PROVO, Utah — More than 200 objects currently on display at BYU represent the two-century struggle for religious freedom waged in America.
"We need to be reminded that there was a long struggle to establish freedom of religion as a fundamental right in this country," said Randy Olsen, BYU deputy university librarian, of the "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic" exhibit on display in the BYU Harold B. Lee Library through March 15.
Organized by the Library of Congress and brought to BYU in partnership with the Council for America's First Freedom, the free exhibit explores the role religion played in the founding of the American colonies and in the shaping of early American life and politics. This is the final stop for the exhibit, which will be dismantled after it leaves BYU.
"Religion played a pervasive and profound role in American history in the early years," said John W. Welch, the BYU professor of law who organized a weekly lecture series to accompany the exhibit. "Knowing that helps Latter-day Saints to understand the world that was prepared for the restoration of the gospel. It also helps the world to appreciate the great contributions of Joseph Smith and the Restoration toward the strengthening of religious values in world society even today."
Curator James H. Hutson of the Library of Congress said the exhibit is meant to be a thumbnail sketch of American religious history through the 1840s — representing virtually every major religious group.
Objects — including original documents by Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, James Madison and George Washington — represent the struggle fought from 17th-century Europe through early 19th-century America for religious freedom.
Included in the display are James Madison's original draft of Memorial and Remonstrance (1785), setting forth an argument for religious liberty; Jefferson's Act for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786); Madison's original draft of his speech introducing the Bill of Rights (June 8, 1789); and Washington's letter to the Touro Synagogue (Aug. 17, 1790) in support of religious liberty.
The final panel of the exhibit displays items significant to the founding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including a first edition Book of Mormon.
Brother Welch, editor of BYU Studies, said that Church members should not minimize the fact that there are only a few items in the exhibit directly relating to the Church. "Of the thousands of items that could have been included by the Library of Congress," he explained, "they saw the story of Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saint experience as a crucial element in the overall sweep of this exhibition."
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