The liberty
principle for this Freedom Friday concerns freedom and fairness to all. It is a fact that we can allow people to live
by the convictions of their consciences and still be fair to all people. It is also a fact that our religious beliefs
should not be forced upon other people.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Seventy spoke to students at a Brigham Young
University (BYU) devotional on Tuesday, September 15, 2015. He prefaced his remarks by stating that he
had worked closely with the Public Affairs Committee of the Church that is
directed by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In answer to those who ask why
religious groups get involved in politics, Elder Rasband stated: “The opportunity to be involved in the
political process is a privilege given to every citizen. Our laws and legislation play an important
teaching role in shaping our social and moral culture. We need every individual in society to take
an active role in engaging in civic dialogue that helps frame laws and
legislation that are fair for everyone.”
Elder Rasband reminded the
students of some of the incidents happening in our nation over religious
freedom and fairness: CEOs losing their
jobs over their religious views, businesses closing their doors for exercising
their consciences, and religious schools being questioned about their honor
codes that require fidelity and chastity.
“Despite what you may have read or heard over the years, The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has stood consistently for freedom of choice
and conscience. Many years ago the
prophet Joseph Smith wrote, `We believe that all men are created equal and that
all have the privilege of thinking for themselves upon all matters relative to
conscience.’ He went on to say, `If I
have been willing to die for a Mormon, I am just as willing to die in defending
the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other
denomination for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of
Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of any other denomination who
may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves.’”
After telling the students that
Apostles and Prophets give “significant consideration to the position of the
Church on religious freedom,” Elder Rasband stated, “We believe in following
the commandments of God which are designed to secure our eternal
happiness. However, God will force no
man to heaven.
“We believe in creating a space
for everyone to live their conscience without infringing on the rights and
safety of others. When the rights of one
group collide against the rights of another, we must follow the principle of
being as fair and sensitive to as many people as possible. The Church believes in and teaches fairness
for all. Protecting conscience is about
safeguarding the way someone thinks and feels and their right to act on those
beliefs.
“I am talking about someone
telling you that the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs you have are not allowed,
valued or acceptable because your views are not popular. A war in heaven was fought for agency. It is a gross violation of that agency to
force someone to betray their conscience because their views do not align with
the crowd.”
Elder Rasband told the students
to not misunderstand him on this. When
he spoke of being authentic, “the Lord does not give us a free pass to live any
way we choose without consequences. We
are still accountable to Him for our choices.
He has said, `Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in
heaven, is perfect.’ The commandment to
seek after perfection implies we start where we are and seek the Lord’s help to
lift us to where he wants us to go.
Being true to our authentic self requires continual effort to increase
our light, knowledge and understanding.”
Elder Rasband added that “the Church favors a balanced approach that
secures the rights of all people.”
Later in his talk, Elder Rasband
gave three suggestions to the students to help them negotiate our challenging
times. The first suggestion is to “try
to view others through a lens of fairness.
To do this requires you to first acknowledge that Heavenly Father loves
each of his children equally….”
Elder Rasband’s second suggest
is to “let fairness guide your treatment of others.” “Do not judge people or treat them
differently because they sin differently that you or we do.” “Again, study the life of our Savior and seek
his guidance. The Savior demonstrated
perfectly how to reach out in love and encouragement while also holding firm to
what he knew to be true….”
The third suggestion of Elder
Rasband is “to stand up for fairness if you see another’s rights being
impeded…. From the time of Joseph Smith
to our present day, our legacy is reaching out to heal breaches and hurt
without compromising the doctrine. That
is not ours to trade away.”
Elder Rasband concluded, “I
stand with the leaders of our Lord’s church when I say that we need your
generation’s natural understanding of compassion, of respect and fairness. We need your optimism and your determination
to work through these complex social issues.”
He indicated the Brethren’s faith that the students “will turn to the
Savior to understand how to live a Christ like life when also showing fairness
and love to others who do not share your beliefs. We know you want to be part of something
meaningful and we know that you are resilient and collaborative.
“Most importantly, we need you
to engage regarding the complexities of this issue and find solutions for how
to best extend fairness to everyone including people of faith.”
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