This is not the post I intended for today (that one will wait).

When speaking about Doctrine & Covenants 101, Joseph Smith said, “Even this nation will be on the verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.”¹

This may be familiar to many of you who are Latter-day Saints—the people Joseph was referring to as “the staff” that would save the Constitution of the United States. [As a side note, I believe good people everywhere can and should be this ‘staff’.]

STAFF, noun

A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds. 

Webster’s Dictionary 1828

I have imagined how I (as one among “this people” referred to) at some point might need to be that “staff upon which the nation will lean” and save the Constitution from “destruction”. You may have as well.

I’m not sure we know exactly which particular situation Joseph Smith meant when he made that statement, if any. It could quite possibly mean a variety of situations in which we protect the Constitution throughout its existence. But I realized today that it might not be what I have always imagined.

In reality, I don’t think it matters if any situation he refers to is occurring today or has already occurred in the past or will occur in the future. To me, what matters is that I am ALWAYS a ‘support’ and a ‘defense’ for the Constitution–someone who ‘props’ and ‘upholds’ the Constitution in any circumstance, whether my candidate has won or lost. I must stand upon principles. I must take an objective look at the inspired concepts of the Constitution and ensure that those are my guide–not policies or ideas or rhetoric that change for convenience of power.

I must ensure that I am on the right side, even if that is the side I am not accustomed to being on.

I have chosen to follow this counsel from President Dallin H. Oaks during the October 2020 General Conference:

“…Our article of faith, written by the Prophet Joseph Smith after the early Saints had suffered severe persecution from Missouri officials, declares, ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’ (Articles of Faith 1:12).

“This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. It also means that we peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome. In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.”²

I have chosen to be a STAFF. Not a SABRE.

SABRE, noun 

A sword or cimitar with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and a little falcated or hooked at the point; a faulchion.

Webster’s Dictionary 1828

These are some of my other thoughts related to the election turmoil of the past few months:

The Right Way and the Wrong Way to Lose an Election

That Liberty Which Binds Us

The Aftermath of Rivalry

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¹ Joseph Smith Papers, LDS Church Historical Archives, Box 1, March 10, 1844 accessed in “What do we know about the purported statement of Joseph Smith that the Constitution would hang by a thread and that the elders would save it?”, Ensign, June 1976

² “Love Your Enemies“, Dallin H. Oaks, General Conference, October 2020