Category: America

POST 35 THE BEGINNING OF FREEDOM

7 min.

Providential Orchestration and the American Founding

The Beginning of Freedom

The Declaration of Independence did more than announce a political separation; it declared the entrance of a free people into history. Thomas Jefferson called it “an expression of the American mind,” the rare moment when centuries of moral philosophy, English constitutional tradition, Enlightenment reason, and spiritual conviction converged into a single, defiant truth: human beings are born to be free.

Many later saw Providence in that moment. Joseph Smith taught that God “raised up” wise men to found this nation, and the Founders themselves often spoke as if guided by a higher power. Washington, reflecting in 1783, marveled that America’s birth occurred not in an age of darkness but at a time when “the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined than at any former period.” He knew the Revolution was not merely a rebellion — it was a revelation.

The Declaration became a hinge in human history. For the first time, a people claimed their rights openly, appealing to both the laws of nature and the laws of God. They asserted that liberty is not granted by kings, parliaments, or empires, but endowed by the Creator and safeguarded by reason, conscience, and courage.

In that bold act, the American experiment began — a nation founded on the belief that ordinary people, guided by truth, could govern themselves. It was the beginning of freedom, not only for America, but for all who would one day look to its example and hope to claim their own.

The Articulation of Universal Rights

In 1776, the Declaration did more than sever political ties with Great Britain; it articulated a universal grammar of human freedom. Its opening lines proclaimed that every person is endowed with inherent, God‑given rights — rights older than nations, older than laws, older even than history itself. Government, the Founders insisted, exists for one sacred purpose: to secure what heaven has already bestowed.

Jefferson grounded equality not in custom or class, but in creation. By invoking “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” he anchored liberty in the very structure of reality — a truth discoverable by reason and affirmed by revelation. In doing so, he transformed political resistance into a moral revolution.

Abraham Lincoln later observed that these principles were placed in the Declaration “for future use,” a timeless safeguard against mankind’s recurring temptation to dominate and degrade. They were meant to outlive the Founders, outlast empires, and confront every generation with the same uncompromising standard of human dignity. Spoken aloud in 1776, these truths became the moral foundation upon which religious liberty and the Restoration would later rise — a divine reaffirmation that the rights of mankind are eternal, universal, and non‑negotiable.

The Formation of a Nation Grounded in Consent

The Declaration’s claims demanded an entirely new political order. The American people rejected the ancient belief that authority descends from kings, conquerors, or priestly castes. Instead, they affirmed a revolutionary truth: legitimate government rises only from the consent of the governed — from a people endowed with rights by God who lend power to government solely for their protection.

This shift overturned millennia of political tradition rooted in coercion and inherited rule. It redefined government as servant rather than master, an institution accountable to the very people it once presumed to command. Consent became the cornerstone of a political order designed not to restrain liberty, but to secure it.

This principle created the civic environment necessary for the restitution of all things. Only in a nation built on consent — where individuals could think, learn, speak, worship, and assemble without fear of state persecution or mob action — could the heavens reopen. The American Founding did not merely permit religious freedom; it prepared a world where divine truth could be sought openly, embraced freely, and proclaimed without punishment.

The Rise of a Constitutional Order Capable of Protecting Liberty

Independence alone could not preserve freedom. Universal rights, however boldly proclaimed, could not defend themselves. Consent required institutions strong enough to restrain tyranny yet limited enough to protect moral agency.

Thus continued the long labor that culminated in the Constitution — a political architecture designed to divide power, check ambition, and bind rulers and citizens alike to law. It balanced strength with restraint, stability with accountability, authority with limits. For the first time, a nation attempted to secure liberty not through the will of one, but through the disciplined structure of many.

This constitutional order created a civic environment where religious liberty and religious pluralism could flourish, scripture could be printed, missionaries could preach, converts could be made, congregations could gather, and prophets could speak without fear of state or mob reprisal. It nurtured a society where creativity, imagination, and inquiry could expand under the banner of freedom.

