• President N. Eldon Tanner, from the Book “Priesthood” printed in 1981, “…as Brigham Young explained, that the priesthood is the law by which the worlds are, were, and will be brought into existence and peopled. It gives them their revolutions, their days, weeks, months, years, and seasons. He further declared the priesthood to be “a perfect system of government, of laws and ordinances, by which we can be prepared to pass from one gate to another, and from one sentinel to another, until we go into the presence of our Father and God.” (Journal of Discourses 1: 139)
  • “To begin with, there is nothing wrong with aspiring to greatness, aspiring to spirituality, aspiring to be the best we can be. There is surely no sin in seeking to be better, sharper, more proficient, more intelligent, more effective. In fact, we really ought to work smarter in the Church and kingdom of God. And, second, there is nothing wrong with receiving the honors of men. Many of our great Church leaders of the past have been acknowledged nationally and internationally for their gifts, talents, and contributions. Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was appointed United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Eisenhower administration from 1952 to 1960. Elder Richard L. Evans of the Quorum of the Twelve served as president of Rotary International. President Thomas S. Monson has received some of the highest recognitions offered by Boy Scouts of America for a life of dedication to this marvelous organization. And the same is true for many other members of the church. Thousands of our youth serve as school or class officers; many of our women have been recognized as Mothers of the Year; and large numbers of our academic, political, military, and industrial leaders have become know and sought after, around the world, for their expertise. This is how it should be: the disciples of Christ, the Saints of the Most High, are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, to make a difference because they are different, to allow their influence to be felt -16; )” (Men of Influence, 27)
  • “In July 2010, I was trying to determine if I should run for City Council for the City of Yucaipa. I decided that I would make a decision over the July 4th weekend. My wife, Paige, knew I was thinking about it and never felt very good about me doing it. Despite her reservations, I continued the decision-making process. I wrote out the pros and cons of the decision, but even before doing it, I had my answer. I emailed my Dad to let him know about my dilemma and he wrote back “Make sure Paige supports you.”. I emailed my Mission President Albert F. Farnsworth and he emailed me back, “Remember what David O. McKay said, “On the Day of Judgment, the first question the Lord is going to ask us is, “How did we treat our wife?”. I also talked to my Stake President about it and he stated, “If your wife is not on board, do not do it.” After receiving my answer, I called my Dad to let him know and he was very supportive, as well as my Mom. I also called my Mission President and he went on to say, “Politics are controlled by Lucifer. Your wife was very inspired by her feelings. You should thank her. Elder Brown, you would be better served magnifying your calling and focusing on your local ward members than trying to sway the Liberals to change, because they will not. Focusing on your Priesthood is what you should do because, during the Millennium, the Priesthood organization will be our government anyway.” Clinton Brown
  • In a letter to his wife from Paris, John Adams observed: “I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, and naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 126
  • “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. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” James Madison, The Federalist Papers #51
  • “A government will never be better than what is expected or demanded of it by the people. The Founders certainly understood that in order for the government they were forming to be successful, a moral and virtuous people would be required. A sample of their thoughts on the subject includes:
    • John Adams: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other..”
    • James Madison: “Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks- no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea.”
    • Benjamin Franklin: “Only virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
    • George Washington, in his farewell address to the nation, stated: “of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…It is substantially true that virtue or morality is necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.” “In sum, a nation cannot live in freedom or liberty unless it is populated by a moral and virtuous people.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 286
  • “There will be two great political parties in this country. One will be called the Republican, and the other the Democrat party. These two parties will go to war and out of these two parties will spring another party which will be the Independent American Party. The United States will spend her strength and means warring in foreign lands until other nations will say, ‘Let’s divide up the lands of the United States.’ Then the people of the U.S. will unite and swear by the blood of their forefathers that the land shall not be divided. Then the country will go to war. They will fight until one-half of the U.S. army will give up, and the rest will continue to struggle. They will keep on until they are very ragged and discouraged, and almost ready to give up—when the boys from the mountains will rush forth in time to save the American Army from defeat and ruin. And they will say, ‘Brethren, we are glad you have come; give us men, henceforth, who can talk with God.’ Then you will have friends; but you will save the country when its liberty hangs by a hair, as it were.” Joseph Smith, Jr.
