Probably one of the most common quotes of Joseph Smith used in philosophical settings relates to letting people govern themselves. According to tradition Joseph said, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." It gets applied in religious settings regarding rules and restrictions. It is frequently applied in the political arena but even has significant application to more epistemological issues. Indirectly it is even used to argue about what the limits of "Mormon theology" ought to be. (Often by people who find themselves well out of the mainstream of acceptable theological teaching).
Anyone who has attempted to find the quote though quickly realizes that it is more difficult than it first appears. Indeed I'm not aware of a direct reference for the quote. This rather surprised me, given its significance in popular Mormon thought. Doing a little searching I only was able to find rather late comments about it.
And the principle of his government or influence over his people is explained in his reply to a church dignitary, I think a Catholic Bishop, who at Nauvoo Mansion asked him "by what power he governed so great a people?" He replied, "I do not govern them, I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves," (Benjamin F. Johnson, Letter to George S. Gibbs, 1903)
This is the explanation the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to a certain lawyer in his time who came to see him and his people and expressed astonishment and surprise at the ease with which he controlled the people, and said it was something that was not to be found among the learned men of the world. Said he: "We cannot do it. What is the secret of your success?" "Why," said the Prophet, "I do not govern the people. I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." (Erastus Snow, June 24, 1883 discourse delivered in Parowan)
The Prophet Joseph Smith was once asked by a visitor to the city of Nauvoo, the good order and prosperity of which struck him with surprise, how it was that he governed the people so as to produce such admirable results. The memorable reply of the Prophet of God was: "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." This was the secret of the good government at Nauvoo, and it is still the secret of the good order and freedom from strife and other evils which prevail among the Latter-day Saints in Utah and throughout all this mountain region where they have control. (John Taylor, Epistle of First Presidency March 1886)
"What is it that will enable one man to govern his fellows aright? It is just as Joseph Smith said to a certain man who asked him, "How do you govern such a vast people as this?" "Oh," says Joseph, "it is very easy." "Why," says the man, "but we find it very difficult." "But," said Joseph, "it is very easy, for I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves;" (John Taylor, May 18, 1862 - Salt Lake Tabernacle JD 10:57)
It was a saying of Joseph Smith, that he taught the people correct principles and they governed themselves. A feeling has been engendered and sent abroad that the Latter-day Saints are subject to bondage; but instead of this being so, they are controlled wholly on the principle to which I have just referred, as having been enunciated by Joseph--they are taught correct principles and then govern themselves. (President George A. Smith, April 6, 1869- Salt Lake Tabernacle)
I was unable to find a single reference prior to the 1860's. Beyond the obvious question of whether anyone else knows of an earlier question, there is the issue of whether this is significant. For one, looking at church government, especially under Joseph Smith, one can't help but note that the early Mormons weren't terribly adept at governing themselves. Further both under Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, this principle of "self-governance" appears to have been not taken in a sense anything like the role the quote has today. The government at that time was no where near as uninvolved as either state or church government is today. The modern view of the quote in terms of a radical libertarianism, seems quite at odds with how Joseph likely would have interpreted it himself. (Which isn't to deny the principle, but perhaps urge caution with certain lines of argument)
For those few who are interested, my personal family blog and film and literature blogs are now finished. I will undoubtedly be writing in them a reasonably amount over the next few days. Probably the format will change somewhat as well. But I'm definitely content over style ones the basic style is down.
There's an interesting paper on 17th century theory of cryptography and codes. Why is this relevant? Well one of the significant figures in this movement was Athanasius Kircher. Along with his work on cryptography he attempted to translate Egyptian. Some critics of Joseph Smith note that the conception of Egyptian heiroglyphics in the early church mirror some of the views of Kircher. Thus Kircher has been discussed by both apologists and critics of Joseph Smith. Apparently BYU actually has a rather extensive collection of Kircher's work. In addition to this, perhaps coincidental, connection with Kircher we also find many other significant cryptographical texts of the era with odd parallels to Mormonism. For instance his Book of Enoch that he purportedly channeled was actually a fairly elaborate cryptographical work. A lot of the figures from the Renaissance were involved in odd (to the modern mind) mixtures of cryptography, neo-Platonism, and Kabbalism.
A great book, for those interested, that touches upon some of this history, is Umberto Eco's The Search for the Perfect Language. It is very easy to read and covers a lot of these issues in the history of Europe from a more semiotic perspective. (Although no knowledge of semiotics is necessary) There is also a rather good talk by Eco on similar topics available online.
In addition to these more Renaissance figures with rather quaint or naive beliefs, we find an other famous figure: Leibniz. Many people are familiar with Leibniz from his work on metaphysics (the monadology) or his work on physics and calculus. However he also did a considerable amount of work on semiotics, language, and thereby cryptography.
How is this all relevant to Mormonism and philosophy? For one it may well be that the nature of a "sealed book" in the Book of Mormon is not merely the effect of some strap across a section of plates. It may well have been understood as related to cryptography. Further, these issues of cryptography seem possibly tied into the very issue of heiroglyphics themselves. Whether one is a believer or approaches the issue of Mormonism from a more naturalistic perspective, some of the philosophy and semiotics of this area are quite relevant.