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Individual Liberty

Definition
Founders
Brethren
References

Definition:
    Individual Liberty: the ability of each person to act freely and responsibly according to the dictates of his or her own conscience. Liberty, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, is an unalienable right, among others, granted to us by our Creator, and "to secure these rights governments are instituted among men." Our government has the duty to secure and protect our natural liberties for us but has no right to expand or restrict them because God gave them to us, not the government. In order to help secure our liberties, or freedom, the Founders enumerated certain rights in the Bill of Rights which consist of the following: freedom of religion, speech, the press, the right peacably to assemble, to petition the government for a redress of grievances, to bear arms, to due process of law and a speedy public trial with an impartial jury. We also have the right to avoid unreasonable searches and seizures, cruel and unusual punishment, and self-incrimination. Finally, the ninth amendment states that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," meaning that the people possess other rights not enumerated in the Consitution and that the government should also protect those rights. An example of one of these rights not enumerated in the Constitution is freedom of association or the right of the people to associate with whomever they please. This right is implicit in the Bill of Rights and is vital to reinforce freedom of speech, assembly, and religion.
    With great freedom comes great responsibility. Agency is the freedom to choose, but moral agency (D&C 101:78) is the responsibility to choose based on an understanding of right and wrong. Those who have a sufficient understanding of right and wrong are accountable to themselves, their families, and society to act responsibly. Who defines what is "right and wrong?" Society as a whole, based on principles of respect, dignity, honesty, religion, tradition, or philosophy, to name a few, decides what it means to act responsibly and holds men and women accountable for their actions.
    For example, since I have been taught by my parents, my church, the government, and society in general that it is wrong to steal, I have the ability to act according to that knowledge. I can choose to steal a candy bar at the grocery store or not to steal it, but because of my knowledge of right and wrong, as determined by the people, I must be prepared to face the consequences of my actions; I am accountable to those around me and society in general for the choices I make. To help foster a civil society, "we the people", authorize our government to make laws that encourage us to act responsibly and to keep us from infringing on the rights of others. We still have agency to choose whether or not we will abide by the law, but we must suffer the consequences of our choices.

The Founders:
    George Washington: The establishment of Civil and Religious Liberty was the Motive which induced me to the Field -- the object is attained -- and it now remains to be my earnest wish & prayer, that the Citizens of the United States could make a wise and virtuous use of the blessings placed before them. (Washington, George letter to the Reformed German Congregation of New York City, November 27, 1783)
    Patrick Henry: Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings - give us that precious jewel, and you may take every things else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. (Henry, Patrick Speech to the Virginia Convention, June 5, 1788)
    George Washington: The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world. (Washington, George First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789)
    George Washington: We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. (Adams, John Address to the Military, October 11, 1798)

The Brethren:
    Dallin H. Oaks: Few concepts have more potential to mislead us than the idea that choice, or agency, is an ultimate goal. For Latter-day Saints, this potential confusion is partly a product of the fact that moral agency—the right to choose—is a fundamental condition of mortal life. Without this precious gift of God, the purpose of mortal life could not be realized. To secure our agency in mortality we fought a mighty contest the book of Revelation calls a “war in heaven.” This premortal contest ended with the devil and his angels being cast out of heaven and being denied the opportunity of having a body in mortal life (see Rev. 12:7–9).
    But our war to secure agency was won. The test in this postwar mortal estate is not to secure choice but to use it—to choose good instead of evil so that we can achieve our eternal goals. In mortality, choice is a method, not a goal.
    Of course, mortals must still resolve many questions concerning what restrictions or consequences should be placed upon choices. But those questions come under the heading of freedom, not agency. Many do not understand that important fact. We are responsible to use our agency in a world of choices. It will not do to pretend that our agency has been taken away when we are not free to exercise it without unwelcome consequences. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Weightier Matters,” Ensign, Jan. 2001)
    Boyd K. Packer: While we pass laws to reduce pollution of the earth, any proposal to protect the moral and spiritual environment is shouted down and marched against as infringing upon liberty, agency, freedom, the right to choose.
    Interesting how one virtue, when given exaggerated or fanatical emphasis, can be used to batter down another, with freedom, a virtue, invoked to protect vice. Those determined to transgress see any regulation of their life-style as interfering with their agency and seek to have their actions condoned by making them legal.
    People who are otherwise sensible say, “I do not intend to indulge, but I vote for freedom of choice for those who do.”
    Regardless of how lofty and moral the “pro-choice” argument sounds, it is badly flawed. With that same logic one could argue that all traffic signs and barriers which keep the careless from danger should be pulled down on the theory that each individual must be free to choose how close to the edge he will go. (Boyd K. Packer, “Our Moral Environment,” Ensign, May 1992)
    Dallin H. Oaks: The science of government is a consideration of the procedures by which and the extent to which the official representatives of one group of citizens can impose restrictions on the freedom of another group. Decisions on the extent to which government power should restrict the freedom of individuals are among the most difficult decisions we face in an organized society. How much should zoning laws restrict a person's right to use his own property? How many taxes should we extract, and what compulsory functions should government perform with them? How much harm can society allow a person to do himself, such as by self-mutilation or drug use? These are all questions of freedom.
    We have to accept some government limitations on freedom if we who live in communities are to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A condition of uninhibited individual freedom would allow the strong to oppress the weak. It would allow the eccentric desires of one person to restrict the freedom of many. ("Free Agency and Freedom," Oaks, Dallin H., October 11, 1987)
    Hugh B. Brown: We live in an age when freedom of the mind is suppressed over much of the world. We must preserve this freedom in the Church and in America and resist all efforts of earnest men to suppress it, for when it is suppressed, we might lose the liberties vouchsafed in the Constitution of the United States.
    Preserve, then, the freedom of your mind in education and in religion, and be unafraid to express your thoughts and to insist upon your right to examine every proposition. We are not so much concerned with whether your thoughts are orthodox or heterodox as we are that you shall have thoughts. ("An Eternal Quest--Freedom of the Mind," Hugh B. Brown, BYU Devotional,, 13 May 1969)

References:
Definition
Founders
Brethren
References