  • “Only virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt they have more need of masters.” Benjamin Franklin
  • “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams
  • “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” Samuel Adams
  • “Suppose a nation in some distant region, should take the BIBLE for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. Every member would be obliged in conscience to temperance and frugality and industry, to justice and kindness and charity towards his fellow men, and to piety and love, and reverence towards Almighty God. In this commonwealth, no man would impair his health by gluttony, drunkenness, or lust- no man would sacrifice his most precious time to cards, or any other trifling and mean amusement- no man would steal or lie or in any way defraud his neighbor but would live in peace and goodwill with all men- no mand would blaspheme his Maker or profane his worship, but a rational and manly, a sincerely and unaffected piety and devotion, would reign in all hearts….What a paradise this would be.” Diary and Autobiography of John Adams (2nd President of U.S.), Val III, page 9.
  • “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men.” (Benjamin Franklin, Miracle at Philadelphia, 126)
  • “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?” (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1987, 10-11)
  • “I’d rather have Ten Commandments than ten thousand federal regulations.” (Neal A. Maxwell, Searching for God in America, 133)
  • “Our future can be imperiled by freedom left uncontrolled.” (Gerald E. Melchin, Ensign, May 1994, 82)
  • Elder Spencer W. Kimball had an experience and spoke of his “adventure” with the Book of Mormon: “May I tell you of a great adventure? As I traveled to a weekend assignment, I took with me an unusual book which was my constant companion. I could lay it down only to sleep, eat, and change trains. It fascinated me, captivated me, and held me spellbound with its irresistible charm and engaging interest. I have read it many times. “As I finished it, I closed the book and sat back, absorbed as I relived its contents. Its pages held me, bound me, and my eyes were riveted to them. I knew the book was factual, but as has been said, ‘Truth is stranger than fiction.’ . . . “I found in its life at its best and at its worst, in everchanging patterns. I hardly recovered from one great crisis until another engulfed me. . . . “This dramatic story is one of the greatest ever played by man. . . .“Its story has a vital message to all people. . . .“Archaeologists may be excited as they read of ruins of ancient cities, highways, and buildings. . . .“Journalists will find in this book crisis after crisis, presenting rich material for limitless climactic stories. . . .“This unparalleled book should intrigue navigators. . . .“The student of economics will find in this unusual book the disintegration of nations through pride, soft living, and luxuries, terminating finally in hunger and fetters. . . . “The astronomer and geologist here may see signs in the heavens and new stars come into focus, three days without sun . . . nights without darkness . . . and vapor of darkness so impenetrable that no glimmer, nor candles, nor torches, nor fire could give any light. . . .“Engineers will learn . . . that . . . centuries ago, men erected buildings, temples, and highways with cement. . . .“The psychologists may find studies in human behavior and the workings of the human mind and the rationalizing processes where men convince themselves that ‘good is bad, and that bad is good.’ . . . “The educator will find treasures of literature and poetry. . . .“This comprehensive book should be studied by politicians, government leaders, kings, presidents, and premiers to see the rise and fall of empires, and the difference between statesmanship and demagoguery. . . .“Scientists will read of unusual instruments never patented or remade or duplicated, of elements which, without recharging, illuminate dark spaces indefinitely. . . .“Military men may learn much in strategy, intrigue, in movements, in morale. . . .“But after all, it is not the book’s dramatic crises, its history, its narrative that are so important, but its power to transform men into Christlike beings worthy of exaltation. “It is the word of God. It is a powerful second witness of Christ. And, certainly, all true believers who love the Redeemer will welcome additional evidence of his divinity. . . .“My beloved friends, I give to you the Book of Mormon. May you read it prayerfully, study it carefully, and receive for yourselves the testimony of its divinity” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1963, pp. 62–65, 67–68).
  • “The master nodded. “To hear the unheard,” he said, “is a necessary discipline to be a good ruler. For only when a ruler has learned to listen closely to the people’s hearts, hearing their feelings uncommunicated, pains unexpressed, and complaints not spoken of, can he hope to inspire confidence in the people, understand when something is wrong, and meet the true needs of his citizens.”” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 1359-62
  • “The government will take from the ‘haves’ and give to the ‘have nots.’ Both have lost their freedom. Those who ‘have,’ lost their freedom to give voluntarily of their own free will and in the way they desire. Those who ‘have not lost their freedom because they did not earn what they received. They got ‘something for nothing,’ and they will neither appreciate the gift nor the giver of the gift.” Howard W. Hunter, former President and Prophet of the LDS Church.