In this framework, the American Founding reached its full purpose: establishing a land uniquely suited for the advancement of human freedom and the unfolding truths of the Restoration — a nation where knowledge could grow, ideas could circulate, and God’s work could move forward.

A Divinely Guided Foundation

Seen through the lens of the Restoration, the American founding was not accidental. It was a divinely guided orchestration for a world in which truth could spread without coercion, scripture could be published without suppression, and prophets could speak without fear. The Revolution cleared the ground. The Constitution raised the structure. Providence guided the process.

John Adams sensed this sacred dimension. He wrote that those who love God’s work and “do what they can to preserve and improve it” will be accepted by him — a remarkable acknowledgment from a Founder who believed history itself was under divine supervision.

Nearly a century later, in 1898, President Wilford Woodruff affirmed the same heavenly influence. In General Conference, he declared that the Founders “were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find,” raised up to establish a government of liberty. He testified that the Signers of the Declaration appeared to him in the St. George Temple, requesting ordinances — a striking witness to how Latter‑day Saints understand the sacred nature of America’s destiny and the eternal significance of the Founders’ work.

To the Saints, the cause of the patriots was never merely political. It was a divinely orchestrated step in preparing the world for the expansion of freedom, for the restoration of priesthood authority, and for the preaching of the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

The laws and constitution the Founding Fathers established were to be maintained “for the rights and protection of all flesh,” grounded in the “just and holy principles” of religious freedom and independence from government, freedom of belief and expression, and equal justice under the law. Their work created a nation where human agency could flourish, conscience could awaken, and the restored truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ could shine their full light across the globe.

Jefferson’s Search for Ancient Foundations

Jefferson’s political philosophy was shaped not only by Enlightenment reason but by scripture and the long record of human history. He concluded that the most substantive principles of representative government were first practiced by ancient Israel under Moses — a people governed by law, consent, and covenant rather than by kings. In his study of Anglo‑Saxon institutions, he found striking parallels: local self‑rule, communal responsibility, and a fierce insistence on liberty. To him, these traditions were not relics but remnants of an ancient birthright.

Historian Gilbert Chinard observed that Jefferson sought “a renaissance of Anglo‑Saxon primitive institutions” in America — a reclamation of freedoms lost through “a long train of abuses.” The Founders, careful students of the Bible, saw in ancient Israel a divine pattern: a people promised freedom, peace, and prosperity if they embraced God’s law. Watching Israel scattered across the earth, they believed America might be the place where remnants would gather and where divine principles could again shape a free nation.

Their anticipation rested on God’s promise to Moses — that the blessings once offered to Israel would be extended to the remnants in the latter days. As they framed the government, many sensed that this transference could begin in their own time. They opened their hearts to the wisdom of the past, and what they discovered shaped their thinking, their institutions, and ultimately the foundational principles upon which this nation was built.

In recovering these ancient truths, the Founders did more than craft a new republic. They forged a political order capable of blessing all mankind — a nation where civil and religious liberties could flourish, conscience could awaken, and the Restoration could unfold its blessings for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition.

A Sense of Sacred Mission

Historian Clinton Rossiter described the early American sense of mission: God called forth “certain hardy souls” from privilege‑ridden nations, placed them in an environment suited for freedom, and entrusted them with the responsibility of proving that popular government could succeed. If Americans failed, they would fail not only themselves but all who longed to be free.

With the Lord’s assurance that he had “established the Constitution of this land,” the final preparations for the greatest event in modern history were nearing completion. The only things that remained were the birth of Joseph Smith Jr. and the Second Great Awakening. That which was to follow in 1820 would be the high point of the marvelous work and a wonder mentioned by Isaiah: the personal visitation of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith.

Only in a land governed by inspired principles of liberty could such an appearance — with its far‑reaching consequences — occur. Only under a constitutional order grounded in moral agency could the Restoration rise, take root, and bless all mankind. Thus, the destiny of the mighty nation foreseen in the Book of Mormon became inseparably intertwined with the higher purposes of God.

