Stand Fast in Liberty

There is a peculiar phrase that is used in the Book of Mormon on several occasions:

• Mosiah 23:13 "And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of these bonds; yea, even out of the hands of king Noah and his people, and also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that ye trust no man to be a king over you." —Alma



• Alma 58:40 "But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come." —Helaman



• Alma 61:9 "And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free."
  • • •
  Alma 61:21 "See that ye strengthen Lehi and Teancum in the Lord; tell them to fear not, for God will deliver them, yea, and also all those who stand fast in that liberty wherewith God hath made them free. And now I close mine epistle to my beloved brother, Moroni." — Pahoran

What does it mean to "stand fast in liberty?"

I believe this means that we need to not only respect, honor, and value the blessings of liberty, but also promote freedom and fight tyranny. We must always be vigilant against the subtle and blatant attacks against our freedom. Our great country is moving down an extremely dangerous path, and there are many powerful people who will push the nation down that path even faster if we do not band together and push back.

How serious is this situation?

"Let us never forget that today we are in the biggest battle ever staged. Our opponent is socialism-the Welfare State-and the penalty of failure is enslavement. We must keep keep strong spiritually, morally and economically as individuals, families, communities and as a nation. Only in this course is safety." -Elder Ezra Taft Benson February 28, 1962

"I have been on both sides of the Iron Curtain several times. I have talked to these godless leaders face to face. I say to you with all the sincerity of my soul that since 1933 this godless counterfeit to the gospel has made tremendous progress towards its objective of world domination, for over one-third of the human family are now under totalitarian subjugation. Today we are in a battle for the bodies and souls of men. It is a battle between two opposite systems: freedom and slavery, Christ and anti-Christ." —Elder Ezra Taft Benson April 12, 1977

I am a firm believer that God made man to be free and that the devil and his angels seek to enslave mankind. I have seen first hand the ill effects of welfare misused. The Lord has commanded us to care for the poor among us, and the counterfeit that satan has set up to deceive and snare mankind is the government run Welfare State. The purportedly benevolent purposes for which the statist seeks his power and control are a diabolical ruse.

Man is to be free, he is to have liberty, and he is meant to use his agency to determine his own destiny. The soul of man is crippled and weakened when he becomes ensnared by the dole. The war on poverty can only be won by instilling the laws of the celestial kingdom, and when man rejects that law he is left to himself and his puny efforts only worsen and deepen the problem.

May God bless America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. And may we as Americans seek to be a righteous example of light and truth to our fellow man throughout the world so that in due time they might also enjoy the blessings of liberty and "stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free."

To Thine Own Self Be True

"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."

—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act I, scene iii, lines 7880.

"He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself..."

—C.S. Lewis

"Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s."

—Matt. 22:21—See Also: Mark 12:17 & Luke 20:25

Where Allegiance Lies
First, we are loyal to God
Second, we are loyal to truth
Third, we are loyal to principle
Fourth, we are loyal to self

If we follow this formula, we will always seek the benefit of mankind and we will be in a position to help mankind.

“Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”

—Joseph Smith to the Twelve, Dec. 15, 1840, Nauvoo, Illinois

"We are truly happy only when we are engaged in unselfish service. Let us use the freedom which comes from self-reliance in giving and serving.

"Can we see how critical self-reliance becomes when looked upon as the prerequisite to service, when we also know service is what Godhood is all about? Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there?

• Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves.
• Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse.
• Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved.
• Teaching cannot come from the unlearned.
• And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.

There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are sanctified. The poor, released from the bondage and limitations of poverty, are enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. The rich, by imparting of their surplus, participate in the eternal principle of giving. Once a person has been made whole or self-reliant, he reaches out to aid others, and the cycle repeats itself.

"We are all self-reliant in some areas and dependent in others. Therefore, each of us should strive to help others in areas where we have strengths. At the same time, pride should not prevent us from graciously accepting the helping hand of another when we have a real need. To do so denies another person the opportunity to participate in a sanctifying experience."

—Marion G. Romney - The Celestial Nature of Self-reliance

In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children

And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land— Alma 46:12-13

Purpose Statement

To Discuss:

1. The divine origins of the Constitution and the importance of Constitutional principles
2. The prophecies about America - her destiny and history as the Promised Land
3. Teachings from Latter-day prophets about how we should act as citizens of our nation
4. Gospel principles that apply to forming opinions about government and policies