  • “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”– Thomas Jefferson
  • “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”– Thomas Jefferson
  • “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”– Thomas Jefferson
  • “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”– Thomas Jefferson
  • “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”– Thomas Jefferson
  • “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” — Winston Churchill
  • “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” — George Bernard Shaw
  • “Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.” — Frederic Bastiat, French economist (1801-1850)
  • “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidizes it.” — Ronald Reagan (1986)
  • “If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free!” — P. J. O’Rourke
  • “In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.” –Voltaire (1764)
  • “No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.”– Mark Twain (1866)
  • “The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.” — Ronald Reagan
  • “A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.” — Thomas Jefferson
  • “You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.”
  • “ What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.”
  • “The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.”
  • “You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”
  • “When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work, because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation!”
  • “One of the great lessons of the 19th and 20th centuries was the recognition of this big space that exists between what is the public sector (government) and what is the private sector (business) and led to the development of our nonprofit sector. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity. It is essential to the healthy balance of society. And, if it withers, the quality of society degrades in a democracy…We don’t yet have a rational way of funding this vitally important sector of society. That is the challenge that philanthropy needs to face up to in the United States and globally in the 21st century.”  —Richard Rockefeller, Chairman, Rockefeller Brothers Fundat the Opening Session of the Value of Family Philanthropy National Symposium
  • “The government will take from the ‘haves’ and give to the ‘have nots.’  Both have lost their freedom. Those who ‘have,’ lost their freedom to give voluntarily of their own free will and in the way they desire.  Those who ‘have not lost their freedom because they did not earn what they received. They got ‘something for nothing,’ and they will neither appreciate the gift nor the giver of the gift.”  Howard W. Hunter, former President and Prophet of the LDS Church.
  •  “ What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.”
  • “The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.” Mark Twain
  • “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessing. That inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churchill
  • “Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.
    • At 5, began studying under his cousin’s tutor.
    • At 9, studied Latin, Greek, and French.
    • At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
    • At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. Also could write in Greek with one hand while writing the same in Latin with the other.
    • At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
    • At 23, started his own law practice.
    • At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
    • At 31, wrote the widely circulated “Summary View of the Rights of British America?”  And retired from his law practice.
    • At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
    • At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.
    • At 33, took three years to revise Virginia’s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
    • At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
    • At 40, served in Congress for two years.
    • At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
    • At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
    • At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
    • At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
    • At 57, was elected the third president of the United States.
    • At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation’s size.
    • At 61, was elected to a second term as President. 
    • At 65, retired to Monticello.
    • At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
    • At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
    • At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams.

    Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government.  He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws, and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff.  A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

    John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time.  He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

  • “Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.” Frederic Bastiat, French economist (1801-1850)
  • “Nothing is more surprising to those who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye than the ease with which the many are governed by the few.” David Hume, Birth: May 7, 1711- Death: August 25, 1776
  • “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes,  a principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.” Thomas Jefferson
  •  “Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.” James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
  • “Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.” Douglas Case (Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University.)
  •  “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian
  • “In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.” Voltaire (1764)
  • “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Aesop
  • “One day the Savior will come again. It is His right to rule and to reign as the King of kings and as our great High Priest. Then the scepter of government and the power of the priesthood will be combined into one.” Religion and Government, By Elder Wilford W. Andersen Of the Seventy
  • “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and it moral code that glorifies it” – Frederic Bastiat
  • “Societies depend in large part upon religion and churches to establish moral order. Government can never build enough jails to house the criminals produced by a society lacking in morality, character, and faith. These attributes are better encouraged by religious observance than by legislative decree or police force. It is impossible for government to control the attitudes, desires, and hopes that spring from the human heart. And yet these are the seeds that grow into the conduct government must regulate.” Religion and Government, Elder Wilford W. Andersen Of the Seventy
  • “While governments enforce the law written on the books, religion teaches and encourages adherence to the law written in the heart. Those who abide the latter will seldom if ever violate the former. As we read in the Doctrine and Covenants, “He that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land” (58:21).” Religion and Government, Elder Wilford W. Andersen Of the Seventy
  • “The great significance of priesthood authority is that it authorizes its holder to act for God in ways necessary to the government of his kingdom, the performance of his ordinances, and the saving of his children. Priesthood holders act as authorized representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ in functions that will be recognized and have effect in the lives of the children of God in time and throughout all eternity.” Richard E. Turley, Jr., In the Hands of the Lord: The Life of Dallin H.