Modern Scripture: The D&C On Liberty

The Book of Mormon taught the principle that righteous people seek to uphold liberty, and wicked people seek to tear it down. The Doctrine and Covenants teaches us how the Lord established liberty for us, and gives us specific instructions on how the Lord would have us seek to uphold liberty in our day:

D&C 101:79-80
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.

D&C 109:54
54 Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the nations of the earth; have mercy upon the rulers of our land; may those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever.

D&C 98:4-10
4 And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.
5 And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.
6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land;
7 And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.
8 I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
9 Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
10 Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

I personally don't see the conversation going well for me when the Lord asks me if I sought diligently for honest, good, and wise men, if my response is "I voted for the lesser of two evils every four years." To me, "seeking diligently" to uphold good men in our government is a full-time proposition, not just an election-time proposition. In my experience, rarely do either of the two candidates offered for an office by the two major political parties fit the description of who the Lord would have us uphold. This is partially due to our own failure to heed the Lord's direction here. It is our responsibility to seek out better men for our government, and to devote our time, money, and other resources to helping those good men make it into office.

In this regard, it's already crunch time for the 2010 congressional elections. There's a broad range of candidates for most offices right now. We can't sit idly by now while special interests actively support candidates who are not on the side of liberty, then complain about our choices come next November. It is our responsibility to seek diligently for the best, honest, wise, and liberty-loving candidates now, and do whatever we can to uphold them throughout the upcoming election year. Maybe they'll win, maybe they won't...but we'll be able to look the Lord in the eye and tell Him that we did our part.