemies of freedom.

The Lord has not just counseled us but expects us to befriend the Constitution of the United States. A friend is someone who loyally sticks with someone through the bad times as well as the good, and who is unwavering in their support at all times. The Constitution has been our unwavering friend in protecting our liberties for more than 200 years. Now that it is in trouble, we need to become its best friend by protecting it from those who want to destroy it. Should we do anything less than this we will soon come to evil. Our duty to God and our country is to be a friend to that which God has given to us. And it is by us fulfilling that sacred duty that we can then expect God to bless America.

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