On the subject of religious freedom, I observe that it is essential to protect all people’s access to God.
No one can come to know God in isolation. We discover Him when we first see Him in someone else. That is the essence of religion: to be brothers and sisters in whom others can see the face of God, and to have brothers and sisters in whom we can see Him when we need it.
What creed someone professes is generally just whatever path was the shortest to reach God. Mathematicians use a beautiful word for such a path: a geodesic. When someone professes a creed different from your own, that creed was probably the geodesic between them and God. That creed is how they learned godly feeling, where they first heard the call.
Even when that creed is corrupt, even when a person holds great power and misuses it in obedience to whatever is false in that creed, many of them are still seeking earnestly the touch of God. It was so for Nicodemus, and it was so for Saul of Tarsus.
While we may all hope to find the purest creed possible, we all err. Even if we belong to the truest, purest creed, mankind will still schism internally and misunderstand the will of God.
Religious freedom is essential to preserve the geodesic to God. It is essential for others to be able to discover God in the form most accessible to them. There is a need for true doctrine yes, but the need for contact with God is greater. Mankind will not agree on the truth and we can live with that. But if someone has never felt faith, has never sensed the divine, has never humbled themself before eternal truth, how great is the obstacle for them to learn of God! The godly feeling must be preserved. The chance to learn godly feeling can be denied in many ways. Whether it is secularism, spiritual isolation, or the forceful imposition of an official religion, people will not see the face of God, but the apathy or wrath of man. In all cases, the antidote is religious freedom.
I pray that all will succeed on their geodesic to God and observe keenly His true nature, wisdom, and benevolence. We are all His children. Though His children wound and scar one another, dividing into classes and hateful factions, He will tame all that will let themselves be tamed, and heal all those who will let themselves be healed. Seek the godly feeling necessary to receive His taming and His healing. Take care, and be kind to the fellow journeyman.
Published in part in light of https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-invites-us-saints-to-participate-in-united-fast-of-gratitude-for-religious-liberty.