America is the land of the free and the home of the brave — the ideals espoused by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Founded on teachings of the Savior. But we don’t always get it right. The answer when we fall short is found not in violence but in His doctrine. The scriptures teach,

… The preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them… (Alma 31:5).

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. understood this. He taught peaceful means to unite the country and relieve injustices. His teachings are still powerful today because they espouse the teachings of the Savior. We don’t need to tear apart our Constitution and laws to relieve injustice. We need to live up to them. Let me explain.

Power in the People

When the Founding Fathers created our Constitution, it was a revolutionary document that declared we the people had rights—and value—as individuals. Power was not only in the protections for the people but also in the people. President Dallin H. Oaks explained,

One of the great fundamentals of our inspired constitution… is the principle that the people are the source of government power. 

 

… 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. … As the preamble to our constitution states: “We the People of the United States . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution.”

But with this power comes great responsibility to be good citizens and uphold the laws of the land. Author Peter Block said,

A citizen is one who is willing to be accountable for and committed to the well-being of the whole. That whole can be a city block, a community, a nation, the earth. A citizen is one who produces the future, someone who does not wait, beg, or dream for the future.

 

The antithesis of being a citizen is the choice to be a consumer or a client [Community: The Structure of Belonging (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008), 63].

We are not merely consumers of what government can offer us but the builders of the nation.

The Power of Goodness

The power of the people comes from righteousness and working toward a common goal. French historian Alexis de Tocqueville wrote,

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world of commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great (Jerreld L. Newquist, comp., Prophets, Principles and National Survival, Salt Lake City: Publishers Press, 1967, p. 60).

The Founding Fathers understood this principle as well. John Adams said, 

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other (The Works of John Adams, ed. C. F. Adams, Boston: Little, Brown Co., 1851, 4:31).

The power of America is the goodness of her people. People who obey the laws of the land because they choose to do so. But this doesn’t always insulate us from injustice and others who would do us harm. 

The Root of Division

Our American ideals are freedom and justice for all. Unfortunately, throughout our nation’s history, we have seen time and again what seems like freedom for some and injustice for others. We have seen discrimination based on color, religion, or nationality, just to name a few. As a multi-generational member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes mistakenly called Mormons or the Mormon Church), my ancestors faced persecution based on religion. They were driven from state to state and finally left for the Rocky Mountains to find peace. Persecution can turn into an “us versus them” mentality. But this division itself is our greatest challenge. We turn to comparing ourselves to others and what we have or don’t have. We point fingers and blame. This just deepens the divide and weakens us as a country. 

The Lord’s counsel to the Latter-day Saints was to work together and help each other. He said,

… Let every man esteem his brother as himself.

 

For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?

 

Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine (Doctrine & Covenants 38:25-27).

This same counsel applies today. If we are to be one, then we must treat each other as such. Instead of seeing differences, we need to see commonalities. The root of division comes when we don’t. 

Injustice for One, Injustice for All

I have been hooked on documentaries lately. And one theme that I found interesting is that when one group of people is being targeted, no one is safe. The Prophet Joseph Smith, the first modern prophet in The Church of Jesus Christ, realized that the early Saints could not expect to be treated fairly when the God-given rights of many Americans were not being recognized. So he decided to run for president of the United States in 1844, including in his platform the abolition of slavery. The Prophet Joseph said,

I would not have suffered my name to have been used by my friends on anywise as President of the United States, or candidate for that office, if I and my friends could have had the privilege of enjoying our religious and civil rights as American citizens, even those rights which the Constitution guarantees unto all her citizens alike. But this as a people we have been denied from the beginning. Persecution has rolled upon our heads from time to time, from portions of the United States, like peals of thunder, because of our religion; and no portion of the Government as yet has stepped forward for our relief. And in view of these things, I feel it to be my right and privilege to obtain what influence and power I can, lawfully, in the United States, for the protection of injured innocence (History of the Church, 6:210–11).

It wasn’t long after he declared his candidacy that he was martyred. And it took many more years and a bloody Civil War before slavery was finally abolished. Then more years for women to have the right to vote. Many of the justifications used to persecute one group were used in persecuting another. Because injustice for one is injustice for all.

The Stain of Contempt

A group of angry men seek to stone a woman taken in adultery. But the Savior showed her compassion, telling her to “Go and sin no more.”

Although we’ve come far as a nation, injustice continues today. It’s a reality that we must overcome. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Sometimes even good people make really bad choices. But rather than work to fix the problem, many are making things worse. Social scientist and author Arthur C. Brooks said,

If you pay attention to politics or television or social media, what do you see today? You see recrimination, reproach, insults, and sarcasm. You see leaders at the highest levels of our country who bully and berate those with whom they disagree. You see families torn apart over political disagreements. You see political foes who treat each other as enemies.

 

People often characterize the current moment in America as being “angry.” If only this were true. Anger is an emotion that occurs when we want to change someone’s behavior and believe that we can do it. … The problem is not anger—it is contempt. In the words of the nineteenth-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, contempt “is the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.” …

When we see others as worthless, we can justify mistreating them. Brooks continued,

… Contempt … can tear a country apart. America is developing a “culture of contempt”—a habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect or misguided but as worthless.

 

This is causing incredible harm to our country. One in six Americans have stopped talking to close friends and family members over politics since the 2016 election. Millions are organizing their social lives and curating their news and information to avoid hearing viewpoints differing from their own. Ideological polarization is at higher levels than at any time since the American Civil War.

The stain of contempt leads to injustice and division rather than compassion and mercy.

Responding to Injustice

So how should we respond to injustice? Brooks taught,

Some say we need to agree more, but that is wrong. Disagreement is good, because competition is good. It makes us sharp and strong, whether in sports, in politics, in economics, or in the world of ideas. We don’t need to disagree less; we need to disagree better. Other people say we need more civility. But that is wrong too, because civility is a hopelessly low standard for us as Americans. …

 

If we are going to beat the problem of contempt, we are going to need something more radical than civility—something that speaks to our heart’s true desire. We need love, which was defined by Saint Thomas Aquinas as “to will the good of the other.” We need a new generation ready to model lives of love in the midst of a culture of contempt. 

Love is what the Savior taught. The first and greatest commandment is to love God, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Loving God means obeying His commandments. Loving our neighbor means showing mercy and helping them. Brooks said,

Make no mistake, this isn’t easy to do. It requires people who will not run away from the problem, who are unafraid to infiltrate the culture of contempt, and who are capable of modeling a better set of values. This requires the agility to be in the culture but not of it. When you think of it, it is kind of like missionary work, isn’t it? Missionaries have the training and experience to participate in society without getting sucked into its pathologies. They have the courage and fortitude necessary to face resistance and go forth with the joy that comes from sharing the truth.

Finding Forgiveness

When we seek to love others, forgiveness often follows. The Savior taught us powerful lessons on forgiveness in word and in deed. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught,

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

 

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. (See Matthew 5:38–44.)

As He hung on the cross, the Savior sought forgiveness for those who were crucifying Him. And through His sacrifice, we can find forgiveness. President Gordon B. Hinckley said,

Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance, accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way.

 

The great Atonement was the supreme act of forgiveness. The magnitude of that Atonement is beyond our ability to completely understand. I know only that it happened, and that it was for me and for you. The suffering was so great, the agony so intense, that none of us can comprehend it when the Savior offered Himself as a ransom for the sins of all mankind.

 

It is through Him that we gain forgiveness.

There are powerful stories of forgiveness that bring light and hope into the world. One example is found in the Amish community, who forgave the gunman who stormed into a schoolhouse and shot and killed six girls and injured five others before killing himself. Elder James E. Faust said,

How could the whole Amish group manifest such an expression of forgiveness? It was because of their faith in God and trust in His word….

America’s Greatness

The power and healing that came from the Amish forgiving the man who shot and killed innocent girls was immense. As a show of their forgiveness, they reached out to the man’s suffering family. Elder Faust said,

Collectively they began to reach out to the milkman’s suffering family. As the milkman’s family gathered in his home the day after the shootings, an Amish neighbor came over, wrapped his arms around the father of the dead gunman, and said, “We will forgive you.” Amish leaders visited the milkman’s wife and children to extend their sympathy, their forgiveness, their help, and their love. About half of the mourners at the milkman’s funeral were Amish. In turn, the Amish invited the milkman’s family to attend the funeral services of the girls who had been killed. A remarkable peace settled on the Amish as their faith sustained them during this crisis.

It is through this goodness that we find America’s greatness. Brooks taught,

America is a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. We are an example of democratic capitalism that has pulled two billion of our brothers and sisters out of starvation-level poverty over the past half-century alone. This is a nation that has attracted you or your ancestors with the promise of equal opportunity, religious freedom, and a good life for you and your family. When America is torn apart, we become incapable of living up to the plan—the holy plan—for our nation, which is to shine a light for the rest of the world.

Peaceful protests and calling for reform when needed is appropriate. It’s part of being a good citizen. We need to stand up for what is right. But we can’t do that if we are committing egregious crimes against others in retaliation.

Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable.

Why is this? Sister Bonnie D. Parkin taught,

Gratitude requires awareness and effort, not only to feel it but to express it.

It is in this effort to be aware that we remember. President James E. Faust explained,

One of the advantages of having lived a long time is that you can often remember when you had it worse. I am grateful to have lived long enough to have known some of the blessings of adversity. My memory goes back to the Great Depression, when we had certain values burned into our souls. One of these values was gratitude for that which we had because we had so little.

We live in a time of abundance. No wonder, then, that there seems to be a shortage of gratitude. Many of us can’t remember the blood, sweat and tears that went into making our nation what it is today. But as we reflect on the power of voting, the sacrifice of our veterans and the silent contributions of our nation’s unsung heroes, we can truly give thanks for all we have.

The Founding of a Nation

Washington at Constitutional Convention of 1787, signing of U.S. Constitution, Junius Brutus Stearns.

We can’t fully appreciate the meaning of our November observances without first understanding how unique our nation is. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes mistakenly called Mormons or the Mormon Church) believe that God’s hand was in the founding of our nation. Elder L. Tom Perry said,

The success of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War came about through men who were raised up by God for this special purpose. You must read the Declaration of Independence to feel its inspiration. You merely need to study history to recognize that a group of fledgling colonies defeating the world’s most powerful nation stemmed from a force greater than man. Where else in the world do we find a group of men together in one place at one time who possessed greater capacity and wisdom than the founding fathers—Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and others? But it was not to their own abilities that they gave the credit. They acknowledged Almighty God and were certain of the impossibility of their success without his help.

But the success was not without price. President Ezra Taft Benson explained,

This Declaration [of Independence] was a promise that would demand terrible sacrifice on the part of its signers. Five of the signers were captured as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War; another had two sons captured. Nine died from wounds or from the hardships of the war. The Lord said He “redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (Doctrine & Covenants 101:80).

What motivated the Founding Fathers and other Colonists to fight so hard and sacrifice so much? Was it for land and gold? No, it was for freedom.

Freedom in America

The Pilgrims and other early American settlers came to the New World to seeking freedom to worship, freedom of expression and freedom from tyranny. The Founding Fathers sought to preserve these freedoms in the new government. President Benson said,

The Declaration of Independence affirmed the Founding Fathers’ belief and trust in God in these words: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

 

The Doctrine and Covenants states, “We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life” (Doctrine & Covenants 134:2). Life, liberty, property—mankind’s three great rights.

Thus, the Founding Fathers set up a system of governments run for the people, by the people. 

Checks and Balances

With fresh memories of what happens when men get hungry for power, the Founding Fathers set up a form of government with many checks and balances. President Benson explained,

The wisdom of these delegates is shown in the genius of the document itself. The founders had a strong distrust for centralized power in a federal government. So they created a government with checks and balances. This was to prevent any branch of the government from becoming too powerful.

 

Congress could pass laws, but the president could check this with a veto. Congress, however, could override the veto, and by its means of initiative in taxation, could further restrain the executive department. The Supreme Court could nullify laws passed by the Congress and signed by the president. But Congress could limit the Court’s appellate jurisdiction. The president could appoint judges for their lifetime with the consent of the Senate.

 

Each branch of the government was also made subject to different political pressures. The president was to be chosen by electors, Senators by state legislatures, representatives by the people, and the Supreme Court by the president, with the consent of the Senate.

 

All this was deliberately designed to make it difficult for a majority of the people to control the government and to place restraints on the government itself. 

This is where we the people come in.

The Power of Voting

Voting is a privilege that many Americans take for granted. There is power in knowing that the winning candidates will take office and the losing ones will not. That the winning referendums and ballot measures will take effect and the losing ones will not. That is the power of voting and the reason that every vote counts. When courts and governments decide to overstep their bounds and reverse decisions made by the people, we the people should be concerned.

We should also be concerned with low voter turnout rates–which have hovered around 50% for many years. (See this Pew Research study). Too many Americans don’t value the right and privilege of voting. But we do so at our own peril. The scriptures state,

Governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and . . . he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society (Doctrine & Covenants 134:1).

