Agency

President Spencer W. Kimball

Agency, Discipleship, Last Days, Personal Revelation, Voluntarism, War July 19, 2016

The False Gods We Worship

‘We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. …When threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” We forget that if we are righteous the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us—and this is the special promise to the inhabitants of the land of the Americas—or he will fight our battles for us…’

Boyd K. Packer speaks in General Conference, April 1990

Agency, Prophecy, Self Reliance, Voluntarism, Welfare July 17, 2016

Teach Them Correct Principles

“…Church activities must be replaced by family activities. Just as we have been taught with temporal affairs, the spirit of independence, thrift, and self-reliance will be re-enthroned as guiding principles in the homes of Latter-day Saints. And, just as stake leaders now will sponsor fewer activities, leaving more of the time and money to ward leaders, ward leaders in turn will leave more of both to the families. …For those who can and are willing, there comes the opportunity to make generous offerings. In leaving decisions to you, do you not see the fundamental doctrine of moral agency asserting itself? Do you not see the change from assessment to offering something of the testing which is fundamental to our mortal probation?”

David O. McKay

Agency, Government, Law, Liberty, Religious Freedom July 14, 2016

Dedicatory Prayer – London England Temple

“It is fitting that we express appreciation of the signing of the Magna Carta in the County of Surrey, the same county in which we meet today wherein the promise is given that no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseized or outlawed or exiled…without proper trial by his peers or by the law of the land. This protection of the individual is in keeping with Thy divine will; and any group of men who advocate an ideology that would deprive man of this individual right and heritage and make him a vassal of the state stamp themselves at once as enemies of Thy divine purposes. …O Father, help people everywhere more clearly to realize that government exists for the protection of the individual, not the individual for the government.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Agency, Discipleship, Government, Liberty, Personal Revelation, Politics July 5, 2016

Insights from My Life

“I fear that, as conditions worsen, many will react to the failures of too much government by calling for even more government. Then there will be more and more lifeboats launched because fewer and fewer citizens know how to swim. Unlike some pendulums, political pendulums do not swing back automatically; they must be pushed. History is full of instances when people have waited in vain for pendulums to swing back.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Agency, Consent of Governed, Constitution, Government, Law, Liberty, Politics June 27, 2016

The Divinely Inspired Constitution

“… the most desirable condition for the effective exercise of God-given moral agency is a condition of maximum freedom and responsibility. In this condition men are accountable for their own sins and cannot blame their political conditions on their bondage to a king or a tyrant. This condition is achieved when the people are sovereign, as they are under the Constitution God established in the United States.”

Elder Ezra Taft Benson speaks in General Conference, April 1973

Agency, Government, Liberty, Politics, Self Reliance, Welfare June 25, 2016

“Watchman, Warn the Wicked”

“How strong is our will to remain free—to be good? False thinking and false ideologies, dressed in the most pleasing forms, quietly—almost without our knowing it—seek to reduce our moral defenses and to captivate our minds. They entice with bright promises of security, cradle-to-grave guarantees of many kinds. They masquerade under various names, but all may be recognized by one thing—one thing they all have in common: to erode away character and man’s freedom to think and act for himself. …Again, let us not be misled. Freedom can be killed by neglect as well as by direct attack.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Agency, Government, Politics, Prophecy, War June 25, 2016

A Testimony Vibrant and True

“I know of no other writing which sets forth with such clarity the tragic consequences to societies that follow courses contrary to the commandments of God. …The people succumbed to the wiles of ambitious and scheming leaders who oppressed them with burdensome taxes, who lulled them with hollow promises, who …encouraged loose and lascivious living. These evil schemers led the people into terrible wars that resulted in the death of millions and the final and total extinction…”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks testifies before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Oct 2011

Agency, Constitution, Government, Liberty, Politics, Voluntarism, Welfare June 12, 2016

“…private sector…essential to preserving pluralism and freedom…”

“…I submit that most Americans would not have us relinquish the freedom and diversity of our vigorous private sector of charities in exchange for the assurance that the government would select and manage their functions. …That private, non-profit sector has always been an important counterweight to the powers and potentially repressive influence of governments. The private sector is essential to preserving pluralism and freedom in our nation.”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson addresses members of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Feb 4 2016

Agency, Government, Law, Liberty June 12, 2016

“Law Allows Us to Reach Our Potential…”

“…insofar as humanly possible, man’s laws and legal systems should be tied to and reflect the same purpose as God’s laws—to foster our becoming all that we can become here and hereafter… Rather than seeing law as an instrument of domination, it is our mission to use it as an enabling power to help men and women achieve greater independence and ultimate potential.”