Tuesday, October 20, 2009
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann names Dallin Oaks to his nightly list of worst people
I got this in my email today. It speaks for itself...
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann names Elder Dallin H. Oaks to his nightly list
of "Worst People in the World" - I knew there was a reason I stopped
watching MSNBC, oh wait.... I never watched it anyway. Olbermann makes a great Korihor.
http://utahpolicy.com/featured_article/lds-church-leader-makes-list-worlds-worst-people
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann names Elder Dallin H. Oaks to his nightly list
of "Worst People in the World" - I knew there was a reason I stopped
watching MSNBC, oh wait.... I never watched it anyway. Olbermann makes a great Korihor.
http://utahpolicy.com/featured_article/lds-church-leader-makes-list-worlds-worst-people
Friday, October 16, 2009
Apostle says religious freedom is being threatened
SALT LAKE CITY 13 October 2009 An apostle for The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints said religious freedom is being threatened
by societal forces intimidating those with religious points of view
from having a voice in the public square. (See the full text of the
speech here)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks made the comments today in a major address to
Brigham Young University-Idaho students on the importance of
preserving the religious freedoms guaranteed by the United States
Constitution.
(See a video of his speech: http://tinyurl.com/yzc4uy6)
Elder Oaks has had a front-row seat in observing what he calls the
"significant deterioration in the respect accorded to religion" in
public life. Prior to his appointment to the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, Elder Oaks had an illustrious law career. He served as a
justice on the Utah Supreme Court, was a professor at the University
of Chicago Law School and Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark
Law School and clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United
States Supreme Court.
Although his address on religious freedom was not written in response
to the Proposition 8 battle over same- sex marriage in California,
Elder Oaks likened the incidents of outrage against those who
prevailed in establishing marriage between a man and a woman to the
"widely condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South."
He said members of the Church should not be deterred or coerced into
silence by threats. "We must insist on our constitutional right and
duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences on public
issues, and to participate in elections and debates in the public
square and the halls of justice."
Elder Oaks also said religious freedom is being jeopardized by claims
of newly alleged human rights. As an example, he referred to a set of
principles published by an international human rights group which
calls for governments to assure that all persons have the right to
practice their religious beliefs regardless of sexual orientation or
identity. Elder Oaks said, "This apparently proposes that governments
require church practices to ignore gender differences. Any such effort
to have governments invade religion to override religious doctrines
should be resisted by all believers."
Noting that the students he was addressing were among the generation
that would face continuing challenges to religious freedom, Elder Oaks
offered five points of counsel:
* Speak with love and show patience, understanding and compassion
to those with differing viewpoints.
* Do not be deterred or coerced into silence by intimidation from
opponents, insisting that churches and their members be able to speak
out on issues without retaliation.
* Insist on the freedom to preach the doctrines of their faith.
* Be wise in political participation, remaining respectful of
those who do not share their religious beliefs and contributing to
reasonable discussion.
* Be careful to never support or act on the idea that a person
must subscribe to a specific set of religious beliefs in order to
qualify for public office.
"Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the
origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the
influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously
jeopardizing our freedoms," Elder Oaks concluded. "I maintain that
this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public
square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must
always be protected by what is properly called our 'First Freedom,'
the free exercise of religion."
Christ of Latter-day Saints said religious freedom is being threatened
by societal forces intimidating those with religious points of view
from having a voice in the public square. (See the full text of the
speech here)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks made the comments today in a major address to
Brigham Young University-Idaho students on the importance of
preserving the religious freedoms guaranteed by the United States
Constitution.
(See a video of his speech: http://tinyurl.com/yzc4uy6)
Elder Oaks has had a front-row seat in observing what he calls the
"significant deterioration in the respect accorded to religion" in
public life. Prior to his appointment to the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, Elder Oaks had an illustrious law career. He served as a
justice on the Utah Supreme Court, was a professor at the University
of Chicago Law School and Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark
Law School and clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United
States Supreme Court.
Although his address on religious freedom was not written in response
to the Proposition 8 battle over same- sex marriage in California,
Elder Oaks likened the incidents of outrage against those who
prevailed in establishing marriage between a man and a woman to the
"widely condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South."
He said members of the Church should not be deterred or coerced into
silence by threats. "We must insist on our constitutional right and
duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences on public
issues, and to participate in elections and debates in the public
square and the halls of justice."
Elder Oaks also said religious freedom is being jeopardized by claims
of newly alleged human rights. As an example, he referred to a set of
principles published by an international human rights group which
calls for governments to assure that all persons have the right to
practice their religious beliefs regardless of sexual orientation or
identity. Elder Oaks said, "This apparently proposes that governments
require church practices to ignore gender differences. Any such effort
to have governments invade religion to override religious doctrines
should be resisted by all believers."
Noting that the students he was addressing were among the generation
that would face continuing challenges to religious freedom, Elder Oaks
offered five points of counsel:
* Speak with love and show patience, understanding and compassion
to those with differing viewpoints.
* Do not be deterred or coerced into silence by intimidation from
opponents, insisting that churches and their members be able to speak
out on issues without retaliation.
* Insist on the freedom to preach the doctrines of their faith.
* Be wise in political participation, remaining respectful of
those who do not share their religious beliefs and contributing to
reasonable discussion.
* Be careful to never support or act on the idea that a person
must subscribe to a specific set of religious beliefs in order to
qualify for public office.
"Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the
origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the
influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously
jeopardizing our freedoms," Elder Oaks concluded. "I maintain that
this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public
square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must
always be protected by what is properly called our 'First Freedom,'
the free exercise of religion."
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