Lawrence A. Walters, at the time a professor in the Brigham Young University Romney Institute of Public Management, said,

Active engagement in the functioning of government and in addressing community concerns is an inherent responsibility of our citizenship and demands our best efforts.

Our best efforts include studying the candidates and the issues and then casting our votes according to our conscience. Why does this matter? President Benson explained,

… Righteousness is an indispensable ingredient to liberty. Virtuous people elect wise and good representatives. Good representatives make good laws and then wisely administer them. This tends to preserve righteousness. An unvirtuous citizenry tend to elect representatives who will pander to their covetous lustings. The burden of self-government is a great responsibility. It calls for restraint, righteousness, responsibility, and reliance upon God. 

We show our gratitude by voting.

Preserving the Public Square

The Founding Fathers set up a system of government “for the people, by the people” which requires that we the people talk with each other to work things out. Walters said,

…Our lives are interconnected with others’. Our capacities are enhanced and our possibilities expanded through cooperation and collaboration. Because of our shared responsibility and because we are so much more effective together than we are individually, as active citizens we must actively engage with others.

 

We must cultivate the ability to participate in collective reasoning…. Such reasoning involves joining with others to identify issues and concerns, giving and receiving information, and taking counsel together. In this process citizens actually listen to others with a desire to understand their views. They ask questions they don’t know the answers to. They respect others, and they respect the decision process.

 

Inevitably, deliberative processes such as the one I have described identify conflicting points of view. When that happens, active citizens don’t give up but look for common ground and seek to build on a foundation of common understanding. We build relationships, coalitions, and networks as we patiently strive to reach joint decisions.

We gain a greater appreciation for others as well as our nation when we make the effort to work together. Especially when it comes to controversial issues. President Dallin H. Oaks taught,

On the subject of public discourse, we should all follow the gospel teachings to love our neighbor and avoid contention. Followers of Christ should be examples of civility. We should love all people, be good listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable. Our stands and communications on controversial topics should not be contentious. 

We show our gratitude when we work together to preserve the public square.

Remembering Our Veterans

Sometimes standing in defense of our country requires literally standing to defend it. This is where the members of our armed forces step in. The men and women who serve our country sacrifice so much to do so. They sacrifice time to train, then more time to serve. Our military men and women leave their worried families to enter war zones. They see and experience horrors and terrors that most people cannot comprehend. They return from wars with wounds seen and unseen. Some don’t return, having paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy. Jeffrey S. McClellan, at the time director of BYU Publications and Graphics, wrote,

Selfless devotion to the freedom of others stands among the defining characteristics of those we honor on Veterans Day.

 

We who enjoy unparalleled rights and security owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to those who gave life, health, wholeness, and strength in our behalf. 

President Thomas S. Monson said,

When we ponder that vast throng who have died honorably defending home and hearth, we contemplate those immortal words, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The feelings of heartfelt gratitude for the supreme sacrifice made by so many cannot be confined to a Memorial Day, a military parade, or a decorated grave.

Indeed, true gratitude is not limited to one day or one event. McClellan said,

As we ponder how to honor such sacrifice, how to carry on the work of liberty, we should remember George Washington’s warning: “Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”

Thus, we honor our veterans and their sacrifices as we do our part to protect freedom of speech in the public square, get involved in our communities and vote.

Our Nation’s Unsung Heroes

A hero is someone who shows great courage and is admired for achievements and noble qualities. Our unsung heroes are those who put their lives on the line to serve and protect us. Do we appreciate the police officers who are out patrolling the streets? The firefighters and ambulance workers who head out in a snowstorm to help those who have been in an accident? How often do we give them a heartfelt thanks?

Other unsung heroes are those who dedicate their lives to helping others and those teaching children and youth. President Howard W. Hunter said,

Not everyone is going to be the student body president or the Relief Society president or the teacher of the elders’ quorum. Not all are going to be … catching the acclaim all day every day. No, most will be quiet, relatively unknown folks who come and go and do their work without fanfare. To those of you who may find that lonely or frightening or just unspectacular, I say you are “no less serviceable” than the most spectacular of your associates.…

President Hunter compared working together with the players on a football team. He said,

Understandably enough, the quarterback is often given more attention than the other players, but his skill, learning, and efforts would be of little value if the other players did not play their part. Imagine what would happen if, on each play of the game, the guard, or one of the other offensive linemen laid down on the job or gave up his effort to protect the quarterback. What if the rest of the team decided not to put forth their very best effort? The answer is obvious. The quarterback could contribute nothing to the team.

All of the unsung heroes work together behind the scenes, with little to no recognition, to make our country great.

Giving Thanks

We end the month of November with the opportunity to reflect, remember and give thanks for our bounty and our blessings. It is a fitting way to end the month. Author Melodie Beattie wrote,

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow (The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency (Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden, 1990), 218).

Thanksgiving offers us time to reflect on the power and privilege of voting, the sacrifices of those who have served and are serving our country and the unsung heroes that work behind the scenes. But then we must decide how to show our gratitude for the blessings that we enjoy. As scholar and preacher W.T. Purkiser wrote,

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving (The Gifts of the Spirit, Beacon Hill Press, Feb 1, 1975, 34).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes mistakenly called the Mormon Church), stated,

Citizenship works best as a partnership where people and governments cooperate to secure the common good. …

 

Citizenship, therefore, is an active participation in society that calls for engagement, not isolation. The root word civ fills our political language. Civilization, civic, civility, civilian, civil rights — they all point to how we treat one another in building a common enterprise. It’s a matter of culture more than law, duty more than demand.

The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services stated,

Citizenship is the common thread that connects all Americans. We are a nation bound not by race or religion, but by the shared values of freedom, liberty, and equality.

And we must do our part to keep America as the land of the free and the home of the brave. This is the common element in both voting and veterans. And it begins with freedom of religion. Let me explain.

The Price of Freedom

The U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services put together a list of freedoms and responsibilities that American citizens enjoy. They are:

Freedoms:

Freedom to express yourself.

Freedom to worship as you wish.

Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury.

Right to vote in elections for public officials.

Right to run for elected office.

Freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Responsibilities:

Support and defend the Constitution.

Stay informed of the issues affecting your community.

Participate in the democratic process.

Respect and obey federal, state, and local laws.

Respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others.

Participate in your local community.

Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state, and local authorities.

Serve on a jury when called upon.

Defend the country if the need should arise.

They are simple, yet how many of us have reflected on the importance of them? This is the price that we pay for our freedoms. And if we are unwilling to do our part, then our freedoms erode.

Foundation of Freedom

Freedom of religion is the foundation of a free society. Elder D. Todd Christofferson said,

…Religious freedom undergirds and is inseparably connected to all the other freedoms we cherish. It is the core right in what might be thought of as an “ecosystem” of freedom. As religious freedom goes, so go many other precious rights.

Religious freedom is bolstered by a separation of church and state. In fact, it is this separation that allows each to flourish but not overtake. Elder Christofferson continued,

Dividing the authority of church and state had the powerful effect of establishing limits to the authority of both. Government came to be understood as inherently limited—its legitimate authority simply does not include matters of religious belief or practice, for those are matters of the soul. By the same token, while churches have legitimate authority over matters of religious belief and practice, they lack civil power over property or life. Governments do not rule churches, and churches do not rule governments….

 

That is a profound notion that we often take for granted. … There are inherent limits to both governmental and religious authority over society, and in the tensions and spaces created by those limits we find many of our freedoms.

How does that work? Elder Christofferson explained,

Religious freedom erects an effective shield for other freedoms. Religious freedom presumes there are important areas of life beyond the legitimate power of government. A government powerless to compel religious belief or exercise will be hard pressed to compel orthodoxy in other areas of life. Religious freedom protects the freedom of individual belief and expression in all areas of human activity. This enables people to develop and express their own opinions in matters of philosophy, politics, business, literature, art, science, and other areas, which naturally leads to social and political diversity.

A Primer in Civics

This is kind of a long way to say that if we want to maintain our freedoms, we have to protect not only our rights but the rights of others. We have to be good citizens. Author Peter Block wrote,

A citizen is one who is willing to be accountable for and committed to the well-being of the whole. That whole can be a city block, a community, a nation, the earth. A citizen is one who produces the future, someone who does not wait, beg, or dream for the future. [Peter Block, Community: The Structure of Belonging (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008), 63.]

This is where religious freedom comes in. Elder Christofferson taught,

Religious freedom is the cornerstone of peace in a world with many competing philosophies. …. It allows diverse beliefs to coexist, protects the vulnerable, and helps us negotiate our conflicts. Thus … religious freedom is vital to people of faith and “is also a precious asset for atheists, agnostics, sceptics and the unconcerned.” This is because “the pluralism indissociable from a democratic society, which has been dearly won over the centuries, depends on it.”

 

… We use our freedom of religion and belief to establish our core convictions, without which all other human rights would be meaningless. How can we claim the freedom of speech without being able to say what we truly believe? How can we claim the freedom of assembly unless we can gather with others who share our ideals? How can we enjoy freedom of the press unless we can publicly print or post who we really are?

Belief in Action

Religion has another role in citizenship: promoting civil order and prompting us to act. Elder Wilford W. Andersen said,

Societies depend in large part upon religion and churches to establish moral order. Government can never build enough jails to house the criminals produced by a society lacking in morality, character, and faith. These attributes are better encouraged by religious observance than by legislative decree or police force. It is impossible for government to control the attitudes, desires, and hopes that spring from the human heart. And yet these are the seeds that grow into the conduct government must regulate. …

 

Civility in society is achieved when the majority of people do what is moral because they believe they should, not because they are compelled by law or by police force.

 

Government oversees the conduct of its citizens. It tries to get them to behave in a decent and moral way. Religion, on the other hand, tries to get them to desire to behave in a decent and moral way.

This desire to behave in a decent and moral way leads to action. Elder Andersen continued,

Over time all free governments must ultimately depend on the voluntary goodness and support of their citizens. …

 

To that end, good government protects religion and fosters religious freedom. And good religion encourages good citizenship and adherence to the law of the land.

It is a symbiotic relationship that is coming under increasing scrutiny and attack—which is a threat to all of our freedoms.

Doing Democracy

Our freedoms are individual, but we must work together for everyone to benefit. This begins with talking and listening to others. There is a library program in my little town called “Doing Democracy.” The goal of this program is to “promot[e] dialogue about issues that face our community … by creating a culture of civil discourse that allows for multiple perspectives, creative conflict, and the discovery of common ground.” It is a community dialogue on relevant topics that need to be addressed with an apropos title: “Doing Democracy,” or democracy in action.

That is how we not only find common ground but also hash out what is the best option for everyone. Elder Quentin L. Cook said,

… All voices need to be heard in the public square. Neither religious nor secular voices should be silenced. Furthermore, we should not expect that because some of our views emanate from religious principles, they will automatically be accepted or given preferential status. But it is also clear such views and values are entitled to be reviewed on their merits.

We will not always agree, but we can always be civil. David Axelrod, former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Barack Obama, said,

It’s OK that we disagree. That’s democracy. That’s the way our system was set up. …

 

I think the worst thing that’s happened to our country is this notion that we can’t disagree without being disagreeable. That we can’t disagree on issues without trying to dehumanize our opponents or disqualify them as patriots and Americans.

Name-calling and dehumanizing opponents shuts down the dialogue, blocking true efforts to work together and accomplish our goals.

The Right to Vote

Voting is our obligation and duty as American citizens who are eligible to do so. But the percentage of those of us who do vote is awful. In the 2016 presidential election, only 56% of the U.S. voting-age population voted, according to the Pew Research Center. That means that a little more than half of eligible voters are making their voices heard. Why is this important? Brian Miller, executive director of the nonprofit VOTE, explained,

High voter turnout and civic participation are central to a healthy democracy. …

 

With low-turnout, the broad public opinion on issues fails to be represented, as campaign strategies and ground games target a limited number of base voters that can more easily turn elections in their favor. It contributes to a more polarized politics and leaves out the important voices of youth or new citizens who are disproportionately overlooked by campaigns and not encouraged to participate.

 

At a local level, the act of voting grows from and helps foster healthier and more engaged communities. Compared to non-voters, voters are more likely to volunteer, contact their elected officials, and stay informed about local affairs. Additionally, they are more likely to contribute to their neighborhood’s “social capital” and live in communities where neighbors are in contact with one another.

In other words, voters get more involved. They feel more responsible for their communities, states and nation. Axelrod stated,

I urge you not to turn away from this political process which can be so discouraging at times. … Whatever it is that you care about, … you can either turn away and leave those decisions to someone else, or you can lean in and demand a better kind of politics, politics that is based in honest debate and mutual respect.

We can make a difference in politics by being involved in it.

