Monday, June 10, 2013

Parents have the Sacred Duty to Teach their Children to be Law-abiding Citizens wherever they Live

Let us do right, keep the laws of God, and the laws of man, honor our membership in the kingdom of God, our citizenship … in the nation of which we are a part, and then God will sustain and preserve us, and we will continue to grow as we have done from the beginning, only our future growth will be accelerated and be far greater than it has been in the past. Teach your children to honor the law of God and the law of the state, and the law of our country. Teach them to respect and hold in honor those who are chosen by the people to stand at their head and execute justice and administer the law. Teach them to be loyal to their country, loyal to righteousness and uprightness and honor, and thereby they will grow up to be men and women choice above all the men and women of the world. -Joseph F. Smith
 
Bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible; still, while they continue in force, they should be religiously observed. -Abraham Lincoln

In reality the man who defies or flouts the law is like the proverbial fool who saws away the plank on which he sits, and a disrespect or disregard for law is always the first sign of a disintegrating society. Respect for law is the most fundamental of all social virtues, for the alternative to the rule of law is that of violence and anarchy.” -Case and Comment, March/April issue, 1965, p. 20.

There is no reason or justification for men to disregard or break the law or try to take it into their own hands. Christ gave us the great example of a law-abiding citizen when the Pharisees, trying to entangle him, as the scriptures say, asked him if it were lawful to give tribute money unto Caesar. After asking whose inscription was on the tribute money, and their acknowledgment that it was Caesar’s, he said: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” (Matt. 22:21.). -N. Eldon Tanner, The Laws of God, October 1975

Scriptures:

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. -Ether 2:12, Book of Mormon

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. -Doctrine & Covenants 101:80

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life. We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic, or the will of the sovereign. We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience. -Doctrine & Covenants 134:1-3, 5

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. -Article of Faith 12

Definitions:

Law-abiding - obeying or keeping the law; obedient to law: adhering more or less strictly to the laws.
Citizens - a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection. -Dictionary.com

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