The Holy Bible : New Church Bible Page

Check Out New Church Bible Page:

As always, this is no new information on the significance of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments : But a revamped effort of emphasis: Visit Here (Click Link)

I hope the consistent shuffle of spiritually uplifting videos helps you all.
I am grateful to be able to serve in any aspect that I can brethren, and I love you all!

Remember,

Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm
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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

The Provo Utah Temple : Video & Temple History

Video & Information Provided By Seth Adam Smith; Visit His Webpage (Here) : Visit the blog (If you receive this by e-mail update) : The Video, which preceeds the Temple History Information, can't currently be viewed by email.




The Provo Utah Temple (formerly the Provo Temple) is the 17th constructed and 15th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Provo, Utah it was built with a modern single-spire design very similar in design to the Ogden Utah Temple.

Since Provos early years, a hill just northeast of downtown Provo was known as Temple Hill. Instead of a temple, however, the Maeser Building was built on the hill in 1911 as a part of the Brigham Young University campus. A 17-acre (69,000 m2) block of property at the base of Rock Canyon was chosen as the site for the Provo Temple.

The LDS temple in Provo was announced on August 14, 1967, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 15, 1969 with construction beginning soon thereafter. Emil B. Fetzer, the architect for the Ogden and Provo temples, was asked to create a functional design with efficiency, convenience, and reasonable cost as key factors.

The temple was dedicated on February 9, 1972 by Church President Joseph Fielding Smith. The two dedicatory services were broadcast to several large auditoriums on Brigham Young University campus, including the 22,700-seat Marriott Center. The temple has 6 ordinance rooms and 12 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 128,325 square feet (11,921.8 m2). Thirty-one years after the temple's completion, a statue of the Angel Moroni was added to the spire, which itself was changed from gold to white. The temple interior included escalators for many years, but those have since been removed.

The Provo Temple is one of the busiest temples the LDS Church operates. Because of its location, the temple is frequented by students attending the nearby Church-owned Brigham Young University. The temple also receives many missionary patrons since an LDS Missionary Training Center is just across the street.

The exterior design of the Provo Temple has its roots in scriptural imagery. The broad base and narrow spire represent the cloudy pillar and the fiery pillar (respectively) that the Lord used to guide the Israelites through the wilderness under Moses (Ex. 13:21-22).

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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

Spiritually Uplifting Videos

I advise all whom watch these videos... to watch them here on the blog, because if you go to Youtube you will most assuredly land on something that Youtube thinks is "related videos" ; Stay and watch the videos on the blog, this way... nothing bad crosses your sight.
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ALL of these Videos are powerful; If you are receiving this message by e-mail, ensure you visit the blog to see all of what standard "Html" in emails cant show you.

I Know That My Redeemer Lives:


Praise To The Man



Mormon Pioneers : Acts of Love & Courage



Called To Serve 



Elder Jeffrey Hollands Moving & Stirring Testimony From October 2009 General Conference


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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

See New Church Page , "Faith In Jesus Christ"

 There are great videos- great listed sources about Faith and how to better cultivate and appriciate Faith

(Click Here To Visit New Page On Faith)



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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Sunday October 25th, 2009: **FAST SUNDAY** ; 1:15 PEC/BYC

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

New Video Arrangement & Special Stake Conference Information

First Of All, I will post and mention information about our upcoming Stake Conference: Information made available to me, by Brother Olmsted...


Elder Craig C. Christiansen, of the Seventy, and Elder Perry Webb, Area Authority Seventy, will preside at the upcoming Stake Conference Oct 31^st and November 1^st.  During the course of the conference the Stake Presidency will be reorganized.  We encourage all members to come and receive counsel and to benefit from the Spirit of the conference.
 
Stake Conference schedule as follows:

Saturday

                        4pm    Stake Priesthood Leadership meeting
 
Following should attend, Stake Presidency, High Council, Bishoprics, Branch Presidency, High Priests group leadership and Secretaries, Elders Quorum Presidencies and Secretaries, Ward Mission Leaders, Ward Missionaries (male), Stake and Ward Young Men Presidencies and Secretaries, Stake and Ward Executive Secretaries and Clerks.
 
                        7pm    Stake Adult meeting all adult

Sunday

                        10am  General Session

(If you are receiving this info by email, please ensure to visit the blog, to view the following updates; Plainview TX Elders Quorum Blog Link)


You will notice 4 new feature videos, titled as:

1) "Whom say ye that I am."

2) "Religious freedom under attack"

3) "The Healing Power Of Christ"

4) "The Salt Lake City Temple" (Which video can be found at bottom of blog page.....scroll far down)

These are all beautiful, wonderful, and very uplifting and inspirational... they help stir my Spirit every single time that I watch them, and I know they will stir you as well.

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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Sunday October 25th, 2009: **FAST SUNDAY** ; 1:15 PEC/BYC

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

"....Which Faith Will Make Them Whole..."

I got the opportunity to view for myself, the principle of action we all need to exercise in our life; namely Faith. The Lesson for Sunday, A Talk By Elder Kevin Pearson of the Seventy gave in April 2009, really shed a lot of light on my soul. By watching, and watching again, and listening and listening again.... I have learned for myself that even though I did not know it, (But others saw it) my Faith has been constantly growing. The Faith that makes me whole.

Elder Holland once said, in a talk given at a BYU devotional on January 13th, 2009:
(Where this quotation begins is where Elder Holland looks to the youth there, and looking ahead, amiss challenges and struggles... many youth, but even not youth alone, look ahead in life, and ask some of the very questions that this quote begins with.)

"Is there any future for me? What does a new year, or a new semester, or a new major, or a new
romance hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and
in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to go home?

To all such of every generation I call out, "Remember Lot's wife." Faith is for the future. 
Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things 
in store for each of us and that Christ is the "high priest of good things to come."

That, Brethren, is a wonderful means of Faithful understanding. Faith, like the featured talk, and lesson show, is "A Principle Of Action" and not just a word that says "I believe" and rightly left alone at just.... "I believe".


President Howard W. Hunter said: “If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right” (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1997], 40). My, how true this is brethren! How true!

Often we are thrown into problems which seem ever meant for our demise; But I know and can promise you this... Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Our Savior Jesus Christ do love us unconditionally! Because they do, we can enlist their help if we have Faith that they can help us. Only by our Faith can the familiar phrase spoken by the Savior himself, come to pass;

“According to your faith be it unto you” (Matt. 9:29)

“Thy faith hath made thee whole” (see Mark 10:46–52).

“… Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed the selfsame hour.” (Matt. 8:10, 13.)

There is the woman whose serious affliction had continued 12 years; she pleaded, “If I may but touch his garment I shall be whole.” She touched the hem of his garment and recovered from that hour: “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Matt. 9:21–22.)

