Liberty consistently captivates the mind, but there are times when it ought to occupy our special attention. July 4, 1776 was the day America stepped forth from its long gestation, finally born as “a new nation, conceived in liberty.” [1] July 4, 2026 was the semisesquicentennial of that first and most momentous Independence Day, now twelve score and ten years ago.
John Adams, one of that first generation of celebrants, wrote that Independence Day “ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” [2] Happily, his wish receives quite satisfactory fulfillment each July in the United States, with our ubiquitous fairs, barbeques, fireworks displays, airshows, drone shows, and various other rousing festivities.
Yet, many have observed a stunning lack of special enthusiasm on this most momentous 250 year celebration. [3] The authors of this article were regrettably too young to enjoy the bicentennial in 1976, but by all accounts that year was special. [4] This year seems to lack that same fervor.
Perhaps America’s evident decline since 1976, to say nothing of 1776 explains this. But whatever one feels about the current state of the nation, the anniversary celebrating 250 years of the first nation to codify the natural rights inherent to all men matters a great deal. For those of us who still “hold these truths to be self-evident” it should not pass without some effort to trumpet and resound this message with great vigor.
While we cannot do much to increase the excitement of the nation as a whole, we can offer some reflections on what makes this year so special, especially for true believers in Jesus Christ and His Restored Church. Let us reflect on the blessings of liberty.
What is Freedom?
The Noah Webster 1828 dictionary defines freedom as “A state of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement. freedom is personal, civil, political, and religious.” [6]
In other words, freedom is something we need on a practical level to fully exercise certain rights – freedom of speech, religion, assembly etc.
Liberty, on the other hand, is defined as, “Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty when not checked or controlled.” [7] Later definitions go on to explain natural liberty - which is the type of liberty we experience in the state of nature as long as we do not break laws of nature, such as what Adam and Eve experienced before they sinned.
Put differently, freedom is external liberty; it applies more to the state of the body and whether we can fully exert our agency to make good decisions. Freedom can be limited due to the exertion of control from one person to another, such as in slavery. But liberty, liberty is both freedom in that general sense, but it is also freedom of the mind. Liberty is internal freedom. Our freedom could be utterly restricted through bondage, but we would still retain liberty of mind, our will, our agency to act and choose well. No one can ever take that away.
As the Book of Mormon puts it, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself,” (2 Nephi 2:27).
The difference between freedom and liberty is, of course, theoretical. But the differences matter. Historical and scriptural stories help clarify the nuance.
Moses and the Israelites
Of all the stories of the Old Testament, there is none more incredible than Moses parting the Red Sea.
The Israelites, weary from the horrors of Egypt and the plagues of famine, pestilence, bloody rivers, and firstborn children dying, had finally gained their freedom, or so they thought. As they departed the land of their captors, the sound of chariots pursued them to slaughter them once and for all. As they met the Red Sea, with no way forward and no way to defend themselves, they believed they would perish, and that all their woes would be for nothing.
But in that moment of greatest need, the incomprehensible power of God tore a pathway, an impossible pathway through the sea – and in so doing vanquished the enemies in their pursuit. Through that simple act of placing a staff in the sea and placing faith in God, the prophet Moses led God’s people to freedom at last.
Yet though they were physically free and had experienced wondrous miracles, we know that the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness learning how to have spiritual freedom or learning how to use their liberty to choose God. God tested them continually to see if they could learn to trust in Him and learn to use their agency properly so they could one day flourish in the promised land.
God gives us freedom so that we can exercise liberty more fully.
The Puritans
In 1620, several of our ancestors were part of that intrepid crew of 102 who sailed to America on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. In describing this peculiar people, the philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville wrote,
Puritanism was not only a religious doctrine; it also blended at several points with the most absolute democratic and republican theories. Hence came its most dangerous adversaries. Persecuted by the government of the mother country, the rigor of their principles offended by the daily workings of the society in which they lived, the Puritans sought a land so barbarous and so abandoned by the world that they might yet be permitted to live there in their manner and pray to God in freedom [8]
For the Puritans, religious and political freedom were one in the same – and they had to be. For them to have the political freedom to worship as they desired, they braved the vast ocean, and attempted to pacify a wild land. Yet before they ever disembarked, they signed a document, the Mayflower Compact, which reads,
We whose names are under written [. . .] having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and the honour of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politick, for our better ordering and preservation…And by virtue hereof, do enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws. [9]
Long before the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution came forth, these settlers understood that freedom required more than escaping oppression. It required covenant, self-government, and a willingness to submit to just laws.
They understood something we sometimes forget: freedom without virtue quickly becomes disorder. Freedom is preserved only when people willingly govern themselves according to just laws and higher principles. Crossing the Atlantic gave them freedom from persecution. But freedom alone was not enough. They still had to exercise liberty, to choose righteousness, and to keep covenants.
Our pioneer ancestors would repeat much of that same story. They crossed the plains instead of oceans, but also sought a place where they could worship according to the dictates of conscience. While arriving in Utah gave freedom, Zion could never have been built without people who chose to use their agency in service of God and one another.
That brings us back to the distinction we began with. Freedom concerns the circumstances around us. Liberty concerns the choices within us.
Our ancestors teach us that religious freedom is worth great sacrifice, and liberty can preserve it.
Captain Moroni
So far, we have covered stories of the Israelites who gained freedom and learned liberty, and the pilgrims who founded a society on principles of freedom and liberty. But what about when freedom is threatened? How are we to act?
The Book of Mormon gives us perhaps the clearest example in Captain Moroni.
