DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds visited the annual Interfaith Breakfast in the State Capitol Rotunda on April 14, sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in collaboration with the Iowa Catholic Conference and the Des Moines Area Religious Council.
Reynolds addressed the crowd of more than 150 people and signed a proclamation designating the day as Iowa Religious Freedom Day.
“Iowans believe that our freedoms are safer when our religious beliefs are strong and free,” she said in remarks before reading and signing the declaration.
The audience included leaders of Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, and other faiths. Elder Kurt L. Hodges of the Area Seventy represented The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He then met with Latter-day Saint youth, taught them how to get involved in civic activities, and participated in a service project at the Des Moines Area Religious Council’s food bank.
Build a foundation of respect and understanding
Imam Nermin Spahic of the Bosniak Islamic Cultural Center in Granger, Iowa, said, “It’s a great pleasure for me as a believer and as a human being to be a part of this great event. It’s very important that your neighbor can be Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or of any other faith. You just have to spend time together. That’s how understanding grows.”
Pastor Micah Freese of the Interfaith Neighbor Network, a Southern Baptist minister, was the keynote speaker. “We may disagree strongly and violently on issues of theology, ethics, salvation, and truth. But if we start with a fundamental belief that all people are created with dignity, worth, and worth, we can build a foundation that can withstand even the most intense disagreements. And this makes all the difference.”
Pastor Freese went on to explain, “If I’m not allowed to express my whole, authentic, self-belief self, then I’m not in a real relationship with you and you’re not in a real relationship with me. I’m just playing a role. I’m just an actor. And if we all do that, we end up with a hollow unity that we can’t stand when we have real disagreements.”
Father Basil Hickman of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Des Moines, Iowa, agreed: “I really liked what Micah said, that we come from different backgrounds and we don’t have to agree on everything, and that we can be very comfortable with our particular religious traditions, but we need to respect each other as human beings.”
The audience witnessed the opening gavel at the Iowa State Senate, where a prayer written by Brian C. Parks, president of the Des Moines and Mount Pisgas Iowa Stake, was read aloud by state Sen. Sarah Tron Garriott. Congressman Rob Johnson read it in the House of Commons.
Youth at the Capitol Service Event
After breakfast, about 50 Latter-day Saint youth gathered to receive instructions on how to request a meeting with their elected officials during the legislative session, many of which could be done late in the morning. Tron Garriott and Congressman Eddie Andrews also shared advice on why it’s important to get involved in civic engagement. The young man met with Pastor Freese and Elder Hodges to further discuss how to respect the faith of others without hiding your own faith.
The service project was scheduled to coincide with Iowa Religious Freedom Day as well as World Youth Service Day, and on April 15, a semi-truck full of food was scheduled to be delivered to the Des Moines Area Religious Council food bank as part of the church’s effort to donate to 250 food banks in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The youth helped stock shelves, pack food boxes for distribution, clean inside and outside the facility, wash windows, and even pack dog food for family pets.
Alex Peters, a young man in the Church Council Bluffs Iowa Stake, said of the service project, “Jesus served others, and by serving others, I am serving Jesus. It makes me feel great.”
— Susan Sims is communications director for churches in Iowa and western Illinois.