Such powerful witnesses of what Faith can do! But as important as it is to remember what Faith can do, most important is to review and carefully ponder the warnings given to us in the scriptures of what can and will happen when none have Faith. We all know that The Lord is an unchangeable being, and is the same, "Yesterday, today and forever..." but seem to fall short of full understanding that this applies to everything. Yes, even Faith. Look to Mormon Chapter 9 where it says:

15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do ^ano miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.

  16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous ^aworks of God? 

 

  17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his ^aword the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was ^bcreated of the ^cdust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought? 

 

  18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty ^amiracles? And there were many ^bmighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles. 

 

  19 And if there were ^amiracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he ^bchangeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles. 

 

  20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do ^amiracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should ^btrust. 

 

  21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, ^awhatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this ^bpromise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth. 

 

 

Powerful! Did anyone relax their glance of understanding when they just read those? Look at that last verse again. (Mormon 9:21) It says,

"....and this ^bpromise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." That's quite a promise to give! He can, and will work miracles brethren. Through the Priesthood, and its righteous application in our lives (But not limited to our life, but also to the life of others) which includes righteous exercise of its power... we actually water that seed of Faith planted deep within us.

I know that my Faith has ever increased, I know it because the Spirit has bourne witness to me, that has continually caused my heart to burn within me. As I magnify my calling, as I prepare to go to the temple, to do all the Lord would have me do, I have ever seen him sustain me. He has sustained me as he promised...

"And whoso ^areceiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go ^bbefore your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my ^cSpirit shall be in your hearts, and mine ^dangels round about you, to bear you up." (See D & C 84:88)

There never has been many scriptures that have hit my heart, even my very soul as that one has.... and continues to do! I am humbled that the Lord would ever call such a sinner, even I, a sinner..... to any honorable calling in his kingdom.

My flesh can be weak all it wishes, and the gates of Hell can stand open to cast forth fury at me all it wishes... But comfort I take it that scripture, even the very one that reminds me yet again;

".......there I will be also, for I will go ^bbefore your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my ^cSpirit shall be in your hearts, and mine ^dangels round about you, to bear you up." (See D & C 84:88)

I stand hated of my family, rebuked by my family members for being "True to the Faith for which martyrs have perished..." and regardless of how they continue in hating me I shall remain loyal, "To God's command, Soul, Heart & Hand.... Faithful and True I Will ever stand."

We can do it brethren. We can bring the world his truth. I bear testimony to you in all truthfulness brethren, in soberness and humility, that I "Know that My Redeemer Lives", That Jesus is the Christ.... the Son of our Eternal Father who so lovingly gave his life so that all of us could return to the presence of the Father. "Awake My Soul, No longer droop in sin, rejoice my heart and let me praise again, The Lord my God, who is my rock and stave.... To keep me straight upon his straight plain way... O let me shake at the first sight of sin, and thus escape my foes.... I love the Lord". I know that only in and through my Savior, can the scripture be, that says, "I am the way, the truth and light....No Man cometh unto the Father but by me."

When the Savior says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." That rest is the peace and happiness that invades my very heart now, as it does any time I sing, any time that I read, and any time I pray. I pray the Lord sustain you all brethren, that the very peace I have may be fully in your heart. He will do as he says he will, so in conclusion, I leave you with this scripture;

"I, the Lord, am ^abound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no ^bpromise." (See D & C 82:10) 

I say these things in the name of Our Savior, even Jesus Christ, amen.



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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Sunday October 25th, 2009: **FAST SUNDAY** ; 1:15 PEC/BYC

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

New Mormon Messages Video- Lifting Burdens: The Atonement Of Jesus Christ

 Below: This is a special video I edited and produced that includes quite a few pictures taken during the course of activities (But not actual program- by request) and they are beautiful.... and to the music of two of the many special songs sang during the course of that program. I pray it lifts you up as it has me.



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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Wednesday October 21st, 2009: 7:00p.m. YM/YW Combined Activity Prep For Halloween

Sunday October 25th, 2009: **FAST SUNDAY** ; 1:15 PEC/BYC

Wednesday October 28th, 2009: Branch Halloween Social [a.k.a. "Trunk-R-Treat"] 6:00pm

Saturday October 31st, 2009: 4:00p.m. Priesthood Leadership @ Stake Center
Saturday October 31st, 2009: 7:00p.m. Adult Session

Sunday, November 1st, 2009: 10:00a.m. Stake Conference
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: CES Fireside for Young Adults
Sunday, November 1st, 2009: ***Daylight Savings Ends*** Set clocks back by One Hour

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009: YM/YW Combined Activity : 7:00p.m.

Sunday, October 25th, 2009: [Lesson] - "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" : Elder Kevin W. Pearson Of the Seventy

It is increasingly difficult in the age of technology, with instant communications, instant transactions and instant information to be kept safe from the wiles, the weapons of the adversary; Since we all know that there is a sad increase (And so will the unfavorable trend continue) for the world, and the weary hearts of the men who live there-in to constantly sin... and live in fear, the significance of Faith in much more significant and even more important than we all ever give enough credit to. 

This very fact is what brought me to the desire to study this talk as a Quorum. This talk stood out to me due to the significance of what Faith was doing for me then, (6 & 1/2 months ago) and what it can and will do for me in the days, weeks and months to come. Stay rooted in Christ, and firm in Faith and as the Savior said, 

"If ye will have Faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." (See Moroni 7:33 By Clicking Here) I hope this talk will help all who prayerfully apply it to their life as it has mine brethren. 

I leave this message with you in the name of Our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

(Brother Rexford G. Beardsley Jr. : Monday October 19th, 2009)

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Elder Kevin W. Pearson
Of the Seventy
 
In a household of faith, there is no need to fear or doubt. Choose to live by faith and not fear.

I humbly invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost as we discuss a vital principle of the gospel: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I acknowledge with deep appreciation and love great examples of true faith and faithfulness in my own life. To goodly parents, family, priesthood leaders, beloved missionaries, wonderful children, and a precious eternal companion, I express my deepest love and gratitude. I acknowledge my own need and desire for greater faith as a disciple and witness of Christ. There has never been a greater need for faith in my own life than now.

As parents, we have been commanded to teach our children “to understand the doctrine of . . . faith in Christ the Son of the living God” (D&C 68:25). This requires more than merely recognizing faith as a gospel principle. “To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone” (Bible Dictionary, “Faith,” 669). True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. “Faith is a principle of action and of power” (Bible Dictionary, 670). It requires us to do, not merely to believe. Faith is a spiritual gift from God that comes through the Holy Ghost. It requires a correct understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ, His divine attributes and perfect character, His teachings, Atonement, Resurrection, and priesthood power. Obedience to these principles develops complete trust in Him and His ordained servants and assurance of His promised blessings.

