[Teachldsseminary] CHAT Daniel and the Lions' Den

[E. Keith (JB) Howick, Jr.]

I happened to teach the subject of civil responsibility to my deacon's 
quorum last Sunday.  It's true that we claim to obey the law, but it's 
also true that we claim the right to worship God as we see fit.  Most 
members refer to Articles of Faith 11 and 12 to find the dichotomy.  If 
the law doesn't allow us to worship as we wish, which article of faith 
takes precedence?

The answer begins in D&C 134.  Though many of the verses provide 
specific details as to our relationship with government, the most 
poignant are verses 4-5.  Simplifying a bit, they teach the following:

We believe that all religions have the inherent right to worship as they 
please as long as their worship doesn't interfere with anyone else's 
rights and privileges.

We believe that government does not have the right to interfere in 
religion unless that religion is interfering with the rights and 
privileges of others.

We believe that people are required to uphold their governments as long 
as they are protected in their rights and privileges.

We believe that rebellion and sedition are not justified while rights 
and privileges are protected.

Though not explicitly specified, it is implied from the verses that 
sedition and rebellion are justified when rights and privileges are not 
protected by the government.  But the Church is peaceful by nature....

When it comes to obedience to the law, the Church's dogma is to obey the 
law and to work within the government to improve laws.  When governments 
forbid the practice of true religion, the Church follows the teachings 
of Paul and Jesus:

1 Cor 9:19-23 ... To them that are without law, as without law, (being 
not without law to God, but under the law to Christ)...

Tim 1:16 ... that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all 
longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on 
him...

Mk 12:14-17 ... Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to 
God the things that are God's.

Which is to say, you obey the Lord first and governments second, though 
abiding by governments wherever it does not interfere with true worship, 
patiently working toward the day when the laws can be changed.

But unrighteous laws do not exempt people from the commandments of the 
Lord.  Daniel is an excellent example of the truth of these teachings.  
He did not pray publicly (which would publicly violate the law), but in 
private (protecting the government's interests by not inciting 
rebellion), and the government had to invade his home to catch him in 
violation of an unrighteous law.

Therefore, Sister Nancy's example is imperfect.  If we lived in a 
country that proscribed our worship we would obey that government 
publicly, but would be expected by the Lord to pray properly privately.  
A better question would be, "Suppose you knelt down to pray in your home 
and two government agents entered the room, would you pray 
differently?"  The answer, according to the scriptures, should be "no."

JB Howick
Pres. Wallace Branch

P.S., if we take the example to the extreme and have a 1984ish 
government that has invaded our home to be sure we worship according to 
the laws of Man, then we find ourselves in the middle of John's 
Revelation.  Is it better to live in obedience to such a government or 
die in obedience to our God?  As much as we hate to admit it, there is 
no government on earth worth the sacrifice of our eternal salvation (1 
Sam 15:22).  The Book of Mormon is filled with examples of this choice.




Nancy Decker wrote:
> I wanted to cover Daniel and the Lion's Den and noted there wasn't 
> anything in the manual. I was reading some suggestions regarding 
> teaching Daniel and they mentioned things like..."What would you do if 
> you lived in a country or time when it was against the law to pray in 
> public and private unless the prayers were printed in an official 
> prayer book?  Suppose you were asked to pray in Sacrament Meeting and 
> two government officials walked in just then.  How would you pray?
> The more I started thinking about it the more I realized we can't 
> teach this. We are asking our kids to go against the law and we as LDS 
> obey the law. It is what sets us apart.
>  
> What do you tell the kids when they ask about choosing between obeying 
> the law and not bowing down to the golden statue or King Neb?
>  
> Are you guys skipping Daniel and the Lion's Den? I could use some ideas.
>  
> Thanks, Nancy in Sicily

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