On July 5, more than 6 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the United States were invited to kneel in prayer and share food for religious freedom, a cause that has defined their faith since the church’s founding in 1830.
The First Presidency calls on members of the Church in the United States to join in a fast that expresses gratitude for religious freedom and calls for it to be strengthened around the world, reflecting beliefs as old as the restored gospel.
Although the current anti-Christian pressures may feel modern, church leaders are no strangers to defending religious freedom.
declaration of belief
Jackson County, Missouri, 1833 – Church members are violently removed from their mansions amidst “anti-Mormon” propaganda and laws in the state.
Two years later, at a general meeting of the church, the elders unanimously raised their hands and approved a new “Declaration of Faith” attached as an addendum to the new book of Revelation.
It is known today as Doctrine and Covenants 134.
This section explained what Latter-day Saints believe about the God-given right to religious freedom and the sacred obligation of members to protect it. It was a direct response to oppressive laws enacted against the church.
Members of the General Conference, held in Kirtland, Ohio, on August 17, 1835, heard what would become the Religious Liberty Document for Establishing Churches. “We believe that no government can exist in peace unless laws are enacted and held inviolate to ensure the free exercise of conscience of each individual, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.”
Verse 4 continues: “We do not believe that human law has the right to intervene in the provision of the rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, or to dictate the forms of public or private devotion…”
at the moment of conflict
Since its publication, Doctrine and Covenants 134 has been helpful to Church leaders during the ebb and flow of political tensions.
President of the Church David O. McKay quoted these words in 1942 during World War II to encourage young people to fight for religious freedom. He also cited this quote in 1952, at the height of the Cold War, when he preached that governments were established by God for the benefit of humanity.
“America was a nation of people who believed in God and had faith in our political and economic systems because we built those systems around His teachings,” he said in his speech.
President Ezra Taft Benson quoted Article 134 in a message commemorating the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “I testify that the God of heaven sent some of his chosen souls to lay the foundation of this government. And now God is sending other chosen souls to sustain it.”
In October 2002 general conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, quoted this passage in his message entitled “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” encouraging Latter-day Saints to resolve conflicts in the midst of war and strife.
core doctrinal beliefs
Once created as a defense against unjust state laws, this section is now a pillar of the church’s faith, so much so that Joseph Smith included its basic teachings in a letter to John Wentworth in 1842.
“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God as conscience dictates, and we extend to all men the same privilege of worshiping how, where, and in what they may worship.” Members now refer to this quote as the Eleventh Article of Faith. This is something that even the youngest children of elementary school memorize.
This statement is one of 13 articles summarizing the core beliefs of church members.
President of the Church Dallin H. Oaks, as First Counselor in the First Presidency, utilized this article of faith in his message to “defend the divinely inspired Constitution” during the April 2021 general conference.
“What else is a faithful Latter-day Saint to do?” he said. “We must pray that the Lord will guide and bless all nations and their leaders. This is part of our article of faith.”
On July 5 of this year, Latter-day Saints across the United States fasted and prayed for the same cause that early church leaders stood for at the 1835 General Conference. This cause is the free practice of religion that church leaders have been fighting for nearly 200 years ever since.
