General Law Quotes
Dedication of the J. Reuben Clark School of Law, September 5, 1975.
Proceedings of the Convocation and Dedication of the J. Reuben Clark School of Law.
Chief Justice Warren Burger:
Here at Provo you have carried on the work of a great university for a century, and it is good that you have now added a school of law to carry on the training of lawyers in keeping with the standards that made this institution one of the great centers of learning in America, privately sustained and conducted in conformity with Christian teaching. A school of law with such inspiration and sponsorship fills a significant need in the legal education of this country--a need not met by all law schools today. Guided by these standards, it is safe to predict that this law school will become one of the foremost in the country. . . .
A new law school such as yours has a rare opportunity available to few others. It can engaged in a reexamination of the basic assumptions on which are system of justice functions. always remembering that some are fundamental and immutable and some are open to change. We begin, of course, with the Constitution that implemented the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and few better foundations could be conceived. In this two hundredth year of independence we will do well to look again at both those documents. We see that in the Declaration itself not less than four times the authors expressed direct reliance on God as "the supreme judge," as "the creator," and in the closing sentence the Declaration calls for the protection of divine providence. The uniqueness of this law school is, in part, that your basic charter exemplifies these concepts of the Declaration of 1776. . . . This is indeed a large mission for any school or university, but the background of one hundred years of Brigham Young University assures that it will be accomplished. (pp. 2-3)
Spencer W. Kimball:
Here at this college of law we hope to develop an institution where those who attend will become superior in the legal aspects for which they come and also in the ethical part which is so greatly needed in our land.
Dallin H. Oaks:
Truth and justice are ultimate values, so understood by our people, and the law and the legal profession will not be worthy of public respect and loyalty if we allow our attention to be diverted from these goals. (p. 33)
. . .
We have no diffidence in talking about religious commitment at Brigham Young University, and we will have none in the J. Reuben Clark Law School. Religious commitment, religious values, and concern with ethics and morality are part of the reason for this school's existence, and will be in the atmosphere of its study. As President Marion G. Romney . . . noted in our opening ceremonies, this law school was established to provide an institution in which students could "obtain a knowledge of the laws of man in the light of the laws of God," and the Trustees would like this school to reflect the aura of President J. Reuben Clark: "Faith, virtue, integrity, industry, scholarship, and patriotism." (p. 35)
Marion G. Romney:
In establishing this J. Reuben Clark School of Law, we hoped to attract a student body capable of being trained, and assemble a faculty competent to teach, train, and inspire such students to be top flight lawyers and superior judges--men who in their private and professional lives will, by precept and example, implement the high ideals and standards which we have been talking about. (p. 47)
Hafen, Bruce C.
"Bicentennial Reflections on the Media and the First Amendment." BYU Studies 27(3), Summer 1987, pp. 171-183.
The general theory underlying the First Amendment to the Constitution draws on the same wellsprings of thought that give rise to the central place of free agency in the restored gospel. I wish to sketch briefly some of those common ideas, remembering President Marion G. Romney's counsel that the law school at BYU should explore the laws of man in light of the laws of God. With that basic perspective in place, I would then like to consider a few recent examples drawn from the context of today's media-oriented world to illustrate the role played by self-restraint in nurturing the values of free expression. (p. 171)
Hawkins, Carl S.
[Memorandum.] Carl S. Hawkins to the Law School faculty, July 23, 1975.
We should be distinguished by the degree of our commitment to the development of our individual students, based upon our revealed knowledge as to the unique worth and dignity of each individual as a child of God.
The Law School should be distinguished by its efforts to research, publish, and teach the Judeo-Christian value assumptions underlying the development of our legal system.
The Law School should be distinguished by its efforts to discover and articulate:
The ultimate spiritual values underlying our Constitutional system and how they may be adapted to different cultures.
The ultimate spiritual values underlying our Common Law legal system, and
The moral and spiritual values underlying professional responsibility.
The Law School should be distinguished by its efforts to research, publish, teach, and work for legal reform in support of family institutions.
The Law School should be distinguished by its efforts to develop lawyering skills as tools to serve the needs of people in the light of their unique worth and dignity as spirit children of God.
Hilton, Matthew M. F.
"Finding Firm Footholds Amid the Slippery Suggestions of the Law." Proceedings of the Laying the Foundations Symposium (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1991), pp. 70-77.
I am speaking today as a civil rights attorney concerned with protecting the right of the state and individuals to recognize and live in accordance with the political assumption that presupposes "the existence of a Supreme Being." The ever changing perspectives provided by all-too-often agnostic forms of legal analysis indicate to me that if one's object is to remain clear of controversy or possible liability, then constitutional law governing public education as framed by the United States Supreme Court offers at best slippery cues for personal conduct. Considering contemporary legal and social facts, the challenge facing American educators, parents, and those who believe in the reality of Deity or an Absolute Standard is to find firm footholds based on unchanging principles rather than shifting pragmatism. If our service and leadership are to have any impact at this university or elsewhere, we must establish such footholds despite the slippery suggestions of the law, finding a rock whereon any person may stand to achieve both a clearer view of life and a place of refuge when the storms of adversity and criticism descend. (p. 71)
Oaks, Dallin H.
