The Constitution of the United States

Ezra Taft Benson

Another standard I use in deterring what law is good and what is bad is the Constitution of the United States. I regard this inspired document as a solemn agreement between the citizens of this nation which every officer of government is under a sacred duty to obey. As Washington stated so clearly in his immortal Farewell Address: "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. - But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government." (P.P.N.S., p. 542)

I am especially mindful that the Constitution provides that the great bulk of the legitimate activities of government are to be carried out at the state or local level. This is the only way in which the principle of "self-government" can be made effective. As James Madison said before the adoption of the Constitution, “(We) rest all our political experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government." (Federalist, No.39; P.P.N.S., p. 128)

Thomas Jefferson made this interesting observation: "Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question." (Works 8:3; P.P.N.S., p. 128)

The Powers of a Proper Government

Ezra Taft Benson

It also includes those powers necessarily incidental to the protective functions such as:

(1) The maintenance of courts where those charged with crimes may be tried and where disputes between citizens may be impartially settled.

(2) The establishment of a monetary system and a standard of weights and measures so that courts may render money judgments, taxing authorities may levy taxes, and citizens may have a uniform standard to use in their business dealings.

My attitude toward government is succinctly expressed by the following provision taken from the Alabama Constitution: "That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression." (Art. 1, Sec. 35)

An important test I use in passing judgment upon an act of government is this: If it were up to me as an individual to punish my neighbor for violating a given law, would it offend my conscience to do so? Since my conscience will never permit me to physically punish my fellow man unless he has done something evil, or unless he has failed to do something which I have a moral right to require of him to do, I will never knowingly authorize my agent, the government to do this on my behalf. I realize that when I give my consent to the adoption of a law, I specifically instruct the police - the government - to either take the life, liberty, or property of anyone who disobey that law. Furthermore, I tell them that if anyone resists the enforcement of the law, they are to use any means necessary - yes, even putting the lawbreaker to death or putting him in jail - to overcome such resistance. These are extreme measures but unless laws are enforced, anarchy results. As John Locke explained many years ago: "The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others, which cannot be where there is no law; and is not, as we are told, 'a liberty for every man to do what he lists.' For who could be free, when every other man's humour might domineer over him? But a liberty to dispose and order freely as he lists his person, actions, possessions, and his whole property within the allowance of those laws under which he is, and therein not to be subject to the arbitrary will of another, but freely follow his own." (Two Treatises of Civil Government, II, 57: P.P.N.S., p.101)

I believe we Americans should use extreme care before lending our support to any proposed government program. We should fully recognize that government is no plaything. As George Washington warned, "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence - it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master!" (The Red Carpet, p.142) It is an instrument of force and unless our conscience is clear that we would not hesitate to put a man to death, put him in jail or forcibly deprive him of his property for failing to obey a given law, we should oppose it.

The Proper Function of Government

Ezra Taft Benson

This means, then, that the proper function of government is limited only to those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to act. By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute the wealth or force reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is created by man. No man possesses such power to delegate. The creature cannot exceed the creator.

In general terms, therefore, the proper role of government includes such defensive activities, as maintaining national military and local police forces for protection against loss of life, loss of property, and loss of liberty at the hands of either foreign despots or domestic criminals.

Natural Rights

In a primitive state, there is no doubt that each man would be justified in using force, if necessary, to defend himself against physical harm, against theft of the fruits of his labor, and against enslavement of another. This principle was clearly explained by Bastiat: "Each of us has a natural right - from God - to defend his person, his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but an extension of our faculties?" (The Law, p.6)

Indeed, the early pioneers found that a great deal of their time and energy was being spent doing all three - defending themselves, their property and their liberty - in what properly was called the "Lawless West." In order for man to prosper, he cannot afford to spend his time constantly guarding his family, his fields, and his property against attack and theft, so he joins together with his neighbors and hires a sheriff. At this precise moment, government is born. The individual citizens delegate to the sheriff their unquestionable right to protect themselves. The sheriff now does for them only what they had a right to do for themselves - nothing more. Quoting again from Bastiat: "If every person has the right to defend - even by force - his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right --its reason for existing, its lawfulness -- is based on individual right." (The Law, p. 6)

