According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established,

and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy

principles. Doctrine and Covenant section 101, verse 77.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses the

question, what are the just and holy principles of the U.S. Constitution?

By December 1833, the Saints had faced harrowing persecutions in Missouri, including being

driven out of their homes

in Jackson County. In a revelation given through Joseph Smith at that time, the Lord encouraged

the saints to impotune for redress and redemption in accordance with the laws and constitution

of the people, which, the Lord said, I have suffered to be established and should be maintained for the rights and

protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles. In the 1830s, the United States

was still a young nation, and the legal implications and interpretation of the Constitution

were still being explored, developed, and tested. At such a time, what did it mean that the U.S.

Constitution contains just and holy principles? Legal scholar John W. Welch explained, while Joseph Smith

never expressly defined what he meant by the word principles, it would appear that the preamble

to the Constitution encapsulates Joseph's conceptual

and practical understanding of the term. The preamble is the opening statement of the Constitution.

It states as a bold headline the specific purposes for which the Constitution was ratified.

It famously declares,

We the people of the United States,

in order to form a more perfect union,

establish justice,

...