There is no other thing in which we can have absolute assurance. There is no other foundation in life that can bring the same peace, joy, and hope. In uncertain and difficult times, faith is truly a spiritual gift worthy of our utmost efforts. We can give our children education, lessons, athletics, the arts, and material possessions, but if we do not give them faith in Christ, we have given little.

“Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith” (Bible Dictionary, 669; see also Romans 10:14–17). Do your children know that you know? Do they see and feel your conviction? “Strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ” (Bible Dictionary, 669).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws the greater will be the endowment of faith” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 264). If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things.

Desire is a particle of faith that develops within us as we experience divine truth. It is like spiritual photosynthesis. The influence of the Holy Ghost, acting on the Light of Christ within every human being, produces the spiritual equivalent of a chemical reaction—a stirring, a change of heart, or a desire to know. Hope develops as particles of faith become molecules and as simple efforts to live true principles occur.
As patterns of obedience develop, the specific blessings associated with obedience are realized and belief emerges. Desire, hope, and belief are forms of faith, but faith as a principle of power comes from a consistent pattern of obedient behavior and attitudes. Personal righteousness is a choice. Faith is a gift from God, and one possessed of it can receive enormous spiritual power.

There is a quality of faith which develops as we focus all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. It is seen and felt in the eyes of a great missionary, a valiant and virtuous young woman, and righteous mothers, fathers, and grandparents. It can be seen in the lives of individuals young and old, in every land and culture, speaking every language, in every circumstance and station in life. It is the “eye of faith” spoken of by the prophet Alma (see Alma 5:15–26)—the ability to focus and be steadfast, continually holding fast to true principles, nothing wavering, even when the mist of darkness confronting us is exceedingly great. This quality of faith is exceedingly powerful.

However, “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. . . . The Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other” (2 Nephi 2:11, 16). And so it is with faith. It can be enticing to choose doubt and disbelief over faith.

As Jesus returned from the transcendent spiritual experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, He was approached by a desperate father whose son needed help. The father pleaded, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.”

Jesus replied, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father . . . cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:22–24).

Faith and fear cannot coexist. One gives way to the other. The simple fact is we all need to constantly build faith and overcome sources of destructive disbelief. The Savior’s teaching comparing faith to a grain of mustard seed recognizes this reality (see Matthew 13:31–32). Consider it this way: our net usable faith is what we have left to exercise after we subtract our sources of doubt and disbelief. You might ask yourself this question: “Is my own net faith positive or negative?” If your faith exceeds your doubt and disbelief, the answer is likely positive. If you allow doubt and disbelief to control you, the answer might be negative.

We do have a choice. We get what we focus on consistently. Because there is an opposition in all things, there are forces that erode our faith. Some are the result of Satan’s direct influence. But for others, we have no one but ourselves to blame. These stem from personal tendencies, attitudes, and habits we can learn to change. I will refer to these influences as the “Six Destructive Ds.” As I do, consider their influence on you or your children.

First is doubt. Doubt is not a principle of the gospel. It does not come from the Light of Christ or the influence of the Holy Ghost. Doubt is a negative emotion related to fear. It comes from a lack of confidence in one’s self or abilities. It is inconsistent with our divine identity as children of God.

Doubt leads to discouragement. Discouragement comes from missed expectations. Chronic discouragement leads to lower expectations, decreased effort, weakened desire, and greater difficulty feeling and following the Spirit (see Preach My Gospel [2004], 10). Discouragement and despair are the very antithesis of faith.

Discouragement leads to distraction, a lack of focus. Distraction eliminates the very focus the eye of faith requires. Discouragement and distraction are two of Satan’s most effective tools, but they are also bad habits.

Distraction leads to a lack of diligence, a reduced commitment to remain true and faithful and to carry on through despite hardship and disappointment. Disappointment is an inevitable part of life, but it need not lead to doubt, discouragement, distraction, or lack of diligence.

If not reversed, this path ultimately leads to disobedience, which undermines the very basis of faith. So often the result is disbelief, the conscious or unconscious refusal to believe.

The scriptures describe disbelief as the state of having chosen to harden one’s heart. It is to be past feeling.

These Six Destructive Ds—doubt, discouragement, distraction, lack of diligence, disobedience, and disbelief—all erode and destroy our faith. We can choose to avoid and overcome them.

Challenging times require greater spiritual power. Consider carefully the Savior’s promise: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moroni 7:33).

I humbly declare that God, our Heavenly Father, lives and loves each of us, His children. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He lives and personally leads His Church through President Monson, His anointed prophet. Because He lives, there is always hope smiling brightly before us. In a household of faith, there is no need to fear or doubt. Choose to live by faith and not fear. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

"Religious Freedom Is Being Threatened" - Video By Dallin H. Oaks

 There is major significance that comes with this message, and it is a message that we, "ALL" of us need be familiar with. This is not going to be something that will passively pushed aside by the world anymore.

Consider if you will, this, said of Elder D. Todd Christofferson in the April 2009 General Conference:

"We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism."

"We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations."

Let us keep those things in mind....




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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Saturday, October 17th 2009: 10:00am to 12:00pm Primary Program Practice
Saturday, October 17th 2009: 5:00pm SYC @ Stake Center
Saturday, October 17th 2009: 7:00pm Dance @ Stake Center

Sunday. October 18th, 2009: Branch Council

The Restoration of All Things: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times

“Chapter 44: The Restoration of All Things: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),507–16

“[This] is truly the dispensation of the fullness of times, when all things which are in Christ Jesus, whether in heaven or on the earth, shall be gathered together in Him, and when all things shall be restored.”

From the Life of Joseph Smith

The Prophet Joseph Smith loved the Nauvoo Temple and yearned to see it completed. Nauvoo resident Martha Coray was present at an address where she saw the Prophet stretch his hand toward the temple and say in a melancholy tone, “If it should be … the will of God that I might live to behold that temple completed and finished from the foundation to the top stone, I will say, ‘O Lord, it is enough. Lord, let thy servant depart in peace.’ ”1
 
George Q. Cannon, who later became a counselor in the First Presidency, recalled: “Previous to his death, the Prophet Joseph manifested great anxiety to see the [Nauvoo] temple completed, as most of you who were with the Church during his day, well know. ‘Hurry up the work, brethren,’ he used to say,—‘let us finish the temple; the Lord has a great endowment in store for you, and I am anxious that the brethren should have their endowments and receive the fullness of the priesthood.’ He urged the Saints forward continually, preaching unto them the importance of completing that building, so that therein the ordinances of life and salvation might be administered to the whole people, but especially to the quorums of the holy priesthood; ‘then,’ said he, ‘the Kingdom will be established, and I do not care what shall become of me.’ ”2
 
The plans for the Nauvoo Temple called for an edifice that would be larger and even more beautiful than the Kirtland Temple. Situated on the summit of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, the completed Nauvoo Temple would be one of the most magnificent buildings in Illinois. It was made of limestone obtained from quarries near Nauvoo and lumber floated down the river from pineries in Wisconsin. When finished, it would be 128 feet long, 88 feet wide, and 165 feet high at the top of the spire. The exterior was ornamented with intricately carved moonstones, sunstones, and starstones, while sunlight streaming through the many windows illuminated the interior.

