Too often, those of us who consider ourselves “defenders of liberty” attempt to separate morality from liberty. If we genuinely want to restore a culture of liberty, it is essential that we discard this falsehood and help others understand it as well. The Apostle Paul articulated the truth to the Corinthians when he said, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Having the Spirit of God is crucial for restoring and maintaining liberty. As the first governor of Utah said,
“The Gospel of Christ is the perfect law of liberty. What say you, be subject to law – is this liberty? Yes, it is liberty” (The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young 1:229).
The enemies of freedom understand this principle all too well and are working hard to undermine societal morals because they know that this is how to fundamentally destroy the liberty of the people. According to the “Communist Rules for Revolution,” it is essential to “corrupt the young, get them away from religion, get them interested in sex… By specious argument, cause the breakdown of the old moral virtues: honesty, sobriety, confidence, faith in the pledged word, ruggedness.”
Key goals of those who seek to destroy our freedom, as recorded in the Congressional Record, are to:
- Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
- Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
- Infiltrate churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not require a “religious crutch.” Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state” (see Congressional Record–Appendix, pp. A34-A35, January 10, 1963).
Even in the 1700s, the enemies of freedom knew they had to attack religion and morality to succeed in their efforts. In his exposé of the Bavarian Illuminati and the French Revolution, James Robison explained that it was essential for the revolutionists to,
“root out all religion and ordinary morality, and even to break the bonds of domestic life, by destroying the veneration for marriage vows, and by taking the education of children out of the hands of parents” (pg. 215).
What Happens To Liberty When You Lose Morality?
It is a true principle that “when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:21). If we want good health, we must eat right and exercise. If we desire knowledge, we need to study. Any society that seeks freedom must uphold morality. Though ancient Rome wasn’t Christian, they enjoyed unparalleled freedom, liberty, and prosperity by adhering to correct principles. Rome began as a monarchy around seven centuries before Christ. According to ancient traditions, Rome’s first true king, Numa Pompilius, was an enlightened monarch who, in three decades of rule, significantly civilized the Romans and softened their warlike nature. However, succeeding kings were not so benevolent.An Etruscan dynasty known as the Tarquins ruled Rome for several generations, until an incident that took place under Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud, set in motion a chain of events that led to the expulsion of the Tarquins and the establishment in Rome of a new kind of government.
Tarquinius’ son, Tarquinius Sextus, became obsessed with Lucretia, the wife of a Roman aristocrat. One night, Sextus crept into Lucretia’s house while her husband was away and violated her at knifepoint. Afterward, the grieving Lucretia summoned her husband and father and told them what had happened. She extracted from them a promise to avenge her stolen virtue and then committed suicide on the spot as further testimony against Tarquinius Sextus. Her grieving husband and father, along with two eminent Romans, Lucius Brutus and Publius Valerius, carried her body to the Forum and raised an outcry against the Tarquins. A revolt ensued as thousands of Romans rallied to their cause. The Tarquins were expelled, and the Roman Republic was established.
Publius Valerius, incidentally, became one of Rome’s first consuls and was primarily responsible for framing the original republican government of Rome. This great statesman exemplified selfless service in the cause of liberty. When Publius learned that his large and stately house on the hill overlooking the Roman forum was offensive to the people, who suspected him of having despotic intentions, he immediately ordered the house to be pulled down and moved into much humbler living quarters in the lower part of the city. Because of his unimpeachable character and exemplary leadership as a founder of the Roman Republic, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay adopted Publius’ name as a pseudonym when they wrote The Federalist Papers.
Several generations after expelling the Tarquins, the Romans sought to codify their somewhat disorganized legal system. They appointed ten men, known as the decemvirs, to create a true Roman constitution, resulting in the famous Twelve Tables of Roman law. However, once the project was completed, the decemvirs refused to step down and instead turned themselves into a self-appointed ruling tribunal, defying the wishes of the Roman people and legislators.
