Amber and I started reading “Moral Agency” by Elder Todd D. Christofferson which he gave on January 31, 2006 while he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. I believe he gave this at a BYU devotional or something.
We read this part:
“In years past, we generally used the term free agency. That is not incorrect, but more recently we have taken note that free agency does not appear as an expression in the scriptures. They talk of our being “free to choose” and “free to act” for ourselves and of our obligation to do many things of our own “free will.” But the word agency appears either by itself or, in Doctrine and Covenants, section 101, verse 78, with the modifier moral: “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”
I mentioned to Amber how this scripture was in relation to the Constitution of the United States and I looked up D&C 101:76-80 to read the preceeding verses to get the full context. Then I noticed something I had never noticed about this scripture before.
In verse 77 the Lord states: “According to the laws and aconstitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the brights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;”
Then in verse 80 He says: “And for this purpose have I established the aConstitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the bshedding of blood.”
I had never noticed before that in verse 77 He says “constitution” with a lowercase “c”. In verse 80 He says “Constitution” with an uppercase “c”. I’d be very interested to know if that was the case with the original writing of the revelation or if that was changed in subsequent revisions. In either case it is significant.
I think in verse 77 it is probably referring to the actual US constitution together with the constitution of the people or the disposition of the people. Here is a definition of constitution that I got from encarta:
“composition of something: the parts or members of something, or the way in which they combine to form it. Ie: “challenge the constitution of the jury”
So in this context I believe it’s referring to the mixture of the beliefs of the people and how they are choosing to apply, interpret, and abide by the laws of the land. Can also have reference to the changes that the people have made to the original constitution.
In verse 80 there can be no question that the Lord is referring to the actual original Constitution that He established through the founding fathers. So, there is a distinction between the original and the current together with the changes that the people have supported and agreed to.
What I don’t quite understand in verse 77 is that He says they should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles. I’m thinking this might be referring to the need to maintain those laws which are constitutional and work in general to maintain the original constitution.