Blessed Are the Peacemakers

President Dallin H. Oaks, screenshot from here

Earlier this week, on the eve of Constitution Day (which is September 17), there was a program at the Washington National Cathedral. The keynote address was given by Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a former constitutional law professor, Utah State Supreme Court Justice, law clerk to the US Supreme Court. And what I knew him for, as President of Brigham Young University, finishing his time there upon my graduation. In his 90s now, he is still energetic and wise.

I’ve got the whole transcript. (Video is here.) I’ll be sharing large parts, interspersed with a few comments as I think about what he said. I think it will be a fitting way to celebrate Constitution Day in this 250^th Year celebration of our nation.

I am grateful to be here in this sacred setting with many scholars, civic leaders, and others I respect.

I'm here to speak as part of the National Cathedral's ongoing effort to find a better way to embody the love of God in public life, offering hope for unity and a moral framework to move forward in a divided world.

In my professional work, I have always regarded the United States Constitution as a model for a diverse people to achieve self-government.

Along with Professor Yuval Levin and others, I read our history to teach that "creating purpose of the Constitution."

It was at this point I looked up the spelling and tried to find the quote. I couldn’t find that exact phrase, but I suspect it comes from Yuval Levin’s book American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again. 

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