The Roman Republic was on the brink of succumbing to this palace coup until one of the decemvirs, Appius Claudius, developed an obsessive passion for a young woman named Virginia, who was regarded as the epitome of Roman chastity and virtue. Using his usurped powers, Appius Claudius compelled Virginia’s father, Virginius, to surrender her to him as a chattel slave. Knowing the implications, Virginius took a desperate measure and stabbed his daughter in the Forum to protect her from Appius Claudius. News of the event rapidly spread throughout Rome, inciting such outrage among the citizens that a revolt was sparked, leading to the ousting of the decemvirs. Appius Claudius was arrested and subsequently died in prison.
These events highlight the early Romans’ staunch attitude towards morality. Despite their other faults, they were fiercely protective of the chastity of their women.
Unfortunately for Rome, this state of affairs did not last forever. Not long after the Second Punic War ended, around 185 BC, the Roman Republic faced a severe threat from a vile conspiracy that aimed to utterly corrupt the morals of the Roman people and seize control of the state. This was the infamous Bacchic Cult, a secret religious society of foreign origin dedicated to Bacchus, the god of transgression, as vividly described by Livy.
Unfortunately for Rome, this state of affairs did not last forever. Not long after the Second Punic War ended, around 185 BC, the Roman Republic faced a severe threat from a vile conspiracy that aimed to utterly corrupt the morals of the Roman people and seize control of the state. This was the infamous Bacchic Cult, a secret religious society of foreign origin dedicated to Bacchus, the god of transgression, as vividly described by Livy.
In their secret rites, or bacchanalia, Livy tells us, “no sort of crime, no kind of immorality, was left unattempted. There were more obscenities between men than between men and women. Anyone refusing to submit to outrage or reluctant to commit crimes was slaughtered as a sacrificial victim. To regard nothing as forbidden was among these people the summit of religious achievement.” Furthermore, the cult “was also a source of supply of false witnesses, forged documents and wills, and perjured evidence, dealing also in poisons and wholesale murders among the devotees.”
By the mid-first century BC, just over a century later, Rome was in complete turmoil. The historian Sallust, who had a long and somewhat checkered career as a Roman politician before retiring to write history, paints a stark picture of Roman culture during the tumultuous years between the end of the Punic Wars and the rise of Julius Caesar:
“Avarice destroyed honor, integrity, and every other virtue, and instead taught men to be proud and cruel, to neglect religion, and to hold nothing too sacred to sell. Ambition tempted many to be false, to have one thought hidden in their hearts, another ready on their tongues…. Poverty was now looked on as a disgrace and a blameless life as a sign of ill nature…. Honor and modesty, all laws divine and human, were alike disregarded in a spirit of recklessness and intemperance…. Equally strong was their passion for fornication, guzzling, and other forms of sensuality. Men prostituted themselves like women, and women sold their chastity to every comer.” Sallust, The Conspiracy of Catiline, Penguin Books translation, 1963, pages 181-182
The Founders of the United States were students of history, particularly Roman and Israelite history, and understood the crucial role virtue played in maintaining liberty. They knew their efforts would not and could not endure if the people lacked virtue. It is conspirators and their followers who persist in separating morals from liberty. As John Adams explained,
“[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.” -Letter to Zabdiel Adams on June 21, 1776
Moses chapter five, verse 51, highlights carnal knowledge as a significant sign of those involved in the Satanic conspiracy that began with Cain. Similarly, Moroni explained that true freedom can only be maintained through worship and obedience to the Savior. (Ether 2:12)
The enemies of freedom are tirelessly working to erode morality, while defenders of liberty assert that liberty is impossible without morality. History bears out this truth. Therefore, let us defend virtue in all its forms as if our very lives depended on it.
Check out our interview with Dr. Steve Bonta discussing the historical record connecting immorality to tyranny.
Immorality Leads to Tyranny
Learn more about the the principles of liberty and the attacks on it in our Learn section
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