Lessons of 2026
Lesson No. Twenty-Nine

Divinely Orchestrated Sequences Include the United States Constitution

The Lord’s work is accomplished by divinely orchestrated sequences. Consider the following examples:

The creation of the earth, as recorded in the books of Genesis, Moses, Abraham, and in the temple, is an example of a divinely orchestrated sequences. The next “day” necessarily followed the previous “day”, and was preoperatory for the following “day”.

I see three divinely orchestrated sequences centered around Jesus Christ. These sequences, taken together, culminate with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His millennial reign.

1. Beginning with Adam and Eve and continuing to Mary and Joseph, the Old Testament shows God orchestrated events so that Jesus would be born in a divinely appointed linage.

2. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the subsequent apostacy, the second divinely orchestrated sequence was given to Nephi in a vision described in 1 Nephi 13.

- It began with the voyage of Columbus (13:12);

- Followed by the coming of Christian colonists including those on the Mayflower (13:13);

- Followed by the scattering of the native Americans (13:14);

- Followed by the humility of the Christian colonists resulting in their prosperity (13:15-16);

- Followed by the revolutionary war and the colonists eventual victory (13:17-19);

- Followed by the blessings that the colonist received because they strived to keep the commandments of God(13:20-25). One of these blessings is the Constitution of the United States. The Lord took personal credit for its establishment (D&C 101:77).

3. The restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days is the third divinely appointed sequence, and it is described in considerable detail in 1 Nephi 14.

- The Lord will manifest Himself in the latter days “in word, and also in power…” (14:1).

- If the people of the latter days repent “they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall no more be brought down into captivity” (14:2).

- So we are not brought into captivity we must follow the “just and holy” principles of agency and accountability). These are the principles upon which the Lord established the Constitution (D&C 101:77-78). Ignoring the just and holy principles of agency and accountability gives the devil power to captivate and bring us into bondage (14:3-4).

- In the latter days the marvelous work of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the great sieve which sifts the people. We can go one of two ways “either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought into captivity…” (14:7).

- In the latter days the devil will have “dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people” (14:11). We see that happening today!

- Members of the Lord’s Church are few in comparison to the world, but they are found world-wide. The worldly fight against the Lord and His Church (14:12-13).

- The power of God is upon the covenant people of the Lord, and temples, being built world-wide arm them “with righteousness and the power of God in great glory” (14:14).

- “Wars and rumors of wars [are now] among all the nations and kindreds of the earth” (14:15). In our day “the work of the Father shall [continue] in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants” (14:16-17).

The Constitution has an important role in the third divinely orchestrated sequences. President Dallin H. Oaks has for the many years been an apostle and is now President of the Church. He has taught how the Lord uses the Constitution of the United States to accomplish His purposes. The following are from his sermon (Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution, Gen Conf, April 2021).

“The United States Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in force today. Though originally adopted by only a small number of colonies, it soon became a model worldwide. Today, every nation except three have adopted written constitutions.

“The United States Constitution is unique because God revealed that He “established it for the rights and protection of all flesh” (D&C 101:77; see also vs 80). That is why this constitution is of special concern for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world.”

“What was God’s purpose in establishing the United States Constitution? We see it in the doctrine of moral agency….God has given His children moral agency—the power to decide and to act. The most desirable condition for the exercise of that agency is maximum freedom for men and women to act according to their individual choices.”

“We are to be governed by law and not by individuals, and our loyalty is to the Constitution and its principles and processes, not to any office holder. In this way, all persons are to be equal before the law. These principles block the autocratic ambitions that have corrupted democracy in some countries. They also mean that none of the three branches of government should be dominant over the others or prevent the others from performing their proper constitutional functions to check one another.”

“Our belief in divine inspiration gives Latter-day Saints a unique responsibility to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and principles of constitutionalism wherever we live. We should trust in the Lord and be positive about this nation’s future.”

Testimony. I testify that the Lord established the Constitution “by the hands of wise men whom [He]raised up unto this very purpose” and that He preserved the Constitution during the Civil War by His Servant, Abraham Lincoln. I also testify that the Lord has made Dallin H. Oaks President of His Church at a time when Constitutional principles are routinely ignored by government leaders and widely misunderstood by the electorate. President Oaks emphasizes the doctrine of agency and accountability. These are the just and holy principles of the Constitution the Lord established.

I further testify that the Constitution of the United States is God’s work, and that God’s work does not fail nor is it frustrated (D&C 3:1). Therefore, as President Oaks said, we can and should “be positive about this nation’s future” (Ibid).

Released on August 11th. 2026.