So far so good; but now we come to the moment of truth. Suppose pioneer "A" wants another horse for his wagon, He doesn't have the money to buy one, but since pioneer "B" has an extra horse, he decides that he is entitled to share in his neighbor's good fortune, Is he entitled to take his neighbor's horse? Obviously not! If his neighbor wishes to give it or lend it, that is another question. But so long as pioneer "B" wishes to keep his property, pioneer "A" has no just claim to it. If "A" has no proper power to take "B's" property, can he delegate any such power to the sheriff? No. Even if everyone in the community desires that "B" give his extra horse to "A", they have no right individually or collectively to force him to do it. 

They cannot delegate a power they themselves do not have. This important principle was clearly understood and explained by John Locke nearly 300 years ago:"For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and nobody has an absolute arbitrary power over himself, or over any other, to destroy his own life, or take away the life or property of another."

The Source of Governmental Power

Leaving aside, for a moment, the question of the divine origin of rights, it is obvious that a government is nothing more or less than a relatively small group of citizens who have been hired, in a sense, by the rest of us to perform certain functions and discharge certain responsibilities which have been authorized. It stands to reason that the government itself has no innate power or privilege to do anything. Its only source of authority and power is from the people who have created it. This is made clear in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, which reads: "WE THE PEOPLE... do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The important thing to keep in mind is that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they, themselves, have in the first place. Obviously, they cannot give that which they do not possess. So, the question boils down to this. What powers properly belong to each and every person in the absence of and prior to the establishment of any organized governmental form? A hypothetical question? Yes, indeed! But, it is a question which is vital to an understanding of the principles which underlie the proper function of government.

Of course, as James Madison, sometimes called the Father of the Constitution, said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." (The Federalist, No. 51)

Oklahoma

I have a real passion for God and country and have a deep desire to see things change in America.  Everyday I rant on about how this country is led by self-serving politicians from both parties...but today is not that day.  Appropriately, my heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the suffering families in Moore, Oklahoma.  I ask God to find his way into their lives to comfort them and to bless them in their time of need.

Some may be wondering, "Why would God do this?  Doesn't he have the power to stop things like this from happening?"  The simple answer is, yes...he does.  The answer as to why he allows things like this to happen is not as easy to explain.  We know the last days will be marked by many calamities and the rise of evil throughout the world.  Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, wild fires and, yes, devastating tornadoes will strike quickly and randomly.  In their wake, the injured and dead will include old and young, rich and poor, male and female; the righteous and unrighteous.  These events may or may not be the wrath of God upon a wicked and adulterous generation, but God knew, that in the last days, his children would turn their hearts away and seek the the ways of the world.  Are these events a not-so-subtle reminder that God exists and don't you forget it?  I don't know, but I do know that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.  I also know that we can find solace and peace in His word and in obedience to His commandments we shall even find comfort amid disaster.  Losing loved ones, especially children, is the worst mankind will endure, but through the gospel of Jesus Christ and through his atoning sacrifice, the sting of death may be lessened.  Know this; all things that seem bitter and heart-wrenching will be for our experience and for our eventual good.  It's all in our attitude.

I'm aware that my words will not act as a Balm of Gilead for those who currently suffer, but perhaps planting seeds now could eventually sprout and flourish into blossoms of joy and comfort; until then, I'll continue to pray for you who suffer from great loss. God bless you.      

The Real Meaning of the Separation of Church and State

Ezra Taft Benson

I support the doctrine of separation of church and state as traditionally interpreted to prohibit the establishment of an official national religion. But I am opposed to the doctrine of separation of church and state as currently interpreted to divorce government from any formal recognition of God. The current trend strikes a potentially fatal blow at the concept of the divine origin of our rights, and unlocks the door for an easy entry of future tyranny. If Americans should ever come to believe that their rights and freedoms are instituted among men by politicians and bureaucrats, then they will no longer carry the proud inheritance of their forefathers, but will grovel before their masters seeking favors and dispensations - a throwback to the Feudal System of the Dark Ages. We must ever keep in mind the inspired words of Thomas Jefferson, as found in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

The Most Important Function of Government

It is generally agreed that the most important single function of government is to secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens. But, what are those rights? And what is their source? Until these questions are answered there is little likelihood that we can correctly determine how government can best secure them. Thomas Paine, back in the days of the American Revolution, explained that:

"Rights are not gifts from one man to another, nor from one class of men to another... It is impossible to discover any origin of rights otherwise than in the origin of man; it consequently follows that rights appertain to man in right of his existence, and must therefore be equal to every man." 