Joseph Smith did not live to see the Nauvoo Temple completed, but after his death, thousands of Saints received sacred ordinances in the temple under the direction of Brigham Young. After the Saints were forced to leave Nauvoo, their beautiful temple was destroyed. It was gutted by fire in 1848, and in 1850 a tornado leveled some of the walls, leaving the remaining walls so weakened that they had to be razed. Some 150 years later, construction began on a new Nauvoo Temple, built on the original site. The reconstructed temple was dedicated on June 27, 2002, becoming one of more than a hundred temples throughout the world. Each of these temples is a symbol that the fulness of God’s blessings to His children, living and dead, has been restored in this last dispensation.

The Prophet Joseph Smith was called of God to restore these great blessings to earth and to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fulness of times. During the Prophet’s ministry, all things were restored that were necessary to lay the foundation of the greatest dispensation of all time. The priesthood, with its essential keys, was restored; the Book of Mormon was translated; the Church was organized; and doctrines, ordinances, and covenants were revealed, including the ordinances and covenants of the endowment and the marriage sealing. The Lord declared that He had committed unto Joseph Smith “the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (D&C 27:13).

Teachings of Joseph Smith

In this last dispensation, all the authority, ordinances, and knowledge of earlier dispensations have been restored.

“It is in the order of heavenly things that God should always send a new dispensation into the world when men have apostatized from the truth and lost the priesthood.”3
 
On September 6, 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote the following to the Saints, later recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 128:18: “It is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times.”4
 
“Truly this is a day long to be remembered by the Saints of the last days,—a day in which the God of heaven has begun to restore the ancient order of His kingdom unto His servants and His people,—a day in which all things are concurring to bring about the completion of the fullness of the Gospel, a fullness of the dispensation of dispensations, even the fullness of times; a day in which God has begun to make manifest and set in order in His Church those things which have been, and those things which the ancient prophets and wise men desired to see but died without beholding them; a day in which those things begin to be made manifest, which have been hid from before the foundation of the world, and which Jehovah has promised should be made known in His own due time unto His servants, to prepare the earth for the return of His glory, even a celestial glory, and a kingdom of Priests and kings to God and the Lamb, forever, on Mount Zion.”5
 
“The dispensation of the fullness of times will bring to light the things that have been revealed in all former dispensations; also other things that have not been before revealed. He shall send Elijah, the Prophet, etc., and restore all things in Christ.”6
 
“ ‘Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.’ [Ephesians 1:9–10.]
“Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations.
“And again. God purposed in Himself that there should not be an eternal fullness until every dispensation should be fulfilled and gathered together in one, and that all things whatsoever, that should be gathered together in one in those dispensations unto the same fullness and eternal glory, should be in Christ Jesus. …
“… All the ordinances and duties that ever have been required by the Priesthood, under the directions and commandments of the Almighty in any of the dispensations, shall all be had in the last dispensation, therefore all things had under the authority of the Priesthood at any former period, shall be had again, bringing to pass the restoration spoken of by the mouth of all the Holy Prophets.”7

Joseph Smith holds the keys of the dispensation of the fulness of times.

“I … hold the keys of the last kingdom, in which is the dispensation of the fullness of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy Prophets since the world began, under the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood.”8
 
“Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council. It is the testimony that I want that I am God’s servant, and this people His people. The ancient prophets declared that in the last days the God of heaven should set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed, nor left to other people. …

“I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world.”9
 
“I have the whole plan of the kingdom before me, and no other person has.”10
 
Lucy Mack Smith was present when Joseph Smith preached in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1832. She recalled these words of the Prophet: “I myself hold the keys of this last dispensation, and I forever will hold them in time and in eternity. So set your hearts at rest, for all is well.”11

This final dispensation is of such vast importance that it requires the complete, unselfish dedication of the Saints.

In September 1840, Joseph Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency made the following declaration to the members of the Church: “The work of the Lord in these last days, is one of vast magnitude and almost beyond the comprehension of mortals. Its glories are past description, and its grandeur unsurpassable. It is the theme which has animated the bosom of prophets and righteous men from the creation of the world down through every succeeding generation to the present time; and it is truly the dispensation of the fullness of times, when all things which are in Christ Jesus, whether in heaven or on the earth, shall be gathered together in Him, and when all things shall be restored, as spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world began; for in it will take place the glorious fulfilment of the promises made to the fathers, while the manifestations of the power of the Most High will be great, glorious, and sublime. …

“… We feel disposed to go forward and unite our energies for the upbuilding of the Kingdom, and establishing the Priesthood in their fullness and glory. The work which has to be accomplished in the last days is one of vast importance, and will call into action the energy, skill, talent, and ability of the Saints, so that it may roll forth with that glory and majesty described by the prophet [see Daniel 2:34–35, 44–45]; and will consequently require the concentration of the Saints, to accomplish works of such magnitude and grandeur.
“The work of the gathering spoken of in the Scriptures will be necessary to bring about the glories of the last dispensation. …

“Dear brethren, feeling desirous to carry out the purposes of God, to which work we have been called; and to be co-workers with Him in this last dispensation; we feel the necessity of having the hearty cooperation of the Saints throughout this land, and upon the islands of the sea. It will be necessary for the Saints to hearken to counsel and turn their attention to the Church, the establishment of the Kingdom, and lay aside every selfish principle, everything low and groveling; and stand forward in the cause of truth, and assist to the utmost of their power, those to whom has been given the pattern and design. …

“Here, then, beloved brethren, is a work to engage in worthy of archangels—a work which will cast into the shade the things which have been heretofore accomplished; a work which kings and prophets and righteous men in former ages have sought, expected, and earnestly desired to see, but died without the sight; and well will it be for those who shall aid in carrying into effect the mighty operations of Jehovah.”12
 
“The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, ‘the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God will gather together all things that are in heaven, and all things that are upon the earth, even in one’ [see Ephesians 1:10], when the Saints of God will be gathered in one from every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, when the Jews will be gathered together into one, the wicked will also be gathered together to be destroyed, as spoken of by the prophets; the Spirit of God will also dwell with His people, and be withdrawn from the rest of the nations, and all things whether in heaven or on earth will be in one, even in Christ.

