Why Is Freedom of Religion Essential to Independence?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns freedom of religion. Religious freedom has been under attack for several years with increasing intensity. During the past year, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have spoken to global leaders and to college students from Italy to Brazil to Iowa about the different facets of religious freedom according to Christine Rappleye. 

            President Dallin H. Oaks, the first counselor in the First Presidency, spoke on religious freedom on two occasions and in two separate countries. On November 12, 2021, he spoke at the Joseph Smith Lecture at the University of Virginia. In December, he spoke at La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy. Here are some of his statements:

We have always had to work through serious political conflicts, but today too many approach that task as if their preferred outcome must entirely prevail over all others, even in our pluralistic society. We need to work for a better way – a way to resolve differences without compromising core values. We need to live together in peace and mutual respect, within our defined constitutional rights.

(The Joseph Smith Lecture at the University of Virginia on November 12, 2021, speaking on “Going Forward With Religious Freedom and Nondiscrimination.”)

Religious freedom is a fundamental feature of our religious doctrine. The restoration of the fullness of Christian doctrine teaches us that God created and put His children on earth to grow spiritually by making right choices between good and evil consistent with His commandments.

Freedom of choice is, therefore, fundamental to God’s plan.

(Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at La Sapienza University, in Rome, Italy)

            Several members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about religious freedom. Among them were Elders David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, and D. Todd Christofferson.

[We feel] very strongly about religious freedom not just for ourselves, but for all. … Like some Muslims in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world, members of our Church have felt the effects of persecution and profiling and we join with good people everywhere in condemning such actions.

(Elder David A. Bednar at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on October 19, 2021, during the final session of the free two-day conference “The Islamic World Today: Issues and Perspectives”)

My plea is that all religions work together to defend faith and religious freedom in a manner that protects people of diverse faith as well as those of no faith.

Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, Muslims, Latter-day Saints and other faiths must be part of a coalition of faiths that succor, act as a sanctuary and promulgate religious freedom across the world. We must not only protect our ability to profess our own religion, but also protect the right of each religion to administer its own doctrines and laws.

(Elder Quentin L. Cook during a gathering in Salt Lake City with interfaith leaders from New York in advance of BYU’s religious freedom review on June 17, 2022)

One of the reasons I wanted to talk about Runnymede [where the Magna Carta was sealed in 1215] and to talk about these constitutional provisions is because they are crucial to us being able to go all over the world and be missionaries and they have been established so that people of faith can share the precious gospel truths that they feel.

(Elder Quentin L. Cook wen he examined a range of old books and commentaries on the Laws of England during a visit in October 2021 to the McGowin Library that houses Pembroke College’s Special Collections at the University of Oxford)

Religious liberty protects not just believers but everyone. It is the taproot that sustains and nourishes many other fundamental freedoms, values and social goods.

(Elder D. Todd Christofferson spoke from the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Friday, October 29, 2021, during the Forum on Religious Freedom in the Southern Cone based in Chili. The term “Southern Cone” refers to the area that comprises the countries of Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay)

            Rappelye’s article included several other quotes from other Church leaders. You can find those quotes here.  From the beginning of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, leaders have sought to protect freedom of religion for people of all religions or those with no religion.

What Have We Learned from the Russian Invasion of Ukraine?

            There are numerous lessons to be learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One of the most important of lessons is the value of the Second Amendment rights in America. The colonists had recently won a hard-fought war with the greatest military in the world. They understood the importance of being prepared for war. The people of Ukraine also understand the importance of citizens having access to guns.

            In an article written by Bernadette Hassan, Natalia MeInyk, communications director for the Ukraine-based Bendulidze Free Market, spoke about the situation in Ukraine before the Russian invasion. “You could not own handguns legally; only hunting weapons if you had a license. All handguns were ‘award’ weapons, randomly distributed by our Ministry of Defense. Usually, you needed to have some connections to get these weapons.” 

            Things changed a little during the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. Some citizens, but not all citizens, were armed but with restrictions. “In areas not under immediate attack, the government said to these territorial units, ‘If you are not under immediate danger of attack, please return the weapons. We will safely store them in a warehouse. If something happens, you can come and get them.’ Of course, [the Ukrainian people] said, ‘No, thank you.’”

            There has been a slight improvement in Ukraine, sort of like “two steps forward, one step back.” Ukraine government wants to arm citizens while also restricting access with mandatory storage of guns in a warehouse. MeInyk continued with her explanation.

