This is class 2 in a series of 4 classes about defending religious liberty from an LDS perspective. These slides review a historical timeline when liberty was present and the principles required for liberty to exist.

1. Defending Religious Liberty
Class 2: God’s Hand in the
Restoration of Liberty

2. Historical timeline
 4000 BC –
Garden of Eden
and Adam-ondi-Ahman
Moses 5:51: “from the days of Cain, there was a
secret combination, and their works were in the
dark”
“And whatsoever nation shall uphold such
secret combinations, to get power and gain,
until they shall spread over the nation,
behold, they shall be destroyed; (Ether
8:22)

3. Historical timeline
 3000 BC – City of
Enoch ( A Zion People)
2344 BC – The Great
Flood

4. Historical timeline
 2243 BC – The “promised land” is
separated and preserved (Days of
Peleg)

5. Historical timeline
 2200 BC – The Jaredites come to the
Promised Land
“And now, we can behold the
decrees of God concerning
this land, that it is a land of
promise; and whatsoever
nation shall possess it shall
serve God, or they shall be
swept off when the fulness of
his wrath shall come upon
them. And the fulness of his
wrath cometh upon them
when they are ripened in
iniquity.” (Ether 2:9)

6. Historical timeline
 2000 BC – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob –
The
Abrahamic CovenantPagan societies
surrounding Ur believed in
many Gods that controlled
the destinies of men and
they required services and
sacrifices before they
would provide for the
people’s needs.
Abraham said that none of
these God’s exist. He said
there is One True God and
He does not control man,
but gives man agency to
do good or evil and learn

7. Historical Timeline
 1500 BC – Moses leads the children of
Israel out of bondage (Ruler’s Law)
All power in the
ruler (Central
Government)
More than
600,000
families
More than
3,000,000
individuals
Moses was trained
in Ruler’s Law for
upwards of 40
years. He learned a
system of
government where
all authority and
power rested with
the central
government
(Pharoah).
“and the people stood
by Moses from the
morning unto the
evening” (Exodus
18:13)

8. Historical Timeline
 1500 BC – Moses leads the children of
Israel out of bondage and establishes
People’s Law
Moses
Companies
of 10s, 50s,
100s, 1,000s
More than 600,000
families
More than 3,000,000
people with power to
govern themselves
Jethro patiently watched
and then taught Moses a
better way
“take you wise men, and
understanding, and known
among your tribes, and I will
make them rulers over you.”
(Deuteronomy 1:13)

9. Historical Timeline
 1000 BC – The Israelites request a King
◦ “Then all the elders of Israel gathered
themselves together and came to Samuel and
said unto him, make us a king to judge us like all
the nations” (1 Samuel 8: 4-5)
Samuel warned the people about the dangers of
a king (a monarchy or one powerful central
government)
◦ “Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the
voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will
have a king over us; that we also may be like all
the nations; and that our king may judge us, and
go out before us, and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel
8:19-20)

10. Historical Timeline
 750 BC – 10 tribes captured by Assyria
Caucus Mountain
Range

11. Historical Timeline
 600 BC – Jerusalem destroyed and the
Jews are taken captive by Babylon
◦ Lehi and Mulek commanded to leave Jerusalem
and travel to the Promised Land. Nephi and his
followers establish a free colony in the promised
land:
“And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the
statutes, and the commandments of the Lord . . . And
the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly
. . . And it came to pass that they would that I should
be their king. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they
should have no king.” (2 Nephi 5: 10-11, 18)

12. Historical Timeline
 600 BC – Daniel
interprets
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
(see Daniel 2)
 Four blood thirsty kingdoms
– periods of tyranny and
despotism.
“forasmuch as thou sawest that the
stone was cut out of the mountain
*without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay,
the silver, and the gold” Daniel 2: 45
Head of Gold
Babylon
605-561 BC
Breast of
Silver
Persia
539-331 BC
Thighs of
Brass
Greece
331-161 BC
Legs of Iron
Rome
161 BC
Feet of Iron &
Clay
Dispersed
Roman
*hands are a symbol of power

13. Historical Timeline
 435 BC – King Cyrus
(Persia) allows Jews to return
home and rebuild Jerusalem
and the temple
 165 BC – Judas
Maccabaeus: The Jews win
Freedom from Macedonia
(Greece) and preserve their
religion. The Story of
Hanukkah
 130 BC – King Mosiah and
King Benjamin – Reign of the

