Sacred Texts: Mormons

Doctrine and Convenants: 134. A declaration of belief regarding governments and laws, adopted at a general assembly of the Church, Kirtland, Ohio, August 17, 1835.

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Section 134 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a formal declaration of belief on government and law, canonized as scripture by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It argues that civil government is divinely ordained for human welfare, requiring laws that protect property, life, and conscience — and that citizens are morally obligated to obey and sustain their governments in return for those protections. A central and recurring theme is the strict separation of religious and civil authority: the state must protect religious freedom but cannot dictate worship, and religious bodies may discipline members spiritually but cannot adjudicate property rights or inflict physical punishment. Notably, the document explicitly forbids missionaries from preaching to enslaved people or encouraging dissatisfaction with their bondage without the consent of slaveholders — a historically significant and troubling accommodation to the institution of slavery. The declaration reads less as devotional scripture and more as a political-theological position paper, likely composed in the 1830s context of LDS communities navigating tensions with civil authorities and seeking legitimacy in American society.

Doctrine and Convenants: 134. A declaration of belief regarding governments and laws, adopted at a general assembly of the Church, Kirtland, Ohio, August 17, 1835.

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