The topic of discussion for this
Constitution Monday concerns the freedoms protected by the First Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States. It seems that not a day passes that
someone is not calling for less freedom for someone else – whether it be trying
to control what another person says, complaining about what is written on a tee
shirt, or the bashing of the right to worship as we choose. These and other
freedoms are protected by the First Amendment.
As discussed in a Deseret News Editorial, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently
spoke
about the freedom of religion to a committee in the British Parliament in
London. He titled his address, “Why Atheists (and Everyone Else) Should Support
Freedom of Religion or Belief.”
I
was interested in reading Elder Christofferson’s ideas because this topic is
rather new and surprising to me.
It is easy for all of us to consider
that freedom of religion or belief protects only the believers and their
churches. Elder Christofferson makes the point that “courts have implicitly
recognized that rights must protect both religious believers and nonbelievers.
The freedom of speech, for instances, embraces the right to speak about God but
also to speak about one’s personal opinions on matters of politics, art,
literature, history, morality and virtually any other topic.”
This means that these freedoms
protect the rights of both the believer and the nonbeliever equally. The “interdependent
First Amendment freedoms” allow us to prosper as individuals and as a society.
It is to the benefit of all of us to protect and preserve these freedoms.
Elder Christofferson spoke on the
importance of religious freedom in 2015 at an interfaith conference held in Sao
Paulo, Brazil. The conference was titled, “A Celebration of Religious Freedom.”
This is what he said at that time.
We use our freedom of religion and
belief to establish our core convictions, without which all other human rights
would be meaningless. How can we claim the freedom of speech without being able
to say what we truly believe? How can we claim the freedom of assembly unless
we can gather with others who share our ideals? How can we enjoy freedom of the
press unless we can publicly print or post who we really are?”
All of us must understand the
importance of preserving our First Amendment rights. It should not matter
whether we are atheist, agnostic, or devout believer, or whether we meet in a
synagogue, mosque, or church. If we cannot speak about the ideals that are most
dear to us in our work places or in public areas, we do not truly have the
freedoms outlined in the First Amendment.
Members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints have defended the freedoms guaranteed in the First
Amendment for many years, just as Elder Christofferson did in Sao Paulo and in
London. Joseph Smith made the following oft-quoted statement in 1843.
If it has been demonstrated that I have
been willing to die for a “Mormon,” I am bold to declare before Heaven that I
am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist,
or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample
upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the
Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak
to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul – civil and
religious liberty to the whole of the human race.
Leaders of the Church from the days
of Joseph Smith to the current day have defended the First Amendment rights of
each person. The Eleventh Article of Faith declares: “We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of
our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how,
where, or what they may.” This is a principle that members learn from childhood
to adulthood. We are encouraged to memorize it as a child and to live it for
the rest of our lives. It is a principle that all Americans should learn and
follow as we protect and preserve our First Amendment freedoms.
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