The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — my church — is asking its members to fast and pray that religious freedoms will be strengthened worldwide. In a March 12 letter, the faith’s governing First Presidency is putting its weight behind every good and appropriate opportunity to celebrate America’s founding documents as our nation celebrates its 250th birthday.
Religious freedom around the world is in terrible shape and needs every prayer of relief. But the First Presidency’s letter is about religious freedom in America. Its focus is America. We are to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. …
But those documents are only as good as the people who live under their protective umbrella. Even closer to reality, those documents are only as good as the individual judgments of nine persons sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court. And it always has been so.
As a Latter-day Saint, I know our founding documents were inspired to help create a safe place from which to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. But before we get too excited about this First Presidency request, we should pause for a moment to align the request with a few realities.
