How Does Religious Freedom Bless All God’s Children?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the ways that religious freedom blesses all of God’s children. The Savior wants us to defend the religious rights of all people – including those who believe differently. He declared to Joseph Smith that the freedoms preserved in “the laws and constitution of the people … should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:77. Here are the words of several prophets, apostles, and others about religious freedom in America blessing all God’s children. 

Prophet Joseph Smith

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 other 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. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2011], 345)

President Dallin H. Oaks

Religious teachings and the religiously, motivated actions of believers benefit society and deserve legal protection.

For example, there are many needs for humanitarian assistance – hunger, disease, and lack of education to mention only a few. Religious liberty enables believers and faith communities to provide this aid to society’s neediest members. Most religions exhort their believers to give to the poor. Most also teach their believers that they are accountable to God for this duty.

Religions also play a vital role in contributing to social stability. Societies are not held together primarily by law and its enforcement, but by those who voluntar8ly obey the unenforceable because of their sense of accountability to God….

When citizens learn to live together with respect – despite important religious differences – they are also more likely to live peacefully with others with whom they have important secular differences.” (“Pursuing Religious Liberty Worldwide [address given at the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit, July 20, 2022], newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

President D. Todd Christofferson of the First Presidency

For centuries, people fought over religious differences, often with government suppressing one religion in the name of another. Religious liberty has allowed people of diverse religious traditions to live together in peace and friendship despite profound disagreements…. Governments that protect religious freedom have fewer social conflicts and greater levels of social cohesion. (“Religious Liberty: The Basis of a Free and Just Society” [address given at the First Forum on Religious Freedom in the Southern Cone, Oct. 29, 2021], religiousfreedomlibrary.org)

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

If religion is not there to help with shaping character and mediating hard times, who will be? Who will teach honesty, gratitude, forgiveness, and patience? Who will exhibit charity, compassion, and kindness for the forgotten and the downtrodden? Who will embrace those who are different yet deserving, as are all of God’s children? Who will open their arms to those in need and seek no recompense? Who will reverence peace and obedience to laws greater than the trends of the day? (“To Heal the World,” Liahona, May 2022, 93)

President Camille N. Johnson of the Relief Society

I believe that the most important and impactful work of women continues to be done when we are for our own children, teach a friend to read, patiently address the needs of an elderly neighbor, prepare a meal for the sick, or cry with a sister who is grieving. The universality in the way we bear and nurture humanity connects women across cultural divides and language barriers, laying a foundation for peace.

I strive to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I believe He came to earth to save humanity from sin and death and to lift us in our sorrow and distress….

The work of defending the United States Constitution, religious freedom, and the family is not just for legal scholars and academics. It is for … Relief Society presidents and non-lawyers and people of every religious persuasion….

Let us follow the Prince of Peace and practice, in our personal and professional lives, His perfect example…. He wants to engage with us – and will as we joyfully engage in His great work. (J. Reuben Clark Law Society, “2026 JRCLS Annual Fireside,” YouTube, Jan. 16, 2026, youtube.com/@JReubenClarkLawSociety)