Why Does Pioneer Day Mark a Low Point in Religious Freedom in America?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is that religious freedom applies to all religions and even those people who have no religion. However, it has not always been applied equally.

On September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed, and nine states ratified it by June 21, 1788, making it the law of the land. All thirteen states ratified the Constitution by May 29, 1790.

The Bill of Rights – meaning the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution – was written and proposed in 1789; it was ratified on December 15, 1791. The Bill of Rights was created to protect the individual rights of each American as well as to limit the power of the federal government.

Yet, the Mormon Pioneers were not protected when their religious freedom was threatened.

In fact, the Mormon Pioneers chose to leave the United States because they were persecuted for their religion.

Pioneer Day – July 24^th – is an annual commemoration of the day when the first pioneer wagons entered the Salt Lake Valley (Utah) on July 24, 1847. “Days of ‘47” is a huge celebration held in Utah annually.

Latter-day Saints are not the only people who have been persecuted for their religious beliefs, but early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endured their persecution righteously. The persecution began with Joseph Smith and increased as the Church of Jesus Christ grew. The Latter-day Saints were threatened, raped, murdered, suffered property damage, and more – first in Kirtland, Ohio (1831-1838) and in Missouri (1831-1839) and then in the Nauvoo, Illinois, area (1839-1847).

Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith were assassinated at Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844, and the main body of the Church fled to the Great Basin in 1846-1847. They understood that they had no religious freedom in the United States, so they went to the unsettled western area of North America searching for religious freedom and safety.

However, their safety was short lived.  After the Mexican-American War, the Great Basin area became part of the United States. Federal laws soon threatened religious beliefs as laws against the practice of plural marriage infringed on religious freedom.

Polygamous husbands and fathers were fined and imprisoned. To escape the law, many families went into hiding or again left the United States. Those who left created settlements in Mexico and Canada where they could continue to practice plural marriage.

The members who stayed in the Great Basin continued to be persecuted. Antipolygamy laws disincorporated the Church, allowing Church property to be confiscated.

With the temples being threatened and the work of eternity being stopped, President Wilford Woodruff took the matter to the Lord. Under inspiration from God, President Woodruff wrote and signed the 1890 manifesto that ended plural marriage. Anti-Mormon persecution declined but did not end. Persecution continues to this day by individuals and other religious organizations. However, the United States government has finally recognized that Latter-day Saints have religious freedom.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from the days of Joseph Smith to the present day, fights for religious freedom for all people. Earlier this year, the First Presidency called for a Church-wide fast for religious freedom to be held on July 6, 2026. I was one of millions of members of the Church of Jesus Christ who fasted and prayed to thank God for religious liberty and to plead with God to protect religious freedom for all people.

 

 

How Safe Are People of Faith Who Believe in Traditional Marriage?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the Respect for Marriage Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday with a vote of 258-169. Since the bill has already passed the U.S. Senate, it now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden. According to Gillian Richards, the bill seeks to codify the legalization of same-sex marriage into federal law. It has also displeased Republican lawmakers who consider it to be a threat to religious liberty. 

“It’s an absolute abomination with respect to … religious liberty,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters after a press conference on his Texas border plan this Thursday. “It’s purposefully undermining religious liberty.”

Richards reported that Roy tried to amend the bill in the House that would have protected the religious liberty of those who believe in traditional marriage - a union of one man and one woman. However, House Rules Committee Chairman Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) kept the amendment from moving to the floor of the House in Monday’s hearing. Roy made the following comments in a separate interview with The Daily Signal.

“Today, Congress passed a law that violates the very core of the First Amendment, the Constitution, and the rights we hold dear as Americans,” he said. “The so-called Respect for Marriage Act will result in predatory, activist lawsuits against good people of faith for simply living out their lives in line with their beliefs.”

“The anemic religious liberty protections in the Respect for Marriage would be laughable if the stake weren’t so high,” he added. “In good faith, I offered a common-sense solution, identical to the bipartisan amendment offered by Senator Mike Lee. It would have prohibited the federal government from discriminating against Americans based on their views on marriage, but Democrats on the House Rules Committee blocked it.”

