President Russell M. Nelson’s death at 101 marked the loss of “one of America’s most consequential religious leaders,” not merely for the 17.5 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he led, but for “all who cherish religious freedom, civil dialogue and the possibility of unity across profound differences,” wrote two individuals in a piece published Tuesday on RealClearReligion.org.
Neither affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ, individuals Tyler Deaton and Tim Schultz — both co-chairs of a coalition seeking to advance fairness for all policies — expressed that working beside the church’s members on some of the nation’s “most contentious” issues over the last decade, they have come to “deeply appreciate a commitment to the common good that President Nelson’s life exemplified.”
“President Nelson’s fierce commitment to protecting religious liberty safeguarded the rights of millions who would never share his faith — including those who disagreed with his church’s teachings,” Deaton and Schultz wrote.
The two later stated President Nelson “understood that in America’s constitutional framework, the freedom of one faith community is inextricably linked to the freedom of all.”
They said, “America owes Russell M. Nelson a debt for modeling what American pluralism at its best can achieve: not a weak consensus that papers over differences, but a strong framework that allows profound disagreements to coexist within bonds of citizenship and shared humanity.
“In our fractured moment,” they continued, “we need more leaders who, like Nelson, hold fast to their convictions while extending genuine love across the divide.”
