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Stop and think about this for a minute, then we’ll circle back and talk about President Russell M. Nelson’s call for peacemakers and Latter-day Saint theology about civility:
Last week, in the second-highest court in the United States, the Biden administration’s attorney general used the term Atonement as he talked about a Latter-day Saint, Republican-appointed, retired federal judge. Also in attendance: Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court.
That’s right, we’re talking about U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the man nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016 but blocked from a confirmation vote by a Republican Senate majority. (Justice Neil Gorsuch later was confirmed for that open seat.)
Yet there was Garland on a weekend with Roberts and four other Supreme Court justices at U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to participate in the unveiling of a portrait of Thomas Griffith, a former BYU general counsel and alum.
Griffith has made a mission of living what he preaches; he emulates civil public discourse. Garland, raised in a conservative Jewish home — his family’s name was Garfinkel until it was changed (note the reference to “Mormon” genealogists in this piece about that) — certainly has a strong understanding of the concept of Atonement, and he invoked it Saturday.
Atonement, Garland said, paraphrasing one of Griffith’s speeches, “is the idea that those things which are separated can be brought together. ... A lawyer can be a tool of Atonement rather than a source of division.”
“Tom believes judges and lawyers as citizens may argue,” Garland said, “but they must do so with the realization that those with whom we disagree are not our enemies, but rather our partners in the great experiment of American democracy.”
For example, Griffith has said, “Those who take an oath to support and defend the Constitution take a solemn vow that they will work for unity and not be agents of division. Those who refuse to compromise for the sake of unity undermine the Constitution.”
Reading the story of Garland and Griffith recalled a few other fascinating recent discussions of considerate discussion:
First, President Nelson called for Latter-day Saints to be peacemakers at the April 2023 general conference. Remember these statements?
- “As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others — especially when we have differences of opinion.”
- “The Savior’s Atonement made it possible for us to overcome all evil — including contention. Make no mistake about it: Contention is evil!”
- “Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to inspired solutions.”
Second, a Jewish intellectual recently talked about what he termed Latter-day Saint “civic theology” as he warned that the deterioration of American Christianity threatens America’s pluralistic democracy.
Jonathan Rauch noted that President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, recently said, “We should not expect or seek total dominance for our own positions.”
President Oaks has made a broad and deep case for civility and compromise across a group of talks that Rauch described as “a sophisticated case for an alignment between God’s moral constitution and Madison’s political one. He sees patience, negotiation and compromise not as means to ends, to be jettisoned if the results seem unsatisfying, but as social and spiritual ends unto themselves.”
Rauch also said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has “something really quite impressive: a fully formed, coherent and scriptural foundation for Madisonian pluralism. It is the polar antithesis of Christian nationalism and Christian dominionism. … It provides an account of Christian citizenship which is not defensive, fearful or self-isolating, but which embraces the messy, frustrating process of negotiation as bringing Americans closer to God.”
(Read a longer summary here.)
Third, I highly recommend this short, quippy video of a Latter-day Saint Republican governor and a Democrat who is the first openly gay man to be elected as a governor.
“We’re here to save your family dinners,” says the former, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
“There’s a healthy way to deal with conflicting opinions,” says the latter, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
My recent stories
New BYU-Idaho president charged to align university with prophetically inspired direction (Oct. 10)
As Israel takes ‘mighty revenge’ on Hamas, classes continue at calm, secure BYU Jerusalem Center (Oct. 10)
How the BYU Jerusalem Center is keeping students safe now that Israel is at war (Oct. 7)
About the church
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve posted on social media Wednesday about how he is coping with the recent death of his wife by drawing strength from his family and his faith in the Savior. He also posted a photo of himself with two new great-grandchildren. (See photo below.)
See a list of invitations issued at general conference.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf dedicated the McAllen Texas Temple. Read the dedicatory prayer.
Elder Ulisses Soares dedicated the Feather River California Temple. Read the dedicatory prayer.
Church leaders will dedicate six temples in 36 days.
Leaders broke ground for the Modesto California Temple.
The First Presidency released the site location for the Budapest Hungary Temple.
Did you like the music at general conference? Watch or listen to 22 songs performed by 3 choirs.
What I’m reading
I’ve tried to reduce the number of stories I share that are behind a paywall, because I know that can be frustrating, but this story about Steve Young coaching his teenage daughters’ flag football team is too good to keep to myself. It is an outstanding piece, written beautifully, insightfully and lovingly, that dives deeply into Steve Young’s career, the calling of fatherhood and the importance of coaches and opportunities for girls in sports.
Two strong BYU football references in this really great piece on the Air Raid offense that you don’t want to miss.
A woman recently won the Nobel Prize in medicine. Her story of the indignities she suffered exposed some problems in American higher education research.
Here’s a perspective on what’s next for the 30-year-old Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The NFL is considering banning the “tush push,” which is when a player in football is stopped but not down and his teammates push him forward from behind. The “play” was illegal, then was made legal for a poor reason, and now the Philadelphia Eagles are famous for exploiting the loophole in the rules with what they humorously call the “Brotherly shove.”
Five women have sued Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard alleging he sexually assaulted them. Ballard denies the allegations. Read stories here and here.
Ironically, given this newsletter’s subject, this story answers the question, are Latter-day Saints the most Republican college students?
Griffith has talked about Atonement in a BYU devotional. He also has rejected partisan contention during a separate BYU forum address. Here is some of what he said in 2012:
- “I distance myself from the foolish nonsense that to be a Latter-day Saint in the United States today requires or even tends toward a particular partisan affiliation.”
- “Disagreement is critical to the well-being of our nation. But we must carry on our arguments with the realization that those with whom we disagree are not our enemies; rather, they are our colleagues in a great enterprise. When we respect each other enough to respond carefully to argument, we are filling roles necessary in a republic.”
Behind the scenes