As stated above, the American experiment in freedom was far more than a political achievement. The Founders created a nation where conscience could awaken, where truth could circulate, where ideas could germinate, and where apostles and prophets could speak without chains.

In this light, the American founding becomes more than a chapter in political history. It becomes a sacred hinge in human destiny — the moment when God prepared a free people for the return of divine truth. Going forward, American contributions would bless all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples. She would become a nation with an essential role in the gathering of Israel and the preparing of the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Next Post: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

As the Founders continued shaping the moral architecture of the new nation, one final pillar of liberty emerged — a declaration not of political independence but of spiritual independence. Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom would become the soul of the First Amendment, the clearest articulation of the principle that faith must never be coerced and conscience must remain free. It stands as the capstone of the Founders’ work and the bridge between the American founding and the Restoration’s rise.

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POST 33 THE BIRTH OF A FREE PEOPLE

6 min.

Providential Orchestration and the American Founding

The Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson captured the gravity of nation‑building when he wrote that forming a government is “a work of the most interesting nature and such as every individual would wish to have his voice in.” The American Revolution was not merely a political rupture—it was a civilizational turning point. It challenged centuries of inherited hierarchy, the divine right of kings, and the belief that ordinary people were unfit to govern themselves.

Jefferson’s critique of monarchy was unsparing: “In a few generations they become all body and no mind… such is the regimen in raising kings.” The Revolution demanded a new political order—one grounded in liberty, reason, and the moral agency of every human soul.

The Struggle Against Aristocracy

The Virginia Convention of 1776 provided strong evidence that bringing about change would be no easy task as George Mason’s preamble that “all men are by nature equally free and independent” aroused immediate objections. As independence on the national scene approached, many wealthy Virginians preferred a return to pre‑1763 conditions rather than a full break with Britain. The Founders understood the danger: any new government could be captured by entrenched elites unless carefully designed.

Mason, one of America’s most profound political thinkers, further warned of “a concerted British plan to make all colonists into slaves.” His Declaration of Rights became the first authoritative statement of inalienable rights.

The same preamble that aroused the opposition of the aristocrats, however, sunk deeply into the consciousness of Thomas Jefferson, who, wanting meaningful change, was determined to carry his ideas about human rights to their logical conclusion.

Patrick Henry feared that “among most of our opulent families there existed a strong bias to aristocracy.” John Adams agreed, insisting that “a more equal liberty… must be established in America.” In other words, the Founders recognized that their most important and most complex task would be to construct a government that would not be taken over by the wealthy and powerful class in each state.

Jefferson’s Seventeen Days

Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, Jefferson worked alone in his upstairs parlor, shaping what he called “an expression of the American mind.” He drew from Mason’s ideas, his own earlier writings, and the shared philosophical inheritance of the Enlightenment.

“When in the Course of human events…” Jefferson’s preamble remains one of the most powerful political statements ever written.

Even after edits removed nearly a quarter of Jefferson’s draft—including a strong denunciation of the slave trade—the Declaration emerged as a timeless creed of human liberty.

In one example of an edit, Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.” Franklin, a member of The Committee of Five that had been assigned to draft a declaration of independence, crossed out “sacred and undeniable” and wrote “self-evident.” The conversation between Franklin and Jefferson about the famous edit was brief but pivotal.

Favoring the philosophical language of John Locke, Jefferson used the words “sacred and undeniable” which placed liberty’s foundation squarely in the realm of religion and natural law. These words had theological weight and lofty moral power.

But to Franklin, the appeal to divine authority invited theological disputation. He wanted to shift the foundation of American liberty away from religious dogma and onto shared human reason and science. By using “self-evident,” he established that you didn’t need a specific religious text to prove all men are created equal; you only needed clear thinking.

Jefferson expressed quiet indignation that his “precisely chosen” words were being altered. Franklin gently but firmly reminded him that the document had to represent the rational consensus of many hands, not just one.

