God and Political Power

 

My Friends, today I want to reflect on a sobering observation from President Gordon B. Hinckley. He taught that “many public officers have abandoned any reverent use of the name of God in public meetings, thereby closing the door to Deity when it is plainly evident there is a need for wisdom beyond their own. If we deny the one sure source of moral truth, then from whence will it come?” His words invite us to consider not only the state of our public life, but the state of our own hearts.

Scripture teaches that true wisdom begins not with intellect, not with experience, and not with political power, but with reverence. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). When leaders—and when we ourselves—set aside the name of God, we are not merely changing language. We are closing the very door through which heaven’s guidance enters. James reminds us that *“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God… and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). But asking requires humility. It requires acknowledging that our own understanding is not enough.

The Lord lamented through Jeremiah, “They have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:9). When a people reject God’s word, they do not become wiser—they become unmoored. Isaiah warned of a time when people would “call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20), a time when moral clarity would be replaced by moral confusion. President Hinckley’s question echoes that warning: If we turn away from the one sure source of moral truth, where else do we expect to find it? Human opinion shifts. Cultural norms change. Political winds blow in every direction. But God’s truth is steady, unchanging, and sure.

The Psalmist declared, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). That blessing does not come merely from invoking His name, but from seeking His will, honoring His commandments, and acknowledging His sovereignty. When leaders pray, when communities seek God, when families teach His word, and when individuals humble themselves before Him, heaven responds. Light increases. Wisdom deepens. Hearts soften. And righteousness becomes possible.

So the invitation today is simple: let us keep the door to Deity open. Let us speak His name with reverence. Let us seek His wisdom in our homes, in our decisions, and in our daily walk. And let us be the kind of disciples whose faithfulness invites heaven’s guidance not only into our personal lives, but into the life of our communities and our nation. For when God is honored, truth has a place to stand. And where truth stands, righteousness can flourish.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.