The Constitution, Our Inspired Heritage
by Robert S. Dunn

Photo copyright Scot F. Proctor 2002.

Our inspired Constitution has helped bring this nation to a position unrivaled in the last 200 years. It is enhanced by a Bill of Rights, whereby the rights and liberties of individuals and states are protected. Ironically, one of the great impacts felt on our government in recent years is a phrase that is not found in either founding document—the phrase “separation of Church & State.”

The power of this phrase can be best illustrated by a well-known author’s discussion with a U.S. congressman. In this discussion regarding the importance of religious values in public affairs, the congressman stated, “We know they are important; we just cannot do anything about it.”

“Why not?” inquired the author.

“Well, we just can’t!”

 “Why?”  

“Because of ‘separation of church and state’, we can’t have religious values in public affairs!”

“Separation of church and state. Where is that found?” asked the author?

“It’s in the Constitution- the Constitution won’t let us do it.”

“That is not in the Constitution,” the author stated.

“Yes it is.” “No it is not.” They went back and forth until the author gave him his copy of the Constitution. He then asked him to find the phrase for him. The congressman replied that he would be happy to and went immediately to the First Amendment, read it, reread it, and became very embarrassed. “I can’t believe this,” he exclaimed. “In law school they always taught us that is what the First Amendment said.” “You’ve never read the Constitution for yourself?”

“We were never required to read it in law school, the Congressman replied. We studied case law” (which is the interpretation of another as to what the Constitution says.)

Therein lies the great dilemma we now have in America. The words “separation”, “church”, or “state” do not appear in the First Amendment, or in any founding document. But many, when they learn that these words are not there, respond with “Well, isn’t that what the First Amendment really means? Isn’t that the original intent of the Framers?”

The First Amendment simply states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of.” So, what did the framers of the Constitution mean by this? When one examines the Founding father’s discussions on this subject in the Congressional Records from June 7 to Sept. 25, 1789, they clearly and succinctly explain that all they wanted to do was to preclude what they had experienced in Great Britain. They did not want by the establishment of the federal government one single denomination in exclusion of all others, Catholic, Anglican, or another. No national church.

In the original version of the First Amendment proposed by the Senate on March 9, 1789, the language was “Congress shall not make any law establishing any religious denomination.” The second version stated, “Congress shall make no law establishing any particular denomination.” This wording is important because by their definition “religion” was interchangeable with “denomination.” Although the Founding fathers did not want a single denomination to rule America, they did expect Biblical principles and values to remain integral.

Fisher Ames was the founding father who offered the final wording of the First Amendment. He wrote an article for a national magazine in 1801 in which he expressed his concern that as more and more books were introduced into the classroom, the Bible might someday drift to the back of the classroom. He warned that this could never be allowed in America, and that the Bible must always remain the number one textbook in our schools. He urged:       “Why then, if these new books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book?”1

Fisher Ames concluded by stressing that the Bible was the source of sound morality and behavior in America and that we must never let it be separated from the classroom. Clearly, the use of the Bible did not violate Fisher Ames’ view of the First Amendment- and he was the Founding father who provided the wording for the First Amendment!

As George Washington noted in his farewell address, which is considered the greatest political address ever given, “of all the habits and dispositions which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars.” Now George Washington was a constitutional expert. He was the president of the convention which framed the Constitution. He was President of the U.S. who called for and oversaw the formation of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. For over a century, Washington’s Farewell Address was printed as a separate textbook and was required reading by students, but in the last 40 years it has not been seen in most history text books.

Washington continued with another warning--equally strong-- reminding Americans that they should reject any tenet asserting that one could be moral without religion. That had been the premise of the French Revolution--and it had produced a blood bath of executions and slaughters. In America we knew better. Washington explained, “Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds ... reason and experience  both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Founding father Benjamin Rush was not only a signer of the Declaration of Independence, he served in three presidential administrations- under Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He was a great policy maker and was considered America’s leading educator, the first founding father to call for free public schools under the Constitution. In an educational policy paper which he authored in 1791, Rush gave a dozen reasons why the Bible would never be taken out of schools. He warned that an explosion of crime would follow2. Benjamin Rush knew that if religious standards were removed, there would be no restraints on misbehavior.

