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                                                           EXHIBITS 5.1 AND 23.1

                                 JONES & KELLER
                           a Professional Corporation
                           1625 Broadway, Suite 1600
                             Denver, Colorado 80202
                             Phone: (303) 573-1600
                           Facsimile: (303) 573-0769

                               November 10, 1998
Citizens, Inc.
400 East Anderson Lane
Austin, Texas 78714-9151

Gentlemen:

         We have acted as special counsel for Citizens, Inc. in connection with
a Registration Statement on Form S-4, to be filed by the Company under the
Securities Act of 1933 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Registration Statement relates to the proposed issuance of up to 611,000 shares
of Class A Common Stock, no par value, to be issued in connection with the Plan
and Agreement of Merger dated as of September 10, 1998 by and between First
Investors Group, Inc., Citizens, Inc. (the "Company"), and Excalibur
Acquisition, Inc. The Registration Statement and exhibits thereto to be filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission under such Act are referred to
herein as the "Registration Statement".

         This letter is governed by, and shall be interpreted in accordance
with, the Legal Opinion Accord (the "Accord") of the ABA Section of Business Law
(1991). As a consequence, it is subject to a number of qualifications,
exceptions, definitions, limitations on coverage and other limitations, all as
more particularly described in the Accord, and this letter should be read in
conjunction therewith.


         We have examined the Articles of Incorporation of the Company as filed
with the Colorado Secretary of State, the Bylaws of the Company, and the
minutes of the meetings and records of proceedings of the Board of Directors of
the Company, the applicable laws of the State of Colorado and a copy of the
Registration Statement.

         Based upon the foregoing, and having regard for such legal
considerations as we deemed relevant, we are of the opinion that when issued
pursuant to the Registration Statement, the above-referenced 611,000 shares of
Class A Common Stock of the Company shall have been legally issued, fully paid
and non-assessable.

         We hereby consent to the use of this opinion as part of the
Registration Statement and to the reference to our name under the heading
"Legal Matters" in the Proxy Statement-Prospectus constituting a part of the
Registration Statement.

                                        Very truly yours,
                                        /s/ Jones & Keller, P.C.
                                        Jones & Keller, P.C.