After receiving and rejecting a gag order from my Stake President and Bishop, I wrote the following column. My insistence on retaining personal rights as defined by the first amendment of the Constitution and the doctrine of Mormonism triggered a massive flow of hatred and persecution. The following Idaho State Journal column gave teeth to the Mormon church’s self-righteous rage.

The hatred of the church empowered me with defiant determination to stand my ground, and stand I did.

Any who follow or belong to the Mormon church know that each prophet brings something unique to the table. Each seems to focus on one unique principle that we, as church members, can integrate into our lives and become better followers of Jesus Christ. It is curious to note that most of us tend to follow those leaders who ask us to do what is easy and ignore those who make us uncomfortable.

President Ezra Taft Benson is, I believe, the prime case in point. This column is directed to fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who do not know Benson well.

Neal Larson, a member of the church, wrote a column where he criticized Kim Davis, the County Clerk in Kentucky, who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. He wrote, “I don’t care much for politicians who ignore immigration or drug laws, and I’d be a hypocrite for cheering another one for ignoring the country’s newly federalized marriage law”. In this single line, Larson got sideways of the Constitution three times. I only have room to address one.

The Constitution, states, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives”. How can a leading conservative talk show host not understand something so basic?

The Supreme Court has no law making power, not one bit. Oh, they can make a ruling regarding the constitutionality of a federal law, but that is the limit of their power. If the law is to be changed, it can only be changed by an act of Congress. Congress did not repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

So, the Defense for Marriage Act is still the law, right? Be careful, that was a trick question. A careful study of the twenty or so powers granted to Congress, clearly shows that the Constitution was violated with the passage of this bill. Congress had no power to pass it in the first place. Scan through the tenth amendment and you will soon realize that the authority to make any ruling regarding marriage rests solely with the states or the people.

So, Mr. Larson, the only law that Kim Davis is duty bound to follow is the Kentucky law which declares that marriage is between one man and one woman. Davis will violate the Constitution by following the law you site and the later court ruling. Kim Davis is the only one in this whole mess who upheld her oath to the Constitution. She protected the law and was jailed by a further usurpation of constitutional authority.

In a town, where I once lived, I sounded the warning when a Gadianton Robber came to visit. If you do not know what a Gadianton is, find a Mormon and ask. The Gadianton in question is Senator Mike Crapo. I offered to help the people understand something about Crapo and his record of abuse and usurpation. None accepted my offer. Instead, the people lashed out irrationally, untruthfully, hatefully.

Imagine a law that allows the federal government to arrest and indefinitely detain any American citizen without charges, without habeas corpus, without due process of any kind. Of course, such a thing would be impossible here in America, right? Any right-thinking American will aggressively oppose such nonsense because it literally runs over the top of constitutional guarantees, right?. Not so fast. Tragically, the law already exists. It is called the National Defense Authorization Act. The Gadianton’s vote helped transform this bad bill into a tyrannical law.

So in the end, the Gadianton appeared and successfully delivered a song and dance that was designed to send the uninformed home feeling warm and fuzzy… which it did. The people of that town fell easily for slick and well rehearsed flattery.

According to the founders and the founding documents, all human power is vested in the people. It is we who are the guardians and custodians and defenders of that power. We have placed our hands over our hearts and pledged allegiance to the same. If you want to know who is at fault, if you want to know who God will hold accountable for this great evil, check the mirror.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. James Madison was the primary author of the Constitution. I think it’s safe to suggest that these boys understood the intent of these documents. Both stated that when the federal government passes a law that is in opposition to the Constitution, that law must be considered null and void by the states. It is the duty of the states to see that every unconstitutional law is never enforced inside its borders. If we were to follow Jefferson and Madison in doing our duty, we would stand as one massive body and require our County Commissioners, Sheriffs, Legislators and Governor to honor their oaths to the Constitution. This has not occurred and the fault rests squarely on the shoulders of you and me because we have the ultimate duty and we are directly accountable before God.

As Mormons, we have two things that were given by the inspiration and direction of God. The first is the Restored Gospel and the second is the Constitution of the United States. It troubles me that so many embrace one and reject the other. It is this uncomfortable rejection that leads me to refer to Ezra Taft Benson as the forgotten prophet.