As George Washington also warned in his Farewell Address, “Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert?” I cannot read of a car jacking, school shooting, purse snatching, driveway robbery, etc. without thinking of what a prophetic utterance this was. I got into a discussion with a school administrator some years back when the first rash of drive-by shootings occurred. His solution was that for these kids to choose to do the right thing, they must be educated or all would be lost. I explained to him that I disagreed. I used the example of the Tail Hook incident, a party sponsored by senior U.S. Naval personnel, as proof that there had to be something more. For there were no better-educated group of men and women aviators than these graduates of Annapolis and other colleges. Yet all of this education did not keep them from acting the part of “sexual primitives.” School officials and others are now in a state of shock that so many of the young people involved in the current rash of murders and shootings are some of the brightest and best- educated students, many from affluent homes. Clearly something else is sorely lacking.

 How inspired the founding fathers were! But what was their background and where did they get their ideas for our Constitution? Five were ordained ministers, and over 70% were acknowledged Christians. Many were educated in schools like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton whose requirements included a religious component.

Harvard University’s purposes included:

“Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus which is eternal life, (John 17:3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.” The document continues: “Everyone shall so exercise himself in the reading of the scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein.”

Amazing! The primary purpose for attending Harvard was to know God and Jesus Christ and each student was to know and study the scriptures.

Yale required that “seeing God is the giver of all wisdom, every scholar, besides private or secret prayer..shall be present morning and evening at public prayer.” Princeton, which produced over one third of the 200+ founding fathers, had in its founding statement: “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”

Of the first 108 colleges in this country, 106 were founded on religious principles. Until the early 1900’s, it was most unusual to have as a college president anyone but a minister. Christianity was not only the core of education at the time of the founding fathers, it had been the basis of education since America’s first public education law was passed in 1642 by the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

This law came from the experiences of the early settlers who, while intensely religious for the most part, were concerned about the civil atrocities which had occurred in Europe under the banner of Christianity (the Inquisition, the Crusades, etc.). These settlers believed that such atrocities had occurred because the average person did not have access to the word of God, for access had been limited to only civil and religious leaders. They believed that if the average person could have read the scriptures and known for themselves what they said, the people would have never allowed the civil governments to do what they did.

So, to preclude any such repetition in America, with the memory of these European atrocities still fresh in their minds, they passed in 1642 “The Old Deluder Satan Act”--the first public school law in America. The law began:

“It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in former times...”

They believed that Satan’s primary intent was to keep people out of the scriptures and thereby cause them to tolerate bad behavior by a lack of knowledge of God’s will. But, those settlers were unwilling to allow that to happen in America. The law explained that when fifty families were gathered into an area, a teacher was to be acquired; and when one hundred families had gathered, a grammar school was to be built “to instruct youths, so far as they may be fitted for the university.”

They were concerned about illiteracy, but not for the reasons which would cause concern today. Their concern was that if one could not read, then he would not know the word of God or the laws of the state. This meant that if the legislature passed a law which contradicted the word of God, then the people might not be knowledgeable enough to stop it.

At the time of the Revolutionary War, we were the most literate citizenry in the world. We have now been able to work our way down to fifth or sixth. When I was much younger, I had a concept of our forebears as some sort of uneducated rabble with a few great leaders. I used to wonder who Thomas Paine sold all of his pamphlets to. But the Federalist Papers, which were printed and dispersed for the purpose of explaining to the people of the new United States why they needed a federal constitution, corrected my misunderstanding.

A law professor in Alabama requires all of his students (enrolled as they are in graduate level legal studies) to read the Federalist Papers. They regularly return complaining about the difficulty of the book. The professor nods sympathetically, “I understand. This book was not written for someone of your educational level; it was written for the common, average, upstate New York farmer of 1787. Perhaps someday you’ll attain the educational level of those New York farmers.”

