According to the Laws of Man

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 44 a short section where the Lord gives instructions to the elders of the church and what He wants them to do as they go forth to preach. Most of the instructions are the same as they have been prior to this but one stood out to me above the others. As you have guessed from the title, it was the instruction to organize themselves according to the laws of man.

Sometimes I think to myself that such as statement seems kind of incongruous with living the gospel. I mean there are plenty of governments that do not allow it's members to live a life in keeping with the commandments of the Lord. Life under Nazi Germany comes to mind, or in Communist China. And yet during World War II saints that lived in Germany were still encouraged to follow the laws of the land.

However, this should not be a surprise to any who have read the Doctrine and Covenants before. Section 101 of the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Lord brought the founding fathers together and helped them establish the Constitution of the United States of America. That should tell you right there how important it is that we uphold it and not just let it be tossed by the wayside. We need to make sure that we are being good citizens of whatever country we live in. I was talking to a friend of mine once who had an opportunity many years ago to pick up President Kimball and his wife from the local airport. As they got onto the freeway, President Kimball leaned forward in his seat and asked my friend if he was driving the speed limit. My friend replied that he was and he said President Kimball smiled, patted him on the arm and said, "Good, because the Spirit can only fly as fast as the Speed limit". Now, at the time this made quite an impression on me because the freeway my friend was talking about was only a 55 MPH freeway and I groaned imagining myself having to drive that slow on it if I were ever to pick up an apostle. But now that I am a little older I can appreciate the story a little more.

Now some might wonder why it matters if we follow the laws of the land or not, and to such people I would say that the Lord's house is a house of order. He does not just want us to break the laws of the land because first, I can't really think of any land that has laws that blatantly go against the most fundamental of commandments. I can't think of any country that has a law that says you have to kill, to steal, to commit adultery, etc. Now, there are of course instances in our history, such as we have talked about above, where such things have happened, but as a matter of course they do not. So obeying the laws of the land is just another way to help us be good. Because while we may not feel the affects of disobeying God's laws right away, we sure will feel it immediately if we steal something and get caught by the police.

Another reason we are counseled to obey the laws of the land, as we've said God's house is a house of order and He doesn't want us to get in the habit of keeping some rules but not others, at least that is my opinion. It's kind of like your Mom telling you to only obey what she tells you to do and absolutely forbidding you to obey anything your Dad tells you to do. It doesn't really make sense does it? Now there may come a time where the laws of some of the land start to become a little outlandish and perhaps God will step in and tell His Saints in those lands what to do, but until that time, it is clear, and always has been, that He desires us to obey the laws of the land in which we reside. And if the leaders of your land ever ask you to do something against the commandments, God has told us that we are not accountable and it will be held on the heads of those in authority. Great news for anyone in the military or government agencies that might be put in a situation where they are forced to take a life.

As we live a good and righteous life, living the laws of the land just comes second nature and should not be a hard thing for most. It is in keeping with the Spirit and everything we know of God's nature. Perhaps there are other reasons out there I am not thinking of, but for me, the two that I have listed are more than enough for me, hopefully they are for you too. Until tomorrow.