"Ethics, Morality, and Professional Responsibility." BYU Studies 16(4), Summer 1976, pp. 507-516.
Responsibilities of both lawyers and clients should be no stranger to the law school curriculum. Law schools can surely sensitize their students to professional problems by identifying and clarifying issues of legal ethics, a conventional and well recognized technique of law teaching. To fail in this minimal role is to leave law students to infer that value judgments are not a significant part of a lawyer's function. Law faculties must at least overcome their traditional lack of interest in moral, ethical, and professional problems. Conscientious and articulate disagreement among different law teachers on a particular moral and ethical issue is surely preferable to implied pretensions of unanimity that students will disbelieve and read as judgments of indifference on matters of ethics and morality. (p. 514)
Packer, Boyd K.
"Sentiment and Sober Thinking." BYU Law School Commencement Address, April 19, 1985.
True education includes more than thinking, more than training the natural man. Brigham Young University has as its purpose the training of every students to cultivate the spiritual part of your natures, to feel as well as to think. . . . Spiritual refinement is to permeate every class in every subject leading to every degree form the associate and technical degrees to the lofty doctorate. (p. 3)
. . .
You graduates in law supposedly have been taught to think everything all the way through. Questions: Have you once prohibited yourself from feeling your way through? "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." (Proverbs 4:7) Interesting things happen when people are trained to rely on thinking only. . . . The J. Reuben Clark School of Law was established with the purpose of producing graduates of unquestioned integrity who can feel as well as think. Surely you graduates in law, or in any other discipline, would not sell yourselves for money. Surely you will accept responsibility for consequences. To do that you will need more than agile minds. You must feel your way along and add some sentiment to your sober thinking. (pp. 8, 9-10)
Welch, John S.
"Law, Overview." In Daniel H. Ludlow (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan, 1992).
Basic LDS attitudes toward law and jurisprudence are shaped primarily by revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, and by explanations given by the Presidents of the Church. God is, by definition, a God of order: "Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion" (D&C 132:8). God and law are inseparable, for if there is no law, there is no sin; and if there is no sin, there is no righteousness, "and if these things are not there is no God" (2 Ne. 2:13). Law emanates from God through Christ. Jesus said, "I am the law, and the light" (3 Ne. 15:9), and God's word is his law (D&C 132:12).
In an 1832 revelation, Joseph Smith learned that law is a pervasive manifestation of God's light and power: "The light which is in all things . . . is the law by which all things are governed" (D&C 88:12-13). In connection with both spiritual law and natural law, no space or relationship occurs in which law is nonexistent. "There are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; . . . and unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions" (D&C 88:37-38).
There are as many laws as there are kingdoms, which reflect greater or lesser light and truth. Some laws are higher, and some are lower. The kingdom of God operates in accordance with higher laws befitting God's exalted station, while the earth and all mortality and other kingdoms belong to lower spheres and therefore operate under different laws. The degree of glory that a person or thing can abide depends on how high a law he, she, or it is able to abide (D&C 88:22-25).
Lower laws are subsumed in higher laws. If people keep the laws of God, they have "no need to break the laws of the land" (D&C 58:21). Similarly, when the Law of Moses was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, it was subsumed in him.
Existence is a process of progressively learning to obey higher law. Obeying and conforming to law are understood as a sign of growth, maturity, and understanding, and greater obedience to law produces greater freedom (D&C 98:5) and associated blessings (D&C 130:20-21).
At all levels, the principles of agency and accountability are in effect: People may choose which laws to obey or to ignore, but God will hold them accountable and reward them accordingly (D&C 82:4). This is not viewed as a threat; law's purpose is not to force or punish but to guide and provide structure.
. . .
In accordance with the principle of agency, God commands, but he does not compel. No earthly mechanism exists for the enforcement of God's laws. The prophet teaches the members correct principles, and they are expected to govern themselves. Missionary work and education of Church members are carried out so that people may make informed choices. They are taught that making an informed choice results either in a blessing (current or deferred) or an undesirable consequence (current or deferred). Ignorance of the law is considered a legitimate excuse. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, repentance is not required of those "who have ignorantly sinned" or "who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them" (Mosiah 3:11), even though failure to abide by the commandment may result in the loss of blessings that would flow from proper conduct. In most cases, violators of divine law can escape the punishment connected with the offense by repentance, the demands of justice having been satisfied by the Atonement of Christ in the interest of all (see Justice and Mercy).