It never was such a big issue in the broader Ukrainian society, because we were a peaceful nation. A lot of people honestly believed [and] I was one of them: ‘Why would you need a weapon? We are not going to war, and if you are not a hunter … why do you need it?’

But after the Russian invasion, it appears we really do need it.

            There was a cultural change in Ukraine about self-defense after the invasion. “It was nearly impossible to get a time slot at a shooting range because so many Ukrainians went in to learn how to actually handle a gun, because they have no idea…. It’s not the case of the Ukrainian government sending Ukrainian people to die…. This is the conscious decision of thousands of Ukrainians to protect their freedom, protect their land, and to protect the future of their children.”

            There is a meme making the rounds on social media claiming that there are more hunting licenses sold in the United States each year than the number of soldiers in the ten largest armies in the world. Snopes rated the meme partly true. There are more hunting licenses, tags, permits, and stamps sold in the U.S. in 2018 (about 37 million) than the number of total members in the world’s ten largest armies (about 25 million). However, one hunter could purchase a license in more than one state and have numerous tags, permits, and stamps. 

            Nevertheless, there are millions of hunters in the United States who know how to use rifles and pistols. There are millions of other people who own guns and use them for target practice or shooting clay pigeons. In addition, there are still millions of other people who purchase guns for self-protection and know how to use them. The number of armed hunters could be one of the reasons why America has not been invaded by a foreign nation. The writers of the Second Amendment had it correct when they guaranteed Americans the right to keep and bear arms.

Is America Being Invaded?

            Is it appropriate to use the word invasion to describe the flood of undocumented immigrants across our southern border? Leaders from several Texas counties in southern Texas have declared that they are under invasion. Virginia Allen defined the problem as follows. 

The number of migrants that the Border Patrol has encountered this year has been growing steadily. In January, there were more than 154,000 migrant encounters, according to Customs and Border Protection. That number jumped to more than 239,000 in May. And those numbers don’t include so-called got-aways, who eluded detection or capture.

In the current fiscal year (which began on Oct. 1) alone, there have already been 1.5 million apprehensions at the border, said Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, at the press conference….

“Think about the number of young women and children now that have been sexually assaulted because of the open-border policies,” Morgan said. “Think about the absolute expansion of human trafficking, the atrocities, because of this administration’s open-border policies.”

            The Texas leaders have a reason for using the word invasion: the language in Articles I and IV of the United States Constitution. “Article I grants the states the power, if the federal government doesn’t act, to take matters into their own hands to protect their citizens,” said Brent Smith, Kinney County attorney. In a press conference, the leaders detailed how the vast numbers of illegal immigrants are affecting their communities.

            Thaddeus Cleveland is currently sheriff of Terrell County, but he served as a Border Patrol agent for 26 years before retiring last April. Even though his county does not border Mexico, the many illegal immigrants coming to his county take resources away from legal residents. Without blaming the Border Patrol, he stated, “We lose the ability to respond to our citizens because we’re having to respond to Border Patrol agent calls. We’re just under resourced.” Cleveland claimed that the border crisis is a “fixable problem.”

            Sheriff Brad Coe of Kinney County caught 1,121 illegal immigrants in his county in 2021. The number went up to 1,600 in 2022. Mayor Don McLaughlin of Uvalde, Texas, described the situation in his county a “nightmare” even though his town is located 65 miles from the Mexico border. Sheriff Roy Boyd of Goliad County, located 100 miles south of San Antonio, gave the following description of the “nightmare” in his community caused by swarms of illegal immigrants.

You hear the term “invasion,” and that’s exactly what this is. But you hear the term “immigration,” and I’ll tell you: This is not immigration. This is a slave trade.

We deal with this every day in our counties. These individuals that are being brought to us, coming to our county, we’re intercepting. They are not free to go.

They’re the property of the cartels who get them to Houston and then move them around the country, where they have to work off their indebtedness to the cartel one way or another, whether that be unloading drugs, selling drugs, working in restaurants, working in hotels, or whether it be forced prostitution all across the United States of America.

These individuals are not free. We’re importing a peon class, and we are allowing the cartels to do it. It is an invasion that is being pushed by the cartels into our country, and it must come to a stop.

            Local leaders were not the only people at the press conference. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to declare the state of Texas under invasion.

Would you recognize an invasion? …. An invasion of the state of Texas that is undermining our security, risking the health and well-being of Texans, allowing fentanyl to pour into our schools and communities, for Texans to die, allowing our ranches to get run over, empowering cartels who are well-armed along the border with their tentacles reaching into Texas.

