***Reminder: Because we switched weeks, Journeyman and Master’s assignments for this week will be posted under the Eureka lens.***

“If you were designing a society from scratch, what would you protect — and why?”

Memorize the following four lines from a Shakespearean poem.

What win I if I gain the thing I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week?
Or sells eternity to get a toy?

As we embark, I would like to state that my goal in examining the six values we will discuss this year is not to tell you what to think but rather to put you in contact with the thoughts and writings of people who have wrestled with these ideas and then for you to form your own opinion. I am excited to hear what you think, what you learn, what you agree with, and what you disagree with.

What is Liberty?

This month we are going to explore the concept of liberty. What does that word mean to you? Having grown up in America, there are a lot of things that we likely take for granted. The concept of liberty is definitely one of those things. But in the early 1600s, the idea of being free was not a given.

Before you read any farther, take out your commonplace book and write your own definition of liberty.

Watch this video. You might recognize, in the pilgrims’ dilemma, our island experiment from vision days. What does a small group of people do when they find themselves alone without a ruler to oversee them?

Watch this video. And this video. Is there anything you would like to add to your definition? What is the difference between liberty and license?

Read/Understand

For each reading assignment below, circle words that are unfamiliar to you. Create a page in your commonplace book (it might look like this) to do the following:

• choose 5 of those words, look up and record each definition, and
• answer in writing the answers to these questions.

(If you feel like you know all the words, choose 5 that you think are most important and write the definitions of those. Often we don’t understand words as well as we think we do.)

5000 Year Leap

Throughout this year, we will study several of the principles explained in the 5000 Year Leap. (Since page numbers may vary, depending on which edition of the book you have, please be sure that the title matches.)

This week, you will study three principles. Be sure to identify in writing the claim, evidence, connection and response as explained above for each principle.

• 1st principle, “the Genius of Natural Law”;
• 8th principle, “Men are Endowed by Their Creator with Certain Inalienable Rights”; and
• 9th principle, “To Protect Man’s Rights, God has Revealed Certain Principle of Divine Law.”

The Federalist

Watch this video to introduce you to Federalist Papers.

Print and study Federalist #51. Be sure to fill out the information as described above.

What about Religious Liberty?

President Dallin H. Oaks, who, in addition to being the prophet and leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a former Utah Supreme Court justice. On September 16, he addressed listeners across the nation from the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on the eve of Constitution Day. His address was titled “Faith, Freedom and the Common Good.” (Optional: Follow this link to learn more about President Oaks’ life. There are some stories here!)

Watch his address. Take notes of things that stand out to you. What are his concerns? What calls to action does he make? What do you feel inspired to do, study, or change as a result of what he said? Come prepared to share what you learned.

Here’s a checklist to help keep track of all the parts of preparing for this week!