1
Ne 13:13-19 The pilgrims, the Revolutionary War, and the founding fathers lay
the foundation for the Restoration
An
article in the June 1999 Ensign, entitled “Preparing for the
Restoration,” discusses these historical developments as preludes to the
restoration of the gospel:
“On
the occasion of the Church’s centennial in 1930, the First presidency declared:
‘It was not by chance that the Puritans left their native land and sailed away
to the shores of New England, and that others followed later. They were the
advance guard of the army of the Lord, [foreordained] to establish the
God-given system of government under which we live….and prepare the way for the
restoration of the Gospel of Christ.’
“President
Ezra Taft Benson taught that ‘all of the great events that have transpired [in
America], including the coming of Columbus and of the Pilgrim fathers, were
foreseen by ancient prophets.’ After prophesying about Columbus, Nephi
continued: ‘I beheld the Spirit of God, that it
wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the
many waters’ (1 Ne 13:13). Writers such as Plymouth Plantation governor
William Bradford (1590-1657) described the persecution and imprisonment the
Pilgrims endured in Europe before they fled to America in search of religious
liberty.
“Nephi
foresaw that the colonists would ‘humble themselves before the Lord’ (1 Ne
13:16). William Bradford recorded that as the Pilgrims set sail on their voyage
to America, ‘they had a day of solemn humiliation,’ their pastor proclaiming ‘a
fast, that we might humble ourselves before our God.’ Acting under inspiration,
the Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact, said to be ‘the first written
constitution in North America,’ which called for obedience to laws enacted by
the group rather than decreed by a monarch.
“The
Puritans subsequently settled in Massachusetts Bay and eventually absorbed the
Pilgrims. However, the Puritans were not tolerant of those who did not believe
as they did. One of the dissenters among the Puritans was Roger Williams, who
believed in religious freedom and maintained that the apostolic church
organized by Christ was no longer on the earth. After banishment, Williams and
his followers founded Providence, Rhode Island, and adopted principles that
became important traditions in the United States, such as democracy, freedom of
religion, and separation of church and state.
“Colonists
in other parts of America also worked for religious freedom. Under the
leadership of the Calvert family, Roman Catholics settled in Maryland and in
1649 passed the Act of Toleration, which advocated freedom of conscience. In
1681 the king of England granted a charter of land to devout Quaker William
Penn, whose colony in Pennsylvania became a model of religious tolerance. Of
these colonists President Benson wrote, ‘The Pilgrims of Plymouth, the Calverts
of Maryland, Roger Williams, William Penn—all had deep religious convictions
that played a principal part in their coming to the New World. They too, I
believe, came here under the inspiration of heaven.’
“The
final event that Nephi observed in his vision of the American colonies was the
War for Independence. He wrote:
“’And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together
upon the waters, and upon the land also, to do battle against them.
“And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that
the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to
battle.
“And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of
captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other
nations’ (1 Ne 13:17-19).
“President
Wilford Woodruff taught: ‘Those men who laid the foundation of this American
government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the
God of heaven could find on the face of the earth….General Washington and all
the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord.’ President
Woodruff also related: ‘Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of
Independence, with General Washington, called upon me, as an Apostle of the
Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights and
demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the
House of God for them.’
“George
Washington gave credit to God for the victory of the United States. In his
farewell address to his army, he said: ‘The disadvantageous circumstances on
our part, under which the war was undertaken, can never be forgotten. The
singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as could
scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving; while the unparalleled
perseverance of the Armies of the [United] States, through almost every
possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was
little short of a standing miracle.’ President Spencer W. Kimball said: ‘The
Lord permitted these few poorly armed and ill-clad men at Valley Forge and
elsewhere to defeat a great army,…a few against the many, but the few had on
their side the Lord God of heaven, that gave them victory. And there came
political liberty and religious liberty with it, all in preparation for the day
when a young boy would come forth and would seek and make contact with the Lord
and open the doors of heaven again.’
“After
the colonists won their independence, they experimented for a short time with a
government under the Articles of Confederation. When they found that method
inadequate, leaders turned their attention to drafting a new form of
government. Few, if any, people on earth hold the resulting United States
Constitution in higher esteem than do Latter-day Saints. The Lord has said: ‘That every man may act in doctrine and principle…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…
“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 shedding of blood’ (DC
101:78,80).
“The
Constitution and Bill of Rights applied directly to the needs of a new religion
because they provided for freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly.
Later the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘the Constitution of the United
States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a
heavenly banner.’” (Arnold K. Garr, June 1999 Ensign, pp 38-40)