Speeches
The Unifying Power of the Constitution and the Restored Gospel
On Friday, Sept. 20, the campus community gathered in the Knight Arena for a Constitution Day forum with Alvin Jackson, a former Utah state senator, where he spoke on the divine need of the U.S. Constitution for the restoration of the gospel.
“Why is the Constitution so important? Why does it matter?” said Jackson. “President Oaks said in his April 2021 General Conference address that without it, ‘America could not have served as the host nation for the Restoration of the gospel, which began just three decades after its ratification.’ The Constitution opened the door for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith.”
Currently serving as the stake president for the Washington D.C. Young Single Adult North Stake, Jackson shared how the gospel of Jesus Christ provides its members with the guidance and power to discern truth, receive the Lord’s guidance, and have an understanding of differing ideas and opinions in a highly political and divisive world.
“Because of the covenants that we’ve made with God, we’re entitled to this special power that helps us discern truth from error,” said Jackson. “This power gives us access immediately to the atonement of Jesus Christ. [To] the power and the capacity to do good, the capacity to increase our love for individuals and not to be judgmental, the power to resist temptation, the power to understand the Book of Mormon and how it applies to our lives. These are just a few examples of the power that comes to us through our relationship with God.”
Highlighting examples in The Book of Mormon and The Doctrine and Covenants, Jackson shared how the Lord emphasized the importance of a government with checks and balances to provide the greatest freedom to its people.
“President Oaks also said that the most desirable condition for the effective exercise of our God-given moral agency is a condition of maximum freedom and responsibility to act according to our individual choices,” said Jackson. “God does care deeply about what kind of government we live under. With freedom, we can be accountable for our own actions and cannot blame our conditions or bonds on others.
“The Constitution protects our rights, our freedom to choose,” Jackson continued. “That freedom of choice comes down to choosing Jesus Christ or choosing any other guy. And if we fail, then we have the beautiful redemptive power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Living in a free society makes the plan of salvation come alive.”
With a long history of government relations, Jackson has also served on Brigham Young University’s Marriott Business School National Advisory Committee, the leadership team of Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Studies. He is currently president of Dowdle Studios and Land that I Love, a non-profit subsidiary of Dowdle Studios that is committed to creating awareness, excitement, and understanding about America’s history
The event featured a piano duet of “Stars & Stripes Forever,” by students Kamryn Meyer and Sadie Walton, and closed with the campus community singing “Love One Another.”