14. Historical Timeline
 130 BC – King Mosiah and King Benjamin
–
Reign of the Judges
“because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should
have a king or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much
iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed . . . And
behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous
king save it be through much contention; and the shedding of
much blood.” (Mosiah 29: 16-17, 21)
“therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and
became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an
equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every man
expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins. (Mosiah
29:38)

15. Historical Timeline
 73 BC – Captain Moroni and the Title of
Liberty Amalickiah conspires to be king. “we also
see the great wickedness one very wicked
man can cause to take place among the
children of men . . . Because he was a man of
cunning device and a man of many flattering
words, that he led away the hearts of many
people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to
destroy the church of God, and to destroy the
foundation of liberty which God had granted
unto them.”
Moroni raises the title of liberty: “he rent his
coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote
upon it – In memory of our God, our religion,
and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and

16. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and render
unto God what is God’s.”
This passage legitimizes both human governance
and theological reverence, while making it
clear they are not the same thing. In the same
breath that He uses to legitimize Caesar’s place in
society, He also takes him down several pegs, by
suggesting that Caesar is not a god, nor is he the
supreme acting force in the world.
0- AD 33
The Life and
Ministry of
Jesus Christ

17. Historical Timeline
 A.D. 34 - Jesus Christ visits America. Zion in
America for 200 years
“There was no contention in the land because of the love of
God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there
were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms,
nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness;
and surely there could not be a happier people among all the
people who had been created by the hand of God. There
were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there
Lamanites, nor any manner of –ites; but there were in one,
the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.” (4
Nephi 1:15-17)
 AD 333 - The Fall and Destruction of the Nephite
Nation

18. Historical Timeline
In Jerusalem:
 AD 33 The Death of Jesus Christ
followed by the death of the Apostles.
 AD 133 - The scattering of the Jews.
The Jews would be scattered among the nations
without a homeland until 1841 when Orson Hyde,
under the direction of Joseph Smith, traveled to
Israel and dedicated the land for the gathering of
the Jews.

19. The Great Apostasy
 Loss of liberty and loss of priesthood
authority for 1000+ years as the world
plunged into a period of “dark ages”.
 Barbarians, Tyrants, and Kings ruled the
people

20. 600 AD – 1600 AD: A Long
Difficult Millennium
 A.D. 600 Mohammad
◦ Mecca – a shrine of the most renowned
pagan gods. Pagan societies surrounding
Mecca believed in many Gods that controlled
the destinies of men and they required
services and sacrifices before they would
provide for the people’s needs.
◦ Mohammad taught that the pagan gods did
not exist. He agreed with Abraham. He said
there is One True God and He does not
control man, but gives men agency to do
good or evil and learn by their own
experience.

21. 600 AD – 1600 AD: A Long
Difficult Millennium
 Teachings of Mohammad
◦ Each individual is self-controlling and
responsible.
◦ There is no superior kind of man; men are
humanly equal
◦ Some men are prophets. The greatest he
said, are Abraham, Moses, and Christ.
◦ Catholic and Greek priests corrupted
Christ’s teaching, by claiming authority to
control Christians.

22. Results of Mohammad’s
teachings
 Islamic Golden Age
◦ The knowledge that men are free swept
across the known world in the Middle East
◦ Freedom of Religion – Muslim and
Christian lived and worked side by side
without contention.
◦ AD 600 – 1492: Saracens opened the
world’s first universities with advances in
mathematics, astronomy, navigation,
modern medicine, surgery, scientific
agriculture

23. Islamic Golden Age -
Saracens

24. Saracens usher in the
Renaissance of Europe
 Saracens built the first hospital in Italy
 The Renaissance, the “revival of learning” in
Europe, arose in Italy with Saracen
civilization
 In Spain, the Saracens built great centers of
science and art
 The Saracen world was destroyed when
Pope Urban initiated the Crusades to save
the tomb of Christ and promised instant
entrance to Paradise to any man who died on
the way to kill infidels. (The Crusades
continued for 200 years)

25. Europeans introduced to the
luxuries of the Far East
 Contact with the Mediterranean people,
especially the Saracens, introduced
Europeans to the luxuries of the Far
East:
◦ Spices
◦ Rugs and tapestries
◦ Jewelry and perfumes
◦ Beautiful fabrics made of silk
◦ Oils lamps
◦ Sugar
◦ Cosmetics
◦ Tiled floors, walls and ceilings of mosaic

