A Basic Human Right

There is something that is very prevalent in today's world. Something that I would like to address. I would like to talk about religious freedom. What is it? Why is it Important to know NOW? And how can we work to preserve religious freedom as a society?

WHAT IS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?

In short, it is the ability to worship how, where, or what you may without fear of persecution or discrimination. This means you are able to worship freely in public and in private. You have the right to voice your beliefs and others have the right to do the same. As a missionary, I exercise this right every day that I go about the work to teach people about the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This means that individually we can come to know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. We can pray to Him and talk with Him. We can see our families being blessed by founding them upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. And we can do all of this without being judged, persecuted, or discriminated against. Religious Freedom is a basic human right and is outlined and protected in the First Amendment of the United states Constitution. Many people who disagree with the beliefs of others try to silence any voice that is contrary to what they believe. But in a society that has a lot of moral issues, it is more important now than ever to remember that most peoples morals are based on their core beliefs, their religion, whether they identify with one or not. By keeping this blog and posting on Facebook as a missionary, I am exercising this religious freedom. Even as missionaries, we let every person we teach know that they have the agency, the free will, to accept or reject what we have to teach based on their experience with prayer, church attendance, and reading the Book of Mormon. Religious Freedom DOES NOT give us the right to practice discrimination. We need to respect others beliefs, but are not obligated to accept them as our own.

WHY IS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SO IMPORTANT?

As I said above, religious freedom is a basic human right. Nobody can tell you how to believe. You must discover for yourself what you believe. In the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni shows his readiness to fight for his religious freedom when he rents his cloak and writes upon it what many know as the Title of Liberty. It says, "...In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children..." (Alma 46:12). Religious Freedom gives us the right to stand up for what we believe, even if what with believe may be unpopular. It is the right to remind people that there are laws and statutes written in stone by our God that cannot be changed, even if they are legalized. But most of all, it is the right to worship in the way that pleases us. This means that there can be many different denominations and you are free to convert to any one of them. The United States of America was built upon a foundation of religious freedom. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ could not have happened any other time than the year 1820 when Joseph Smith, then 14 years old, asked a question and had a vision in which he saw the resurrected Christ at the right hand of God, the Father. (For more info on this, click here) Until after the war of 1812, which was the last war fought on American Soil, there was no country in the world that had religious freedom after the death of Christ's apostles. If you remember back to European History, there was persecution for those who spoke out with their own beliefs. Religious Freedom protects our right to what is stated in the 12th Article of Faith. "We claim the privilege of worshiping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscious and allow all men the same privilege to worship how, where, or what they may." Finally in 1820, there was a place where religious freedom was allowed and religious freedom was what people practiced. This was when Heavenly Father knew that the Restoration of the Gospel could come forth again. This is the example of religious freedom that has touched my life the most. Without the restored gospel, I would not be here on my mission, writing this blog post, and so passionate about religious freedom as a whole. I know that this country as established on these principles for the purposes of the Lord. 

HOW DO WE PROTECT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?

We need to be educated on the subject itself. I have been reading in the Old Testament about Moses taking the Children of Isreal out of Egypt. I think of Pharaoh and his tyrannical rule and the fact the Hebrew slaves were washed free of their religion as they were in bondage. This was a period of time that the Children of Isreal were oppressed. When religious freedom is taken away in any age, oppression follows. There is a simple way to prevent oppression, persecution, and discrimination and that is to stand up for what we believe. Let's not let the adversary win this battle. Let's take what we know to be true and defend it.

Let's go back to Captain Moroni for a moment. He was willing to defend his religion and fight for the right to worship his God. Why shouldn't we feel the same? And if you don't know if there is a God, you have the right to get down on your knees and ask Him if He is there. You have that right. I challenge each one of you to do just that. Ask God if He is there and if He has a wise purpose for allowing the establishment of a country with religious freedom so that His true church could be restored. But don't take my word for it. Learn for yourself at  mormon.org and feel free to ask me any question in the comments below. I want to help you to know for yourself. You can learn through the power of the Holy Ghost. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, you can know the truth of all things." (Moroni 10:5). Simple as that. You can learn for yourself, but you have to start by learning. I hope you exercise your religious freedom and give it a whole-hearted and sincere try.

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond