In the Deseret News, there was an article posted an article in which it referred to a talk that Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave on February 25 to members in Rexburg Idaho. He challenged each of us to, "Stand as a Witness of God" He addressed the inability to have free exercise of religion and admonished believers everywhere to unite and
"to insist upon our constitutional right to the free exercise of our religions," As well as standing as a witness of God, and of absolute truths. He suggests three ways we can do this:
First, "In our private personal and family prayers we should ask God to help us and our neighbors and leaders recognize God our creator and the right and wrong established by his commandments," he said. "We should do this for the good of his children everywhere.
Second, Elder Oaks tells us to "counter the diminishing mention of religious faith and references to God and his blessings in our public discourse." To do so, "we should speak truthfully of the fact that this nation was founded by persons and leaders who were predominantly Christians and who embodied the principles of their faith in the constitution, laws and culture of this nation" and "contend for the inclusion in textbooks and teaching in school settings of accurate accounts of great historical documents that recognize and invoke the blessings of God in the founding and preservation of this nation."
And third, "We need to support the coalitions of religious leaders and God-fearing people who are coming together to defend our nation’s traditional culture of belief in God and the acknowledgement of his blessings."
Elder Oaks, has made a bold, and true statement that I think we all need to hear. Standing as a Witness, doesn't mean we sit in the background and watch as our religious freedoms are taken away, and God is taken out of our lives. We need to bring up, in everyday conversation, our religion, stand for what we believe in, and never get close to the line of evil.
Sources:
By Emma Miller
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