Cliven Bundy's fight against the feds has roots in interpretation of Mormon scripture

Fifteen years before Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy led an armed standoff against federal agents near his arid desert ranch, the devout Mormon combed through Latter-day Saints scripture and writings with his neighbor, another rancher upset about how the government regulates the public land around them. The pair found support for their beliefs, and they have since passed their findings on to others who continue to challenge what they consider federal overreach and a collapse of the U.S. Constitution. They compiled the works, highlighted and annotated, into an anthology called "The Nay Book," named for rancher Keith Nay, Bundy's late neighbor. The nearly 200-page booklet starts with a letter from Bundy outlining the document's central question: "What is the Constitutional duty of a member of the Lord's church?" Bundy found answers in the scripture that he believed directed and justified him in "defending my rights and my ranch against the federal government's tyrannical" usurpation of his land. "The Nay Book" is a document rarely found outside Bundy's inner circle, and it appears to lay a religious foundation for the rancher's strong and consistent views that the federal government has been trampling his rights. More than an issue of the control of public land and federal taxation, it shows that Bundy and those close to him tie a unique interpretation of Mormon tenets to fundamental American governance and believe that defending their land is both a political and a religious necessity. An illustration of Betsy Ross stitching an American flag is on the book's cover, the words "Freedom, Liberty, for God We Stand" hanging over her head. The book explores what the Nay and Bundy families believe Mormon prophets have said from the beginning about the Constitution - that it is a sacred document but that American society is on the "brink of ruin" because its meanings have eroded. It includes references to scripture and writings from church leaders, and Bundy, in his introductory letter, urges readers to think about what they read and come to their own conclusions about it...

Carol Bundy, Cliven's wife, confirmed that Nay did most of the research and compilation for the book, but she said it affirms what her family believes about the Constitution. Cliven Bundy, who has been granted release while facing prosecution but refuses to leave jail, did not respond to requests for comment. Bret Whipple, a lawyer who represents Bundy, also declined to comment; Whipple said he hasn't seen the book. "It's a book of things we've compiled of things written by other people that explain why we believe what we do and what our stand is," Carol Bundy said. "It's our belief. It's where we get our strength. It's things we've gathered from teachings of our prophets, our scriptures. It's why we believe so strongly in that the Constitution is a divinely inspired document." Latter-day Saints scholars who read a copy of the booklet obtained by The Washington Post said the brand of Mormonism that appears to be at the heart of Bundy's anti-government activities is an interpretation of the uniquely American faith that centers on defending the Constitution at any cost..."The Nay Book" cites passages in Mormon doctrine that support the fight. Following a letter from Bundy dated February 1999, and a note from Nay's widow, Marilyn Nay (now Marilyn Cattoor), the book includes a color-coded index for the photocopied scriptures that follow: Yellow is for mentions of the Constitution as a sacred document, pink is for references to calls to "save and maintain the Constitution." Melissa Laughter, a former Bundy supporter who is Mormon, criticized "The Nay Book" as an adulteration of her religion. She thinks it could be used to manipulate people toward the Bundy cause. "This is how incorrect teachings spread," she said. "It becomes a cancer to society. And it becomes a cancer to all of us."...more