The founding fathers strove to ensure that the Christian principles which had formed the basis of education prior to the Revolution would continue after their passing. For that reason, in the midst of the Constitutional Convention, they repassed the Northwest Ordinance. This was a very important piece of legislation which had been originally passed under the Articles of Confederation The Northwest Ordinance set forth the provisions whereby territories could become states in the union. This act was signed back into law by George Washington on Aug. 7, 1789. It is important to note that they passed the Northwest Ordinance while they were working on the First Amendment. What is noteworthy here is that Article III stipulated that for a Territory to become a State, their schools must teach religion and morality as well as knowledge. It is unbelievable to think that the founding fathers required something by law that they thought would have violated the First Amendment, passed at the same time. As an example of the impact of this law, the state constitution of Ohio as passed January 1, 1802 stated:

“Religion, morality, and knowledge, being essentially necessary to good government, and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged in this state.”

This idea was basically in every state constitution for the next 80 years.

But why did the founding fathers feel that religion and morality was essential to good government? Because they understood the great challenge of our lives is the mastery by our spirit and intelligence over the appetites of the body. Noah Webster, whose name we know because of its association with the dictionaries which bear his name, was not only an educator, but a founding father. He was a soldier during the Revolution, spent nine terms in the Connecticut legislature, three terms in the Massachusetts legislature and four terms as a judge. He was one of the first to call for the Constitutional Convention and was personally responsible for Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Noah Webster believed the Bible and Christianity to be vital to American government and education, because he understood that there were only two ways to control behavior. He explained:

“There are two powers only which are sufficient to control men and secure the rights of individuals in a peaceable administration. These are the combined force of religion and law and the force of fear of the bayonet.”3

Robert Winthrop, a later Speaker of the House, explained the same principle in these words:

“Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or the bayonet.”4

In today’s society it is the police .38 special or the 9mm. In a self-governing country, people who can govern themselves are an absolute necessity. In our nation, where one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, there are not enough policemen to put on every block to ensure that we obey the law. This is why Thomas Jefferson said that Christianity was the best friend of government.

He explained as follows:

“The precepts of philosophy laid hold of actions only. But Jesus pushed his scrutinizes into the heart of man, erected His tribunal in the region of the thoughts, and purified the waters at the fountain head.”5

Where the law says “Don’t kill”, in Matthew 5, Jesus says: “Don’t get angry; don’t hate.” Clearly if you prevent the anger and hate, you have prevented the murder. Where the law says “don’t commit adultery,” Jesus says “Don’t lust in your heart.” If you control the lust, you have controlled the adultery. The founders pointed out that only religion could stop crime before it started, because all crime comes out of the heart, and if you can’t control the heart, you can’t control crime. This is why Christian principles were so valuable to government. As President John Adams, explained:

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion...Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”6 This is an ominous statement when we consider the assault religion has taken in our country and the resulting impact on so many of our citizens. We can now see clearly the fruits of this relatively new philosophy as we witness great numbers of men and women in business, government and education abuse their privilege and betray the trust given to them with a devastating impact upon society.

Patrick Henry, who is so well remembered for his “give me liberty or give me death” speech said:

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason people of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom to worship here." 7  One may disagree with what the Founding fathers said but those who are honest cannot deny what they said.

An incident during the Revolution revealed the educational philosophy of George Washington. In 1779 a group of Delaware chiefs came to see Washington seeking to have some of their youth trained in America’s schools. Washington assured them, “Congress would look upon them as their own children”. He then commended the Delaware chiefs for their decision to bring their children to America’s schools, saying,

“You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are; Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention.”8

According to George Washington, what would these youth learn in American schools “above all”? The religion of Jesus Christ

Many have wanted to know where the founders got their ideas for the Constitution. The University of Houston conducted a study over 10 years that examined 15,000 writings from the founding era. The researchers isolated 3,154 direct quotes made by the founders and identified the source of these quotes. Thirty-four per cent of the quotes came directly out of the Bible. Another 60% came indirectly from the Bible from sources such as Baron Charles de Montesquieu, Sir William Blackstone, and John Locke. These were men who had used the Bible to arrive at their own conclusions.

The question begs then, did the Supreme Court recognize the United States as a Christian nation? In 1892 the US Supreme Court made this ruling in a case which had come before it: (Church of The Holy Trinity vs. The United States)

“No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, state or national, because this is a religious people. This is a Christian nation.”