You’re damn right that’s an invasion.

            Ken Cuccinelli is the former attorney general of Virginia, and he told reporters that the Kinney County decision “to declare that it is under invasion is a historic one.” Tuesday was the first day in American history that a “legal authority … found as a matter of law that the United States is being invaded.”

What I’ve heard here consistently, whether it’s the sheriffs, the judges, the mayors, county attorneys, is the desperation, the desperation of communities on the front line of establishing and maintaining America’s sovereignty because the federal government isn’t doing it.

            The county leaders lobbed the ball to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Will the governor declare that the state of Texas is under invasion? If and when he does, the state could then block the people coming cross the border illegally. 

Who Is Hershel W. “Woody” Williams?

            My VIP for this week is Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. The 98-year-old World War II hero was honored on Sunday by U.S. lawmakers, and his body will lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol. Politicians and media honored him as follows. 

            “Woody Williams embodied the best of America: living a life of duty, honor and courage” (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

            “Woody Williams was an American hero who embodied the best of our country and the greatest generation” (Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer).

            “The West Virginia native was a legend in his native West Virginia for his heroics under fire over several crucial hours at the battle for Iwo Jima. As a young Marine corporal, Williams went ahead of his unit in February 1945 and eliminated a series of Japanese machine gun positions. Facing small-arms fire, Williams went ahead of his unit in February 1945 and eliminated a series of Japanese machine gun positions. Facing small-arms fire, Williams fought for four hours, repeatedly returning to prepare demolition charges and obtain flamethrowers” (CBS News).

How Does Illegal Immigration Affect Independence of Americans?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is independence, as in Independence Day. Americans lost some of their independence after terrorists attacked our nation on September 11, 2001, and under numerous administrations. However, no administration has destroyed American independence at the rate that the Biden administration has done.

            Under the Trump administration, the United States was oil independent. We did not have to dependent on anyone but ourselves to provide our oil, and we had oil and natural gas to export to other nations. Joe Biden came into office and began to shut down the oil and gas industry, beginning with the Keystone Pipeline during his first week as president.

            The Trump administration put several policies in place to stop the flow of immigrants from entering our nation illegally. The Biden administration has done away with each of those policies, and more than two million illegal aliens have entered the United States in the past eighteen months.

            Although the Supreme Court made many decisions that were good for our nation, they made a big mistake in my eyes when they approved the termination of the Remain in Mexico program (formally known as the Migration Protection Protocols). In a 5-4 decision, moderate justices joined the liberal justices to terminate a successful program. Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.

            The Supreme Court’s decision will make matters at the border even worse. Remain in Mexico was implemented in 2019 to stop the large caravans of immigrants from coming to the southern border, claiming a fear of returning home, and being released into the United States – never to be heard from again.

            In 1996 Congress gave authority to the Department of Homeland Security to return non-Mexican immigrants arriving by land to Mexico while their claims for asylum were determined. The program worked exceptionally well, and the caravans stopped. The numbers of travelers coming to the border declined once they and the human smugglers learned that the people would not be allowed to enter the United States. This was a good program because the vast majority of asylum claims proved to be fraudulent.

            The Biden administration was determined to throw open the southern border and invite the world into our nation. To do so, they ended every successful immigration policy and enforcement program put in place by the Trump association, including Remain in Mexico. Texas and Missouri sued the Biden administration, and the district court issued an injunction. The Fifth Circuit Court affirmed the decision by the lower court, and the case went to the Supreme Court.

Lora Ries and Hans von Spakovsky at the Heritage Foundation claim that the Supreme Court made a big mistake when the justices believed the arguments put forth by the Biden administration. Court Unwisely Lets Biden End Program Making Illegals Remain in Mexico (dailysignal.com)

In oral arguments before the Supreme Court, the government disingenuously blamed Congress for not providing enough detention resources for the administration to comply with the mandatory detention statute.

But the open-borders left that controls this White House doesn’t want to detain illegal aliens. The Biden administration does not use all the detention space it has, eliminated family detention centers, cut the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s budget, and relies on ineffective alternatives to detention that allows aliens to disappear into the anonymity of our vast nation.

Further, the government argued it could not implement the Remain in Mexico policy because it would be too difficult to negotiate an agreement with Mexico.

This cop-out ignores the fact that international negotiations are a regular function of the executive branch and that the last administration had no problem reaching an agreement with the government of Mexico to allow these aliens to remain there….

