One of my favorite verses in the scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Section 121 of the Doctrine & Covenants, which addresses leadership. Verse 39 states:

“We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”

Several years ago, I wrote a book about that. It’s a modern-day tale of a King David-like character from the Old Testament, who uses his power to control others. You can purchase a copy of it on Amazon.[i] But this blog post is not intended as a blatant marketing ploy.

I thought a lot about that Mormon scripture after I recently watched the film Nuremberg,[ii] which tells the true story of the relationship between Hermann Göring, Nazi Germany’s second in command behind Hitler, and an American psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley, at the Nazi war crimes trial held in Nuremberg at the end of World War II. In one of Kelley’s interviews with Goring, Kelley asks what attracted Germans to Hitler. Here is that scene from the movie, followed by the film’s trailer:

“He made us feel German again.” Is that really enough for Germans to end up murdering six million Jews? Did not their moral compasses sound the alarm that such a thing was not only horrific but evil? To be fair, not all Germans were directly involved in the Holocaust, and some Germans did not support Hitler.

In 2017, Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes interviewed Ben Ferencz, one of the prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials. His task was to try 22 defendants whose job it was to follow Hitler’s army through Eastern Europe, round up Gypsies and Jews, and kill them on the spot. Ironically, Ferencz called no witnesses. The defendants were found guilty by their own records of the killings. Perhaps one can be too efficient.

At one point in the interview, Stahl asks Ferencz, “What turns a man into a savage beast like that?” Ferencz’s reply: “He’s not a savage beast. He’s an intelligent, patriotic human being, acting in the interest of his country in his mind. Do you think the man who dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was a savage? Now I will tell you something profound, which I have learned after many years. War makes murderers out of otherwise decent people. All wars and all decent people.”

But I don’t believe it was just that German soldiers were patriots following orders, although that was part of it. Some feared harsh reprisals for not following such orders. Others received economic benefits by confiscating Jewish property. But to me, the most significant factor that resulted in the Holocaust was that the German people believed the propaganda (lies) that Hitler and his cronies spread. The Jews caused all their problems. The Aryan race was superior to all others. Germany was destined to be the world’s dominant power. If you tell people what they want to hear, and if you tell those lies often enough, people soon believe them.

The movie, The World Will Tremble,[iii] is the true story of how two Jews escaped Hitler’s grasp to tell the world that Hitler’s work camps were death camps. Here is the trailer for the film:

The first step in stopping the killing of innocent Jews and others was to tell the world the truth of what was really happening. Or, as we like to say today, “speaking truth to power.” But in today’s world of biased news reporting, social media, and algorithms that lead us to hear only what we want to hear, it is hard to know the truth about anything.

The founders of this country knew something about unrighteous dominion, although they never called it that. They understood a fundamental axiom of politics: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” So, they created the Constitution, which established separation of powers among the three branches of government and provided checks and balances among them. But over the last three hundred years, through executive orders, disregard for the Constitution, and propaganda, those principles have been eroded by both parties. That erosion has been especially true with President Donald Trump.

The New York Times surveyed 35 legal scholars from the entire spectrum of politics (libertarians, conservatives, moderates, and liberals) about actions of President Trump during his first 100 days in office that they believe are unconstitutional, regardless of how they felt about the policy behind them.[iv] Here are a few of their unconstitutional findings:

1. Freezing or defunding government spending authorized by Congress, which the Constitution gives the power of the purse to.
2. No longer treating U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants as U.S. citizens, despite the language of the 14th Amendment and a Supreme Court case that has stood for 127 years.
3. Indications by President Trump that he might run for a third presidential term despite the prohibitions of the 22nd Amendment.
4. Instituting tariffs, which power is granted to Congress under the Constitution.
5. Deporting immigrants without due process of law.
6. Retribution and criminal investigations against the President’s enemies, whether individuals, law firms, universities, or the press, in violation of the free speech protections of the 1st Amendment.
7. The firings at independent agencies created by Congress, such as the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and others without cause.

What these legal scholars feared most, though, was not a handful of isolated events but the pattern of authoritarianism they are establishing. David Pozen, a law professor at Columbia Law School, said it this way: “More important than any specific example of unconstitutional conduct is the overall pattern. The depth and breadth of this administration’s disregard for civil liberties, political pluralism, the separation of powers, and legal constraints of all kinds mark it as an authoritarian regime. That is the crucial thing to see.”

Jody Freeman, law professor at Harvard Law School, gave this warning: “The disregard for law is itself part of the agenda. They do not seem to care whether they violate the Constitution and statutes, make mistakes, do irreparable harm. That recklessness itself sends a message.”

How, then, should good leaders act? Section 121 of the Doctrine & Covenants gives us some clues. It tells us that leaders should act with persuasion, gentleness, meekness, and unfeigned love, with kindness and without hypocrisy. Instead, we have a president who, when challenged by the recent “No Kings” demonstrations throughout the nation, creates a video of himself, wearing a crown, piloting a jet, dropping excrement on the demonstrators.

What can we do about it? Edmund Burke is attributed as saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Let’s do something. Let’s elect leaders who respect the Constitution. Let’s teach our children and grandchildren to do the same. Let’s challenge those elected leaders who abuse the sacred trust we gave them.

I end with this challenge from Dawn Johnsen, law professor at the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, Bloomington: “Our Constitution is written on ancient paper. Its effectiveness, durability, and power depend upon people embracing its commands today, with good faith and with good will. If and when one actor disregards or disparages those responsibilities, it is imperative that other actors step up and demand fealty to constitutional norms, lest the spirit of the Constitution be lost. We are in perilous waters.”

It’s time to step up.

---

[i] Unrighteous Dominion can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Ludlow%2C+Unrighteous+Domonion&crid=1TWULV85ZYAYO&sprefix=ludlow%2C+unrighteous+domonion%2Caps%2C187&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

[ii] Nuremberg:

• Production Companies: Walden Media, Filmsquad, and Mythology Entertainment
• Director: James Vanderbilt
• Writers: James Vanderbilt and Jack El-Hai
• Starring: Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, and Rami Malek
• Release Date: November 7, 2025

[iii] The World Will Tremble:

• Production Companies: Lorton Entertainment, Radiancy Pictures, and UFO Films
• Director: Lior Geller
• Writers: Lior Geller
• Starring: Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jeremy Neumark Jones, and Charlie MacGechan
• Release Date: March 14, 2025

[iv] New York Times Opinion, “The ‘Recklessness Itself Sends a Message’: 35 Legal Experts Assess Trump’s Return,” The New York Times, April 28, 2025