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Show 1 . ' w Church Edition v 1 THE DESERETNEWS, SATURDAY. 3F OCTOBER 17. 1942 believes in the separation of sovereign power into the three great divisions: the Legislative, the Judicial, the Exec-utive. I want to know if he believes in the e of these, the one from the other. When I find out these things then I know who it is who sjiould receive my support, and care not what his party tag is, be- cause, brethren, If we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the risrht to worship as we are worshipping here today, we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution. There is no other way in which we can secure these guarantees. You may look at the systems all over the world where the principles of our Constitution are not controlling and in force, and you will . mutual-independenc- The-Constitutio- MOW, I would like to say something else, brethren, again by way of counsel. 1 shall be accused, when I do, of talking politics, and perhaps on this point I may say I do not read anonymous letters. When they come in I just throw them into the wastebasket I only read enoiigh of the signed scurrilous letters that are sent to know that they are scurrilous and then they foHow along. So it is useless for any- one to try to take out any personal feeling in that w ay. Yu and I have heard all of our lives that the time may come when the Constitution- - may hang - by "tr thread. I do not know whether it is a thread or a small rope by which it now hangs, but I do know that whether it shall live or die is now in the balance. I have said to you before, brethren, th5t to me the Constitution is a part of my religion. In its place it is just as much a part of my religion as any other part. It is a' part of my religion because it is one of those institutions which God has set up for His own purposes, and, as one of the brethern said today, set up so that this Church might be established, because under no other government in the world could the Church have been established as it has been established under this Government. I think I would be safe in saying that my fellowship with you in the Church depends upon whether or not I accept the .revelations and the principles which God has revealed. If I am not willing to do that, then I am not entitled to fellowship Anyone else who fails to accept the revelations and the principles which God has revealed stands in precisely the same situa- ' ica Act, in its fundamental principles, is based upon our Constitution, and you know that in the courts of Canada, the reports of our Supreme Court, and our Federal courts generally, are just as persuasive as the decisions of the courts of England, and even more so, where questions of con- -- They have different standards and different canons of interpretation, for their fundamental system is the civil law, while ours is the common law. But the great essentials of that document, the Constitution of the United States, which God Himself inspired, is the law of Zion, the Americas. stitutional law and constitutional inSo, brethren, I wish you to unterpretation are involved. derstand that when we begin to tamYou brethren also know that from per with the Constitution we begin to the Rio Grande down to the Horn tamper with the law of Zion which there is no constitutional government God Himself set up, and no one may trifle with the word of God with imexcept those that are founded primarily upon our own Constitution. In punity. - Now, I am not Mexico the revolutionary party which caring today, fpr more than a century and a quarter myself, anything at all about a political party tag. So far as I am concernago rebelled against the King of Spain ala and established republic, copied ed, I want to know what the man stands for. I want to know if'hd bemost verbatim, and practically over lieves in the he benight, our Constitution and made it lieves in its Constitution; if if he free institutions; their own. Neither Mexico nor the believes in its liberties, its freedom. I others to the South interpret their" want to know "If he believes- in the Constitutions as we interpret ours. Bill of Rights. I want to know if he -- - find there dictatorship, tyranny, oppression, and,, in the last analysis, slavery. I have said enough. I believe you understand what I have said. Today, our duty transcends party allegiance; our duty today Is allegiance to the Constitution as it was given to us by the Lord. Every Federal officer takes on oath to support that Constitution so given. The difference between us and some of those Jo the South of us is this: down there, their fealty runs to individuals; here, our fealty and our allegiance run to the Constitution and to the principles which it embodies, and not to individuals. God give us wisdom and enable us in these times of trouble and strife -clearly to see our way, that we may be instrumental in sustaining the Constitution, in upholding our free institutions, our civil rights, our freedom of speech, of press, of religion, and of conscience. If we shall stand together, we shall save the Constitution, just as lias been foreseen, and if we do not stand together, we cannot perform this great task. God grant that we may be true, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Samaritan CERTAIN lawyer came to Jesus at one time and asked, who is my neighbor?" Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan and then asked the lawyer, Which, the Samaritan, the Priest or the Levite, was the tion In the 101st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which contains a revelation received ,by the Prophet in 1833, when the persecution in Missouri was at its highest, the Lord told the brethren that they should appeal for help. Then He added these verses, which Ij, want to' read to you: According to the laws and constitution of tie people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in. the day of judgment Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the ding of blood. (D. & C. 101:77-80I suppose you brethren will all know, but I will recall It to your attention, that the Constitution of the United States is the basic law for all of the Americas, or Zion, as it has been defined by the Lord. , You brethren from Canada know that your great British North Amer -I neighbor? The lawyer would have excluded all Samaritans and Gentiles from being "neighbors, but answered, He that showed mercy unto him that was "jj hurt. ll 'frc- 1 of ). I t H said Jesus, "and do thou likeIt was the despised Samaritan who had shown mercy to the wounded traveler, not the self righteous priest, nor his assistant, the Levite, though they were his own countrymen. It was the hated Samaritan who to the rescue when delay would have meant death to the traveler. The difference between the Sa- t maritan and the others was that he had a compassionate heart while they were unloving and selfish. Again, the fact that the merciful one was a Samaritan showed that although he was despised by the Jews, he could excel in good deeds. To a Jew, only Jews were neighbors. We are not justified in saying that the priest, the Levite, or the! Samaritan represented their respective type or class. We are sure there kre many kind and charitable Jews, and many heartless Samaritans. , The parable shows that we become neighbor to any person with whom we shar, op to whom we show chanty and kindness. Any person In need is our neighbor. He who helps or In any, way ministers to that need becomes a neighbor. CL V. Hansen. Go, wise. Sh -- Top; first page of the Constitution; center , Independence Hall, Philadelphia; where it was signed; below, signatures of the me -- |