To Stand in Defense

Good citizenship also requires us to stand in defense of our country and our beliefs. For some that means literally taking up arms and putting their very lives in danger as members of the Armed Forces. It is a sacrifice for the men and women who wear the uniform as well as their loved ones back home. There is a monument dedicated to our marines at Guadalcanal. Of this monument, Maurice L. Stocks, at the time assistant dean in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University, said,

Many of the young men who fought in this World War II battle were killed. “When you go home,” the monument reads, “tell them, and say, ‘For their tomorrows, we gave our today.’”

 

This sense of service and sacrifice—which our citizens have displayed so often in our history—is a key, I believe, to the greatness of this wonderful country. In … hometowns across America, there are men and women from our past wars and military experiences who were ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country and their comrades. Many of their fellow sailors, soldiers, and airmen did, indeed, make that sacrifice and now rest in graves—marked and unmarked—throughout the world.

 

I have to confess that I never directly faced a situation in my air force career in which I felt that I was in mortal danger. But, like most military men and women, I’ve been personally touched by the great heroism and selfless sacrifice of many others in uniform. I feel wonderfully blessed to be a part of this great university, but I will never regret the 29 years I spent in the uniform of my country.

The People Behind the Uniform

Veterans Day is personal for me because I have many family members who served in the military and fought in battle. I watched my brother go off to war—in multiple deployments—and worried and prayed for his safe return. They are people, with feelings and families, who are doing their duty to serve their country. Stocks said,

Most of us have an image of military leaders as cold, calculating men and women ready to fight at any provocation, aching to use their military skills and abilities. I found exactly the opposite in the military. First, as aide-de-camp and then as executive officer or personal assistant to two four-star generals—and later as a senior staff member in both the Tactical Air Command and the Air Combat Command—I found individuals who, like Moroni, “did not delight in bloodshed” (Alma 48:11). Because they had experienced it firsthand, they felt that even one death was too many and strongly supported reasoned, negotiated solutions to international problems over military intervention. Most of these individuals were also people of faith who, in their own way, celebrated the blessings emanating from their Creator. When it came time to fight, they were—and will be—there. But I can tell you from firsthand experience that it is a mistake to see these leaders as lovers of war. They know the price that will be paid by their comrades and perhaps by themselves as well.

It is this service and sacrifice that we honor on Veterans Day.

Voting and Veterans

Citizenship requires that we look out for each other and not just ourselves. Stan A. Taylor, at the time a political science professor at Brigham Young University, said,

Being part of a community or society requires respect for others and a willingness to restrain one’s own desires to support broader community goals and aspirations. Unwillingness to make this sacrifice results in a corrosion of shared values. Members of a community in which individualism and personal goals are pursued at the expense of community goals are driven to look out for their own self-interests, knowing that no one else will look out for those interests for them, to paraphrase the French philosopher Rousseau. Rousseau wrote critically of the anarchy created by the unrestrained pursuit of self-interests. In such a society or community, the public good is gradually driven out by individual goals, and, eventually, the very nature of the community is changed.

This is why it’s so important to do our part by volunteering in the community, participating in community dialogue, being involved in the political process, voting and serving our country. President James E. Faust said,

One of the highest duties of citizenship is to defend one’s country. This is because in wartime military service often demands the ultimate sacrifice—life itself.

We may not have to give our lives, but we can live our lives in a way that honors the sacrifice of those who have gone before us and protects the future of those who will come after. Which is the highest duty of every citizen.

We have not forgotten this momentous day, and today we celebrate it as Veterans Day. The U.S. Veterans Administration said,

The … observance of Veterans Day [on] November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Our veterans fought ugly battles so that we could continue to have the freedoms that we enjoy. Honoring our veterans helps us to remember the price we pay for those freedoms—and why patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good are still essential today.

The Blessings of Freedom

It’s easy to take our freedoms for granted—especially freedom of speech. Many Americans take to social media to call out, demean or harass those whose views differ from their own. Or just to state their opinion on something. At times, the climate can get downright mean and nasty. We forget that the ability to speak one’s mind, however offensive to our own sense of right or wrong, is a God-given right that not all nations enjoy. But a recent news story is a stark reminder of that fact. An American working in Zimbabwe was arrested and charged with tweeting “mean things” about that nation’s president. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison for her tweets. Chilling, isn’t it?

So what is the price that we pay for freedom of speech? We sometimes have to listen to and tolerate things with which we don’t agree. If we want to continue to enjoy our freedom of speech, then we must protect it. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

I now speak of one of the challenges that face us—the meaning and application of the vital constitutional guarantees that government authority shall make no laws or regulations “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” Those rights are fundamental to our constitutional order—not just to protect citizens against repressive government action but also to foster the cherished open society that is the source of our freedom and prosperity. Beyond that, the free exercise of religion is vital because it insures citizens the rights of worship and action that are fundamental to their being.

Freedom of Religion

Hand in hand with freedom of speech is freedom of religion. Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained,

Religious freedom is the cornerstone of peace in a world with many competing philosophies. It gives us all space to determine for ourselves what we think and believe—to follow the truth that God speaks to our hearts. It allows diverse beliefs to coexist, protects the vulnerable, and helps us negotiate our conflicts. …

 

A robust freedom is not merely what political philosophers have referred to as the “negative” freedom to be left alone, however important that may be. Rather, it is a much richer “positive” freedom—the freedom to live one’s religion or belief in a legal, political, and social environment that is tolerant, respectful, and accommodating of diverse beliefs.

 

We use our freedom of religion and belief to establish our core convictions, without which all other human rights would be meaningless. How can we claim the freedom of speech without being able to say what we truly believe? How can we claim the freedom of assembly unless we can gather with others who share our ideals? How can we enjoy freedom of the press unless we can publicly print or post who we really are?

The question is, how do we protect these freedoms? This is where we turn to the example set by our veterans—patriotism, love of country and a willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Patriotism

What is patriotism? According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, patriotism is

: love for or devotion to one’s country

This devotion to one’s country is not merely a feeling, nor is it a passive belief. True patriotism requires action on our part—in other words, citizenship. Or rather, active citizenship. Active citizenship is the defining actions of our patriotism and love of country. Lawrence C. Walters, at the time a professor in the BYU Romney Institute of Public Management, said,

There are at least two ways to think about citizenship. The first sees citizens as having certain rights that should be protected by law. Those who hold this view see “citizenship as [a] legal status”  and are concerned mostly with defending individual freedoms from interference by others. There is no question that rights are an important aspect of citizenship. All too often, however, in today’s world this approach to citizenship descends into a type of consumerism: citizens see themselves as no more than customers of government.

 

… My concern is with the way we act when we think of ourselves as customers of government. Consumer citizenship is something we assert only occasionally. …

 

The second vision of citizenship is more demanding and is captured well in a definition offered by Peter Block:

 

A citizen is one who is willing to be accountable for and committed to the well-being of the whole. That whole can be a city block, a community, a nation, the earth. A citizen is one who produces the future, someone who does not wait, beg, or dream for the future.

 

The antithesis of being a citizen is the choice to be a consumer or a client.

This citizenship, fueled by patriotism, is what led (and continues to lead) thousands of young Americans to enlist in the military.

Service and Sacrifice

Service and sacrifice are true marks of heroism, and our American military members are true heroes. Maurice L. Stocks, at the time assistant dean in the BYU Marriott School of Management, said,

Years ago, air force general Stu Barstad—the air force’s chief of chaplains—recalled walking through the thousands of graves at Normandy, the last resting place of so many good and dedicated young Americans who were World War II casualties. All of them had entered that war with their own hopes and dreams and families. Now their bodies were buried in this hallowed spot. As he contemplated what would have become of the lives of these young men and women if they had survived, an aged French woman walked up to him and said, “Bravo, Americans. Bravo.” She had lived through the invasion of Europe, and she understood what these young men and women had done for her country and her generation.

 

Such stories bring to my mind the words on a monument dedicated to our marines at Guadalcanal. Many of the young men who fought in this World War II battle were killed. “When you go home,” the monument reads, “tell them, and say, ‘For their tomorrows, we gave our today.’”

 

This sense of service and sacrifice—which our citizens have displayed so often in our history—is a key, I believe, to the greatness of this wonderful country.

We may not be asked to pay the ultimate price, but we, too, can serve and sacrifice for our country. How do we do that? By standing up for what is right and being good citizens.

Citizenship

Being a good citizen means being involved in our communities and in our congregations. This means that first, we are accountable. Professor Walters explained,

We believe that not only are we accountable for our individual actions but that we are also individually accountable for the actions taken by our governments. This accountability extends both to “making laws and administering them.” Active engagement in the functioning of government and in addressing community concerns is an inherent responsibility of our citizenship and demands our best efforts.

To give our best efforts, we must be informed and do our homework on the issues. But we do not work alone. Professor Walters said,

We are each accountable for the quality of governance in our communities and nations. But we are not asked to bear this responsibility alone. Our lives are interconnected with others’. Our capacities are enhanced and our possibilities expanded through cooperation and collaboration. Because of our shared responsibility and because we are so much more effective together than we are individually, as active citizens we must actively engage with others.

 

We must cultivate the ability to participate in collective reasoning…. Such reasoning involves joining with others to identify issues and concerns, giving and receiving information, and taking counsel together. In this process citizens actually listen to others with a desire to understand their views. They ask questions they don’t know the answers to. They respect others, and they respect the decision process.

 

Inevitably, deliberative processes such as the one I have described identify conflicting points of view. When that happens, active citizens don’t give up but look for common ground and seek to build on a foundation of common understanding. We build relationships, coalitions, and networks as we patiently strive to reach joint decisions.

Standing for the Cause of Right

Sometimes as we are getting involved in the community and working with others, we have to stand up for what is right. That doesn’t give anyone license to be mean, but it requires that we listen to one another’s concerns and point of view. This also doesn’t mean that we will always agree—especially when it comes to religion. Elder M. Russell Ballard said,

I now speak to all those who are not of our faith. If there are issues of concern, let us talk about them. We want to be helpful. Please understand, however, that our doctrines and teachings are set by the Lord, so sometimes we will have to agree to disagree with you, but we can do so without being disagreeable. In our communities we can and must work together in an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and civility.

Even in our online conversations, we must treat each other with respect. No good can come from attacking and belittling another or another’s beliefs. Sometimes standing up for what is right means standing up for the freedoms of others. Elder Quentin L. Cook taught,

Let me be clear that all voices need to be heard in the public square. Neither religious nor secular voices should be silenced. Furthermore, we should not expect that because some of our views emanate from religious principles, they will automatically be accepted or given preferential status. But it is also clear such views and values are entitled to be reviewed on their merits.

The only way that we can truly protect our freedoms of speech and conscience is to allow all voices to be heard in the public square—even those with whom we don’t agree.

Standing Alone

Sometimes standing up for what is right requires us to stand alone. President Thomas S. Monson related one such story. He said,

Navy boot camp was not an easy experience for me, nor for anyone who endured it. For the first three weeks I was convinced my life was in jeopardy. The navy wasn’t trying to train me; it was trying to kill me.

 

I shall ever remember when Sunday rolled around after the first week. We received welcome news from the chief petty officer. Standing at attention on the drill ground in a brisk California breeze, we heard his command: “Today everybody goes to church—everybody, that is, except for me. I am going to relax!”

Then the chief petty officer gave instructions for the soldiers who were Catholic, Jewish and Protestant. President Monson continued,

Instantly there flashed through my mind the thought, “Monson, you are not a Catholic; you are not a Jew; you are not a Protestant. You are a Mormon, so you just stand here!” I can assure you that I felt completely alone. Courageous and determined, yes—but alone.

 

And then I heard the sweetest words I ever heard that chief petty officer utter. He looked in my direction and asked, “And just what do you guys call yourselves?” Until that very moment I had not realized that anyone was standing beside me or behind me on the drill ground. Almost in unison, each of us replied, “Mormons!” It is difficult to describe the joy that filled my heart as I turned around and saw a handful of other sailors.

The officer told the group to go and find someplace to meet. President Monson concluded,

… Although the experience turned out differently from what I had expected, I had been willing to stand alone, had such been necessary.

 

Since that day, there have been times when there was no one standing behind me and so I did stand alone. How grateful I am that I made the decision long ago to remain strong and true, always prepared and ready to defend my religion, should the need arise.

Time to Remember

Special days like Veterans Day give us the opportunity to reflect not only on the service and sacrifice of our military veterans but also what we can do to further the cause of freedom in our own communities. Theirs is the sacrifice that we honor on Nov. 11. Stocks said,

I have to confess that I never directly faced a situation in my air force career in which I felt that I was in mortal danger. But, like most military men and women, I’ve been personally touched by the great heroism and selfless sacrifice of many others in uniform. I feel wonderfully blessed to be a part of this great university, but I will never regret the 29 years I spent in the uniform of my country. …

 

Most of us have an image of military leaders as cold, calculating men and women ready to fight at any provocation, aching to use their military skills and abilities. I found exactly the opposite in the military. First, as aide-de-camp and then as executive officer or personal assistant to two four-star generals—and later as a senior staff member in both the Tactical Air Command and the the Air Combat Command—I found individuals who, like Moroni, “did not delight in bloodshed” (Alma 48:11). Because they had experienced it firsthand, they felt that even one death was too many and strongly supported reasoned, negotiated solutions to international problems over military intervention. Most of these individuals were also people of faith who, in their own way, celebrated the blessings emanating from their Creator. When it came time to fight, they were—and will be—there. But I can tell you from firsthand experience that it is a mistake to see these leaders as lovers of war. They know the price that will be paid by their comrades and perhaps by themselves as well.