The Court used 87 different historical precedents to support its conclusions, and it could have used many more. I will take the time to cite only one. In 1811 a case (People vs. Ruggles) came to the Court that dealt with a man who had gone into a fit of profanity. It was not a moment of anger or temporary loss of control, for he had taken the time to write it out and distribute it. It maliciously and capriciously attacked Jesus Christ in the vilest of terms. The Court explained the problems with his writings: an attack on Jesus Christ was an attack on Christianity; and an attack on Christianity was an attack on the foundation of the country; therefore, an attack on Jesus Christ was an equivalent to an attack on the country. The man was sentenced to 3 months in prison and a fine of $500.00 ( a princely sum in those days) for attacking the country by attacking Jesus Christ.

It is noteworthy that John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the three men most responsible for the Constitution itself, said that “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian  nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”9 One would think that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the Key Founders would know the intent of the Framers of the Constitution as a whole, as well as the meaning of the First Amendment!

But how did we get where we are today? Because in the 1962 Supreme Court decision that removed school prayer, the Court used neither historical precedent nor the original framers’ intent in shaping their decision. With no historical or legal base, the Court simply announced we would not have prayer in schools anymore because it was unconstitutional.

Remember when the Court declares something unconstitutional, they essentially mean that if the framers of the Constitution were here now, this would be their interpretation. In that 1962 case the Court redefined the meaning and application of a single word: “church”. For 170 years prior to that case, the word “church”, used in the phrase “separation of church and state”, was defined to mean a federally-established denomination.” However, in 1962 the Court explained that the word “church” would now mean “a religious activity in public.”10 This was the turning point in the interpretation of the First Amendment. The First Amendment would no longer just ban the establishment of a federal denomination, it now would prohibit religious activities in a public setting.

Thus the guiding principles of the previous 167 years were ignored and a statement from Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists, was lifted out of context and used to justify their decision. The Danbury Baptists had heard a rumor that the Congregational Church was going to be made the National Church of America. They were also concerned that the guarantee of “free exercise of religion” as it appeared in the First Amendment might suggest that this was a government granted right instead of an inalienable right from God. Attempting to put their minds at rest, he assured them that the free exercise of religion was an inalienable right and would not be meddled with by the government. Jefferson pointed out to them that there was a ”wall of separation between church and state”11 to insure that the government would never interfere with religious activities.

Today, all that is heard of Jefferson’s letter is the phrase, “a wall of separation between church and state,” without either the context, or the explanation given in the letter, or its application by earlier courts. It is worth noting that while Jefferson served as President of the United States, he also served as president of the Washington D.C. schools. In his official school board capacity, he required as text books, the Bible and the Watts Hymnal 12, several of which hymns appear in our own hymn book.

But, in its 1963 ruling, the Court banned the Bible from the classroom. Recall that the founders had relied on the Bible, early textbooks quoted the Bible and used it as part of the alphabet; and earlier Supreme Court cases ruled that a school must teach religion and the Bible. Therefore, on what possible basis could the Court have used to justify their ruling? In its written decision, the Court noted that:

“If portions of the New Testament were read without explanation, they could be and...had been psychologically harmful to the child.”13

Amazing. Reading the Bible causes brain damage

The Court made a statement lacking both historical or legal precedent. Again, the Court simply made a new announcement of policy; in essence no more Bible reading in schools.

Yet, Thomas Jefferson justified the use of the Bible in the classroom as follows:

“I have always said, and always will say, that the studious

perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens.”14

Jefferson also wrote that “had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christian. I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither king nor priest, the genuine doctrine of one God is reviving, and trust that there is not a young man in the United States who will not die a Christian...the doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man. 1) That there is only one God and he, all perfect. 2) that there is a future state of rewards and punishments. 3) That to love God, with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself is the sum of religion.”15  This is not bad for someone who has been characterized as a non-Christian.

In this month where we celebrate the 4th of July, I am reminded of an excerpt from President John Quincy Adams’ speech given on July 4, 1837 at Newburyport. He asked the crowd “Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day?” A very appropriate question. Why was it that the 4th of July and Christmas were our top two holidays? He answered the question as follows:

“Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth. That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?” And on he goes for the next sixty pages.