Third, the government argued that, instead of returning illegal aliens to Mexico, it has no other choice but to parole illegal aliens into the U.S.

Under the law, parole can only be granted on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. The government made the ridiculous argument that it met the significant public benefit requirement because parole ensures that DHS doesn’t run out of detention space to house future aliens who might be higher priorities because of their criminal records or flight risk….

Despite the government’s weak arguments, the court majority rules that because returning aliens to Mexico is discretionary, not mandatory, the Biden administration did not act unlawfully in ending the program….

            The justices explained that Congress did not “state that the Remain in Mexico policy becomes mandatory if the government cannot comply with mandatory detention.” In other words, Congress did not do its job. In addition, the justices refused to “direct the executive branch to conduct foreign affairs. Rather, that’s Congress’ job. Finally, the majority gave the government a pass on the issue of mass parole in seeming violation of the statute, concluding that DHS can exercise parole.”

            Some of the justices saw through the government’s arguments. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his dissent that “the number of aliens paroled each month – more than 27,000 in April alone – is a strong indication that the government is not making parole decisions on case-by-case basis.” He continued by stating that the “parole statute cannot justify the release of tens of thousands of inadmissible aliens.” Alito added:

… rather than avail itself of Congress’s clear statutory alternative to return inadmissible aliens to Mexico while they await proceedings in this country, DHS has concluded that it may forgo that option altogether and instead simply release into this country untold numbers of aliens who are very likely to be removed if they show up for their removal hearings.

            The authors concluded that this “practice violates the clear terms of the law, but the court looks the other way.” They said that the Court’s decision will embolden “the Biden administration to continue to allow an unlimited number of illegal aliens to flood our communities in violation of federal immigration law and encouraging asylum fraud.”

            While illegal aliens are flooding our border and entering our communities, the “Mexican drug cartels that control the smuggling and human trafficking across our southern border were the clear winners with this decision. And once again, Americans – including legal immigrants – are on the losing end.”

            As long as the Biden administration allows millions of people to enter the nation illegally, Americans will lose independence. Americans deserve to have secure borders and well-run immigration programs.

 

Are You Following Christ?

            My Come, Follow Me studies for this week took me to 1 Kings 17-19 where I studied about Elijah. As with most scripture blocks, this one contained numerous principles. The principle that I wish to discuss in this post is “If the Lord be God, follow Him” (1 Kings 18). The introduction to this lesson is as follows.

The house of Israel was in disarray. The unity and prosperity achieved under David and Solomon were long past, and the nation’s covenant relationship with the Lord was, for many people, a distant memory. The Kingdom of Israel had divided, with ten tribes forming the Northern Kingdom of Israel and two tribes forming the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Both kingdoms were unstable spiritually, led by kings who violated their covenants with the Lord and influenced others to do likewise (see 1 Kings 11-16). But the apostasy was especially severe in the Northern Kingdom, where King Ahab encouraged Israel to worship the false god Baal.

It was in this setting that the prophet Elijah was called to preach. The account of his ministry makes clear that personal faith in the Lord can thrive among the righteous even in a wicked environment. Sometimes the Lord responds to such faith with impressive, public miracles, like fire falling from heaven. But He also works quiet, private miracles, like meeting the personal needs of a faithful widow and her son. And most often His miracles are so individual that they are known only to you – for example, when the Lord reveals Himself and His will through “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12).

            The topic of this discussion is “If the Lord be God, follow him” (1 Kings 18). When the Lord gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, the first commandment was “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). The Israelites in the time of Elijah must have forgotten this commandment, or they felt that they had good reasons to worship Baal despite the commandment. Their reason may have been that “Baal was known as the god of storms and rain,” and they had been in a drought for three years. Besides, the king and queen endorsed Baal worship and made it socially accepted.

            We all face situations where we have to make decisions. However, I have never been forced to choose between worshipping Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and worshipping another god. Nevertheless, I have faced numerous times when I chose to watch the news or look at Facebook when I should have been studying the scriptures. I eventually get to the scriptures, but I put other things before God for a few minutes from time to time.

            In 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah asked the people of Israel: “How long halt ye between two opinions?” Halt means to hesitate, waver, or limp, so Elijah asked the people why they were unsure about following God. Elijah then set up a competition between Baal and God. He had two bulls brought, one for the priests of Baal and one for him. The priests of Baal built an altar, placed wood on the altar, and cut the bull into pieces and placed the pieces on the altar. They then proceeded to cry unto Baal from morning until noon to start a fire. They even climbed atop the altar to be closer to Baal, but there was no fire.