And as Americans, we honor the price they paid for our freedoms. Especially when we do our part to uphold and defend them.

… In a shame culture you know you are good or bad by what your community says about you, by whether it honors or excludes you. …

 

Everybody is perpetually insecure in a moral system based on inclusion and exclusion. There are no permanent standards, just the shifting judgment of the crowd. It is a culture of oversensitivity, overreaction and frequent moral panics, during which everybody feels compelled to go along.

But there is a better way. Brooks continued,

If we’re going to avoid a constant state of anxiety, people’s identities have to be based on standards of justice and virtue that are deeper and more permanent than the shifting fancy of the crowd. In an era of omnipresent social media, it’s probably doubly important to discover and name your own personal True North, vision of an ultimate good, which is worth defending even at the cost of unpopularity and exclusion.

The freedom to find—and defend—one’s True North is called religious freedom. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Freedom of religion is … a fundamental human right. Moral agency, the ability to choose right from wrong and to act for ourselves, is essential to God’s plan of salvation. Religious freedom ensures that people can exercise their agency in matters of faith.

Shaming seeks to motivate people through external means. Religious freedom seeks to motivate people from within. Only one has the power to create a strong society.

Foundation of a Free Society

Religious freedom is one of the foundational principles upon which this country was built. It’s difficult to fully appreciate the freedoms we enjoy in this nation without understanding how they came about. America’s hard-fought battle for independence from Great Britain continued after the Revolutionary War as her citizens worked to create a new form of government. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

The thirteen colonies and three and one-half million Americans who had won independence from the British crown a few years earlier were badly divided on many fundamental issues. Some thought the colonies should reaffiliate with the British crown. …

 

Unless America could adopt a central government with sufficient authority to function as a nation, the thirteen states would remain a group of insignificant, feuding little nations united by nothing more than geography and forever vulnerable to the impositions of aggressive foreign powers. No wonder the first purpose stated in the preamble of the new United States Constitution was “to form a more perfect union.”

This was a pivotal point in the young nation’s history. Elder Oaks continued,

Economically and politically, the country was alarmingly weak. The states were in a paralyzing depression. Everyone was in debt. The national treasury was empty. Inflation was rampant. …

 

Instead of reacting timidly because of disunity and weakness, the delegates boldly ignored the terms of their invitation to amend the Articles of Confederation and instead set out to write an entirely new constitution. They were conscious of their place in history. For millennia the world’s people had been ruled by kings or tyrants. Now a group of colonies had won independence from a king and their representatives had the unique opportunity of establishing a constitutional government Abraham Lincoln would later describe as “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Revolutionary Principles

The Founding Fathers applied revolutionary—and inspired— principles in creating this new government. Elder M. Russell Ballard said,

The principles and philosophies upon which the U.S. constitutional law is based are not simply the result of the best efforts of a remarkable group of brilliant men. They were inspired by God, and the rights and privileges guaranteed in the Constitution are God-given, not man-derived. The freedom and independence afforded by the Constitution and Bill of Rights are divine rights—sacred, essential, and inalienable. In the 98th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord indicates that the “law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me (Doctrine & Covenants 98:5).”

These revolutionary principles only work when implemented by a God-fearing people. Religion is essential for them to succeed. Elder Ballard continued,

Believe it or not, at one time the very notion of government had less to do with politics than with virtue. According to James Madison, often referred to as the father of the Constitution: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of the government—far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God (Russ Walton, Biblical Principles of Importance to Godly Christians, New Hampshire: Plymouth Foundation, 1984, p. 361).”

 

George Washington agreed with his colleague James Madison. Said Washington: “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle (James D. Richardson, A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the President, 1789–1897, U.S. Congress, 1899, vol. 1, p. 220).”

Religion’s Role in Society

Why is religion so important? What role does it play in our government and in our society? Elder Ballard taught,

Madison, Washington, and Lincoln all understood that democracy cannot possibly flourish in a moral vacuum and that organized religion plays an important role in preserving and maintaining public morality. Indeed, John Adams, another of America’s Founding Fathers, insisted: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion (John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles F. Adams, 1854).”

Religious beliefs shape our actions—in everything. Elder Oaks said,

Religious beliefs and practices are … criticized as irrational and contrary to important government and social goals. I … maintain that religion is uniquely valuable to society. As one atheist admitted in a recent book, “One does not have to be a religious believer to grasp that the core values of Western civilization are grounded in religion, and to be concerned that the erosion of religious observance therefore undermines those values.” One of those “core values” is the concept of inherent human dignity and worth. …

 

Western societies are not held together primarily by the overall enforcement of laws, which would be impractical, but most important by citizens who voluntarily obey the unenforceable because of their internal norms of correct behavior. For many, it is religious belief in right and wrong and an anticipated accountability to a higher power that produces such voluntary self-regulation. In fact, religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of Western nations that we cannot lose the influence of religion in our public life without seriously jeopardizing all our freedoms.

So how do we protect these freedoms?

Standing Together

Voltaire is often attributed as the origin of the statement, “I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Our shame culture is more concerned with protecting our fragile egos and sense of self than in listening to what someone else has to say. What started as an atmosphere of political correctness has escalated into an all-out war of words in which no one dares to be on the wrong side. This is definitely not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they organized our government.

Religion is being crowded out of the public square. But those who believe in God must do their part to stand firm for their beliefs. Elder Quentin L. Cook said,

This is a time when those who feel accountable to God for their conduct feel under siege by a secular world. You understand the moral principles that are under attack and the need to defend morality. Religious freedom all over the world is also under attack. It is important for us to become well educated on this issue and assume responsibility for ensuring that the religious freedom we have inherited is passed on to future generations. We must work together to both protect religious freedom and restore morality. …

 

Our joint effort should be to protect important civic values like honesty, morality, self-restraint, respect for law, and basic human rights. … If we fail to diligently protect religious freedom, we risk diminishing other important freedoms that are important both to society and to us. …

 

One of the reasons the attack on moral and religious principles has been so successful is the reluctance of people of faith to express their views.

Thus, people of faith must stand together in defense of their religious liberty.

Civil Discourse

But in the world today, there is more and more discord in the public square. And some discussions are turning downright nasty. This cannot happen if we are to have the kind of government in which all views are discussed. Elder Cook counseled,

We need to be civil in our discourse and respectful in our interactions. We live in a world where there is much turmoil. Many people are both angry and afraid. The Savior taught us to love even our enemies (see Matthew 5:44). This is especially true when we disagree. The moral basis of civility is the Golden Rule. It is taught in most religions and particularly by the Savior. “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). Our faith requires that we treat our neighbors with respect.

Indeed, how we disagree shows much about who we are. Elder Cook said,

… How we disagree is a real measure of who we are and whether we truly follow the Savior. It is appropriate to disagree, but it is not appropriate to be disagreeable. Violence and vandalism are not the answer to our disagreements. If we show love and respect even in adverse circumstances, we become more like Christ.

Forgiving Ourselves and Others

The shame culture relies on forgetting, rather than forgiving, the wrong. Those who bear the brunt of the shaming attacks must wait until the next big scandal comes along for his or her wrongs to fade into the background. Unfortunately, our digital memory is very long, and the fires can smolder in cyberspace long after the initial blaze has died down. There is a real danger in this. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explained,

Shame has a place in any moral system, but when it dominates all else, when all we have is trial by public exposure, then the more reluctant people will be to be honest, and the more suspicious we’ll become of people in public life, not just in medicine but in politics, the media, financial institutions, corporations, and let’s be honest, in religious organisations too.

 

We need to make it easier for people to be honest and apologise, which means that we too must learn how to forgive.

We each have a duty to behave responsibly— in cyberspace as well as in our lives. But we are all human, and will, at some point or another, fall short. We have to be willing to forgive the online trespasses of others if we also wish to be forgiven. This is important if we are to have civil discourse on the information superhighway.

A Matter of Choice

At the end of the day, we each have a God-given right to choose—what we believe, how we worship, etc. Freedom of choice, freedom of thought, freedom of expression are all inalienable rights that our Founding Fathers sought to protect. When we vilify the thoughts and beliefs of others, we are hindering the free flow of thoughts and ideas that makes our country great.

The shame culture is based on fear. Fear of what someone else thinks. Fear of doing something wrong and being caught. But faith, not fear, created our nation. And faith, not fear, will sustain our nation. Not just faith in God, but also faith in people. The shame culture ultimately assumes that people won’t do the right thing unless they are ridiculed or coerced. But America was built upon the premise that people can do what’s right because they have an internal motivation to do so.

Our Founding Fathers were visionary men. They created a system of government that was strong enough to withstand time yet flexible enough to meet the demands of a changing world. Their secret? Having a God-fearing people who respected themselves and each other enough to stand up for what was right.

… We live in a world in which a sense of the sacred has been severely eroded. Former ages were powerfully imbued with a sense of sacred time and space. Today, by contrast, what once were “holy days,” like Easter and Sunday, are now “holidays.” What originally were designed as celebrations of foundational events and values for the community (Memorial Day, Presidents’ Day) are now little more than excuses for three-day weekends. Similarly, there is a modern tendency to reduce flags to mere decorative cloth, cemeteries to parks, churches and national monuments to brick and marble. In a world where little is sacred, it is hard to remember, much less to respect, the vital difference between the sacred and the profane.

Memorial Day is set aside as a show of gratitude, a day of remembrance and a time to pray for peace. It’s easy to forget the true meaning and history of this day, but it’s time to remember its significance.

The History of Memorial Day

The practice of honoring our dead— and our deceased war heroes— can be traced back to ancient civilizations. But our modern commemoration has its roots in the years following the American Civil War. There is no consensus on where the initial Memorial Day celebrations began, but the first officially declared day was in 1868. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,

Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

 

Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866.

After this bitter and bloody war that left so much devastation and so many casualties, Americans began coming together to honor those who had sacrificed so much for the causes in which they believed. Initially, Americans celebrated Decoration Day on May 30—possibly with the belief that flowers would be blooming all over the country by this time of the year— and only honored those who died in the Civil War. But through the years this has been expanded to include those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was officially declared a federal holiday and placed on the last Monday in May.

The Importance of Remembering

Memorial Day is a fitting name for this holiday. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines memorial as:

Something that keeps remembrance alive;

b: Something (such as a speech or ceremony) that commemorates

For those who believe in God and in religion—such as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints— remembering is an important concept. Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander taught,

Remembering important things is fundamental to both our temporal and spiritual well-being. Confusing what we should remember with what we can or ought to forget creates difficulties for us. Much trouble in life originates from forgetting what we should remember and remembering what we should forget. …

 

It seems to me that living the gospel has as much to do with remembering important things as it does with knowing them in the first place. The word remember and its derivatives appear hundreds of times in the scriptures—certainly a lot to remember! This repetitious scriptural reminder to remember takes on added significance when we understand that in Hebrew the word remember has a much broader meaning than does the English connotation of “keeping something in mind.” In the Hebrew context, “doing” is an essential part of the remembering process. Thus, “to remember” is “to do,” whereas “forgetting” is “failing to do.” 

Remembering is more than passively keeping something in mind. It requires action on our part. Thus, Memorial Day is more than just remembering those who have given their lives in service of our country. It is actively honoring their sacrifice by doing our part to preserve the freedoms for which they fought.

Remembering Those Who Have Sacrificed

Ultimately, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom. But each fallen soldier had a family back home who mourned his or her loss. According to PBS.org,

Since the earliest ceremonies in small American towns following the Civil War, we have gathered on Memorial Day to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. As in those early days of laying wreaths and placing flags, our national day of remembrance is often felt most deeply among the families and communities who have personally lost friends and loved ones.

 

This national holiday may also be the unofficial start of the summer season, but all Americans must take a moment to remember the sacrifice of our valiant military service members, first responders and their families. Memorial Day is a day of both celebration and grief, accounting for the honor of our heroes and reflecting on their tragic loss.

 

Civil War soldiers had been mustered from towns and villages across the land. Like today, the loss of each soldier was a profound tragedy for both family and community.

 

Today, we honor service members from all of America’s past wars. But there is immediacy in our sorrow; the wounds of war are new again. As we struggle for ways to heal, Abraham Lincoln’s message of almost 150 years ago can still inspire us.

 

This, then, is the mission of Memorial Day: to reach out in support of all the soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much for us.

Don’t Forget the Families

During the Civil War, 620,000 American soldiers lost their lives. Those numbers have decreased in subsequent wars, but the impact on the families of the fallen soldiers is just as devastating. As PBS pointed out,

The number of battle deaths speak to the sacrifices our soldiers and their families have made.