Franklin’s edit helped ensure the American experiment was grounded in reason rather than religious revelation, cementing a universalism that remains a cornerstone of the nation’s political identity. He understood that to rally a continent and pass muster with the prickly delegates of the Continental Congress, the Declaration’s truths needed to be stated plainly, not preached. In other words, you did not need a Bible to know that all men are created equal. You just had to open your eyes and think clearly.

On Monday, July 1, John Adams arose early, composed a long letter to a former delegate, and then, knowing what was in store, walked to the State House. In the letter he had written, “This morning is assigned the greatest debate of all. A declaration, that these colonies are free and independent States, has been reported by a committee some weeks ago for that purpose, and this day or tomorrow is to determine its fate. May heaven prosper the newborn republic.”

John Adams: The Colossus of Independence

On that same July 1 morning, Adams delivered what witnesses called the greatest speech of his life. He argued that the fate of “millions, born and unborn” depended on decisive action. Jefferson remembered him as “the colossus of independence.” Benjamin Rush wrote that Adams had “not his superior, scarcely his equal for abilities and virtue.” Adams’ relentless advocacy ensured that independence was declared when it was—and that the Declaration became the moral foundation of the new republic.

The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. The result was an official break with Britain that strengthened unity and helped attract foreign support, but it also meant the conflict became an all-out war for independence.

Writing of Adams in September, Benjamin Rush would tell a friend, “This illustrious patriot has not his superior, scarcely his equal for abilities and virtue on the whole of the continent of America.” He would later add, “Every member of Congress in 1776 acknowledged him to be the first man in the House.” Above all, with his sense of urgency and unrelenting drive, John Adams made the Declaration of Independence happen when it did.

Our Sacred Honor

The signing on August 2, 1776, was an act of profound courage. As William Ellery observed, each man signed with “undaunted resolution.”

They were lawyers, merchants, farmers, physicians, judges, and one clergyman. Many were wealthy; many would lose everything. Some died in poverty, some in prison, some in battle. Some “signed with regret, and several others with many doubts and much lukewarmness,” wrote Adams. Yet not one of the fifty‑six signers ever betrayed the cause.

With the exception of Dr. John Witherspoon, president of Princeton, who came from Scotland in 1768, all the rest of the signers had been born in America. Their average age was forty-five. Franklin was, at seventy, the oldest, and Edward Rutledge of South Carolina was the youngest at twenty-six.

For reasons of security the Declaration with the signatures was not published until January 1777, for it was fully understood that if the Revolution failed, the signers would be rounded up, their property confiscated, and their lives forfeited.

“We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honour.” This pledge was not rhetorical. It was lived.

Providence and Moral Agency

The Revolution can also be understood through a theological lens: that God sought to create a political environment where moral agency could flourish—“that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgement.”

The Constitution, which would also be born of sacrifice and struggle, would become a safeguard for religious liberty and the rights of all flesh. And though it took generations, its principles ultimately helped secure freedom for the descendants of the 500,000 enslaved people living in America in 1776.

The Republic’s Moral Foundations

George Washington warned that “religion and morality are indispensable supports” of political prosperity. The Founders understood that liberty requires virtue, and that self‑government demands self‑discipline. As James Russell Lowell later paraphrased, the republic will endure only as long as the founding ideas endure—ideas rooted in courage, sacrifice, and the belief that human beings are capable of governing themselves.

Conclusion: The Empire of Liberty

The American Founding was not an accident of history; it was foreordained. It was an inevitable chain of events leading to a sure conclusion; a deliberate, providential orchestration of ideas, character, and conviction. Seeking the ancient principles he wanted to incorporate in a new system of government, Jefferson was setting America’s sights on a new marker. Following its passage, his dominating concern would be to translate the Declaration into legal institutions and to make it a living reality. His compelling desire was to see the creation of an empire of liberty.

While George Mason anchored the principles of rights, John Adams fought to make independence real. For their part, each of the signers risked everything.

Their legacy is a nation built not on bloodlines or divine right, but on truths held to be self‑evident. And the preservation of that legacy—of children’s right “to play, to dance, and to sing”—depends on our willingness to remember, defend, and live the principles they pledged their sacred honor to secure.