“The heavenly Priesthood will unite with the earthly, to bring about those great purposes; and whilst we are thus united in the one common cause, to roll forth the kingdom of God, the heavenly Priesthood are not idle spectators, the Spirit of God will be showered down from above, and it will dwell in our midst. The blessings of the Most High will rest upon our tabernacles, and our name will be handed down to future ages; our children will rise up and call us blessed; and generations yet unborn will dwell with peculiar delight upon the scenes that we have passed through, the privations that we have endured, the untiring zeal that we have manifested, the all but insurmountable difficulties that we have overcome in laying the foundation of a work that brought about the glory and blessing which they will realize; a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past; that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets; a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family.”13

Suggestions for Study and Teaching

Consider these ideas as you study the chapter or as you prepare to teach. For additional help, see pages vii–xii.

• • Review pages 507–9. Why are temples so important in the accomplishment of the Lord’s work?
  
• • Why do you think ancient prophets and wise men looked forward to our day? (For some examples, see pages 510–11.) Ponder the privilege of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times.
  
• • Study the paragraph that begins on the bottom of page 511. As you ponder this statement, what are your thoughts and feelings about your callings to serve in the Church?
  
• • Read the first three full paragraphs on page 512. How do these statements strengthen your testimony of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith?
  
• • The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The work of the Lord in these last days, is one of vast magnitude” (page 512). Study pages 512–15, pondering our responsibility to help accomplish the Lord’s work in the last dispensation. Why must we “unite our energies” if we are to accomplish this work? Why must we “lay aside every selfish principle”? Think about how you can use your “energy, skill, talent, and ability” to contribute to the Lord’s work.
  

Related Scriptures: D&C 27:12–13; 90:2–3; 112:30–32; 124:40–41
[illustration] The Prophet Joseph Smith yearned to see the Nauvoo Temple completed. “ ‘Hurry up the work, brethren,’ he used to say,—‘let us finish the temple; the Lord has a great endowment in store for you.’ ”
[photo] Full-time missionaries at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Joseph Smith declared that in the last dispensation, “it will be necessary for the Saints to hearken to counsel and … stand forward in the cause of truth.”

Notes

1. Quoted by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, reporting a discourse given by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois; Martha Jane Knowlton Coray, Notebook, Church Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah; this discourse is dated July 19, 1840, in Sister Coray’s notebook, but the discourse was probably given at a later date.

2. George Q. Cannon, Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Dec. 14, 1869, p. 2.

3. History of the Church, 6:478–79; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on June 16, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Thomas Bullock; see also appendix, page 562, item 3.

4. Doctrine and Covenants 128:18; a letter from Joseph Smith to the Saints, Sept. 6, 1842, Nauvoo, Illinois.

5. History of the Church, 4:492–93; from a Joseph Smith journal entry, Jan. 6, 1842, Nauvoo, Illinois.

6. History of the Church, 4:426; from the minutes of a Church conference held on Oct. 3, 1841, in Nauvoo, Illinois, published in Times and Seasons, Oct. 15, 1841, p. 578.

7. History of the Church, 4:208, 210–11; from a discourse prepared by Joseph Smith and read at a Church conference held on Oct. 5, 1840, in Nauvoo, Illinois.

8. History of the Church, 6:78; spelling modernized; from a letter from Joseph Smith to James Arlington Bennet, Nov. 13, 1843, Nauvoo, Illinois; James Bennet’s last name is incorrectly spelled “Bennett” in History of the Church.

9. History of the Church, 6:364–65; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on May 12, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Thomas Bullock.

10. History of the Church, 5:139; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Aug. 29, 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by William Clayton.

11. Quoted by Lucy Mack Smith, reporting a discourse given by Joseph Smith in early 1832 in Kirtland, Ohio; Lucy Mack Smith, “The History of Lucy Smith, Mother of the Prophet,” 1844–45 manuscript, book 13, p. 5, Church Archives.

12. History of the Church, 4:185–87; punctuation modernized; from a letter from Joseph Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency to the Saints, Sept. 1840, Nauvoo, Illinois, published in Times and Seasons, Oct. 1840, pp. 178–79.

13. History of the Church, 4:609–10; punctuation modernized; paragraph divisions altered; from “The Temple,” an editorial published in Times and Seasons, May 2, 1842, p. 776; Joseph Smith was the editor of the periodical.

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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Saturday, October 17th 2009: 10:00am to 12:00pm Primary Program Practice
Saturday, October 17th 2009: 5:00pm SYC @ Stake Center
Saturday, October 17th 2009: 7:00pm Dance @ Stake Center

Sunday. October 18th, 2009: Branch Council

Religious Freedom : A Talk Given At BYU-Idaho On October 13th, 2009

13 October 2009 Transcript of Elder Dallin H. Oaks speech given at BYU-Idaho on 13 October 2009.

My dear young friends, I am pleased to speak to this BYU-Idaho audience. I am conscious that I am also speaking to many in other places. In this time of the Internet, what we say in one place is instantly put before a wider audience, including many to whom we do not intend to speak. That complicates my task, so I ask your understanding as I speak to a very diverse audience.

In choosing my subject I have relied on an old military maxim that when there is a battle underway, persons who desire to join the fray should “march to the sound of the guns.”[i] So it is that I invite you to march with me as I speak about religious freedom under the United States Constitution. There is a battle over the meaning of that freedom. The contest is of eternal importance, and it is your generation that must understand the issues and make the efforts to prevail.

I.

An 1833 revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith declared that the Lord established the United States Constitution by wise men whom he raised up for that very purpose (Doctrine and Covenants 101:80). The Lord also declared that this constitution “should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:77; emphasis added).

In 1833, when almost all people in the world were still ruled by kings or tyrants, few could see how the infant United States Constitution could be divinely designed “for the rights and protection of all flesh.” Today, 176 years after that revelation, almost every nation in the world has adopted a written constitution, and the United States Constitution profoundly influenced all of them. Truly, this nation’s most important export is its constitution, whose great principles stand as a model “for the rights and protection of all flesh.” On the vital human right of religious freedom, however, many constitutions fall short of the protections that are needed, so we are grateful that the United States government seeks to encourage religious freedom all over the world.[ii]

 

II.

To illustrate the importance of basic human rights in other countries, I refer to some recent history in Mongolia, which shows that the religious freedom we have taken for granted in the United States must be won by dangerous sacrifice in some other nations.

Following the perestroika movement in the Soviet Union, popular demonstrations in Mongolia forced the Communist government to resign in March 1990. Other political parties were legalized, but the first Mongolian elections gave the Communists a majority in the new parliament, and the old repressive attitudes persisted in all government departments. The full functioning of a democratic process and the full enjoyment of the people’s needed freedoms do not occur without a struggle. In Mongolia, the freedoms of speech, press and religion — a principal feature of the inspired United States Constitution — remained unfulfilled.