H. Hal Visick, at the time the assistant to the president and general counsel for Brigham Young University, said,

President Lincoln was informed by the Secretary of War that a certain Mrs. Bixby had lost five sons in the Civil War. He was moved and troubled by this immense, enormous loss that had come into her life. …We have it as it was printed later:

 

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. [Carl Van Doren, editor,The Literary Works of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Press of the Readers Club, 1942), p. 272]

 

Sacrifice. . . .He could see what we ought to see when we look at America: That it wasn’t built up only out of resources and timber and coal and people that came here to escape their oppressive governments. It was built on the individual sacrifices of millions of people.

The Importance of Sacrifice

Sacrifice is giving up something that you want for something that is better. And it is an essential part of life in America. Visick said,

Sacrifice is … being somewhere you’re needed, where you’ve got to serve when you’d rather be elsewhere or do something else.

Parents love their children, but their love grows immeasurably as they sacrifice for the welfare of their children. Visick continued,

Of course, the child has to learn to love, too. And when he doesn’t pay the price, doesn’t serve, he doesn’t learn to love. It seems that when we make an investment in something, we value it, we care for it.

It is the same with our country. If we don’t pay the price, if we don’t sacrifice then we will not  understand how to truly love the land in which we live. This is a problem today. We take so much for granted because we didn’t work for it—our forefathers did. Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone taught,

I think it is time we should all awaken. Our concern isn’t about the flames of freedom which burn so brightly in our generation; the concern is that in the upcoming generation the fire has never been kindled. Our youth have never known anything but criticism of the United States of America. We need some faithful, free-loving patriots who will issue forth a clear, loud trumpet call. Remember Paul’s counsel: “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare … to the battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8.) Freedom ought to ring in the heart of every Latter-day Saint regardless of his country.

It’s time for the us to step forward and take responsibility for our own freedoms— not only the ones we have but also the ones we are passing down.

Remembering Goodness

Memorial Day is also a time to reflect on just how blessed we are to be in America. Too many Americans now are looking to Europe as the example of what we should be, but we aren’t Europe. We are the United States of America. We need to look around and see the things that make our nation great and hold onto them. And we need to look back at our history for the same reason. President Ezra Taft Benson said,

It has been well said that “our greatest national problem is erosion. Not erosion of the soil, but erosion of the national morality.”

 

The United States of America has been great because it has been free. It has been free because it has trusted in God and was founded upon the principles of freedom set forth in the word of God. This nation has a spiritual foundation. To me, this land has a prophetic history.

Alexis de Tocqueville, a famous French historian who studied America in the 1830s, wrote,

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there…. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great (Prophets, Principles and National Survival, compiled by Jerreld L. Newquist [Salt Lake City, Publishers Press, 1964], p. 60).

America’s greatness is found in her citizens’ ability to choose righteously because it’s the right thing to do. When we lose our sense of morality, we lose a sense of ourselves.

Remembering Gratitude

We’re all human, and part of human nature is looking around at what other people have and forgetting what we have. But Memorial Day is a reminder that we have many reasons to be grateful. President Thomas S. Monson taught,

Like the leprosy of yesteryear are the plagues of today. They linger; they debilitate; they destroy. They are to be found everywhere. Their pervasiveness knows no boundaries. We know them as selfishness, greed, indulgence, cruelty, and crime, to identify but a few. Surfeited with their poison, we tend to criticize, to complain, to blame, and, slowly but surely, to abandon the positives and adopt the negatives of life. …

 

This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

 

We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.

Expressing our gratitude is one way that we show our appreciation on Memorial Day. We show our gratitude by decorating graves as well as by honoring those who have or still are serving in the military. But we can expand our show of gratitude to include others who put their lives on the line in service to the public—such as police officers, EMTs and firemen.

My brother is in the military and has traveled in many countries throughout the world. I asked him once what makes America great, and his answer really surprised me. He said, “When you call 9-1-1, someone comes to help you. If someone is breaking into your house, you can call and get help. In some parts of the world, if you have an emergency there is no one to call for help.” It’s a sobering reminder of just how lucky we are to have people who sacrifice so much for the good of our communities.

Remembering to Pray for Peace

Unrest and discord are nothing new for Americans. When people are free to think, believe and act for themselves, there will be conflict. There is also much unrest and upheaval in the world. But we can take time this Memorial Day to remember to pray for peace. As President Donald J. Trump wrote,

Memorial Day is our Nation’s solemn reminder that freedom is never free. It is a moment of collective reflection on the noble sacrifices of those who gave the last measure of devotion in service of our ideals and in the defense of our Nation. On this ceremonious day, we remember the fallen, we pray for a lasting peace among nations, and we honor these guardians of our inalienable rights. …

 

On Memorial Day we honor the final resting places of the more than one million men and women who sacrificed their lives for our Nation, by decorating their graves with the stars and stripes, as generations have done since 1868. We also proudly fly America’s beautiful flag at our homes, businesses, and in our community parades to honor their memory. In doing so, we pledge our Nation’s allegiance to the great cause of freedom for which they fought and ultimately died.

This division is not new to our nation, and we can work through it. But to do so, we must truly understand what democracy is—and the responsibilities that come with our inalienable rights to freedom. Because freedom isn’t free. It takes a lot of work, and it takes everybody working together. Just ask George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We are beneficiaries of their effort—as well as all of those who helped them. We can learn a lot from our national leaders of the past—and in doing so we can protect our future.

Our Founding Fathers

Washington at Constitutional Convention of 1787, signing of U.S. Constitution, by Junius Brutus Stearns.

While Presidents’ Day is specifically set aside to honor our presidents, it is difficult to fully appreciate what we have without first discussing what it took to build our government. President Ezra Taft Benson said,

At the close of the Revolution, the thirteen states found themselves independent but then faced grave internal economic and political problems. The Articles of Confederation had been adopted but proved to be ineffectual. Under this instrument, the nation was without a president, a head. There was a congress, but it was a body destitute of any power. There was no supreme court. The states were merely a confederation. …

 

Because of this crisis, fifty-five of the seventy-four appointed delegates reported to the convention, representing every state except Rhode Island, for the purpose of forming “a more perfect union.”

It wasn’t an easy task. But in the end, the framers of our Constitution created a document that still stands today. President Benson continued,

What those framers did can be better appreciated when it is considered that when the instrument went into operation, it covered only thirteen states with fewer than four million people. …The wisdom of these delegates is shown in the genius of the document itself. The founders had a strong distrust for centralized power in a federal government. So they created a government with checks and balances. This was to prevent any branch of the government from becoming too powerful.

 

Congress could pass laws, but the president could check this with a veto. Congress, however, could override the veto, and by its means of initiative in taxation, could further restrain the executive department. The Supreme Court could nullify laws passed by the Congress and signed by the president. But Congress could limit the Court’s appellate jurisdiction. The president could appoint judges for their lifetime with the consent of the Senate.

 

Each branch of the government was also made subject to different political pressures. The president was to be chosen by electors, Senators by state legislatures, representatives by the people, and the Supreme Court by the president, with the consent of the Senate.

 

All this was deliberately designed to make it difficult for a majority of the people to control the government and to place restraints on the government itself. The founders created a republic which Jefferson described as “action by the citizens in person in affairs within their reach and competence, and in all others by representativ …” (Paul L. Ford, ed., Works of Thomas Jefferson, New York: J. P. Putnam Sons, 1905, 11:523).

They created a form of government that required citizens to be part of the process.

Washington’s Democracy

Washington’s inauguration at Philadelphia, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.

We must truly understand democracy and what it means if we are to understand what our role is in it. Jean Bethke Elshtain, at the time a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, said,

Democracy is not and has never been primarily a means whereby popular will is tabulated and enacted but, rather, a political world within which citizens deliberate, negotiate, compromise, engage, and hold themselves and those they choose to represent them accountable for actions taken. Have we lost this deliberative and dialogical dimension to democracy? For democracy’s enduring promise is that democratic citizens can come to know a good in common that they cannot know alone (Democracy at Century’s End, BYU Speeches, October 29, 1996).

The responsibility of each citizen to join the discussion also necessitates each person to study the issues for himself or herself as well as to see things from another point of view. Professor Elshtain continued,

Alexis de Tocqueville, in his classic work Democracy in America, argued that one reason the American democracy he surveyed was so sturdy was that citizens took an active part in public affairs. This is important because participating in public affairs means one must move from exclusive and narrowly private interests and occasionally take a look at matters that concern others. In Tocqueville’s words,

 

As soon as common affairs are treated in common, each man notices that he is not as independent of his fellows as he used to suppose and that to get their help he must often offer his aid to them (Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, ed. J. P. Mayer, trans. George Lawrence, New York: Harper Perennial, 1988, p. 510).

 

In this way civic engagement helped to underscore what Tocqueville called “self-interest properly understood,” an interest that was never narrowly focused on the self (p. 526). If Tocqueville were among us today, he would no doubt share the concern of social scientists who have researched the sharp decline in participation. They argue that the evidence points to nothing less than a crisis in “social capital formation,” the forging of bonds of social and political trust and competence. The debilitating effects of rising mistrust, privatization, and anomie are many. 

Democracy, then, is less about getting what we want and more about creating a solid foundation for our communities—and, in turn, our families.

Lincoln’s Fight for Unity

The Peacemakers, by George P.A. Healy.

While Washington is associated with the birth of our government, Lincoln’s role was to preserve our unity. His famous quote, “A house divided cannot stand,” still applies today. While our Founding Fathers created the foundations of our government, they left one glaring issue to be resolved: slavery. The issue of slavery was, in reality, a continuation of the battle for human rights that began with the Declaration of Independence. President Benson said,

The Declaration of Independence was to set forth the moral justification of a rebellion against a long-recognized political tradition—the divine right of kings. At issue was the fundamental question of whether men’s rights were God-given or whether these rights were to be dispensed by governments to their subjects. This document proclaimed that all men have certain inalienable rights. In other words, these rights came from God. Therefore, the colonists were not rebels against political authority, but a free people only exercising their rights before an offending, usurping power.

America could not be a unified nation when a large portion of the population was still denied their inalienable, God-given rights. The Southern States didn’t see things the same way, and decided that they no longer wanted to be part of this Union. So they tried to secede and form their own government. The result was the American Civil War, which pitted brother against brother, father against son and divided a nation.

The North won, and re-unified the nation. But as the decades have marched on and more than a century has passed, Americans have been trying to redefine what freedom truly means. In doing so, the foundation ideals upon which our nation was founded have come into question.

The Quest for True Freedom

True freedom is only found within the bounds of self-restraint. Our Founding Fathers understood that the concept of a citizen-involved government presupposed that said citizens know how to behave themselves properly. British statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke said,

Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains on their own appetites. . . . Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters (The Works of the Right Honorable Edmund Burke, vol. 4, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1889, pp. 51-52).

The guiding principles for the people must come from within—not from external forces. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught,

Believe it or not, at one time the very notion of government had less to do with politics than with virtue. According to James Madison, often referred to as the father of the Constitution: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of the government—far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God” (Russ Walton, Biblical Principles of Importance to Godly Christians, New Hampshire: Plymouth Foundation, 1984, p. 361).

 

George Washington agreed with his colleague James Madison. Said Washington: “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle” (James D. Richardson, A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the President, 1789–1897, U.S. Congress, 1899, vol. 1, p. 220).

This internal compass comes from belief in a higher power, in something greater than yourself. Elder Ballard said,

Madison, Washington, and Lincoln all understood that democracy cannot possibly flourish in a moral vacuum and that organized religion plays an important role in preserving and maintaining public morality.

Thus, the framers of the Constitution built in special protections for freedom of religion.

The Threat to Our Liberties

Our Founding Fathers understood the importance of religion in public life. But times have changed. Elder Ballard said,

Our government is succumbing to pressure to distance itself from God and religion. Consequently, the government is discovering that it is incapable of contending with people who are increasingly “unbridled by morality and religion.” A simple constitutional prohibition of state-sponsored church has evolved into court-ordered bans against representations of the Ten Commandments on government buildings, Christmas manger scenes on public property, and prayer at public meetings. Instead of seeking the “national morality” based on “religious principle” that Washington spoke of, many are actively seeking a blind standard of legislative amorality, with a total exclusion of the mention of God in the public square.

 

Such a standard of religious exclusion is absolutely and unequivocally counter to the intention of those who designed our government. Do you think that mere chance placed the freedom to worship according to individual conscience among the first freedoms specified in the Bill of Rights—freedoms that are destined to flourish together or perish separately? The Founding Fathers understood this country’s spiritual heritage. They frequently declared that God’s hand was upon this nation, and that He was working through them to create what Chesterton once called “a nation with the soul of a church” (Richard John Neuhaus, A New Order for the Ages, speech delivered at the Philadelphia Conference on Religious Freedom, 30 May 1991). While they were influenced by history and their accumulated knowledge, the single most influential reference source for their work on the Constitution was the Holy Bible.

