We were honored to here from Elder Ronald A Rasband on Tuesday, September 15th for our weekly BYU devotional. His teachings covered the topic of religious freedom, which was fitting since according to much of today's society the church and religion in general is losing its place, importance, and rights. Elder Rasband spoke of how we all deserve fairness and freedom, people of all different religious, races and ethnicities, sexual orientations, or class. The world itself appears to be trying to stop discrimination, but by doing so they discriminate against religious people for their beliefs. The LDS church believes in standing for freedom of choice and thinking. We must be fair and sensitive to all groups even when they clash. Agency is a huge part of the gospel and people have the right to make their own choices and live their own lifestyle. A war in heaven was fought for agency! Still, members believe in following God's commandments. There are consequences for our actions and we are accountable for all our choices we make. The Lord seeks to help lift us where we need to go if we are willing to come to Him.
Elder Rasband discussed three things we can to as members of the church and members of society to promote love, fairness, and freedom.
- Try to view other through a lens of fairness- God loves everyone and we must obey His commandment to "love one another." We do not condone sinful actions, but we reach out to all with love.
- Let fairness guide your treatment of others- Christ was fair to all despite their sin, race, or gender. We must respect the principle of agency.
- Stand up for fairness if you see someone's rights being attacked.
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