We are now reaping the beginning of the whirlwind as our Government has succeeded in ever exempting religious principles and references from our public institutions. The Court has ruled that even a copy of the Ten Commandments can not be displayed in public schools because “if the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey the commandments. This is not a permissible objective.”16 This is an incredible ruling! You can’t let kids see the Ten Commandments, things like “don’t kill”, “don’t steal”. I wonder if the victims at Columbine High School and others of the schools which have had these tragedies, would have wished that their perpetrators might have had the opportunity to have seen the Ten Commandments on a daily basis and possibly been influenced by them? By the way, of these commandments that the Supreme Court thought should be excluded from public institutions, James Madison, the chief architect of the Constitution said, “we have staked the future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.”17

Much background has been covered this day about the foundation of America’s government, but what is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's position regarding the constitution, the Founding fathers and Divine Intervention? By December of 1833 the Latter Day Saints were suffering terribly from their persecutors in Missouri. They had been driven from their homes, their household furniture, clothing, livestock and other personal property taken. In response to much prayer, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation on December 13 explaining among other things that they should importune for redress. As recorded in the 101st section of the Doctrine & Covenants beginning with the 76th verse we read:

76. And again I say unto you,

those who have been scattered by

their enemies, it is my will that

that they should continue to impor-

tune for redress, and redemption,

by the hands of those who are

placed as rulers and are in au-

thority over you.

77. According to the laws and

constitution of the people, which

I have suffered to be established,

and should be maintained for

the rights and protection of all

flesh, according to just and holy

principles;

78. That every man may act

in doctrine and principle pertain-

ing to futurity, 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.

79. Therefore, it is not right,

that any man should be in

bondage one to another.

80. 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.

By this revelation, we as Latter Day Saints know beyond a shadow of doubt that our Constitution was an inspired document. That the men involved in its creation here on earth were wise men whom the Lord himself raised up for this very purpose. Some of us may fail to appreciate the importance of this, but if these events had not transpired, there would have been no restoration of the Gospel and the purposes of the Lord would have been frustrated -at least for then!

Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at a military sponsored “prayer breakfast” on February 9, 1999. He focused on the First Amendment as he stated:

“The principles and philosophies upon which our constitutional law is based are not simply the result of the best efforts of a remarkable group of brilliant men. They were inspired by God, and the rights and privileges guaranteed in the Constitution are God given, not man derived. No nation or people that rejects God or his commandments can prosper or find happiness.

To remove the influence of religion from public policy simply because some are uncomfortable with any degree of moral restraint is like the passenger on the sinking ship who removes his life jacket because it is restrictive and uncomfortable.”

These remarks are consistent with what so many of the other General Authorities of the Church have said in the past.

However, we have witnessed an unrelenting assault over the last few decades on our Founding fathers. Every effort has been made to denigrate their character. But why, one might ask? Because if their character can be successfully assassinated, then what ever they had to say on any subject can be trivialized or ignored. Yet, what kind of men were they really? The incident in the St. George Temple involving President Wilford Woodruff, the 4th President of the Church gives us the best answer. As he personally recorded in his journal:

“I will here say that two weeks before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, “you have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.”

These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them. The thought never entered my heart, from the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives

I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McAllister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making 100 in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others. I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three, and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them.” -September 6, 1877.

This is the only recorded incident of departed spirits being permitted to pass through the veil and request the saving ordinances. If these had not been righteous men, they would never have been granted this privilege. Each was ordained to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood and three were ordained High Priests. Those three were George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Christopher Columbus.

President Ezra Taft Benson stated that the War in Heaven continues on earth today. He explains and warns on page 279 in his book, “An Enemy Hath Done This”:

“Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful, we could step forward at this time and help save this country. The fact that most of us are unprepared to do it is an indictment that we will have to bear. The longer we wait, the heavier the chains, the deeper the blood, the more the persecution, and the less we can carry out our God-given mandate and worldwide mission. The war in heaven is raging on earth today. Are you being neutralized in the battle?”

“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves...”(D&C 56:27-28)

President Benson’s book is a great voice of warning.       