But while Americans in the early days were mostly God-fearing people, the same cannot be said of us today. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

I am convinced that a worldwide tide is currently running against both religious freedom and its parallel freedoms of speech and assembly.

 

I believe religious freedom is declining because faith in God and the pursuit of God-centered religion is declining worldwide. If one does not value religion, one usually does not put a high value on religious freedom. It is looked at as just another human right, competing with other human rights when it seems to collide with them. I believe the freedoms of speech and assembly are also weakening because many influential persons see them as colliding with competing values now deemed more important. Some extremists have even opposed free speech as an obstacle to achieving their policy goals.

Another threat to our liberties comes from our lack of civil discourse one with another. As Professor Elshtain said,

[Our] public-spiritedness is in jeopardy. Our social fabric is frayed. Our trust in our neighbors is low. We don’t join as much. We give less money, as an overall percentage of our gross national product, to charity. Where once rough-and-tumble yet civil politics pertained, now we see “in your face” and “you just don’t get it.”

The result is that instead of internal restraints controlling the actions of American citizens, the government is stepping in and exerting external controls. And when that happens, we lose some of the freedom that we once enjoyed.

Kennedy’s Call to Action

This brings us to John F. Kennedy’s call to action. JFK is famous for saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” The first thing that we can do is to become actively engaged in community affairs.

Why is this important? Lawrence C. Walters, at the time a professor in the BYU Romney Institute of Public Management, said,

… Thomas Jefferson penned: “A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.”

 

This is a weighty thought—that we are each personally responsible for our society…. We are each accountable for the quality of governance in our communities and nations. But we are not asked to bear this responsibility alone. Our lives are interconnected with others’. Our capacities are enhanced and our possibilities expanded through cooperation and collaboration. Because of our shared responsibility and because we are so much more effective together than we are individually, as active citizens we must actively engage with others (Citizenship, BYU Speeches, April 1, 2014).

Engaging with others requires much of oneself—not just in terms of time but also in terms of interpersonal relations. Professor Walters continued,

We must cultivate the ability to participate in collective reasoning…. Such reasoning involves joining with others to identify issues and concerns, giving and receiving information, and taking counsel together. In this process citizens actually listen to others with a desire to understand their views. They ask questions they don’t know the answers to. They respect others, and they respect the decision process.

 

Inevitably, deliberative processes such as the one I have described identify conflicting points of view. When that happens, active citizens don’t give up but look for common ground and seek to build on a foundation of common understanding. We build relationships, coalitions, and networks as we patiently strive to reach joint decisions.

In a nation as richly diverse as ours, this is no easy task. Even in small communities, people have opposing points of views and differing personalities. It takes real effort, sometimes, to get along. Professor Walters agreed,

There is no question that serious deliberation with people we don’t agree with can be slow and frustrating—especially if we want the Lord’s help, because then we have to get rid of all those unkind thoughts so that the Spirit can be unrestrained. My experience suggests that we make much more progress when we put aside the idea that people who don’t agree with us are ignorant of the facts, stupid, or evil and focus instead on what we have in common. … Active citizens must strive to synthesize and reconcile conflicting views, values, and priorities. This is not easy to do…. It requires that we place the well-being of all on an equal footing and that we always balance the common good against individual claims.

But that is exactly what Kennedy was asking each one of us—what are we willing to do for our country?

The People and the President

Photo by Gage Skidmore.

One inescapable fact of democracy in America is that we don’t always agree—even (and perhaps especially) on whom to elect as president. This has ever been so. And the elections have become more and more divisive in recent years. The 2016 election is a prime example. But political pundit and journalist Garry Gadfly reminded us,

[In an election year] we get the presidents we deserve. A great people is what you need for a great president. Washington was the greatest president, because the people were at their most enlightened and alert. [America] right now is escapist. It wants to be soothed, and told it doesn’t have to pay or sacrifice or learn (Things That Matter, Vis a Vis, July 1988, p. 70).

Americans can’t escape the fact that they are responsible for electing our president. We can help make him (or her) great by doing our part and helping to build up our nation, one community at a time, or not. We can seek to be soothed or we can pay, sacrifice and learn how to do better. Half of the people voted for President Trump, and half voted for Hillary Clinton in this election. The split has been about the same for the past few elections—which means that half of the country are happy and half are mad each time the election results are in.

This makes our response as a nation even more important. Will we decide to work together for the common good, or continue fighting each other? Will we stand behind the president, even if we belong to the half who didn’t vote for him? When we do, we honor the presidents of the past and what they worked so hard to build. When we don’t, we put the future of our nation in jeopardy. Because, as Lincoln taught us, a house divided cannot stand.

We would be wise to follow the counsel of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who said following the November election,

We congratulate President-elect Donald Trump on his election as president of the United States.

 

We invite Americans everywhere, whatever their political persuasion, to join us in praying for the president-elect, for his new administration and for elected leaders across the nation and the world. Praying for those in public office is a long tradition among Latter-day Saints. The men and women who lead our nations and communities need our prayers as they govern in these difficult and turbulent times.

 

We also commend Secretary Hillary Clinton and all those who engaged in the election process at a national or local level. Their participation in our democratic process, by its nature, demands much of those who offer themselves for public service. May our local and national leaders reflect the best in wisdom and judgment as they fulfill the great trust afforded to them by the American people.

That is a sobering thought. And it got me to thinking about how much we take for granted here. Why do police officers, EMTS and firemen (and women) respond to a cry for help? Because individuals have stepped up to answer the call of duty. They have dedicated their lives to a higher calling as protectors of the citizens of the state, county, city or locale in which they serve. But there is another answer as well. Police officers are more effective when the majority of those they are protecting abide by the laws of the land. They can serve and protect because they have good citizens who are honoring and sustaining the laws. The citizens are part of the process. We don’t often think of that aspect of citizenship when we hit the polls in November. But it’s all part of the same process—of buying into and being part of your community, your state and your nation. Additionally, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that citizenship is an important aspect of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. We all have a responsibility to help make our communities run smoothly. So as we head into the final stages of the presidential elections, here are 3 ways that we can be better citizens, better voters, better Christians.

1. Be an informed voter and citizen.

Education is an important aspect of being an informed citizen. Lawrence C. Walters, at the time a professor in the BYU Romney Institute of Public Management, said,

Being an active citizen in our society requires … commitment to learning …. Eleanor Roosevelt once observed that “learning to be a good citizen is learning to live to the maximum of one’s abilities and opportunities, and every subject should be taught every child with this in view.” … She saw producing citizens as the true purpose of education, and I agree.

 

… Active citizens … must prioritize and focus their attention on the most significant issues. They then do their research, critically evaluate information, and analyze carefully. They cultivate the ability to examine problems from the multiple perspectives that may be relevant. They seek to learn and understand all they can on any given issue. (Citizenship, BYU Speeches, April 1, 2014)

This applies not only during elections but all the time. We need to stay informed so that we know what issues are facing our community and our families. It’s so easy to run into the election booth blind—without really studying the issues and the candidates. I am guilty of that at times. But do we really make the best decisions on the fly, without all of the facts? Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

The few months preceding an election have always been times of serious political divisions, but the divisions and meanness we are experiencing in this election, especially at the presidential level, seem to be unusually wide and ugly. Partly this results from modern technology, which expands the audience for conflicts and the speed of dissemination. Today, dubious charges, misrepresentations, and ugly innuendos are instantly flashed around the world, and the effects instantly widen and intensify the gaps between different positions. TV, the internet, and the emboldened anonymity of the blogosphere have facilitated the current ugliness and have replaced whatever remained of the measured discourse of the past. Nevertheless, as the First Presidency always reminds us, we have the responsibility to become informed about the issues and candidates and to independently exercise our right to vote. Voters, remember, this applies to candidates for the many important local and state offices, as well as the contested presidential election.

We need to do our homework. We can’t just assume that media pundits are accurately describing the candidates and the issues. We need to look at all sides before making a decision. We need to look at the way things will affect us not only now but also down the road.

For Latter-day Saints, part of doing our homework is gaining an understanding of how these issues affect our ability to live according to our religious beliefs—our religious freedom. Not just the religious freedom of the Latter-day Saints, but believers of all religious denominations. Elder Oaks said,

For many years I have paid close attention to the social and legal trends that are likely to affect the fundamental guarantees that are so vital to fulfill our Church’s mission and to accomplish BYU’s educational mission. I am convinced that a worldwide tide is currently running against both religious freedom and its parallel freedoms of speech and assembly.

 

I believe religious freedom is declining because faith in God and the pursuit of God-centered religion is declining worldwide. If one does not value religion, one usually does not put a high value on religious freedom. It is looked at as just another human right, competing with other human rights when it seems to collide with them. I believe the freedoms of speech and assembly are also weakening because many influential persons see them as colliding with competing values now deemed more important. Some extremists have even opposed free speech as an obstacle to achieving their policy goals.

We can make the best decisions for ourselves and our families when we are informed of the issues and challenges of our day.

2. Get involved—but avoid the fray.

Once we are informed and educated on the issues, we need to do something about it. We can’t make a difference if we don’t get involved. For several years, our school hosted a spring carnival, and my kids loved it. But then one year, it was canceled. I found out that the reason it was canceled was there weren’t enough volunteers. I had taken the carnival and the effort it took for granted. So the next year, I started attending the planning meetings and joined the PTA (yes, in that order). I realized that I needed to get involved in the process to help make things happen for our school.

The same is true in politics, in our communities and elsewhere. We need to be a nation of active citizens. We need to allow our voices to be heard, but we don’t need to descend into the fray of chaos and contentious debate. My second year in the PTA, members decided against hosting another spring carnival. It was too much work with too few volunteers. I was outvoted. Although I was disappointed, we decided to host a different spring event. A color run. Which was hugely successful and a lot of fun. It was the right choice for our school.

Being part of the community means not only airing our concerns but also listening to others with respect and kindness. It’s easier to do with at PTA meetings, but sometimes difficult with highly charged political, social or cultural issues. Elder Oaks said,

We should also remember not to be part of the current meanness. We should communicate about our differences with a minimum of offense.

Elder M. Russell Ballard taught,

If our [Latter-day Saint] history teaches us nothing else, it should teach us to respect the rights of all people to peacefully coexist with one another.

 

I now speak to all those who are not of our faith. If there are issues of concern, let us talk about them. We want to be helpful. Please understand, however, that our doctrines and teachings are set by the Lord, so sometimes we will have to agree to disagree with you, but we can do so without being disagreeable. In our communities we can and must work together in an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and civility. Here in Utah, a group of concerned citizens formed the Alliance for Unity. This effort has been endorsed by our Church as well as other churches and organizations. One of its purposes is “to seek to build a community where differing viewpoints are acknowledged and valued.” Perhaps there has never been a more important time for neighbors all around the world to stand together for the common good of one another.

Sometimes in our efforts we are outvoted. Sometimes it’s the better outcome, and sometimes not. Elder Oaks said,

When our positions do not prevail, we should accept unfavorable results graciously and practice civility with our adversaries. In any event, we should be persons of goodwill toward all, rejecting persecution of any kind, including persecution based on race, ethnicity, religious belief or nonbelief, and differences in sexual orientation.

We can make a difference when we get involved. Sometimes we can’t change the outcome, but sometimes we can. But it’s our responsibility to try.

3. Teach the next generation of citizens and voters.

We need to teach our children how to be good citizens. The Family: A Proclamation to the World teaches:

Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

Being a good citizen includes voting. It’s easy to get discouraged when our candidates don’t get elected or the ballot initiative for which we voted didn’t pass. But we cheat ourselves—and our children—when we opt out of the process. Children learn by what we do as well as by what we say. When we make the effort to go to the polls and vote, we teach our children by example that voting is important. When we get involved in the community, we do the same. My older 3 kids ask me why I joined the PTA after their time in elementary school. They don’t understand the importance of the work that I’m doing. But I tell them that they were the beneficiaries of someone else’s work. Someone else helped with the Box Tops and the carnivals and the other PTA events when they were younger because I couldn’t. Now I can, and it’s my turn.

Teaching our kids by example includes the attribute of civility in our discourse. Elder Quentin L. Cook said,

The need for civility in society has never been more important. The foundation of kindness and civility begins in our homes. It is not surprising that our public discourse has declined in equal measure with the breakdown of the family. The family is the foundation for love and for maintaining spirituality. The family promotes an atmosphere where religious observance can flourish. There is indeed “beauty all around when there’s love at home.”

Citizenship begins in the home, teaching our children to love and serve each other and that each one has the responsibility to help our home run smoothly. Professor Walters said,

There are at least two ways to think about citizenship. The first sees citizens as having certain rights that should be protected by law. Those who hold this view see “citizenship as [a] legal status” and are concerned mostly with defending individual freedoms from interference by others. There is no question that rights are an important aspect of citizenship. All too often, however, in today’s world this approach to citizenship descends into a type of consumerism: citizens see themselves as no more than customers of government.