Roy framed the bill’s passage as “another example of how Congress is broken.”

“Before the Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday, not a single committee held a hearing, heard from witnesses, or deliberated the details of this legislation,” he said. “Until we fundamentally change how we do business here, we will continue to fail the American people.”

“I offered an amendment,” Roy told reporters Thursday. “They shut it down on a technicality under a budget point of order.”

Both the U.S. Senate (61-36) and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act without any amendments to protect people who believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. However, proponents of the bill say that there are protections for “religious service and solemnization of marriage.” Nevertheless, the bill holds no guarantees that this provision will protect people of faith, according to Roy.

In strong language, Roy called the twelve Republicans who voted for the bill in the Senate “stupid or deceitful.” He called the bill “an abomination.”

 

Why Does Religious Liberty Matter?

             The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the importance of religious liberty.  Religious freedom is so important that Catholic, Pentecostal, and Latter-day Saint leaders met to discuss it on June 28-29 at the University of Notre Dame campus. 

The leaders spoke “about the power of religion and the necessity to defend religious liberty in a manner that protects people of diverse faith, as well as those of no faith. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that religious freedom is threatened today. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic Archbishop of New York, made the following statement:

Religion comes from the Latin word meaning a tie, a bond. Religion gives you a sense of responsibility, a sense of duty, and a sense of giving back. Religion becomes a light to the world, a leaven to society. We can’t build bridges to one another until we have the bridge to the Lord.

            Dr. Jacqueline Rivers, a Pentecostal and executive director of The Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, said, “at the base of human existence, for it to have meaning, we have to have the freedom to follow our conscience.”

            Religious freedom matters because mankind must have the liberty to follow his/her conscience. People of faith must have the freedom to live according to their beliefs, and non-believers must have the freedom to not believe as they choose. This freedom must be defended and protected because it is the foundation of meaning in our lives.

Religious Freedom

                I am more than a day late righting about religious freedom, but I wanted to be sure my readers saw this article by Matt Walsh titled “Pay Attention, Christians.  They’re Coming After the Churches Now.”  I found the information to be interesting and planned to share it with you last night, but I was barred from the computer while my husband did the income taxes.

                Mr. Walsh began his article, “It may be a matter of some interest to you that the American left is now openly declaring its intention to shut down your church and outlaw your religious expression entirely.  If you’ve been playing attention, you won’t be terribly shocked by this revelation.  They plan to come after the churches.  That’s what they’ve always wanted, and now they intend to do it.

                “The hysterical reaction to Georgia’s religious liberty bill can be interpreted no other way….”

                According to Mr. Walsh, the “horrific” and “heinous” bill would have “primarily accomplished the following:  protect a pastor from being forced to perform a gay wedding against his will, protect religious organizations from being forced to host gay weddings against their will, and protect religious organizations from being forced to hire someone who opposes their fundamental tenets, beliefs, and goals.”

                I do not consider the above mentioned freedoms to be outrageous.  Maybe the liberals really are coming for our churches.  I suggest you read the entire article because it has some funny comments as well as more information.

Religious Liberty

                Freedom of Religion is being attacked on several sides.  Hilary Clinton, Democrat presidential candidate, gave the keynote address at the 2015 Women in the World Summit in New York City last week.  She stated that “deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed” in order for women to have access to “reproductive health care.” 

                “Yes, we’ve cut the maternal mortality rate in half, but far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive health care and safe child birth.  All the laws we’ve passed don’t count for much if they’re not enforced.  Rights have to exist in practice not just paper.” 

                Clinton added, “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will.  And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”

                Glenn Beck said that Clinton “has gone further than any politician I’ve ever heard in my lifetime.  And as usual, there is so little coverage of it except here.  I’m actually not sure how many people know of it.  And if the American people know about it, I don’t ever know if they care anymore.”

                Another attack on Freedom of Religion could come if the Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage.  Religious schools that teach marriage is the union of one man and one woman could lose their non-profit tax-exempt status if the Court changes the definition of marriage.

