Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed hundreds of world faith leaders at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., on February 2, stressing that protecting religious freedom is essential to the prosperity of nations.
“There is mounting evidence that religious freedom is a force for building families, communities, and nations,” Elder Nash told hundreds of faith leaders at a luncheon hosted by the church.
Elder Nash continued, “Religious freedom is at stake in many parts of the world. To the extent that religious freedom is embraced, the peoples of the earth and its nations will be blessed.”
More than 90 organizations representing 30 faith traditions participated in the two-day event to discuss strategies to advance international religious freedom, according to a Feb. 4 news release from ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Elder Nash said the topic of religious freedom has personal importance to him because some of his ancestors suffered persecution for their religious beliefs. He recounted the story of his third great-grandfather, Christian J. Larsen, who faced severe persecution for his Danish and Norwegian beliefs. Larsen was one of the first to join the church in Denmark in 1850.
He cited Article 11 of the Church’s Articles of Faith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God as our conscience dictates, and we extend the same privilege to all, allowing them to worship how, where and in whatever they may do.”
Elder Nash said: “We all want the world to be a better place, a place of peace, human dignity, and hope where humanity can thrive.”
He added: “Religious freedom is our first, last, and always best hope for fostering good and worthy principles in people’s hearts and souls. In doing so, we can learn to act together, to differ without demonizing, to disagree without being offended; to work with and build common ground with those with whom we disagree rather than seek to dominate.”
This is the second year in a row that church leaders will participate in the IRF Summit. Elder Ulises Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at the 2025 event.
On February 3, Elder Nash participated in an on-stage panel discussion with other faith leaders at the Global Faith Forum. The panel discussion was led by Baptist pastor Bob Roberts Jr. of the Interfaith Neighbor Network.
“It is an honor to be involved in the work of the Lord, and it is an honor to be able to engage with our fellow brothers and sisters, to dialogue and work together to build common ground, because much good can come from doing so,” Elder Nash said.
“The only real way to achieve this is if we listen to each other, strive to bridge the gap with shared values, mend the gap and then work together. In essence, we should become peacebuilders.”