26. The Crusades sparked the desire to find
better trade routes to the Far East
 Marco Polo accompanied his father and
uncle to China in A.D. 1271
 The Portuguese, English, and Spanish tried
to reach the Far East by going west.
 Strong eastward winds caused them to give
up western travel and seek a route around
Africa

27. In England: Anglo-Saxon
Culture
The English had
fought to preserve
the basic structure
of Anglo Saxon
Culture under
people’s law that
could be traced
back to at least
A.D. 450
Organized into
units identical to
the Israelites
Earl
The head of 100
families was
called the
hundred man
The head of 50 families
was the vil-man, or head
of the Village
The head of 10 families was
called the tithing-man
Individuals with power to govern
themselves
The head of 1,000
families was called the
Eolderman, later
shortened to Earl. The
territory occupied by 1000
families was called the
Shire. The assistant to
the Earl was called the
Shire – reef. We
pronounce it sheriff.

28. King Alfred the Great (AD 871-899)
 A good and wise king who loved God and the
scriptures
 He translated the 10 commandments and used
them as a guide to make just laws
 Introduced trial by jury to protect innocent from
being falsely accused
 He had many scriptures translated into his Anglo-
Saxon language so that all of his people could
learn from them

29. Norman Conquest of Britain
By 1066 AD, the
citizens of England
had nearly lost their
freedom entirely in the
Norman Conquest
which marked the
beginning of French
Norman rule in Britain:
◦ Feudal Law (ruled by
masters)
◦ Roman Civil law
(ruled by judges)
◦ Canon Law (ruled by
the Church)
All power in the ruler
(National)
State
Family
Community
Individual

30. Cultural Belief under Ruler’s
Law
The Norman
Conquest
introduced
Ruler’s Law in
England:
The common
belief was that
God raised up
a royal family
to rule over
the land.
God bestowed up the
King the right to govern
the people
The King determined
which rights to bestow
upon the people
The common people were
“subjects” to the King

31. Chief characteristics of Ruler’s
Law
 The thrust of government is always from the
ruler down, not from the people upward.
There is no vote by the majority.
 The people have no unalienable rights.
 Problems are always solved by issuing new
edicts, creating more bureaus, appointing
more administrators, and charging the
people more taxes to pay for these
services.

32. Ruler’s Law and Violence
 The transfer of power is nearly always by
violence – the dagger, the poison cup, or
fratricide and civil war. (Jaredites are
another example)
 The long history of Ruler’s law is one of
blood and terror, both anciently and in
modern times. Those in power revel in
luxury while the lot of the common people is
one of perpetual poverty, excessive
taxation, stringent regulations, and a
continuous existence of misery.

33. James Madison
“The accumulation of all powers –
legislative, executive, and judiciary—in
the same hands, whether of one, a
few, or many, and whether hereditary,
self-appointed, or elective, may justly
be pronounced the very definition of
tyranny.”

34. King John - The Magna
Charta
 By 1215 AD, the oppressive policies of
the Normans became intolerable.
 English barons rebelled against King
John
 He was compelled to sign the Magna
Charta in which they itemized their
rights
 First written document to define some
fundamental or inalienable rights, one
of these being that each individual

35. Magna Charta
“the English
Church shall be
free, and shall
have its rights in
full and its liberties
intact.”

36. Guaranteed on paper but not in
practice
• Though Bible translations of any kind
were denounced, Bible reading during
the Middle Ages was never totally
denied.
• During this time, however, reformers
who promoted Bible reading many
times paid with their lives.
 Persecution had taken the lives of
many martyrs of religious freedom
since the 1300s.

37. Translation of the Bible
 John Wycliffe – late 1300s translated Bible
from Latin to English. He and his followers
were severely persecuted.
 Gutenberg Press – invented in 1455. The
Bible was one of the first books printed.
 William Tyndale - early 1500s – translated
the New Testament and portions of the Old
Testament from Greek and Hebrew into
English. His friends warned him that he
would be killed for doing so, but he was
undaunted.
 On October 6, 1536, William Tyndale was
strangled and his body burned for
determination to translate and print the Bible.

38. The Search for Freedom in
France
 Early 1400s, England invaded France
and dethroned the royalty
 Joan of Arc, at the age of 13 ½ has a
divine manifestation and learned of a
special mission she had to help in the
liberation of France
 Incredible story of Joan of Arc and the
divine help she received helped the
people recognize that Freedom
comes from God and not
government.