                During oral arguments at the Supreme Court on April 28, 2015, Justice Samuel Alito asked the Obama administration’s Solicitor General Donald Verrilli whether religious schools would lose their non-profit tax status if they stood for traditional marriage.  Verrilli answered, “It’s certainly going to be an issue.  I don’t deny that.  I don’t deny that, Justice Alito.  It is going to be an issue.”

                Ryan T. Anderson of The Heritage Foundation stated that there should be no issue with it.  “Citizens and organizations that continue to believe the truth about marriage should not be penalized by the government.  

                “Even if the Court says that all 50 states have to recognize a same-sex relationship as a marriage, there is no reason why the government should coerce or penalize institutions of civil society that simply ask to be free – without penalty – to continue to operate in accordance with the belief that marriage is a union of husband and wife.”

                Anderson explained that Justice Alito asked his question after Justice Antonin Scalia “asked about the religious liberty concerns if the Supreme Court creates a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.  When the lawyer replied that we hadn’t seen many religious liberty violations in the states that have democratically redefined marriage, Scalia pounced:  that’s his point.  Here’s how he explained it: `They are laws. They are not constitutional requirements.  That was the whole point of my question.  If you let the states do it, you can make an exception.  … You can’t do that once it is a constitutional proscription.’”

                Anderson concluded, “This highlights another reason why it would be wise for the Supreme Court to not disregard the constitutional authority of states to make marriage policy.  Not only is there nothing in the Constitution that requires the redefinition of marriage, but a ruling saying that there was could create unimaginable religious liberty violations.  These situations are best handled democratically.”

Attacks on Religious Freedom

                    The Obama Administration is attacking our First Amendment right of Freedom of Religion.  In some cases, it is just nibbling away, but in other cases, it is biting off huge chunks.  Some of the worst dangers to our freedoms come under the framework of ObamaCare.  Freedom of Religion is just the first casualty of ObamaCare, and more will follow.

                    Historian David Barton claims that President Obama is anti-Biblical, and he has compiled a list of all the ways the Obama Administration has shown hostility to Christians and Jews.  His article begins:  "When one observes President Obama's unwillingness to accommodate America's four-century long religious conscience protection through his attempts to require Catholics to go against their own doctrines and beliefs, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Catholic.  But that characterization would not be correct. Although he has recently singled out Catholics, he has equally targeted traditional Protestant beliefs over the past four years.  So since he has attacked Catholics and Protestants, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Christian.  But that, too, would be inaccurate.  He has been equally disrespectful in his appalling treatment of religious Jews in general and Israel in particular.  So perhaps the most accurate description of his antipathy toward Catholics, Protestants, religious Jews, and the Jewish nation would be to characterize him as anti-Biblical. And then when his hostility toward Biblical people of faith is contrasted with his preferential treatment of Muslims and Muslim nations, it further strengthens the accuracy of the anti-Biblical descriptor.  In fact, there have been numerous clearly documented times when his pro-Islam positions have been the cause of his anti-Biblical actions."

                    Barton compiled his list in the following chronological order:  "(1) numerous records of his attacks on Biblical persons or organizations; (2) examples of the hostility toward Biblical faith that have become evident in the past three years in the Obama-led military; (3) a listing of his open attacks on Biblical values; and finally (4) a listing of numerous incidents of his preferential deference for Islam's activities and positions, including letting his Islamic advisors guide and influence his hostility toward people of Biblical faith."

We live in very perilous times, much like those the Apostle Paul said would come in the latter-days (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boaster, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.

"Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers [slanderers], incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good,

"Traitors, heady [rash, reckless], highminded [puffed up, conceited], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:  from such turn away."

We must stand in defense of our religious freedom or lose our nation as we know it.  President John Adams made two different statements that should illuminate how bad our situation really is.  The first statement is interesting due to the fact that so many people in the world are fighting and dying for "democracy".  Adams said, "Democracy … while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy].  Remember, democracy never lasts long.  It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.  There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide."  We should be very grateful to our Founders for setting up a Republic for us and giving us the Constitution in order to safeguard it.

The Founders were very concerned about our ability to keep our Republic as reflected in Benjamin Franklin's reply when a woman asked:  "Well, Doctor, what have we got - a Republic or a Monarchy?"  He replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."  