The great Thomas Jefferson asked: "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?" 

Starting at the foundation of the pyramid, let us first consider the origin of those freedoms we have come to know are human rights. There are only two possible sources. Rights are either God-given as part of the Divine Plan, or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. Reason, necessity, tradition and religious convictions all lead me to accept the divine origin of these rights. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government. I, for one, shall never accept that premise. As the French political economist, Frederick Bastiat, phrased it so succinctly, "Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place." 

The Correct Role of Government

Ezra Taft Benson

I should like to outline in clear, concise, and straight-forward terms the political principles to which I subscribe. These are the guidelines which determine, now and in the future, my attitudes and actions toward all domestic proposals and projects of government. These are the principles which, in my opinion, proclaim the proper role of government in the domestic affairs of the nation.

"[I] believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that He holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society."

"[I] believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life..."

"[I] believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, which protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience." 

The Proper Role of Government: Part 1

The Proper Role of Government was written by the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson in 1968.  Secretary Benson serve in the Eisenhower Administration and in his personal life, was a great religious leader.  

The Proper Role of Government

Men in the public spotlight constantly are asked to express an opinion on a myriad of government proposals and projects. "What do you think of TVA[1]?" "What is your opinion of Medicare?" How do you feel about Urban Renewal?" The list is endless. All too often, answers to these questions seem to be based, not upon any solid principle, but upon the popularity of the specific government program in question. Seldom are men willing to oppose a popular program if they, themselves, wish to be popular - especially if they seek public office.

Government Should Be Based Upon Sound Principles

Such an approach to vital political questions of the day can only lead to public confusion and legislative chaos. Decisions of this nature should be based upon and measured against certain basic principles regarding the proper role of government. If principles are correct, then they can be applied to any specific proposal with confidence.

"Are there not, in reality, underlying, universal principles with reference to which all issues must be resolved whether the society be simple or complex in its mechanical organization? It seems to me we could relieve ourselves of most of the bewilderment which so unsettles and distracts us by subjecting each situation to the simple test of right and wrong. Right and wrong as moral principles do not change. They are applicable and reliable determinants whether the situations with which we deal are simple or complicated. There is always a right and wrong to every question which requires our solution." 

Unlike the political opportunist, the true statesman values principle above popularity, and works to create popularity for those political principles which are wise and just.

The USSDI has changed the "Comment" setting to allow anyone who wishes to comment may do so freely.  We simply ask that you use no profanity so that we engage in a civil and respectful dialog. 

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[1] (The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression)

Love Thy Mother and Thy Father, that Thy days may be Long.

This is the final installment of "A House of Order."  Beginning Monday, May 13th, the new theme will be, "The Proper Role of Government," I would invite all to follow this discourse and share with your friends, families and neighbors.  

With Mother's Day tomorrow and Father's Day just a month away, I though I'd address the separate, distinct and sacred roles of parentage by sharing the following thought.

Each and every one of us are spirit sons and daughters of heavenly parents.  Our spirits are eagerly awaiting the call to occupy a physical and mortal body and to be born of earthly parents.  However, upon birth, our remembrance of our pre-mortal existence is wiped clear that we might walk in faith, with hope and with a charitable spirit.  Knowing this to be truth, I have written this declaration:

"I am a child of God with earthly parents: my mommy is my teacher; she teaches me to walk in the light of God's love, and she teaches me to love all of God's creation.  My daddy is my example; he shows me how to walk i the light of God's love, and he shows me how to love all of God's creation by the way he loves my mommy.  Please don't desecrate this perfect formula, for I hope to become the best me I could be." 

