The Word of Our Founders

There's been a lot of controversy lately surrounding the healthcare bill that just passed and whether or not it's constitutional. As a lawyer, I swore an oath (just like the President and members of Congress) to uphold the Constitution. And yet, to be completely honest, not once in my entire law school career was I ever required to read it. Not even in my TWO constitutional law classes. This, despite the fact that every lawyer, judge, and holder of political office swears to uphold it (or a state's constitution, as a lawyer admitted to both a state and federal court, I swore to uphold both). The Constitution is seen as our foundational document, the document upon which all other law rests. It is the supreme law of the land.

So it should come as no surprise that there is controversy about it. What does it mean? Those who wanted this healthcare bill stated that it was a constitutional right. Those who opposed it said it was not. Which is the truth? Unsurprisingly, it depends upon how you view the Constitution; whether you believe in original intent or a living document. Allow me to divert for a moment to another law that finds itself in this same debate: holy law.

There are several religions throughout the world that have scripture; holy text they consider to be the word of God. The Islamic religion has the Koran, Christians have the Bible, Jews have the Torah, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants (to start). All adherents to these religions are sometimes referred to by Muslims as "people of the book" because they all have written text (spiritual law) which they adhere to.

For a long time I have watched the debate surrounding Christianity and the Bible. Some say that the Bible is the word of God and should be followed literally. When it says stone someone, you pick up a rock; where it talks about hair length, beards, and clothing you follow; where it says to cover your head, you get a veil or hat. This side believes that scripture is the word of God and as such should be obeyed in even the "little" things. No one can add or take away from it without suffering God's wrath. They are, in my analogy, the extreme version of original intent. Look at the words, and only the words, held within the document and do not deviate. If it isn't there, it isn't a constitutional right.

There is another group that says that scripture were written, not by God, but by men (or by a God who has now abandoned us) because so much of what is in there is cultural only and does not apply to a modern, Western world. These people feel that you need to look at the words for how they apply today. And that can lead to any of the following: stating that some things are obsolete and should be ignored, reading current culture and opinions into what is written for new (and sometimes very different) interpretations, or cherry picking which parts of the holy word you choose to believe is holy and will obey. Those who believe this are those who would say that the sin of Sodom was inhospitality or that women covering their heads has no application at all today or that adultery isn't really that big of a deal. They are reading their own ideas and own views in to the religious text to create a religion they agree with. This is like those who believe the Constitution is a 'living document.' They believe that the Founders were mere men who wrote a document that does not meet current needs and so they look to the Constitution to see how it 'could' be read to protect or create something they wish to protect or create.

These two extremes in religious thought (and in constitutional debate) have existed since the beginning of both religious text and our constitution. Look into it. And yet, there is a third option. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in holy writ. They have a LOT of it. These scriptures were written by prophets, holy men of God who declared and wrote His word, not their own. And yet, we have many things today that were never known then (internet, t.v., radio, etc.). The third option feels that you can look to holy writ to see a general rule and apply it to today's world. And then they go one step further. There are, today living, prophets and apostles who can receive further law directly from God for the entire world. And there are local leaders who receive revelation for their spheres of responsibility. And there are individuals (all individuals) who can pray and go to their Father in Heaven for revelation in their own lives (personal revelation, if you will).

This third option is also, in my belief, the way the Founders viewed what they wrote and the only option our country can take if it wishes to uphold its foundational document, stay as free as possible, and also continue to be relevant to the world around it. The Founders created the Constitution and created a way to amend it. But they also set up federal and state levels (and of course, local levels) so that problems could be addressed at the level in which they affected people (think prophets for the world, local leaders for state and city, and personal revelation for households) They said, in essence, that the Constitution was our foundation stone and in the future some things would be so important to the American people that it would need to be protected at the highest level. But that list would be quite small. And they created a process for it, an amendment process, which the American people have done before. Other things will be important to everyone (or to a region), but not an inherent human right; those can be created through federal law. Other things will matter to only the people within one state (state law) or city (local ordinance). In this way, the Founders showed great wisdom in understanding people and the changes that occur within the society. They provided a way for the Constitution to preserve and protect us and help us grow. Because within the Constitution they gave us the way to change when necessary; just as scripture gives us the way to maintain the truth and holy law and continue to grow.

"In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God." Words are important. They create. Worlds. Nations. Hopes. Beliefs. This Easter, take some time to think about the Words you believe in and how the words that founded a nation should be considered and treated today.