 

A government’s efforts to improve their operations by focusing on citizens as customers are certainly valuable. My concern is with the way we act when we think of ourselves as customers of government. Consumer citizenship is something we assert only occasionally. We exercise our right to vote every year or two, maybe—when we go to the polls or “the store” to choose what we want from a list. If we don’t like what is on the list, we may not even go to the store. If there is a problem in the community, we expect the government to deal with it. Most of the time, though, we just want to be left alone. We either actively avoid or at least ignore what is going on with governments. “After all,” we say, “there is not much we can do about it anyway.” We would certainly never think about what we do at work or at school or in the neighborhood in terms of citizenship. …

 

The second vision of citizenship is more demanding and is captured well in a definition offered by Peter Block:

 

A citizen is one who is willing to be accountable for and committed to the well-being of the whole. That whole can be a city block, a community, a nation, the earth. A citizen is one who produces the future, someone who does not wait, beg, or dream for the future.

 

The antithesis of being a citizen is the choice to be a consumer or a client.

True citizenship is being part of the process and taking ownership in the results. It isn’t easy and requires work—sometimes a lot of hard work. But it is what’s required of us. Professor Walters continued,

We often see references to a quote from Theodore Roosevelt about “the man who is actually in the arena . . . ; who does actually strive to do the deeds; . . . who spends himself in a worthy cause; . . . who . . . , if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”  What is less often remembered is that Roosevelt was describing what it means to be a citizen.

The share of U.S. adults who say they believe in God, while still remarkably high by comparison with other advanced industrial countries, has declined modestly, from approximately 92% to 89%, since Pew Research Center conducted its first Landscape Study in 2007. The share of Americans who say they are “absolutely certain” God exists has dropped more sharply, from 71% in 2007 to 63% in 2014.

Most of the declines in numbers are gradual, but they are heading down. The study states:

Is the American public becoming less religious? Yes, at least by some key measures of what it means to be a religious person. An extensive new survey of more than 35,000 U.S. adults finds that the percentages who say they believe in God, pray daily and regularly go to church or other religious services all have declined modestly in recent years.

 

But the Pew Research Center study also finds a great deal of stability in the U.S. religious landscape. The recent decrease in religious beliefs and behaviors is largely attributable to the “nones” – the growing minority of Americans, particularly in the Millennial generation, who say they do not belong to any organized faith. Among the roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults who do claim a religion, there has been no discernible drop in most measures of religious commitment. Indeed, by some conventional measures, religiously affiliated Americans are, on average, even more devout than they were a few years ago.

Another interesting finding is that most Americans still say they regularly have spiritual experiences. So while most Americans still consider themselves spiritual, those who consider themselves religious are declining in numbers. Is there a difference between spirituality and religiosity? And does it matter if you’re religious as long as you are spiritual? Mormons believe the answer to both questions is a resounding yes—not only to us as individuals but to our nation as a whole. The Pew study gives us a glimpse of the changing religious landscape in our nation. The doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints help us to see why it matters.  

Religious Foundations of Our Nation

The Rev. Jacob Duché leading the first prayer for the Second Continental Congress, Philadelphia, September 7, 1774

Religion matters. It has been an important part of America from its beginning. James Madison, who is often referred to as the father of the U.S. Constitution, said,

We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of the government—far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God. (Russ Walton, Biblical Principles of Importance to Godly Christians, New Hampshire: Plymouth Foundation, 1984, p. 361.)

George Washington concurred. He said,

Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. (James D. Richardson, A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the President, 1789–1897, U.S. Congress, 1899, vol. 1, p. 220.)

Religion played a vital role in the founding of the United States, and it is still an important component today. In fact, members of The Church of Jesus Christ believe that our nation must serve God or perish. President Ezra Taft Benson taught,

America, North and South, is a choice land, a land reserved for God’s own purposes. This land and its inhabitants are under an everlasting decree. The Lord revealed this decree to the brother of Jared, an American prophet, in these solemn words:

 

“And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. …

 

“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. …” (Ether 2:9, 10, 12.)

But Mormon prophets aren’t the only ones who saw and understood the importance of American morality and religious observance. The famous French historian Alexis de Toqueville said,

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. (Prophets, Principles and National Survival, compiled by Jerreld L. Newquist [Salt Lake City, Publishers Press, 1964], p. 60.)

America’s greatness depends upon the righteousness and religious observance of her citizens. Thus the religious landscape of America is of concern to all—the declines as well as the strengths in the numbers.  The real benefit of the Pew research is that it shows the direction in which America’s religious landscape is heading. And if we don’t like where it’s going, we know where we need to focus our efforts to make the necessary changes. So what exactly do the numbers show about God in America today?

Most Americans Believe in God and Practice Religion

While the rise of those who do not believe in God is a concern, the majority of Americans—71%— still express a belief in God. Although those who are not religiously affiliated are also less religiously observant, the reverse is also true. According to the study:

… The vast majority of Americans (77% of all adults) continue to identify with some religious faith. And this religiously affiliated population — comprising a wide variety of Protestants as well as Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and adherents of other faith traditions — is, on the whole, just as religiously committed today as when the study was first conducted in 2007. Fully two-thirds of religiously affiliated adults say they pray every day and that religion is very important to them, and roughly six-in-ten say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month; those numbers have changed little, if at all, in recent years. And nearly all religiously affiliated people in the survey (97%) continue to believe in God, though a declining share express this belief with absolute certainty (74% in 2014, down from 79% in 2007).  

This religious commitment and belief in God is evidenced in religious observance. The study notes:

Indeed, by some measures, religiously affiliated people appear to have grown more religiously observant in recent years. The portion of religiously affiliated adults who say they regularly read scripture, share their faith with others and participate in small prayer groups or scripture study groups all have increased modestly since 2007. And roughly four-in-ten religiously affiliated adults (41%) now say they rely mainly on their religious beliefs for guidance on questions about right and wrong, up 7 percentage points in seven years.

Religious observance is much more than just attending worship services on a regular basis. Religion plays a much greater role in our society than many unbelievers may see. Elder Wilford W. Andersen said,

It is perhaps less obvious to some that religion and morality play an essential role in maintaining and promoting good and effective government. The only real solutions to many of the serious problems facing our world today are spiritual, not political or economic. Racism, violence, and hate crimes, for example, are spiritual problems, and their only real solution is spiritual.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks agreed,

Many of the most significant moral advances in Western society have been motivated by religious principles and persuaded to official adoption by pulpit preaching. Examples include the abolition of the slave trade in England and the Emancipation Proclamation in this country. The same is true of the Civil Rights movement of the last half-century. These great advances were not motivated and moved by secular ethics or persons who believed in moral relativism. They were driven primarily by persons who had a clear religious vision of what was morally right.

 

Our society is not held together primarily by law and its enforcement, but most importantly by those who voluntarily obey the unenforceable because of their internalized norms of righteous or correct behavior. Religious belief in right and wrong is a vital influence to produce such voluntary compliance by a large number of our citizens.

This is what makes religious observance and religious beliefs so important in America today. It is not enough to profess a belief in God. This is just the beginning. What makes religion in society so essential is what religion does for the individual. Those who believe in God believe that their behavior and choices matter not only here on earth but also in the afterlife. Thus, obedience to the commandments of God takes on a deeper meaning. How we treat our neighbors also takes on a deeper meaning.

Religion Strengthens Society

Religion itself is good for society for many reasons. Interestingly, an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with this. The study states:

Nearly nine-in-ten adults say churches and other religious institutions bring people together and strengthen community bonds and that they play an important role in helping the poor and needy. And three-quarters say churches and other religious institutions help protect and strengthen morality in society. Attitudes on these questions are little changed from 2012, when they were first asked in a Pew Research Center survey.  

It is significant that 75% of Americans believe that churches and other religious institutions help to protect and strengthen morality in society. Elder Russell M. Ballard said,

Madison, Washington, and Lincoln all understood that democracy cannot possibly flourish in a moral vacuum and that organized religion plays an important role in preserving and maintaining public morality. Indeed, John Adams, another of America’s Founding Fathers, insisted: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.” (John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles F. Adams, 1854.)

 

Yet that is precisely the position we find ourselves in today. Our government is succumbing to pressure to distance itself from God and religion. Consequently, the government is discovering that it is incapable of contending with people who are increasingly “unbridled by morality and religion.” A simple constitutional prohibition of state-sponsored church has evolved into court-ordered bans against representations of the Ten Commandments on government buildings, Christmas manger scenes on public property, and prayer at public meetings. Instead of seeking the “national morality” based on “religious principle” that Washington spoke of, many are actively seeking a blind standard of legislative amorality, with a total exclusion of the mention of God in the public square.

Religion is good for society. Society’s beliefs and morality are ever-changing, but the commandments of God have remained the same since Adam and Eve. But as our nation moves away from respect for religion and toward a more secular philosophy, our moral foundation suffers. Where can we look for moral guidance if not religious teachings rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The Rise of the ‘Nones’

The problem with distancing ourselves from religious teachings is finding a replacement for them. The decline in the numbers who express a belief in God stems from a rise in the “nones,” or those who do not align themselves with any given denomination. The Pew study notes:

The falloff in traditional religious beliefs and practices coincides with changes in the religious composition of the U.S. public. A growing share of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, including some who self-identify as atheists or agnostics as well as many who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.” Altogether, the religiously unaffiliated (also called the “nones”) now account for 23% of the adult population, up from 16% in 2007.

 

Pew Research Center surveys consistently show that not all religious “nones” are nonbelievers. In fact, the majority of Americans without a religious affiliation say they believe in God. As a group, however, the “nones” are far less religiously observant than Americans who identify with a specific faith. And, as the “nones” have grown in size, they also have become even less observant than they were when the original Religious Landscape Study was conducted in 2007. The growth of the “nones” as a share of the population, coupled with their declining levels of religious observance, is tugging down the nation’s overall rates of religious belief and practice.

Those who don’t understand the importance of organized religion are often the ones seeking to distance themselves and others from it. President James E. Faust said,

There seems to be developing a new civil religion. The civil religion I refer to is a secular religion. It has no moral absolutes. It is non-denominational. It is nontheistic. It is politically focused. It is antagonistic to religion. It rejects the historic religious traditions of America. It feels strange. If this trend continues, nonbelief will be more honored than belief. While all beliefs must be protected, are atheism, agnosticism, cynicism, and moral relativism to be more safeguarded and valued than Christianity, Judaism, and the tenets of Islam, which hold that there is a Supreme Being and that mortals are accountable to him? If so, this would, in my opinion, place America in great moral jeopardy.

 

For those who believe in God, this new civil religion fosters some of the same concerns as the state religions that prompted our forefathers to escape to the New World. Nonbelief is becoming more sponsored in the body politic than belief. History teaches well the lesson that there must be a unity in some moral absolutes in all societies for them to endure and progress. Indeed, without a national morality they disintegrate.

This is perhaps one reason for the erosion of religious freedoms in America today. Elder Robert D. Hales said,

Some are offended when we bring our religion into the public square, yet the same people who insist that their viewpoints and actions be tolerated in society are often very slow to give that same tolerance to religious believers who also wish their viewpoints and actions to be tolerated. The general lack of respect for religious viewpoints is quickly devolving into social and political intolerance for religious people and institutions.

Not all of the nones are unbelievers. Some still profess a belief in God. But without the support of organized religion, there is always the danger of forgetting the importance of God in our lives.

Organized Religion Must Band Together

So now it’s time for organized religion to do what it does best—become organized. The solution to the changing religious landscape in America is for those who believe in God to root themselves more fully in the teachings of Jesus Christ and then take His gospel to the world. This means that all religious organizations need to work together for the common good. Cardinal Francis E. George, at the time the Catholic Archbishop of Chicago and also the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaking at Brigham Young University—the flagship university for The Church of Jesus Christ—in 2010, said,

… I come before you today as a religious leader who shares with you a love for our own country but also, like many, a growing concern about its moral health as a good society. In recent years Catholics and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have stood more frequently side by side in the public square to defend human life and dignity. In addition to working together to alleviate poverty here and abroad, we have been together in combating the degradations associated with the pornography industry; in promoting respect for the right to life of those still waiting in their mother’s womb to be born; and in defending marriage as the union of one man and one woman for the sake of family against various efforts to redefine in civil law that foundational element of God’s natural plan for creation. I am personally grateful that, after 180 years of living mostly apart from one another, Catholics and Latter-day Saints have begun to see one another as trustworthy partners in the defense of shared moral principles and in the promotion of the common good of our beloved country.

 

Of course, partnerships in causes of great moral import build on friendships and gestures of respect for one another’s identity, and these too have multiplied in recent years.

It is so important for organized religion to stand together for a common cause. Elder Quentin L. Cook said,

This is a time when those who feel accountable to God for their conduct feel under siege by a secular world. You understand the moral principles that are under attack and the need to defend morality. Religious freedom all over the world is also under attack. It is important for us to become well educated on this issue and assume responsibility for ensuring that the religious freedom we have inherited is passed on to future generations. We must work together to both protect religious freedom and restore morality.

