A former
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom told a Virginia audience that \"If we don't talk about religion and politics and their
intersection it is to our peril.\"Robert A. Seiple, speaking at Southern Virginia University's annual education conference, focused on the need for individuals to
make a difference in the world and for neighbors to respect the beliefs of
others.Seiple, an evangelical Christian, spoke in terms that resonated with
Latter-day Saints. \"The true cost of freedom is the sacrifice of Jesus,\" he
said.He encouraged the audience to \"know enough about your neighbor's faith
to show it respect.\" It leads us to be less concerned about that which offends
us, he said. \"When we learn to listen and to respect, our own faith becomes that
much more attractive.\"Seiple also talked about the responsibility we all
have to find ways to improve conditions for people all around the world who
suffer, especially children.\"We have a social obligation beyond the plan of
redemption,\" he said. Citing the parable of the Good Samaritan, Seiple
encouraged his audience to avoid stereotyping others, and asked, \"How
do we handle today's Jericho Road? What can we do to change conditions and
provide options (for those who need our help)?\"Seiple acknowledged that
despite all our individual efforts and those of organizations like World Vision,
which he used to head, there still will be starving children somewhere. But he
finds reasons to hope.\"Someone once asked Mother Teresa how she judged
success,\" he said.\"God hasn't called me to be successful, God has only
called me to be faithful,\" she replied.Seiple said he has hope today for a
better tomorrow because when he wakes up \"God is still sovereign (and) the (Savior's) grave is still empty.\"General sessions inspired by the
conference's theme, \"Let Freedom Ring,\" also featured Douglas E. Brinley,
a retired Brigham Young University religion professor; W. Cole Durham, Jr., BYU law professor and an
expert in international religious freedom law; Rodney K. Smith, president of
Southern Virginia University; and Wendell L. Irby, a senior program analyst at
the Office of the Secretary of Defense and a retired colonel in the U.
S. Air Force.Cole Durham spoke about global challenges
in advancing religious freedom. He shared a status report on religious freedom
worldwide and highlighted countries in which people lack the ability to
publically worship as they wish.\"Partly because of the war in Iraq, but for
many reasons, Christians are fleeing the Middle East,\" he said. \"It is
interesting to note that there is a great reluctance on the part of other
countries to accept refugees or those seeking asylum.\"Durham said
there is a rebirth of fear around religious freedom in Russia and other
countries. In particular, the number of countries with anti-conversion laws is
increasing. In some predominantly Muslim nations, for instance, conversion is
equated with apostasy and is a capital offense, he said.Durham highlighted
the importance of precedent set by international law and the rulings of
international courts.\"The European court is dealing with seven cases of
religious employment, including one involving a member of the (LDS) church,\" he said.
And the church found out about the case almost by accident. \"These cases are
phenomenally significant for religious communities.\"Most countries have
non-discrimination laws, which is a good thing, Durham said. \"The problem is
that people don't think about what this means for religious employers.\"It is
unclear how the court's decisions could affect employment laws for churches,
charities, church-owned media outlets, and religious-based schools. Durham said
that it could become complicated for the LDS Church, for instance, if the law
dictated temple worthiness could not be a precondition for
employment.Douglas E. Brinley, whose book credits include \"America's Hope:
Why Every Other Civilization Has Failed and What We Can Do to Save This One,\"
focused his remarks on a concept from an Old Testament verse: Righteousness
exalteth a nation (Prov. 14:34). He outlined the four groups who have lived
- on the American continent, which is a land of promise:The
Antediluvians, or all those who lived before the time of NoahThe
JareditesThe Lehites/Mulekites
Gentiles/Latter-day
ChristiansThe Lord's stipulations for this land can be reduced to this, he
said: serve God or be swept off.\"For behold, this is a land which is choice
above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or
shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until
the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off\"
(Ether 2:10).Citing scriptures from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and
Covenants that foretell destruction if the inhabitants of this land do not
repent and if they cast the righteous out from among them, Brinley said that
Latter-day Saints have a responsibility to know what is going on in politics and
in the government and to stand up for what is right.He quoted Ezra
Taft Benson, who said, \"This nation will, in a measure at least, fulfill its
mission even though it may face serious and troublesome days. The degree to
which it achieves its full mission depends upon the righteousness of its
people.\" \"We know that the final dispensation will not end in defeat,\"
Brinley said. \"We must be great students of the Book of Mormon that we may be
Latter-day Saints.\"Rodney K. Smith spoke about James Madison's unequaled
role in the founding and establishment of the United States. Madison's part in
the \"temporal restoration\" is comparable to Joseph Smith's role in the spiritual
restoration, Smith said.Considered the father of the U.S. Constitution and
the Bill of Rights, Madison was born in Virginia in 1751 and died 85 years
later. He was only 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed only about 100 pounds,
was frail and often had poor health. Those who knew him called him
Jimmy.Smith emphasized the importance of the Constitution by quoting Elder
Dallin H. Oaks, who said, \"The United States Constitution was the first written
constitution in the world. It has served Americans well, enhancing freedom and
prosperity during the changed conditions of more than 200 years.
Frequently copied, it has become the United States' most important
export.\"Madison, who ultimately served as secretary of state and for two
terms as president of the United States, attended the College of New Jersey,
which later became Princeton, where he received a liberal arts education, Smith
said.Though Madison believed strongly in freedom of religion and that the
multiplicity of sects helped to stave off the domination of one faith over
another, he initially opposed the U.S. Bill of Rights, in part for the way early
drafts dealt with religious freedom.Smith, a former dean of several law
schools and a Constitution scholar, recounted a trip he made to a conference
Poland in the early 1990s to present a paper on equality. His Polish friends
seemed interested only in talking about the rule of law, which helped him better
appreciate its importance.__IMAGE1__Madison saw the rule of law not only as a means to
secure liberty, but also as a method for allowing multiple sects and religious
freedom, Smith said.Wendell L. Irby recalls playing solider as a young boy
in the 1940s. He grew up thinking about the sacrifice of those who served at the
battlefront and the character traits that make them great.In his address,
\"Freedom Is Not Free,\" he said he felt that most Americans have short memories
and have forgotten many of the sacrifices made by Americans who lost their lives
in 38 terrorist attacks between 1961 and 2001.Irby recounted the events of
September 11, 2001, and showed a slide indicating the location of his Pentagon
office just weeks before the attack. Having been reassigned to a different
location at the Pentagon, he choked back tears as he described that his old
office was in the area struck by the nose of the plane that crashed there on
9/11. He said that words cannot begin express the gratitude he feels to the Lord
for sparing his life.Advocating the need for good men and women to rise up
when liberty is threatened, Irby quoted Benjamin Franklin, who said, \"Democracy
is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a
well-armed lamb contesting the vote.\"\"The soldier is that well armed lamb,\"
Irby said.