“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And 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? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States, Principal Author of the Declaration of Independence
“Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of government power, not the increase of it.”
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, from a speech in New York City, September 9, 1912
The Declaration of Independence “will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore.”
John Adams, 2nd President of the United States.
“We are responsible to use our agency in a world of choices. It will not do to pretend that our agency has been taken away when we are not free to exercise it without unwelcome consequences.”
Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, quoted in “Moral Agency,” Ensign, Jun 2009, 46-53.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published an excellent article entitled Moral Agency in the June issue of the Ensign magazine. A few key excerpts:
When we use the term moral agency, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices. …
What, then, are the elements of moral agency? To me there are three.
- There must be alternatives among which to choose.
- For us to have agency, we must not only have alternatives, but we must also know what they are.
- The next element of agency is the freedom to make choices. This freedom to act for ourselves in choosing among alternatives is often referred to in the scriptures as agency itself. …
Freedom of choice is the freedom to obey or disobey existing laws-not the freedom to alter their consequences. …
Remember that with His gift of moral agency, our Heavenly Father has graciously provided us help to exercise that agency in a way that will yield precious, positive fruit in our life here and hereafter.
In our modern world where philosophies of moral relativism is rampant, it is comforting to read clarifying words from an apostle of Christ that emphasize both the grandeur of moral agency and our individual responsibility to wisely act according to divine law within that God-given gift.
From a devotional address delivered January 31, 2006, at Brigham Young University.
“We have been recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.”
Abraham Lincoln: From a proclamation issued March 30, 1863, for a national day of fasting and prayer to be observed on April 30, 1863, as quoted in American Quotations, p. 68.
“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invincible hand, which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”
George Washington, First Inaugural Address
“As far as constitutional liberty is concerned, I will say, the God of heaven has raised up our nation, as foretold by his prophets generations ago. He inspired Columbus, and moved upon him to cross the ocean in search of this continent. … It is also well known how our forefathers found a home and an asylum in this land from the hand of persecution, and how they planted here the tree of liberty and jealously guarded it from the attempt of the mother country to uproot and destroy it. The hand of God was in this; and it is through the intervention of his providence that we enjoy today the freest and most independent government the world ever saw.â€
Wilford Woodruff, From The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1946, 51:801, pp. 188-89.
“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.
I passionately and resolutely love the concept of personal freedom. One key facet of a personal mission statement I penned in the fall of 1995 is “Enhance personal freedom through global electronic communications.” This blog is a an effort to fulfill at least a part of that mission.
I believe that personal freedom is a gift from God, to be treasured, protected and celebrated. Freedom to act for ones self is at the center of the purpose of our purpose in mortal life. The freedom to think, speak, worship, travel and work to support my family is priceless to me.
Living in the United States of America is a wonderful blessing. I believe the constitution of the United States established by our founding fathers under the inspiration of God. Its principles are just as pertinent today as they were over 200 years ago when this document was first written to lay the foundation for our great nation.
I fear that powerful forces in the world more interested in power, fame and personal gain than personal liberty are seeking to take away the freedoms we enjoy. We must be watchful and diligent in defending the freedoms we enjoy.
Mesa, Arizona, USA