In that precarious environment, a 42-year-old married woman, Oyun Altangerel, a department head in the state library, courageously took some actions that would prove historic. Acting against official pressure, she organized a “Democratic Association Branch Council.” This 12-member group, the first of its kind, spoke out for democracy and proposed that state employees have the freedoms of worship, belief and expression, including the right to belong to a political party of their choice.

When Oyun and others were fired from their state employment, Oyun began a hunger strike in the state library. Within three hours she was joined by 20 others, mostly women, and their hunger strike, which continued for five days, became a public demonstration that took their grievances to the people of Mongolia.

This demonstration, backed by major democratic movement leaders, encouraged other government employees to organize similar democratic councils. These dangerous actions expanded into a national anti-government movement that voiced powerful support for the basic human freedoms of speech, press and religion. Eventually the government accepted the demands, and in the adoption of a democratic constitution two years later Mongolia took a major step toward a free society.

For Latter-day Saints, this birth of constitutional freedom in Mongolia has special interest. Less than two years after the historic hunger strike, we sent our first missionaries to Mongolia. In 1992 these couples began their meetings in the state library, where Oyun was working. The following year, she showed her courage again by being baptized into this newly arrived Christian church. Her only child, a 22-year-old son, was baptized two years later. Today, the Mongolian members of our Church number 9,000, reportedly the largest group of Christians in the country. A few months ago we organized our first stake in Mongolia. Called as the stake president was Sister Oyun’s son, Odgerel. He had studied for a year at BYU-Hawaii, and his wife, Ariuna, a former missionary in Utah, graduated there.[iii]

 

III.

One of the great fundamentals of our inspired constitution, relied on by Oyun of Mongolia and countless others struggling for freedom in many countries in the world, is the principle that the people are the source of government power. This principle of popular sovereignty was first written and applied on the American continent over 200 years ago. A group of colonies won independence from a king, and their representatives had the unique opportunity of establishing a new government. They did this by creating the first written constitution that has survived to govern a modern nation. The United States Constitution declared the source of government power, delegated that power to a government, and regulated its exercise.

Along with many other religious people, we affirm that God is the ultimate source of power and that, under Him, it is the people’s inherent right to decide their form of government. Sovereign power is not inherent in a state or nation just because its leaders have the power that comes from force of arms. And sovereign power does not come from the divine right of a king, who grants his subjects such power as he pleases or is forced to concede, as in Magna Carta. As the preamble to our constitution states: “We the People of the United States . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution.”

This principle of sovereignty in the people explains the meaning of God’s revelation that He established the Constitution of the United States “that every man may act . . . according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:78). In other words, the most desirable condition for the effective exercise of God-given moral agency is a condition of maximum freedom and responsibility — the opposite of slavery or political oppression. With freedom we can be accountable for our own actions and cannot blame our conditions on our bondage to another. This is the condition the Lord praised in the Book of Mormon, where the people — not a king — established the laws and were governed by them (see Mosiah 29:23–26). This popular sovereignty necessarily implies popular responsibility. Instead of blaming their troubles on a king or tyrant, all citizens are responsible to share the burdens of governing, “that every man might bear his part” (Mosiah 29:34).

IV.

“For the rights and protection of all flesh” the United State Constitution includes in its First Amendment the guarantees of free exercise of religion and free speech and press. Without these great fundamentals of the Constitution, America could not have served as the host nation for the restoration of the gospel, which began just three decades after the Bill of Rights was ratified.

The First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The prohibition against “an establishment of religion” was intended to separate churches and government, to prevent a national church of the kind still found in Europe. In the interest of time I will say no more about the establishment of religion, but only concentrate on the direction that the United States shall have no law “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion.

The guarantee of the free exercise of religion, which I will call religious freedom, is the first expression in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. As noted by many, this “pre-eminent place” identifies freedom of religion as “a cornerstone of American democracy.”[iv] The American colonies were originally settled by people who, for the most part, had come to this continent to be able to practice their religious faith without persecution, and their successors deliberately placed religious freedom first in the nation’s Bill of Rights. So it is that our national law formally declares: “The right to freedom of religion undergirds the very origin and existence of the United States.”[v]

 

The free “exercise” of religion obviously involves both the right to choose religious beliefs and affiliations and the right to “exercise” or practice those beliefs. But in a nation with citizens of many different religious beliefs, the right of some to act upon their religious principles must be qualified by the government’s responsibility to protect the health and safety of all. Otherwise, for example, the government could not protect its citizens’ person or property from neighbors whose intentions include taking human life or stealing in circumstances rationalized on the basis of their religious beliefs.

The inherent conflict between the precious religious freedom of the people and the legitimate regulatory responsibilities of the government is the central issue of religious freedom. Here are just a few examples of current controversial public issues that involve this conflict: laws governing marriage and adoption; laws regulating the activities of church-related organizations like BYU-Idaho in furtherance of their religious missions — activities such as who they will serve or employ; and laws prohibiting discrimination in employment or work conditions against persons with unpopular religious beliefs or practices.

The problems are not simple, and over the years the United States Supreme Court, which has the ultimate responsibility of interpreting the meaning of the lofty and general provisions of the Constitution, has struggled to identify principles that can guide its decisions when government action is claimed to violate someone’s free exercise of religion. As would be expected, most of the battles over the extent of religious freedom have involved government efforts to impose upon the practices of small groups like Mormons. Not surprisingly, government officials sometimes seem more tolerant toward the religious practices of large groups of voters.

Unpopular minority religions are especially dependent upon a constitutional guarantee of free exercise of religion. We are fortunate to have such a guarantee in the United States, but many nations do not. The importance of that guarantee in the United States should make us ever diligent to defend it. And it is in need of being defended. During my lifetime I have seen a significant deterioration in the respect accorded to religion in our public life, and I believe that the vitality of religious freedom is in danger of being weakened accordingly.

Religious belief is obviously protected against government action. The practice of that belief must have some limits, as I suggested earlier. But unless the guarantee of free exercise of religion gives a religious actor greater protection against government prohibitions than are already guaranteed to all actors by other provisions of the constitution (like freedom of speech), what is the special value of religious freedom? Surely the First Amendment guarantee of free exercise of religion was intended to grant more freedom to religious action than to other kinds of action. Treating actions based on religious belief the same as actions based on other systems of belief should not be enough to satisfy the special place of religion in the United States Constitution.

V.

Religious freedom has always been at risk. It was repression of religious belief and practice that drove the Pilgrim fathers and other dissenters to the shores of this continent. Even today, leaders in all too many nations use state power to repress religious believers.

