3
Nephi 2:12
The Light of Freedom Burns Brightly
“All of us can be
involved by making certain the light of freedom burns brightly within
our own souls.”—Elder L. Tom Perry, “Family
Traditions”
What
12 Therefore,
all the Lamanites who had become converted unto the Lord did unite
with their brethren, the Nephites, and were compelled, for
the asafety of
their lives and their women and their children, to take up arms
against those Gadianton robbers, yea, and also to maintain their
rights, and the privileges of their church and of their worship, and
their freedom and their bliberty.
Why
They had to fight to
maintain their safety, rights, religious freedom, freedom in general
and their liberty.
Pattern
Alma
58:12
12
And we did take courage with our small force which we had received,
and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and
to maintain our
lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the
cause of our liberty.
Christ-
Jesus sets us free
through living the gospel and the atonement.
- Stand … in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free: Gal. 5:1 . ( Mosiah 23:13 ; Alma 58:40 ; Alma 61:9 ; D&C 88:86 . )
Conference
By
Elder Robert D. Hales Of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
This
is Easter Sunday: a day of gratitude and remembrance honoring our
Savior Jesus Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection for all mankind.
We worship Him, grateful for our freedom of religion, freedom of
assembly, freedom of speech, and our God-given right of agency.
As
prophets foretold about these latter days in which we live, there are
many confused about who we are and what we believe. Some are “false
accusers … [and] despisers of those that are good.”1Others
“call evil good, and good evil; [and] put darkness for light, and
light for darkness.”2
As
those around us make choices about how to respond to our beliefs, we
must not forget that moral agency is an essential part of God’s
plan for all His children. That eternal plan, presented to us in the
premortal Council in Heaven, included the gift of agency.3
In
that Grand Council, Lucifer, known as Satan, used his agency to
oppose God’s plan. God said: “Because … Satan rebelled
against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the
Lord God, had given him, … I caused that he should be cast
down.”4
Through
our faith in Jesus Christ, believing in His Atonement, repenting of
our sins, and being baptized, we may then receive the supernal gift
of the Holy Ghost. This gift provides knowledge and understanding,
guidance and strength to learn and gain a testimony, power, cleansing
to overcome sin, and comfort and encouragement to be faithful in
tribulation. These incomparable blessings of the Spirit increase our
freedom and power to do what is right, for “where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.”8
As
we walk the path of spiritual liberty in these last days, we must
understand that the faithful use of our agency depends upon our
having religious freedom. We already know that Satan does not want
this freedom to be ours. He attempted to destroy moral agency in
heaven, and now on earth he is fiercely undermining, opposing, and
spreading confusion about religious freedom—what it is and why it
is essential to our spiritual life and our very salvation.
There
are four cornerstones of religious freedom that we as Latter-day
Saints must rely upon and protect.
The
first is freedom to believe. No one should be criticized, persecuted,
or attacked by individuals, or governments either, for what he or she
believes about God. It is very personal and very important. An early
declaration of our beliefs regarding religious liberty states:
...
The
second cornerstone of religious liberty is the freedom to share our
faith and our beliefs with others. The Lord commands us, “Ye shall
teach [the gospel to] your children … when thou sittest in thine
house.”11 He
also said to His disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature.”12,,,
The
third cornerstone of religious liberty is the freedom to form a
religious organization, a church, to worship peacefully with others.
The eleventh
article of faith declares,
“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the
dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege,
let them worship how, where, or what they may.” International human
rights documents and many national constitutions support this
principle.
The
fourth cornerstone of religious liberty is the freedom to live our
faith—free exercise of faith not just in the home and chapel but
also in public places. The Lord commands us not only to pray
privately13but
also to go forth and “let [our] light so shine before men, that
they may see [our] good works, and glorify As we face increased
pressure to bow to secular standards, forfeit our religious
liberties, and compromise our agency, consider what the Book of
Mormon teaches about our responsibilities. In the book of Alma we
read of Amlici, “a very cunning” and “wicked man” who sought
to be king over the people and “deprive them of their rights and
privileges,” which “was alarming to the people of the
church.”15They
were taught by King Mosiah to raise their voices for what they felt
was right.16 Therefore
they “assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every
man according to his mind, whether
it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much
dispute … one with another.”17
In
these discussions, members of the Church and others had the
opportunity to come together, experience the spirit of unity, and be
influenced by the Holy Ghost. “And it came to pass that the voice
of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king.”18
As
disciples of Jesus Christ we have a responsibility to work together
with like-minded believers, to raise our voices for what is right.
While members should never claim or even imply that they are speaking
for the Church, we are all invited, in our capacity as citizens, to
share our personal witness with conviction and love—“every man
[and woman] according to his [or her own] mind.”19
Our
Savior’s Second Coming is drawing nearer. Let us not delay in this
great cause. Remember Captain Moroni, who hoisted the title of
liberty inscribed with the words “In memory of our God, our
religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our
children.”21 Let
us remember the people’s response: exercising their agency, they
“came running together” with a covenant to act.22
My
beloved brothers and sisters, don’t walk! Run! Run to receive the
blessings of agency by following the Holy Ghost and exercising the
freedoms God has given us to do His will.
I
bear my special witness on this special Easter day that Jesus Christ
used His agency to do our Father’s will.
Of
our Savior, we sing, “His precious blood he freely spilt; His life
he freely gave.”23 And
because He did, we have the priceless opportunity “to choose
liberty and eternal life” through the power and blessings of His
Atonement.24 May
we freely choose to follow Him today and always, I pray in His holy
name, even Jesus Christ, amen.
“‘Who
will redeem the earth, who will go forth and make the sacrifice for
the earth and all things it contains?’ The Eldest Son said: ‘Here
am I’: and then he added, ‘Send me.’ But the second one, which
was ‘Lucifer, [a] Son of the Morning,’ said, ‘Lord, here am I,
send me, I will redeem every son and daughter of Adam and Eve that
lives on the earth, or that ever goes on the earth.’ ‘But,’
says the Father, ‘that will not answer at all. I give [unto] each
and every individual his agency; all must use that in order to gain
exaltation in my kingdom; inasmuch as they have the power of choice
they must exercise that power. They are my children; the attributes
which you see in me are in my children and they must use their
agency. If you undertake to save all, you must save them in
unrighteousness and corruption.’” (Discourses
of Brigham Young, sel.
John A. Widtsoe, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941, pp. 53–54.)
As
these spirits have come forth from the council in heaven to take
their “turn on earth,” they are still desiring their free agency,
and in fact, they are willing to sacrifice for that freedom. We are
witnessing today remarkable events occurring throughout the world:
evidence of the strength of man’s desire for freedom. The history
of man’s mortal experience would indicate that the desire to be
free has spiritual roots.
Apply
How
is our freedom being challenged today? In so many ways that it
boggles the mind. We should be aware of these struggles and do all
we can to preserve our freedom and to use our agency to do good.
Exercise our freedom to worship and to share the gospel of Jesus
Christ today. Live our religion to the best of our ability. Let us
always remember to thank the Lord for these freedoms that we do have.
Hymns
Know
This, That Every Soul Is Free (#240)
Children
The
Eleventh Article of Faith (#130)
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