Reaping What We Sow - A Message On Liberty

The Perfect Law of Liberty President Marion G.

Romney Second Counselor in the First PresidencyEnsign,

Nov. 1981, pp. 43-45

(These are excerpts from this talk. The talk in its entirety can be found online.)

As a youth, I was stirred by Patrick Henry’s famousbattle cry, “Give me liberty or give me death!”

The meaning of the word liberty is difficult tocircumscribe. Abraham Lincoln was of the opinion that“the world has never had a good definition of [the term].We all declare for liberty,” he said; “but in using the sameword we do not mean the same thing. With some, theword liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleaseswith himself and the product of his labor; while withothers [liberty] may mean for some men to do as theyplease with other men and the product of other men’slabor.”While perhaps it is seldom, if ever, contended thateither political independence or economic freedom alonebrings perfect liberty, it is not, however, uncommon forfree agency to be considered as synonymous with freedom of the soul. And it is true that the God-given right to choose one’s course of action is an indispensableprerequisite to such freedom. Without it we can scarcelyenjoy any type of liberty—political, economic, orpersonal. It is one of our greatest heritages. For it we aredeeply indebted to our Father in Heaven, to the FoundingFathers, and to the pioneers. God gave it to man in theGarden of Eden. (See Moses 7:32.) The FoundingFathers, under the Lord’s inspiration, wrote a guaranteeof it into the fundamental law of the land. And thepioneers, led by the inspiration of heaven, gave their all toperpetuate it. Surely we ought always to be alert in itsdefense and willing, if necessary, to give our lives for itspreservation.Free agency, however, precious as it is, is not of itselfthe perfect liberty we seek, nor does it necessarily leadthereto. As a matter of fact, through the exercise of theiragency more people have come to political, economic, and personal bondage than to liberty.The Nephites, for example, at one time, by theexercise of their agency, brought themselves to such astate of affairs that their only course led to politicalbondage. This they did [page 44] while living under agovernment providing for the freest exercise of agency.“Their laws and their governments,” says the record,“were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good.” Therefore, “they could not be governed by the lawnor justice, save it were to their destruction.” (Hel. 5:2–3.)Under these circumstances, they chose as rulers wickedmen, who would certainly destroy their political liberties, to replace righteous men who had in the past protectedand preserved those liberties and would have continued todo so in the future.The freewill choosing of a king by the Jaredites leddirectly to their captivity. (See Ether 6:21–7:5.)This sequence was repeated in the days of Israel. Thepeople—rejecting government by judges, which God hadestablished—clamored for Samuel to give them a king.Notwithstanding Samuel’s warning that a king wouldmake servants of their children, lay heavy taxes andservices upon their backs, and send them to war, “thepeople refused to obey the voice of Samuel, [saying,]Nay; but we will have a king over us;“That we also may be like all the nations.” (1 Sam.8:19–20.)Samuel therefore anointed Saul to be their king. Indue time, just as Samuel had predicted, heavy burdenswere laid upon them, their sons and daughters were madeservants of the king, and war came. The nation wasdivided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, both ofwhich were, in their turn, carried away into captivity. Notonly did they lose their political freedom, but their verypolitical existence as nations was terminated.We have a classic example of the loss of economicfreedom by the [page 45] misuse of free agency in thebook of Genesis. The Egyptians, instead of exercisingtheir agency to provide for themselves against a day ofneed, depended upon the government. As a result, whenthe famine came they were forced to purchase food fromthe government. First they used their money. When thatwas gone, they gave their livestock, then their lands; andfinally they were compelled to sell themselves intoslavery, that they might eat. (See Gen. 41:54–56; Gen.47:13–26.)We ourselves have gone a long way down this roadduring the last century. My counsel is that we beware ofthe doctrine which encourages us to seekgovernment-supported security rather than to put faith in our own industry.That God may attend and prosper each of us on ourway to perfect liberty, I humbly pray in the name of JesusChrist, amen.

Note:

I think it is critically important that we understand what is behind the message of "change" that we keep hearing today:Karl Marx, the Father of Communism said:"My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism." Karl Marx, along with Friedrich Engels, was the author of theCommunist Manifesto.