All religions have truth, and all benefit society. President Thomas S. Monson emphasized the need for religions to cooperate and work together. He said,

We have a responsibility to be active in the communities where we live … and to work cooperatively with other churches. … It’s important that we eliminate the weakness of one standing alone and substitute for it the strength of people working together.

One entity standing alone is not enough—especially when the importance of religion itself is at stake. It is through our cooperative efforts that all will see the essential nature of religion to our nation. Elder Cook said,

Our joint effort should be to protect important civic values like honesty, morality, self-restraint, respect for law, and basic human rights. An important study established, “The associations between religious freedoms and other civil liberties, press freedoms, and political freedoms are especially striking.” If we fail to diligently protect religious freedom, we risk diminishing other important freedoms that are important both to society and to us.

 

Our challenge is to help people without religious faith understand that the protection of moral principles grounded in religion is a great benefit to society and that religious devotion is critical to public virtue.

Our challenge today is to make sure that God is still great in America today—and that our children understand why it really matters.

Several men at the heart of the Oregon standoff are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and cited religious convictions as one of the reasons for their actions, shining a spotlight on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well its history, scripture and some of its beliefs. Ammon Bundy said God inspired his actions. Media outlets have cited early Mormon conflicts with the federal government as rationalization for the actions of the militia members who are Mormon. (It is unclear how many are Latter-day Saints.) The Church of Jesus Christ, however, denounced the actions of the Mormon militants, saying in its statement:

While the disagreement occurring in Oregon about the use of federal lands is not a Church matter, Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. We are privileged to live in a nation where conflicts with government or private groups can — and should — be settled using peaceful means, according to the laws of the land.

The militia members, however, may very well have a legitimate beef with the federal government. Food and Ag correspondent Tim Philpott of Mother Jones wrote:

… The armed and angry men behind the fiasco are pointing their rifles at a real problem. In short, the ranchers who supply the United States with beef operate under razor-thin, often negative profit margins. … It’s not hard to see why grazing rights are an issue. Ranchers’ struggle for profitability gives them strong incentive to expand their operations to increase overall volume and gain economies of scale. …

 

To scale up, ranchers need access to sufficient land. And in the West, land access often means obtaining grazing rights to public land through the Bureau of Land Management. Hence the bitter dispute playing out in Burns, Oregon: The ranchers accuse the federal government of ruining their businesses through overzealous environmental regulation of that public land.

Their methodology, however, is flawed. As one editorial by the Oregonian Editorial Board stated:

Bundy’s unlawful action badly politicizes a legitimate concern spanning the ideological spectrum that the government’s management of public lands is in need of review and possible overhaul.

However just the cause may be, the actions of the militants in the Oregon standoff are not. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

There is great strength in being highly focused on our goals. We have all seen the favorable fruits of that focus. Yet an intense focus on goals can cause a person to forget the importance of righteous means. …

This is perhaps the case here. Elder Oaks said,

There are some citizens whose patriotism is so intense and so all-consuming that it seems to override every other responsibility, including family and Church. I caution those patriots who are participating in or provisioning private armies and making private preparations for armed conflict. Their excessive zeal for one aspect of patriotism is causing them to risk spiritual downfall as they withdraw from the society of the Church and from the governance of those civil authorities to whom our twelfth article of faith makes all of us subject.

Mormon history offers a unique perspective on the situation with the government and the militia groups in Oregon—and the importance of maintaining righteousness in the pursuit of our causes.

Respect for Law and Others is Our Greatest Protection

The early days of The Church of Jesus Christ are often associated with mob violence and conflicts with government. Rather than offering an excuse to continue this behavior, the Mormon experience illustrates the terrible consequences of not respecting the law and our neighbors. Elder M. Russell Ballard said,

Our pioneer ancestors were driven from place to place by uninformed and intolerant neighbors. They experienced extraordinary hardship and persecution because they thought, acted, and believed differently from others. If our history teaches us nothing else, it should teach us to respect the rights of all people to peacefully coexist with one another.

Although the early Latter-day Saints endured much persecution and hardships, the prophets and apostles continued to preach love, respect and tolerance for others. They also preached obedience to the laws of the land. President Joseph F. Smith, who had witnessed the violence and persecution of the early Latter-day Saints, said of someone who had expressed contempt for the U.S. Constitution:

Latter-day Saints cannot tolerate such a spirit as this. It is anarchy. It means destruction. It is the spirit of mobocracy, and the Lord knows we have suffered enough from mobocracy, and we do not want any more of it. … We cannot afford to yield to that spirit or contribute to it in the least degree.

President Smith was speaking from sad experience. An essay by The Church of Jesus Christ states,

In 19th-century American society, community violence was common and often condoned. Much of the violence perpetrated by and against Latter-day Saints fell within the then-existing American tradition of extralegal vigilantism, in which citizens organized to take justice into their own hands when they believed government was either oppressive or lacking. Vigilantes generally targeted minority groups or those perceived to be criminal or socially marginal. …

 

The existence of community-based militias also contributed to this culture of vigilantism. Congress passed a law in 1792 requiring every able-bodied male between 18 and 45 years of age to belong to a community militia. Over time, the militias turned into the National Guard, but in early America, they were often unruly, perpetrating acts of violence against individuals or groups perceived to be opponents of the community.

The experience of the Latter-day Saints is a cautionary tale of vigilante justice—when small groups of armed men take the law into their own hands. Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ, and his brother Hyrum were killed by an armed mob. A group of Mormon men were slaughtered at a place called Haun’s Mill by another group of angry men. And in Utah, an entire wagon train of immigrants were massacred by a mob of Mormon settlers. Of this terrible tragedy in Mormon history, President Henry B. Eyring said,

The gospel of Jesus Christ that we espouse abhors the cold-blooded killing of men, women, and children. Indeed, it advocates peace and forgiveness. What was done here long ago by members of our Church represents a terrible and inexcusable departure from Christian teaching and conduct. We cannot change what happened, but we can remember and honor those who were killed here.

And we can remember the tragic consequences that can result when we seek to use violence to try to obtain what we think is right. Obedience to law is not only one of the tenets of our faith, it is a protection for us. President Smith said,

Let us do right, keep the laws of God, and the laws of man, honor our membership in the kingdom of God, our citizenship … in the nation of which we are a part, and then God will sustain and preserve us. …

 

If patriotism and loyalty are qualities manifested in times of peace, by just, temperate, benevolent, industrious and virtuous living; in times of trial, by patience, resistance only by lawful means to real or fancied wrongs, and by final submission to the laws of the land, though involving distress and sorrow; and in time of war, by willingness to fight the battle of the nation,—then, unquestionably, are the “Mormon” people patriotic and loyal.

From the beginning, Mormons believed in obeying the laws of the land. They were not always protected from persecution and mob violence, but they were blessed by the Lord. Elder Ballard said,

The early years in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were years of great testing. Leaders who survived these early days … were perhaps thereby enabled to survive the almost insurmountable trials of crossing the plains and establishing the Church in the Rocky Mountains. … We owe much to the pioneers and must never forget that the success of today is built upon the shoulders and courage of the humble giants of the past.

 

Speaking of our faithful pioneers, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said: “It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us is a pioneer in his [or her] own life.”

From the persecutions and hardships that the early Latter-day Saints suffered came an unfailing desire to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ, in all things—and to build up the peaceable kingdom of God on the earth.

The Importance of Voting in Elections

This is an election year, and if the Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff highlighted one thing for me, it is the importance of voting. We need to study up on the issues and then vote for the candidate we feel is the best one for the job. This is an essential aspect of our civic duty. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

I have been alarmed at the steady decline of voter turnout in many parts of the United States, including Utah. Voting is a fundamental right and responsibility that must not be taken for granted. Political participation can be inconvenient. It requires sacrifices of time and resources, but it is essential to our democratic society. Without substantial voter turnout, the people abrogate the great fundamental of popular sovereignty.

John W. Welch, at the time a professor at BYU’s J. Rueben Clark Law School, said,

Rights and duties go hand in glove with each other, for with all rights come duties. I think this is because with all rights come powers and privileges, and with
powers and privileges come duties. …

 

But this is decidedly not the way people usually think about rights. The world usually thinks that, because I have a right, someone else has a duty, namely to protect or fulfill my right. While that is true enough, at the same time, if I claim a right, power, or privilege, I also acquire a duty as its necessary flip side.

 

I have no doubt that the 20th century will go down in history as the
century of rights: voting rights, workers’ rights, civil rights, human rights, privacy rights, disability rights, and many more. With these rights in place, I can only hope that the 21st century will someday go down in history as the century of duties: civic duties, human duties, fiduciary duties, religious duties, environmental duties, and duties to future generations. I yearn for the day when we will have a Bill of Duties to go with our Bill of Rights. … How many rights can the world support without all people assuming commensurate duties? The point is not to take rights away but to recognize the duties that are inherent in those very privileges.

It is our privilege to live in a country in which we have the freedom to vote in elections, run for a government office and participate in how our community runs. The early Latter-day Saints understood the importance of exercising their civic duty and voting. It was also part of the reason that they were driven from state to state, but they would not be deterred. They firmly believed in the Constitution and in the United States. Even after they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, they honored their country. President Boyd K. Packer said,

On July 24, 1849, the Saints had been in the valley two years to the day. They finally were free from years of mobbing and persecution. That called for a great celebration. … With almost nothing to work with, they determined that the celebration would be a grand expression of their feelings.

 

They built a bowery on Temple Square. They erected a flagpole 104 feet (32 m) tall. They made an enormous national flag 65 feet (20 m) in length and unfurled it at the top of this liberty pole.

 

It may seem puzzling, incredible almost beyond belief, that for the theme of this first celebration they chose patriotism and loyalty to that same government which had rejected and failed to assist them. What could they have been thinking of? If you can understand why, you will understand the power of the teachings of Christ.

Citizenship Requires Us to Stay Informed and Involved

Being a good citizen does not mean sitting idly by while the government does what it will. In the United States, being a good citizen means being involved and staying informed—within the bounds of the law. Elder L. Tom Perry said,

… All members of the Church should be committed to obeying and honoring the laws of the land in which they live. We should be exemplary in our obedience to the governments that govern us. The Church, to be of service to the nations of the world, must be a wholesome influence in the lives of individuals who embrace it, in temporal as well as spiritual affairs. …

 

As Church members, we live under the banner of many different flags. How important it is that we understand our place and our position in the lands in which we live! We should be familiar with the history, heritage, and laws of the lands that govern us. In those countries that allow us the right to participate in the affairs of government, we should use our free agency and be actively engaged in supporting and defending the principles of truth, right, and freedom.

This requires active participation on our part. Lawrence C. Walters, at the time a professor in the BYU Romney School of Public Management, said,

Active engagement in the functioning of government and in addressing community concerns is an inherent responsibility of our citizenship and demands our best efforts. …

 

This is a weighty thought—that we are each personally responsible for our society…. We are each accountable for the quality of governance in our communities and nations. But we are not asked to bear this responsibility alone. Our lives are interconnected with others’. Our capacities are enhanced and our possibilities expanded through cooperation and collaboration. Because of our shared responsibility and because we are so much more effective together than we are individually, as active citizens we must actively engage with others.

 

We must cultivate the ability to participate in collective reasoning…. Such reasoning involves joining with others to identify issues and concerns, giving and receiving information, and taking counsel together. In this process citizens actually listen to others with a desire to understand their views. They ask questions they don’t know the answers to. They respect others, and they respect the decision process.

Taking over a national wildlife refuge by force is not in the spirit of good citizenship. While there may be real issues and concerns regarding federal land policy and governance, these issues can’t be addressed when the federal government is trying to protect its citizens from armed intruders. Rather than creating a dialogue, it is inhibitive of it. Professor Walters said,

There is no question that serious deliberation with people we don’t agree with can be slow and frustrating—especially if we want the Lord’s help, because then we have to get rid of all those unkind thoughts so that the Spirit can be unrestrained. My experience suggests that we make much more progress when we put aside the idea that people who don’t agree with us are ignorant of the facts, stupid, or evil and focus instead on what we have in common. Whether in the kingdom or in our society, active citizens must strive to synthesize and reconcile conflicting views, values, and priorities. This is not easy to do, even in the Church. It requires that we place the well-being of all on an equal footing and that we always balance the common good against individual claims.

The federal land use issue isn’t an easy one. There are many competing interests for the use of it. We live in a small mountain community in Idaho—a state where about half of the land is under federal control. There are ranchers, skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, hikers, bikers, horseback riders and ATVers (just to name a few) all vying to use the same areas. It takes compromise, an open dialogue and a lot of work to address these issues. It also takes responsible citizens who are willing to obey the laws of the land—even if they don’t like them or agree with them. Working together for the good of all is what makes America great. Taking the law into our own hands undermines this effort. This is what Mormon history has taught us.