Restoring America

The United States Security Defense Initiative is an all-encompassing organization designed to empower the individual and strengthen the family through knowledge passed from one person to the next, but for this to happen, we need your help.  We are looking for an army of people who want, or need, to make a few extra dollars by selling our survival gear, food storage, personal security and self-defense products; while at the same time spreading a message of responsibility, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, a love of God, fellow man and country.  The USSDI is committed and dedicated to defending our Rights and Liberties afforded us in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution and to declare that these, the United States of America are and shall always remain, “One Nation under God.”  If you feel the same as we do, and want to do all you can to restore America and the Constitution, go to www.ussdi.org now and become a member.  You will shortly receive your member number and will receive regular emails outlining our missions.  If you wish to become a Client Services Representative, click on the Business Opportunity tab and apply today.

Thank you for your support and may God bless America.

The Wisdom of Job

We are all well aware of the trials and  tribulations Job experienced in his lifetime; yet through it all, he focused on the mission of the Savior that was yet to come.  Job knew what Jesus Christ would have to endure to redeem the world, atone for our sins and overcome the grave that we all might have eternal life.  Job had an eternal perspective on life and understood that his adversity would not come close to that of the Lord's and may have asked himself, "The Son of Man shall descend below all things and shall have his enemies prowl around him as ravenous wolves who seek the blood of the Lamb; Am I greater than he?"

Job portrayed an exemplary attitude that we should all strive to possess.  When we refer to someone who has the patience of Job, perhaps that is our meaning.  In the 19th Chapter of Job, verses 25 and 26, Job testifies of his Lord, "For I knoweth that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."

May we all have the faith, perseverance and patience of Job to see the "big picture," and not trifle with minor adversities.

The Tormented Soul

When you ask a young man or woman who are in the process of making a career choice, most, if not all, will say they want to make a difference in people’s lives.  They have aspirations of living their version of the “American Dream,” and the prospects of their future are filled with prosperity and good fortune.  Yet, all too often, joyful dreams are dashes by the harsh realities of life, hope is lost and depression is sure to follow.  These are the times when the hopeless make life altering choices that effect, not just themselves, but of those loved ones who surround them.  Addictions find their way in to the unprotected soul which began as a simple diversion from the intolerable mundane labors of merely existing. 

Now, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this.  You might be asking, “What words of wisdom will spew from his finely-tuned fingertips today?”  Well, sorry to disappoint you, I've got nothing of the kind to share...except this.  Life sucks; there, I’ve said it; now get over it.  When you were born into this life, it was with just one promise; you’re going to leave this life someday.  But I will give you this...you don’t ever have to live it alone.  When you hit that pivotal point when life smacks you between the eyeballs, you can either choose to destroy yourself or you can turn to God.  I have close friends and relatives who have walked the path of destruction and others who have walked the paths of righteousness...I’ll let you take a wild guess as to which are happier today.

Saving America

I believe in God, I believe His commandments are for the betterment of mankind and by following them; mankind grows closer to God and becomes more like Him.  Many say that living the commandments of God restricts their freedoms, those that say that are ignorant and have never truly felt the Holy Spirit in their lives.  I testify to you, in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ, that following the word of God not only releases us from the constraints of the flesh, but delivers peace, true happiness and real joy. 

This blog is my personal ministry to the world.  I feel that not many, if any at all read my blog, but I feel I am on fire sometimes as I attempt to put on paper what is going through my mind,  Oft times I feel the Spirit directing my words as if He himself had his hands on the keyboard.  I feel blessed when I can be an instrument in His hands. 

I also testify to you that God lives, and Jesus is the Christ.  I stand as a witness of their divinity and of their existence.  I know they exercised the powers of divine intervention in the organization of this nation, the United States of America.  I know we, as Americans have a Manifest Destiny to be the example to the world of a government that could be of the people, by the people and for the people. 

Dear brothers and sisters, I fear with every fiber of my being that less and less are engaging in righteous endeavors and are seeking gratifications of the flesh.  Daily, we hear of new laws being proposed that would drive the populace further from God and his word.  If we don’t stop it NOW, the snowflake will become an avalanche that will become too formidable to defeat.  Those representing us in government have lost sight in the powers of God and are reveling in the powers they suppose they have.  Stand as a warrior for freedom in the army of God against those who would repress and oppress the word and commandments of God.  www.ussdi.org

God bless you and this nation.