D&C 134

Because Joseph Smith felt so strongly about the government’s duty to protect the individual’s rights and because the American government had failed to protect the Saints in Missouri from the mobs, Joseph Smith decided to run for the office of president of the United States in He felt none of the candidates running for president would represent the cause of the Saints fairly and guarantee them their constitutional rights. On April 9 th 1844, during the General Conference of the Church, Joseph Smith’s campaign for the presidency was launched. “A series of thirty- seven conferences was scheduled to be conducted throughout the nation by the Twelve with the final conference held at Washington D.C. from September 7 th through the 15 th (Ivan J. Barrett, Joseph and the Restoration: A History of the Church to 1846, 577)

AMERICA: THE QUIZ Who said, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’? Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death’? Who is known as “Lady of Liberty”? Which article of Faith speaks about government? Which document, drafted in 1215, lead to the colonization of the US? Who wrote the National Anthem In which war was the Star Spangled Banner written? What sight inspired the author to pen the (then) poem? What other animal did the Founding Fathers almost select as our National Mascot? How many Presidents have we had in the US? Who sewed the first American flag?

DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 134:1–4 The responsibilities of governments are set forth DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 134:5-6, 8 The responsibilities of citizens are set forth DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 134:7, 9-10, 12 The relationship between religion and government is described FIND TWO RIGHTS FROM YOUR PASSAGE

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1844 The following are some of the men who ran for President of the United States in 1844: Martin Van Buren (Had been defeated twice) Martin Van Buren (Had been defeated twice) Henry Clay Henry Clay John C. Calhoun John C. Calhoun Lewis Cass Lewis Cass Richard Johnson Richard Johnson Joseph Smith Joseph Smith James K. Polk (Won the election) James K. Polk (Won the election)

JOSEPH’S POLITICAL PLATFORM February 1844 Joseph’s political platform was completed with the help of William W. Phelps and John Bernheisel (a family physician who had political inclinations). Both were gifted men. Joseph had the platform in mind, but William W. Phelps was most likely the one who wrote it. 1. Congressional Reform: Reduce the Congress by two- thirds. 2.Lower salaries for those in Congress: They should be public servants and therefore only the best would seek the position.

3. Prison Reform: Prisoners should work to pay their debt to society. Prisons should be turned into seminaries to teach inmates a better way of life. 4. Military: It should be based on honor and moral responsibility. Joseph did not believe in a court marshal, but if a man were to betray the trust of his country he believed that man should never be allowed to hold a public office. 5. Slavery: Joseph was opposed to slavery. 5. Slavery: Joseph was opposed to slavery. 6. State rights: He was in favor of a strong central government that administered fairly the laws and that the state was not supreme 7. He advocated a strong National Security: More economy and less taxation. Joseph advocated a federal banking system and a judicious tariff to protect U.S. interests abroad. 8. Joseph was an expansionist: He said that Oregon, California, Mexico and Canada should all be invited to join with the United States.

ARTICLE OF FAITH TWELVE

ARTICLES OF FAITH #12 WE BELIEVE IN BEING SUBJECT TO KINGS, PRESIDENTS, RULERS, AND MAGISTRATES, IN OBEYING, HONORING, AND SUSTAINING THE LAW.

“The Prophet Joseph Smith … said, ‘Patriotism should be sought for and will be found in right living.’ Isn’t that interesting? You can’t be really patriotic unless you’re righteous. No man can be a good Latter-day Saint and not be true to the best interests and welfare of his country.” Hartman Rector, Jr. “The Land Choice Above All,” in Speeches of the Year, 1974 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1975]

“We urge all Latter- day Saints to be good neighbors and to be good citizens, loyal to their flag and country.” Spencer W. Kimball CR, April 1981 Spencer W. Kimball CR, April 1981

D&C 134 War “There is [a] war that has gone on since before the world was created and which is likely to continue for a long time yet to come. … “That war … is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him. His enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict. … “… It is as it was in the beginning. … The victims who fall are as precious as those who have fallen in the past. It is an ongoing battle. … “The war goes on. … It is waged in our own lives, day in and day out, in our homes, in our work, in our school associations; it is waged over questions of love and respect, of loyalty and fidelity, of obedience and integrity. We are all involved in it. … We are winning, and the future never looked brighter” (President Hinckley, “The War We Are Winning,”Ensign, Nov. 1986, 42, 44–45). Religious Freedom

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” M. Russell Ballard CR, October 2003 (Quote attributed to Edmund Burke)

“When, therefore, constitutional law, obedient to these principles, calls the manhood of the Church into the armed service of any country to which they owe allegiance, their highest civic duty requires that they meet that call. If, harkening to that call and obeying those in command over them, they shall take the lives of those who fight against them, that will not make of them murderers, nor subject them to the penalty that God has prescribed for those who kill, beyond the principle to be mentioned shortly. The First Presidency CR, April 1942

When to obey… Romans 13:7 Matthew 22:17-22 D&C 98:5 1 Peter 2:13-17 Titus 3:1,2 When not to obey… Acts 4:18-20 Daniel 3 Daniel 6 1 Nephi 4:10-18 Mosiah 24:11-15

President Boyd K. Packer,: “Youth today are being raised in enemy territory with a declining standard of morality. But as a servant of the Lord, I promise that you will be protected and shielded from the attacks of the adversary if you will heed the promptings that come from the Holy Spirit. “Dress modestly; talk reverently; listen to uplifting music. Avoid all immorality and personally degrading practices. Take hold of your life and order yourself to be valiant. Because we depend so much on you, you will be remarkably blessed. You are never far from the sight of your loving Heavenly Father” (Nov. 2011). D&C 134

FOUNDERS OF AMERICA President Wilford Woodruff, seventy-eight years ago, reported that a tithe of those “wise men,” those who had also signed the Declaration of Independence, appeared in the St. George Temple with George Washington at their head, and “demanded” temple ordinances. (Conference Report, April 10, 1898, pp. 89–90.)

D&C 134