39. Search for Freedom in Spain
 1492: Spain expels the Moors (the
remnants of the Saracens) from Spain
to end a conflict raging for 1000 years.
 This same year, Columbus appears
before King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella to request financing for a
voyage to find a west trade route to
China

40. Christopher Columbus
 Columbus believed himself chosen by
God to find a land and deliver the light
of Christianity to the natives there.
 Spencer W. Kimball:
“God inspired a little boy, Christopher Columbus,
to stand on the quays in Genoa Italy, and yearn
for the sea. He was filled with the desire to sail
the seas . . . And so when he was mature,
opportunity was granted to him to brave the
unknown seas, to find this land . . And to open
the door, as it were.”

41. Samuel Eliot Morrison, Historian
“There can be no doubt that
the faith of Columbus was
genuine and sincere, and that
his frequent communion with
forces unseen was a vital
element in his achievements.
It game him confidence in his
destiny, assurance that his
performance would be equal to
this promise . . .This conviction
that God destined him to be an
instrument for spreading the
faith was far more potent that
the desire to win glory, wealth,
and worldly honors.”

42. Transition from Ruler’s Law to
Liberty
 The Rulers remain in power because the
people live in fear of punishment if they
do not comply.
 When the common people live in fear,
they may remain subjects of a tyrannical
government for generations.
 The challenge of breaking the cycle:
People tend to behave according to what
they believe; therefore, fear of the ruling
class is taught from cradle to grave
unless . . .

43. People move from fear to
faith
 A movement for freedom of religion
among the common people began to
stir during the renaissance. The Light
of Christ was growing strong to dispel
the darkness
 Longing for a higher knowledge
brought a reformation and illumination
that would grow brighter and brighter.
 Knowledge increased, reawaking and
revitalizing a darkened world.

44. Turbulent Political Times Brought
Change
• King Henry VIII (1509 – 1547)
• William Tyndale died in 1536.
• 1539 - because of a disagreement with the
church in Rome, King Henry VIII declared
himself the head of the church in England and
required that copies of the English Bible be
placed in every parish church.
• Hungry for the gospel, people flocked to these
churches, reading the scriptures to one another
until their voices gave out. The Bible was also
used as a primer to teach reading.

45. Influence of the Bible
“The Liberty of a People is the gift of
God and Nature.”
“The Liberties of Nations are from
God and Nature, not from Kings.”
Algernon Sidney (1623-1683), after a careful
study of the gospel taught:

46. Algernon Sydney challenged the
Divine Right of Kings
 “God having given the Government of the
World to no one Man, nor declared how it
should be divided, left it to the Will of Man.”
 “A general presumption that Kings will govern
well, is not a sufficient security to the People.”
 “Samuel did not describe to the Israelites the
glory of a free Monarchy; but the Evils the
People should suffer, that he might divert
them from desiring a King.”

47. Algernon Sydney: Observations
on Liberty
“The Glory, Virtue, and Power of the Romans,
began and ended with their Liberty.”
“Liberty produceth Virtue, Order and Stability:
Slavery is accompanied with Vice,
Weakness and Misery.”

48. Fate of Algernon Sydney
 Executed by beheading on December
7, 1683 for the challenges he made on
the Divine Right of Kings

49. John Locke 1632 - 1704
 Referring to mankind: All men are in a
state of political equality in which there
is no natural superior or inferior.
“that being all equal and
independent, no one ought to harm
another in his life, health, liberty or
possessions…”
 Theory of Social Contract: The people
agree to transfer some of their rights
to a central government, while
retaining others.

50. English Bill of Rights - 1689
 The English Bill of Rights is an act that
the Parliament of England passed on
December 16, 1689. The Bill creates separation
of powers, limits the powers of the king and
queen, enhances the democratic election and
bolsters freedom of speech
 The Bill of Rights also shrunk many of the
powers of the crown. In fact, the United States
Bill of Rights was modeled after the English Bill
of Rights.

51. Political Reformers in England
influence the Founders
 Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
were both influenced by the writings of
John Locke and Algernon Sidney.
 Their ideas can be seen in the
Declaration of Independence and
again in the Constitution of the United
States

52. Divine Right of All Men
“All men have
been endowed
by their
creator with
certain
unalienable
rights that
among these
are life, liberty,
and the pursuit
of happiness.”
Declaration of Independence
Divine
Right of
Kings
Divine
Right of
Men
A giant leap forward and upward
. . .

53. Revolutionary War
While these rights were finally defined and
penned on paper, the sacrifice of many men
and women would still be required before a
government would be established for a free
people.