   The second statement by President Adams applies directly to the importance of keeping religion and morality in our nation:  "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  This site has an excellent essay on this particular statement.  

President Calvin Coolidge was apparently as concerned as the Founders were about Americans' ability to remain religious and moral.  He made the following two statements about the importance of religion in the United States, and I believe his statements reflect Truth - eternal truths that never change. 

"The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country.  There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of man.  Of course we endeavor to restrain the vicious, and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all.  Peace, justice, humanity, charity - these cannot be legislated into being.  They are the result of divine grace."

President Coolidge also said:  "Our government rests upon religion.  It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind.  Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government.  There are only two main theories of government in our world.  One rests on righteousness and the other on force.  One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword.  One is exemplified in the republic, the other is represented by despotism."

Other quotes of President Coolidge can be found at this site or this one.  

Like John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Calvin Coolidge, many people today are very concerned about American freedom, particularly freedom of religion and the necessity for Americans to remain religious and moral.  The Obama Administration is aggressively working to destroy our freedom of religion, and many Americans are unaware of these dangers because our lame stream media is working hand-in-glove with the administration.

One such organization is The Heritage Foundation, who is actively working to get this information out to the general public.  Mike Brownfield of Heritage wrote an article on the attack on religionon March 1, 2012. 

"Since 1791, when the Bill of Rights was formally adopted, America has enjoyed the legal protection of religious freedom, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.  Today, 221 years later, centuries of progress in the protection of religious and other liberties is at risk of being rolled back in one fell swoop.  The culprit:  Obamacare.

"As we all know, President Obama's health care law will mandate that religious hospitals, charities, and schools abandon the tenets of their faiths and provide their employees insurance coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization.  This anti-conscience mandate is but the latest assault on liberty Obamacare has ushered in.  Its shock waves are reverberating across the country, waking Americans to the fact that our first freedom - religious liberty - will be the first to fall now that the federal government has unfettered control over the country's health care system."

A week later Brownfield wrote another article about this subject and began it with this statement:  "Call it what you want - a circus, a sideshow, or just plain old political rhetoric - but for the past week America has watched the media elite and some in Washington bend over backward to turn attention away from an issue that is fundamental to the future of this country:  ObamaCare attack on individual liberty.  While those who favor its mandates may think they have changed the debate and quelled opposition, they are sorely mistaken.

"It all stems from a decision by the Obama Administration to mandate that religious employers, including schools, hospitals, and charities, provide health care coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and contraception despite the fact that such coverage is in total contradiction of many of these groups' core religious beliefs.  Some have attempted to make this a debate about other issues, but despite their efforts, the core complaint about this anti-conscience mandate remains.  The President's policy is an unprecedented attack on all Americans' rights as protected by the First Amendment.  And those who prize religious liberty aren't backing down."

No President of the United States has shown such contempt for the rule of law and particularly the Constitution, the Supreme Law of our nation, as has Obama.   We can expect more of this kind of treatment if Obama gets re-elected.  We know this by the very fact that the Obama Administration has declared war on the Catholic Church while at the same time campaigning for re-election.  I think it is fair to say that any person who casts a vote to re-elect Obama also chooses to destroy more freedom.  This President and his minions do not believe in obeying laws, only in doing what they desire - with or without legal means.  A wonderful essay on this subject can befound here.  

The following two statements by President Calvin Coolidge seem to be appropriate for this essay because they relate to the importance of religion and morality as well as the fight between good and evil.

"The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good."

"It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist.  Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves.  We need to feel that behind us is intelligence and love.  Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create.  Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is a part of an unending plan."

We must keep our faith in a Divine Being.  Religion and morality are important if we are to maintain our Republic.  We know that our Constitution works only when we the people have good morals and live by religious principles.  Our very liberties are at stake as the Obama Administration is painstakingly taking apart our Constitution and the rights it was meant to protect.  Now is the time for all freedom-loving Americans to come to the aid of this nation or risk losing life as we now know it.  If this nation falls to socialism/communism, there is no hope for the world because America really is the last great hope of mankind!