LDS Freemen
LDS articles, political commentary, principles of freedom, proper role of government by liberty-minded latter-day saints.
Archive for November, 2009:
Scriptural Authorization for Limited Government
This is the second part of the entire article. Part one is here. Both articles are based upon the Stewardship Principle found here. This article is not intended to be exhaustive, only to introduce concepts which I believe are valid, and essentialy reject market anarchism as a valid Christian aspiration.
The ...
Scriptural Authorization for Taxation
The purpose of this article is to show that the scriptures authorize taxation with a critical and fundamental limitation. The authority to levy limited taxes is based upon the Stewardship Principle. Such powers of taxation are justified in the eyes of the Lord, and the scriptures provide examples of proper use of ...
Robert Murphy comments on Collins and Smitherson
Robert Murphy decided to post some comments about Caleb Smitherson's and my articles on God and the libertarian principle of self-ownership. The entire post can be found here. I thought I'd respond with some additional comments.
After quoting my article almost in it's entirety, he emphasizes this part, "Unless God corroborates this claim ...
Marxism… America’s Established Religion?
Is the United States Federal Government is Establishing a Civic Religion in Violation of the First Amendment?
Of course the first question that must be answered is: What is religion?
There are many religions today including versions of, theism, pantheism, atheism (See Malnak v. Yogi 592 F.2d 197, 206 (C.A.N.J., 1979)) and ...
Self-Ownership and God
In a recent essay on LDSFreemen.com, the author begins, "Contrary to libertarian philosophy, man does not have the right to full ownership of his body." He then goes on to explain in his thesis that the "the right to full ownership of the human body belongs to the Lord Jesus ...
Too Kooky for the Constitution?
I came across an interesting website the other day: www.tookookyforkentucky.com. It is a site dedicated to demeaning Ron and Rand Paul for their liberty-leaning political views, and as the website’s name conveys, suggests that the Pauls are extremists and a couple of crazies whose ideas should not be welcomed in ...
Thanksgiving – The Birth of Private Enterprise
I first learned of these events a few years ago and each year since I share them with others. My kids are not yet old enough to understand their importance, but one day they will. Richard Ebeling here explains the true meaning of that first Thanksgiving dinner:
This time of the ...
The State and Proper Role of Government
Among those who promote liberty, it is a fundamental principle that the proper role of government is to "secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens." Further, government can only perform those functions delegated to it by "the people". Since the people have the inherent authority to defend themselves and ...
The 28 Principles of Liberty: Principle 15
The Highest Level of Prosperity Occurs when there is a Free-Market Economy and a Minimum of Government Regulations.
Having a good idea of what was possible with setting up a political and social structure based on natural law, the founders sought for natural law for the market place as well. In ...
Ending the Fed’s Secrecy
Having passed committee, Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve has been attached to a larger financial reform bill as an amendment. This is historic and fantastic news! Gary North explains why in a review of those attacking the idea of auditing the Fed. His introduction:
Wall Street is an ...
The State’s Use of Hobgoblins To Outlaw Entrepreneurship
The state thrives and expands on crises. As HL Mencken put it: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." The global financial crisis, in ...
Anatomy of The State
I just finished an excellent essay I should have read a long time ago. "Anatomy of The State" by Murray Rothbard explains everything I've studied over the last few years in regards to the State. It accounts for its origin and provides explanations for exactly what its title says, the ...
Praise to the Man
Early on, my study of the Gospel began as a study of the life of Joseph Smith. The first book I read was called "Journal of Joseph". It was basically an abridged version of the first few volumes of the History of the Church set. It helped me to see ...
Climate Change Science Impropriety
This is the latest in climate change news. Confidential emails and files have been leaked that seem to suggest all kinds of impropriety in climate change science. Check out this list of links from major news outlets. We should all judge for ourselves what's going on here. Time will clear ...
Stewardship and Non-Aggression
Contrary to libertarian philosophy, man does not have the right to full ownership of his body. Murray Rothbard assumed that if “man is not entitled to full and 100 percent self-ownership” then only two logical alternatives would exist: “(1) the ‘communist’ one of Universal and Equal Other-ownership, or (2) Partial ...
Shouting Fire and Property Rights
A year ago I quoted Murray Rothbard on what he had to say about shouting fire. Sheldon Richman recently argued the same thing, rather conclusively in my opinion:
The "fire in the crowded theater" matter is not an exception to free speech but a recognition of property rights, of which free ...
The Civic Duty of the Latter-day Saints
The following is the text of a lecture I gave last night to the Young Americans for Liberty chapter at Utah Valley University:
Throughout the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those who have been sustained as its leaders have repeatedly spoken out on political matters. This ...
Why Be Libertarian?
Murray Rothbard, Austrian School economist, libertarian, and founder of (what he termed) Anarcho-capitalism, wrote a fantastic article asking, "Why be libertarian?":
Why be libertarian, anyway? By this we mean, what’s the point of the whole thing? Why engage in a deep and lifelong commitment to the principle and the goal of ...
Google Image Swirl
I just discovered this neat utility on the Google Labs called Image Swirl. It works by searching something, and the results are then grouped together by similarity. As you click an image, it pulls it forward and shows it's similar images around it, and on and on. This will be ...
