“…Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him…”
–Moses 4:3
The war to preserve the agency of man is ongoing, and it’s being fought everyday in both the religious and political realms, in philosophy and in popular culture. In this war of ideas, there are two weapons indispensable for the preservation of that agency which God has given mankind: First is the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and second is the centuries-old tradition of thought that defends human Liberty as both a moral and a utilitarian good. This is the philosophy of libertarianism.
“…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…”
–Ezra Taft Benson, “The Proper Role of Government”
Libertarianism is the philosophy that believes – first and foremost – that it is fundamentally wrong to forcefully deprive another of their liberty, their property, or their life. Libertarianism holds that such force remains wrong even when the government is one doing it or giving it a stamp of approval. Wrong is wrong even when the government says otherwise.
“…it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. 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 and Covenants 101:79-80
The Constitution of the United States is barrier, a line by which we can determine if government is still within its proper bounds. But the Federal Government has long overstepped those bounds, and most state governments have as well. The Constitution cannot force government to act properly, but it provides us an indicator of when and where the government has broken faith with the nation.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
–The Declaration of Independence
LibertySaints is about ideas. It’s a project to understand and share philosophy, theology, and culture. It’s about the great ideas that protect freedom and the dangerous ones that constantly threaten to tear it down. The war of ideas, by its nature, means that sometimes ideas will be disagreeable to or offend others, even those who might otherwise be allies. But the objective in this war of ideas is always the defense and advancement of principles of the gospel and of liberty; inseparable objectives that are necessary to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Recent Articles and Essays
About The Author
I’m Andrew. I’m originally from Idaho but I consider Utah to be my adopted home. I work in banking as I make my long way through BYU, studying History and minoring in Business and Philosophy. I write about Libertarian theory, particularly as it relates to the restored gospel, about the various false conspiracy theories that circulate regularly through our shared culture, about critical theory and other dangerous threads of far-left thought, and about the good and not-so-good things happening in Utah and Latter-Day Saint arts and culture. My page was formerly called “Mormon Libertarians” on Facebook, but in keeping with the spirit of President Nelson’s exhortation to be identified with the name of Christ and not of Mormon, this is LibertySaints.
In my copious free time I enjoy whitewater kayaking, live opera, card games, collecting and listening to weird and obscure music, reading, photography, and playing the ukulele. My favorite movie is Singin’ in the Rain, my favorite fiction book is War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, my favorite non-fiction book is The Law by Fredrick Bastiat, my favorite band is They Might Be Giants, and my favorite scripture is D&C 50:24: “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”
LibertySaints is not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or with any state or national political party. We remain affiliated with liberty.
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