            Elijah rebuilt the altar to God with twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel and dug a trench around the altar. He put wood on the altar and cut the bull into pieces before placing it on the altar. Then he ordered four barrels filled with water and poured over the sacrifice. He made the order a second time, a third time, and a fourth time. Water ran around the altar and filled the trench.

36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

            The people saw a powerful miracle, one that they could not deny. God sent fire from heaven and burned the sacrifice, wood, stones, and dried sixteen barrels of water. Elder D. Todd Christofferson made the following statement in a worldwide devotional for young adults on January 12, 2020.

In the end, there is no neutral, uncommitted path to follow, at least when it comes to things of eternal consequence. Alma made this point when he taught that Christ, the Good Shepherd, calls us to follow Him in the path of discipleship and happiness:

“Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.

“And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this?”

Alma is teaching the reality that there are only two options, and that Christ is the only good alternative. If you are not choosing Christ, you are automatically following a false god, an erroneous path leading to eventual and even eternal disappointment, to say the least. So, unless you follow the Savior, you are rejecting Him. [Emphasis added.]

Knowing this, we should feel no reluctance to commit to the Lord and seek to become one with Him. As He prayed at the Last Supper for His apostles and all who would believe on their words, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” Isn’t that where we want to be? Why then hesitate in becoming fully and unreservedly committed? Why hold back in taking His yoke upon us, knowing that his “yoke is easy, and [his] burden is light”?

           Jesus Christ is the only way back to Heavenly Father. If we “are not choosing Christ, you are automatically following a false god.” If we are not following the Savior, we “are rejecting Him.” In past months we studied Joshua, where he taught the Israelites: “… choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). 

          The choice is before each of us. Will we choose to follow Christ to eternal life, or to follow other gods to eternal damnation? Like Joshua, me and my house will serve the Lord.

Why Are Family Reunions Essential to Family Unity?

            Families, communities, and nations are stronger when the family unit is strong. Attending family reunions is one way to strengthen family, and summer is the most common time for holding family reunions.

            My extended family reunion was held a week ago. My parents passed away more than twenty-five years ago, but their twelve children have continued to hold family reunions for their posterity now extending to five generations or more. Four of my eleven siblings have also passed away, but ten of the twelve branches of the family were represented this year.

There were 165 people in attendance at our family reunion with only three of them being non-family members. My branch of the family had the highest attendance with my husband and I, six children, three spouses, sixteen grandchildren, and one friend attending for a total of twenty-eight people.

We hold annual family reunions to keep our family close and united. Most of us are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we believe that our family can be together forever. A reunion of the extended family is much like a family home evening in a nuclear family, a place where we can learn to understand and love one another.

A second reason to hold family reunions is to show the rising generation that they are part of something much bigger than their immediate family. A reunion gives cousins an opportunity to renew acquaintances and to catch up on individuals lives. It is a chance to meet cousins, aunts, uncles, and other members of the family as well as to meet new spouses and new babies. As my siblings and I are now among the elderly, a reunion may be our last chance to visit with each other.

Another reason to hold a family reunion is to share family history work. My oldest sister brought family histories to share with us, and my younger sister gave us a list containing every member of the family and their place in the family.

We keep our reunions simple by meeting as a whole family at a city park for a few hours on a Saturday. Sometimes we have a theme and program, but we always have a meal, a silent auction (money pays for reunion expenses), and homemade root beer.

Some years ago, we made the reunion a three-day affair by some members attending the temple and eating dinner together on Thursday evening, and the cousins meeting for dinner and visiting. Sometimes, it is an adult-only event, and children are invited at other times. Some people attend all three events, while others attend only one or two.

The pandemic shut down the reunion completely one year, but we had the one-day event the next year. This year we had the cousin dinner and the large family get-together. Maybe next year will be the time to expand the reunion by holding a temple session again.

The immediate problem in my family is to extend responsibility for the reunion to the next generation. My generation is getting older, and number of siblings willing to chair the reunion keeps getting smaller. My challenge as the chairperson for the next reunion is to entice the following generation to carry more responsibility.

I am a firm believer in family reunions. Those members of my family who attend the reunions have closer ties to other family members. I know that families can be together forever through Heavenly Father’s plan for our happiness. If we are to enjoy each other’s company in heaven, then we need to create good relationships here.