Scriptural Authorization for Limited Government
This is the second part of the entire article. Part one is here. Both articles are based upon the Stewardship Principle found here. This article is not intended to be exhaustive, only to introduce concepts which I believe are valid, and essentialy reject market anarchism as a valid Christian aspiration. The ...Scriptural Authorization for Taxation
The purpose of this article is to show that the scriptures authorize taxation with a critical and fundamental limitation. The authority to levy limited taxes is based upon the Stewardship Principle. Such powers of taxation are justified in the eyes of the Lord, and the scriptures provide examples of proper use of ...Robert Murphy comments on Collins and Smitherson
Robert Murphy decided to post some comments about Caleb Smitherson's and my articles on God and the libertarian principle of self-ownership. The entire post can be found here. I thought I'd respond with some additional comments. After quoting my article almost in it's entirety, he emphasizes this part, "Unless God corroborates this claim ...Marxism… America’s Established Religion?
Is the United States Federal Government is Establishing a Civic Religion in Violation of the First Amendment? Of course the first question that must be answered is: What is religion? There are many religions today including versions of, theism, pantheism, atheism (See Malnak v. Yogi 592 F.2d 197, 206 (C.A.N.J., 1979)) and ...Self-Ownership and God
In a recent essay on LDSFreemen.com, the author begins, "Contrary to libertarian philosophy, man does not have the right to full ownership of his body." He then goes on to explain in his thesis that the "the right to full ownership of the human body belongs to the Lord Jesus ...Too Kooky for the Constitution?
I came across an interesting website the other day: www.tookookyforkentucky.com. It is a site dedicated to demeaning Ron and Rand Paul for their liberty-leaning political views, and as the website’s name conveys, suggests that the Pauls are extremists and a couple of crazies whose ideas should not be welcomed in ...Thanksgiving – The Birth of Private Enterprise
I first learned of these events a few years ago and each year since I share them with others. My kids are not yet old enough to understand their importance, but one day they will. Richard Ebeling here explains the true meaning of that first Thanksgiving dinner: This time of the ...The State and Proper Role of Government
Among those who promote liberty, it is a fundamental principle that the proper role of government is to "secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens." Further, government can only perform those functions delegated to it by "the people". Since the people have the inherent authority to defend themselves and ...The 28 Principles of Liberty: Principle 15
The Highest Level of Prosperity Occurs when there is a Free-Market Economy and a Minimum of Government Regulations. Having a good idea of what was possible with setting up a political and social structure based on natural law, the founders sought for natural law for the market place as well. In ...Ending the Fed’s Secrecy
Having passed committee, Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve has been attached to a larger financial reform bill as an amendment. This is historic and fantastic news! Gary North explains why in a review of those attacking the idea of auditing the Fed. His introduction: Wall Street is an ...The State’s Use of Hobgoblins To Outlaw Entrepreneurship
The state thrives and expands on crises. As HL Mencken put it: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." The global financial crisis, in ...Anatomy of The State
I just finished an excellent essay I should have read a long time ago. "Anatomy of The State" by Murray Rothbard explains everything I've studied over the last few years in regards to the State. It accounts for its origin and provides explanations for exactly what its title says, the ...Praise to the Man
Early on, my study of the Gospel began as a study of the life of Joseph Smith. The first book I read was called "Journal of Joseph". It was basically an abridged version of the first few volumes of the History of the Church set. It helped me to see ...Climate Change Science Impropriety
This is the latest in climate change news. Confidential emails and files have been leaked that seem to suggest all kinds of impropriety in climate change science. Check out this list of links from major news outlets. We should all judge for ourselves what's going on here. Time will clear ...Stewardship and Non-Aggression
Contrary to libertarian philosophy, man does not have the right to full ownership of his body. Murray Rothbard assumed that if “man is not entitled to full and 100 percent self-ownership” then only two logical alternatives would exist: “(1) the ‘communist’ one of Universal and Equal Other-ownership, or (2) Partial ...Shouting Fire and Property Rights
A year ago I quoted Murray Rothbard on what he had to say about shouting fire. Sheldon Richman recently argued the same thing, rather conclusively in my opinion: The "fire in the crowded theater" matter is not an exception to free speech but a recognition of property rights, of which free ...The Civic Duty of the Latter-day Saints
The following is the text of a lecture I gave last night to the Young Americans for Liberty chapter at Utah Valley University: Throughout the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those who have been sustained as its leaders have repeatedly spoken out on political matters. This ...Why Be Libertarian?
Murray Rothbard, Austrian School economist, libertarian, and founder of (what he termed) Anarcho-capitalism, wrote a fantastic article asking, "Why be libertarian?": Why be libertarian, anyway? By this we mean, what’s the point of the whole thing? Why engage in a deep and lifelong commitment to the principle and the goal of ...Google Image Swirl
I just discovered this neat utility on the Google Labs called Image Swirl. It works by searching something, and the results are then grouped together by similarity. As you click an image, it pulls it forward and shows it's similar images around it, and on and on. This will be ...LDSFreemen.com Newsletter
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LDS Liberty Podcast
- The Free Capitalist – Part I March 6, 2010
- Suffer the Illegal Immigrants February 27, 2010
- The Coming Apostasy February 20, 2010
- You Don’t Have To Be Poor February 13, 2010
- Who Owns Your Children and Ideas February 6, 2010
