Speakers at Utah Eagle Forum event celebrate law designating September as "American Founders and Constitutional Month" and urge use of primary sources

Speakers at a Utah Eagle Forum event described a 2023 legislative measure that designates September as "American founders and constitutional month" and urged civic, religious and educational institutions to use primary sources when teaching the nation's founding documents.

The bill's text, read aloud during the program, states: "The month of September shall be commemorated annually as American founders and constitutional month to encourage all civic, fraternal, and religious organizations and public and private educational institutions to recognize, observe this occasion through appropriate programs, teaching, meetings, services or celebrations in which state, county and local government officials are invited to participate and invite all Utah school children to read directly from the United States Constitution and other primary sources." The speaker who read the language said the measure was amended on the House floor in 2023 and later approved unanimously in the Senate; the transcript records committee consideration of the draft and a committee vote of 6 for and 3 against when it was first considered.

Organizers and presenters said the measure was intended to push instruction back to "original sources," and to emphasize constitutional principles such as federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, popular sovereignty and limited government. The presenters singled out schools and civic groups as places to host readings and programs.

Elder Callister, introduced by event organizers and speaking from the stage, framed the day's remarks around the claim that "God's hand" was involved in the founding of the United States. He cited historians and quotations from founding-era figures and said declining public patriotism underlines the need for renewed civic instruction. "Was God's hand in the origin and establishment of America, or was it a secular movement?" he asked during his remarks.

Sister Callister read historical passages for emphasis, including a passage attributed to George Washington's appeal to his troops at Valley Forge, and framed those historical moments as evidence of religious motivation among the revolutionaries. The speakers also cited religious texts and Latter-day Saint leaders referenced in the program to support the presentation's thesis that the Constitution has an inspired character.

Speakers addressed a common objection that the Constitution "codified slavery," arguing instead that the constitutional framework and contemporaneous laws (the Northwest Ordinance and the Article I provision permitting a later bar on importation of slaves) provided mechanisms that were later used to eliminate slavery through political and constitutional change. Program remarks noted later actions'the Civil War and the 13th'15th Amendments'as part of a historical progression toward abolition.

Organizers thanked Representative Kevin Stratton for sponsoring the evening's program and CIRA for hosting the event. Attendees were told the presentation would be posted online the following week at sites mentioned from the stage. A closing prayer was given by Lynn Dayton.

The program combined legislative background about the 2023 measure with historical and religious testimony presented by Elder and Sister Callister. The event organizers encouraged attendees to share the upcoming video and to host community viewings and discussions.

What happened next: the presenters said the video of the full presentation will be posted online (sites named onstage) and the program closed with a prayer; no additional formal legislative action was announced at the event.