Brothers & Sisters, I am so grateful to be an American and to have been born at a time when the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was on the earth. I know that the Restored Gospel is true and that our nation was preserved and saved for us in these latter days. I challenge each of you to educate yourselves, your children and your grandchildren about the Foundation of our country. Many do not want us to know. There is a significant movement afoot to eliminate the teaching of all history before 1850. When you tear the people away from the knowledge of how and why this nation was founded, it is then easier to steer it in another direction much different from what our Founders intended. We can not protect our foundations if we do not know what they are! Four years ago in New Jersey, the State house passed and sent to the Senate a bill requiring that students should recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the first 56 words of the Declaration of Independence. This has started a political furor. The teacher's union has attacked this legislation as inappropriate, not the way to teach patriotism, cheap jingoism, etc. The Feminist organizations have joined in on a similar note, as have others. The bill, although passed by the state house, remains bottled up in committee in the state senate. Then, only this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled that requiring students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. Brothers & Sisters, our very way of life is and has been under assault.

The charge that the Reverend Matthias Burnet made to the citizens in his day is as timely for us today. He stated:

“Finally, ye... Whose high prerogative it is, to...invest with office and authority, or to withhold them, and in whose power it is to save or destroy your country, consider well the important trust...which God..has put into your hands. To God and posterity you are accountable for them...Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights, and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you.”18

Brothers and Sisters, it is my prayer that when I receive my transfer to the other side of the veil, that among other things, I will not be ashamed to be in the presence of these great men who were our Founding fathers. That when I am giving my stewardship report on my efforts to have preserved the Constitution and our liberties, I do not have to hang my head in shame, that I will have been tried in the balance and not found wanting. This is my prayer for each of us.

In the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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(1)Fisher Ames- Bible in the classroom. Notices of the life & Character of Fisher Ames (Boston: T.B. West & Co. 1809 pp. 134-135)

(2)Benjamin Rush- Policy Paper "In Defense of The Bible As A School Book" p.93 Benjamin Rush, Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical (Philadelphia: Printed by Thomas and William Bradford, 1806) pp. 93-94

(3)Noah Webster- Verna hall, A Christian History of the American Revolution (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1967) preface, p. 12

(4)Robert Winthrop- "..men must be controlled.." Addresses & Speeches on Various Occasions (Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co,, 1852)p. 172 from his "Either By the Bible or the Bayonet."

(5)Thomas Jefferson- "The precepts of philosophy.." "The Life of Thomas Jefferson" Mack & Andrus; p. 265 1834

(6)President John Adams- "We have no power.." The Works of John Adams, 2nd President of the U.S. By Charles Francis Adams; p.229 10/11/1798

(7)Patrick Henry- "It can not be emphasized too strongly.." God's Providence in American History by Steve C. Dawson; p1:5 1998

(8)George Washington- Delaware Chiefs.. The Writings of Washington by John C. Fitzpartick ; p.55 1932

(9)John Jay- "Providence has given to our people.." The Correspondence & Public Papers of John Jay 1794-1826 Henry P. Johnson, ed. Vol. 4 p.393 10/12/1816

(10)Supreme Court- "No Prayer.." 6/25/1962 Engel vs. Vitale

(11)Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists- Jefferson's Writings by Meril P. Patterson p.510 January 1, 1802

(12)President Thomas Jefferson- President of Washington DC Schools Records of The Columbus Historical Society- Washington DC 1897 p. 119-170

(13)Supreme Court bans the Bible Abington vs. Schremp & Murray vs. Curlett June 17, 1963

(14)Thomas Jefferson- "I have always said .." Last words of Saints & Sinners by Herbert Lockyer (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1969) p. 98

(15)Thomas Jefferson- "had the doctrines of Jesus.." Letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse bergh 15:383 (1822)

(16)Supreme Court- Ban on Ten Commandments; Case of Stone vs. Graham 1980

(17)James Madison- "we have staked.." Liberty, Cry Liberty p.23-33 1939 by Harold K. Lane

(18)Reverend Mathias Burnett- "Finally ye.." Mathias Burnett, D.D. Pastor of the First Church in Norwalk, An Election sermon, Preached at Hartford, on the Day of the Anniversary Election, May 12, 1803 (Hartford: Printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1803) p. 26-27

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