Elder Russell M. Nelson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, (now our Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) spoke at a conference, “Freedom to Do and to Be,” in Kiev, Ukraine, May 27, 2004 on the topic “Religious Freedom: Transition and Globalization”. Part of what he said follows:
“For any person to be blessed by divine law, he or she must be free to obey that law. Similarly, if any religion is to be free it must be free in its own sphere of ethics and morality. It must be free to encourage its members to be faithful and productive members of their communities. To maintain these standards, each religion must be free from governmental interference in matters of doctrine and organization (see Concluding Document of the Vienna Meeting of the representatives of the participating state of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe” [1989], Principle 16d).
Each religion should be free to propagate itself among present and future generations, so long as it does not use coercive or fraudulent means. Its practices should not interfere with the peace of society. Each religion has a right to present its message in an orderly way to all who are interested (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Articles 18-19. How can we have freedom of religion if we are not free to compare honestly, to choose wisely, and to worship according to the dictates of our own conscious? (see Articles of Faith 1:11)….
Therefore, care must be exercised to ensure that government remains truly neutral in matters of religion, not only lip service and constitutional guarantees but also in impartial application of the law. Individuals and institutions are naturally inclined to seek preference over others, but the state must not yield to those inclinations. To discriminate in favor of one religion, using nonreligious labels such as “culture” or “history,” is to discriminate against others. If the state allows dominance of any one religious institution over another, discrimination results, allowing unequal treatment and regrettable restriction of other religious societies. See multiple links from “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”