When Amalickiah sought power through intrigue and sought to overthrow the liberty of the people, Moroni did not merely raise an army. He first raised a standard.
After tearing his coat, he wrote upon it these words: "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." He called it the Title of Liberty. After this declaration, he then readied his protections - physical and spiritual. Mormon writes, “And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land,” (Alma 46:13).
Captain Moroni did not seek territory, wealth, or political power. Rather, he understood that freedom to do whatever you desired is not an end in itself. It existed to preserve what matters most: freedom to worship, to protect our families, to protect peace, and to live according to sacred covenants. He inspired others to promise they would use their freedom to continue to live in righteous liberty.
Moroni inspired the Nephites to enter into a covenant, and they promised, “We covenant with our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression,” (Alma 46:22).
Moroni fought courageously for the outward freedom of his people because he knew that without it, their ability to exercise their God-given agency would be threatened. Yet he also knew that no military victory could make a people righteous. The liberty he defended could only be preserved by a people who willingly chose God.
Of Captain Moroni, the prophet Mormon wrote, "if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever,” (Alma 48:17).
The Founders
During this important anniversary, one cannot help but compare the Founding Fathers to these examples. Like the Israelites and the Puritans, the Founders came to appreciate the importance of freedom from direct oppression they suffered under the English Monarchy. Like Captain Moroni they stood firm for the truths of freedom in fighting tyranny in the Revolutionary War.
Ultimately, the Founders registered a commitment to freedom and liberty in the Declaration of Independence, and codified it in the Constitution and Laws, the supreme authority of this land. Specifically emphasizing the importance of religious liberty as well as freedom of thought and conscience in the form of speech.
The one piece many erroneously believe is missing from the Founding vision of freedom is the final commitment to the holistic, virtuous liberty found at the end of each of the examples above. Two shopworn, but very important, quotes give the lie to this characterization. First, George Washington.
In his “Farewell Address,” Washington dwells at length on the various props to uphold the structure and function of America’s novus ordo seclorum. He speaks of the necessity of remaining united, preventing foreign interference, and the dangers of the party spirit. Perhaps most powerful among Washington’s plenteous advice is his statement on religion and morality in American republic:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens…It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. [10]
The father of our country speaks clearly: with the freedom we are granted, should we wish to maintain it in the fullest, we must choose morality and religion, paradoxically liberating us from our passions.
Similarly, John Adams wrote:
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. [11]
A regime offering the freedom our provides must necessarily be inhabited by virtuous, moral, religious citizens, or it will fail. Freedom used poorly will not last.
Where does True Freedom Come From?
The first three examples of Moses, the Pilgrims, and Captain Moroni, all point us toward the same eternal truth: outward freedom is a great blessing, but it is not our ultimate destination. Freedom creates the conditions in which we can exercise our agency, but only Jesus Christ can grant us perfect liberty.
That is the end that the first three examples had in common. All three believed Jesus Christ would deliver them – whether from slavery, religious intoleration, or war – so that they could use that newfound freedom to grow closer to Him. And while the Founders were not so staunchly focused on Jesus Christ as their aim, they too understood that freedom is short-lived and true liberty is impossible in absence of the kind of life a Christian lives.
In the fallen condition of both societies and souls, we will never have perfect freedom or perfect liberty. While we may not be crossing the Red Sea, founding a colony in a strange land, or fighting with Lamanites, there will always be injustice, limitation, and folly in our lives.
Only through Jesus Christ can we be made truly free from all the travails, wickedness, and shortcomings of this mortal life. A favorite scripture of ours reads, “And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death,” (Mormon 9:13).
One day, we look forward to hearing that trump sounding. It represents the glorious sound of freedom, liberty, eternal life, and reunification with our beloved Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings. He is our Savior and Redeemer, He is the source of all truth and goodness. And His ultimate sacrifice means that we too can claim victory over death and sin – as long as we turn to Him now.
In this year that ought to be a boisterous, powerful celebration of God given freedom, may we use that freedom rightly. May we choose eternal life, may we choose liberty, may we choose Jesus Christ.
NOTES:
[1] Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address” [Back to manuscript].
[2] John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams July 3, 1776. John thought the 2nd of July would be considered Independence day, as noted in this letter. But the sentiment of course holds true. Accessed at: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalmall4th/history-of-independence-day.htm --- [Back to manuscript].
[3] CF: https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/politics/5952390-america-250-years-crisis/, https://reformedjournal.com/2026/03/23/trying-and-failing-to-whip-up-enthusiasm-for-the-usas-250th/, and https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/03/250th-anniversary-readers-reflect --- [Back to manuscript].
[4] https://www.si.edu/spotlight/united-states-bicentennial --- [Back to manuscript].
[5] The bulk of what follows was originally delivered as part of a talk by McKenzie Richards in the Grandview 15th Ward sacrament meeting on June 28, 2026. The authors have adapted and expanded the talk for this article. [Back to manuscript].
[6] https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/freedom --- [Back to manuscript].
[7] https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/liberty --- [Back to manuscript].
[8] Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Translated by Mansfield and Winthop. Chicago: Unversity of Chicago Press. 32 [Back to manuscript].
[9] Quoted from ibid., 35. [Back to manuscript].
[10] https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf --- [Back to manuscript].
[11] https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/john-adams-religion-constitution
--- [Back to manuscript].
Full Citation for this Article: McKenzie Richards and Ted J. Richards (2026) "America at 250: A Reflection on our Liberty in Christ Jesus," SquareTwo, Vol. 19 No. 2 (Summer 2026), http://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticleRichardsAmerica250.html, accessed <give access date>.
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