The greatest infringements of religious freedom occur when the exercise of religion collides with other powerful forces in society. Among the most threatening collisions in the United States today are (1) the rising strength of those who seek to silence religious voices in public debates, and (2) perceived conflicts between religious freedom and the popular appeal of newly alleged civil rights.

As I address this audience of young adults, I invite your careful attention to what I say on these subjects, because I am describing conditions you will face and challenges you must confront.

Silencing Religious Voices in the Public Square

A writer for The Christian Science Monitor predicts that the coming century will be “very secular and religiously antagonistic,” with intolerance of Christianity “ris[ing] to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes.”[vi] Other wise observers have noted the ever-growing, relentless attack on the Christian religion by forces who reject the existence or authority of God.[vii] The extent and nature of religious devotion in this nation is changing. The tide of public opinion in favor of religion is receding, and this probably portends public pressures for laws that will impinge on religious freedom.

Atheism has always been hostile to religion, such as in its arguments that freedom of or for religion should include freedom from religion. Atheism’s threat rises as its proponents grow in numbers and aggressiveness. “By some counts,” a recent article in The Economist declares, “there are at least 500 [million] declared non-believers in the world — enough to make atheism the fourth-biggest religion.”[viii] And atheism’s spokesmen are aggressive, as recent publications show.[ix] As noted by John A. Howard of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society, these voices “have developed great skills in demonizing those who disagree with them, turning their opponents into objects of fear, hatred and scorn.”[x]

 

Such forces — atheists and others — would intimidate persons with religious-based points of view from influencing or making the laws of their state or nation. Noted author and legal commentator Hugh Hewitt described the current circumstance this way:

“There is a growing anti-religious bigotry in the United States. . . .

“For three decades people of faith have watched a systematic and very effective effort waged in the courts and the media to drive them from the public square and to delegitimize their participation in politics as somehow threatening.”[xi]

 

For example, a prominent gay-rights spokesman gave this explanation for his objection to our Church’s position on California’s Proposition 8:

“I’m not intending it to harm the religion. I think they do wonderful things. Nicest people. . . . My single goal is to get them out of the same-sex marriage business and back to helping hurricane victims.”[xii]

 

Aside from the obvious fact that this objection would deny free speech as well as religious freedom to members of our Church and its coalition partners, there are other reasons why the public square must be open to religious ideas and religious persons. As Richard John Neuhaus said many years ago, “In a democracy that is free and robust, an opinion is no more disqualified for being ‘religious’ than for being atheistic, or psychoanalytic, or Marxist, or just plain dumb.”[xiii]

 

Religious Freedom Diluted by Other “Civil Rights”

A second threat to religious freedom is from those who perceive it to be in conflict with the newly alleged “civil right” of same-gender couples to enjoy the privileges of marriage.

We have endured a wave of media-reported charges that the Mormons are trying to “deny” people or “strip” people of their “rights.” After a significant majority of California voters (seven million — over 52 percent) approved Proposition 8’s limiting marriage to a man and a woman, some opponents characterized the vote as denying people their civil rights. In fact, the Proposition 8 battle was not about civil rights, but about what equal rights demand and what religious rights protect. At no time did anyone question or jeopardize the civil right of Proposition 8 opponents to vote or speak their views.

The real issue in the Proposition 8 debate — an issue that will not go away in years to come and for whose resolution it is critical that we protect everyone’s freedom of speech and the equally important freedom to stand for religious beliefs — is whether the opponents of Proposition 8 should be allowed to change the vital institution of marriage itself.

The marriage union of a man and a woman has been the teaching of the Judeo-Christian scriptures and the core legal definition and practice of marriage in Western culture for thousands of years. Those who seek to change the foundation of marriage should not be allowed to pretend that those who defend the ancient order are trampling on civil rights. The supporters of Proposition 8 were exercising their constitutional right to defend the institution of marriage — an institution of transcendent importance that they, along with countless others of many persuasions, feel conscientiously obliged to protect.

Religious freedom needs defending against the claims of newly asserted human rights. The so-called “Yogyakarta Principles,” published by an international human rights group, call for governments to assure that all persons have the right to practice their religious beliefs regardless of sexual orientation or identity.[xiv] This apparently proposes that governments require church practices and their doctrines to ignore gender differences. Any such effort to have governments invade religion to override religious doctrines or practices should be resisted by all believers. At the same time, all who conduct such resistance should frame their advocacy and their personal relations so that they are never seen as being doctrinaire opponents of the very real civil rights (such as free speech) of their adversaries or any other disadvantaged group.

VI.

And now, in conclusion, I offer five points of counsel on how Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves to enhance religious freedom in this period of turmoil and challenge.

First, we must speak with love, always showing patience, understanding and compassion toward our adversaries. We are under command to love our neighbor (Luke 10:27), to forgive all men (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10), to do good to them who despitefully use us (Matthew 5:44) and to conduct our teaching in mildness and meekness (Doctrine and Covenants 38:41).

Even as we seek to speak with love, we must not be surprised when our positions are ridiculed and we are persecuted and reviled. As the Savior said, “so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:12). And modern revelation commands us not to revile against revilers (Doctrine and Covenants 19:30).

Second, we must not be deterred or coerced into silence by the kinds of intimidation I have described. We must insist on our constitutional right and duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences on public issues and to participate in elections and debates in the public square and the halls of justice. These are the rights of all citizens and they are also the rights of religious leaders. While our church rarely speaks on public issues, it does so by exception on what the First Presidency defines as significant moral issues, which could surely include laws affecting the fundamental legal/cultural/moral environment of our communities and nations.

We must also insist on this companion condition of democratic government: when churches and their members or any other group act or speak out on public issues, win or lose, they have a right to expect freedom from retaliation.

Along with many others, we were disappointed with what we experienced in the aftermath of California’s adoption of Proposition 8, including vandalism of church facilities and harassment of church members by firings and boycotts of member businesses and by retaliation against donors. Mormons were the targets of most of this, but it also hit other churches in the pro-8 coalition and other persons who could be identified as supporters. Fortunately, some recognized such retaliation for what it was. A full-page ad in the New York Times branded this “violence and intimidation” against religious organizations and individual believers “simply because they supported Proposition 8 [as] an outrage that must stop.” [xv] The fact that this ad was signed by some leaders who had no history of friendship for our faith only added to its force.

It is important to note that while this aggressive intimidation in connection with the Proposition 8 election was primarily directed at religious persons and symbols, it was not anti-religious as such. These incidents were expressions of outrage against those who disagreed with the gay-rights position and had prevailed in a public contest. As such, these incidents of “violence and intimidation” are not so much anti-religious as anti-democratic. In their effect they are like the well-known and widely condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South that produced corrective federal civil-rights legislation.

