In the October 1987 General Conference, Ezra Taft Benson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, asked the members of the Church, “Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it?”

We at Befriend The Constitution have been aware of that question and have read many talks, books, and statements by the prophets relative to the Constitution. However, we’ve recently had a desire to make a more in depth study. We decided that the first part of that study would be identifying and reading everything that has been said about the Constitution in the General Conferences of the Church.

General conference reports from October 1897 to the present are available on-line. We have searched each conference report and read everything spoken about the Constitution. We’ve identified 73 talks that are wholly devoted to the Constitution, Government, Liberty, Civic Duty, or some other topic directly related to the Constitution. Nearly all of those talks were given by members of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In addition to the 73, there are scores of talks that contain statements about the Constitution, some very lengthy. We have nearly 100 pages of statements from those talks.

Reading the 73 talks will give one a thorough understanding of Church doctrine about the Constitution. If you want to make a rewarding and enjoyable study of the Constitution from a Church perspective then read these 73 talks over the next year or so.

Some talks were given during the World Wars, the Prohibition era, and the Cold War. While the talks reflect the times in which they were given, the principles they teach are eternal and apply as much today as when the talks were given.