"May I...pay honor to the founders of our beloved republic.
The Declaration of Independence to which these great men affixed their signatures is much more than a political document. It constitutes a spiritual manifesto-revelation, if you will - declaring not for this nation only, but for all nations, the source of man's rights.
Nephi, a Book of Mormon prophet, foresaw over 2300 years ago, that this event would transpire. The colonies he saw would break with Great Britain and that 'the power of the Lord was with (the colonists), " that they 'were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.' (1Nephi 13:16, 19)
The Declaration of Independence was to set forth the moral justification of a rebellion against a long-recognized political tradition - the divine right of kings. At issue was the fundamental question of whether men's rights were God-given or wheher these rights were to be dispensed by governments to their subjects. This document proclaimed that all men have certain inalienable rights. In other words, these rights came from God. Therefore, the colonists were not rebels against policial authority, usurping power. They were thus morally justified to do what they did."
("Our Priceless Heritage", Ensign, November 1976, 33