Third, we must insist on our freedom to preach the doctrines of our faith. Why do I make this obvious point? Religious people who share our moral convictions feel some intimidation. Fortunately, our leaders do not refrain from stating and explaining our position that homosexual behavior is sinful. Last summer Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke these words to a BYU audience:

“We follow Jesus Christ by living the law of chastity. God gave this commandment, and He has never revoked or changed it. This law is clear and simple. No one is to engage in sexual relationships outside the bounds the Lord has set. This applies to homosexual behavior of any kind and to heterosexual relationships outside marriage. It is a sin to violate the law of chastity.

“We follow Jesus Christ by adhering to God’s law of marriage, which is marriage between one man and one woman. This commandment has been in place from the very beginning.”[xvi]

 

We will continue to teach what our Heavenly Father has commanded us to teach, and trust that the precious free exercise of religion remains strong enough to guarantee our right to exercise this most basic freedom.

Fourth, as advocates of the obvious truth that persons with religious positions or motivations have the right to express their religious views in public, we must nevertheless be wise in our political participation. Preachers have been prime movers in the civil rights movement from the earliest advocates of abolition, but even the civil rights of religionists must be exercised legally and wisely.

As Latter-day Saints, we should never be reticent to declare and act upon the sure foundations of our faith. The call of conscience — whether religious or otherwise — requires no secular justification. At the same time, religious persons will often be most persuasive in political discourse by framing arguments and positions in ways that are respectful of those who do not share their religious beliefs and that contribute to the reasoned discussion and compromise that is essential in a pluralistic society.[xvii]

 

Fifth and finally, Latter-day Saints must be careful never to support or act upon the idea that a person must subscribe to some particular set of religious beliefs in order to qualify for a public office. The framers of our constitution included a provision that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States” (Article VI). That constitutional principle forbids a religious test as a legal requirement, but it of course leaves citizens free to cast their votes on the basis of any preference they choose. But wise religious leaders and members will never advocate religious tests for public office.

Fragile freedoms are best preserved when not employed beyond their intended purpose. If a candidate is seen to be rejected at the ballot box primarily because of religious belief or affiliation, the precious free exercise of religion is weakened at its foundation, especially when this reason for rejection has been advocated by other religionists. Such advocacy suggests that if religionists prevail in electing their preferred candidate this will lead to the use of government power in support of their religious beliefs and practices. The religion of a candidate should not be an issue in a political campaign.

Conclusion

It was the Christian principles of human worth and dignity that made possible the formation of the United States Constitution over 200 years ago, and only those principles in the hearts of a majority of our diverse population can sustain that constitution today. Our constitution’s revolutionary concepts of sovereignty in the people and significant guarantees of personal rights were, as John A. Howard has written,

“generated by a people for whom Christianity had been for a century and a half the compelling feature of their lives. It was Jesus who first stated that all men are created equal [and] that every person . . . is valued and loved by God.”[xviii]

 

Professor Dinesh D’Souza reminds us:

“The attempt to ground respect for equality on a purely secular basis ignores the vital contribution by Christianity to its spread. It is folly to believe that it could survive without the continuing aid of religious belief.”[xix]

 

Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. I maintain that this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must always be protected by what is properly called our “First Freedom,” the free exercise of religion.

My dear brothers and sisters, I testify to the truth of these principles I have expressed today. I testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who is the author and finisher of our faith and whose revelations to a prophet of God in these modern times have affirmed the foundation of the United States constitution, which as we have said, was given by God to His children for the rights and protection of all flesh. May God bless us to understand it, to sustain it, and to spread its influence throughout the world, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

Notes
[i] Robert Debs Heinl Jr., Dictionary of Military and Naval Quotations (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1978), 141.

[ii] Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad to the Secretary of State and to the President of the United States, 17 May 1999, 6–7, 30–65. The International Religious Freedom Act, adopted in 1998, 22 USC 6401 et seq., established an office of international religious affairs in the U.S. State Department headed by an Ambassador at Large and the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom. Both of these bodies submit annual reports that assess the status of religious freedom under international standards worldwide and help encourage better implementation of commitments countries around the world have made to respect this fundamental right.

[iii] The information about events in Mongolia was obtained from correspondence with President Odgerel and from Mary N. Cook, former senior missionary and wife of Richard E. Cook, the first mission president in Mongolia.

[iv] Final Report of the Advisory Committee, 6.

[v] 22 USC 6401(a).

[vi] Michael Spencer, “The Coming Evangelical Collapse,” The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Mar. 2009.

[vii] E.g., John A. Howard, “Liberty: America’s Creative Power,” Howard Center, 22 June 2009, 6.

[viii] “In God’s Name: A Special Report on Religion and Public Life,” The Economist, 3 Nov. 2007, 10.

[ix] E.g., The Six Ways of Atheism, which was advertised “to absolutely disprove the existence of God, logically and simply,” was sent free to leading universities and public libraries in all major English-speaking countries in the world. Press release, 26 May 2009.

[x] Howard, “Liberty: America’s Creative Power,” 6.

[xi] Hugh Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House? (Washington DC: Regnery, 2007), 242–43.

[xii] Karl Vick, “Gay Groups Targeting Mormons,” Salt Lake Tribune, 30 May 2009, A8 (Washington Post story).

[xiii] “A New Order of Religious Freedom,” First Things, Feb. 1992, 2; also see Neuhaus, The Naked Public Square (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983).

[xiv] The Yogyakarta Principles, Principle 21 (Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2006).

[xv] “No Mob Veto,” New York Times, 5 Dec. 2008.

[xvi] M. Russell Ballard, “Engaging Without Being Defensive,” BYU Commencement Address, 13 August 2009.

[xvii] Among the advocates of this position are Kevin Seamus Hasson, The Right to be Wrong (San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2005); Douglas Laycock, Anthony Picarello Jr. and Robin Fretwell Wilson, Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts (Rowman and Littlefield, 2008); and Michael J. Perry, “Liberal Democracy and Religious Morality,” 48 DePaul Law Rev. 1, 20–41 (1998). For examples of this kind of advocacy, see What’s the Harm? ed. Lynn D. Wardle (University Press of America, 2008); and Monte Neil Stewart, “Marriage Facts,” 31 Harv. J. of Law & Pub. Policy 313 (2008).

[xviii] John A. Howard, Christianity: Lifeblood of America’s Free Society (1620–1945) (Monitou Springs, Ohio: Summit Press, 2008), 57.

[xix] “How Christianity Shaped the West,” Hillsdale College, Nov. 2008, Vol. 37, No. 11, p. 5.

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Plainview Texas Branch; Lubbock Stake Announcements;

Saturday, October 17th 2009: 10:00am to 12:00pm Primary Program Practice
Saturday, October 17th 2009: 5:00pm SYC @ Stake Center
Saturday, October 17th 2009: 7:00pm Dance @ Stake Center

Sunday. October 18th, 2009: Branch Council