Public Address



Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Preserving Religious Freedom

“We must never see the day when the public square is not open to religious ideas and religious persons. The religious community must unite to be sure we are not coerced or deterred into silence by the kinds of intimidation or threatening rhetoric that are being experienced. Whether or not such actions are anti-religious, they are surely anti-democratic and should be condemned by all who are interested in democratic government. There should be room for all good-faith views in the public square, be they secular, religious, or a mixture of the two.”



Elder Dallin H. Oaks testifies before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Oct 2011

“…private sector…essential to preserving pluralism and freedom…”

“…I submit that most Americans would not have us relinquish the freedom and diversity of our vigorous private sector of charities in exchange for the assurance that the government would select and manage their functions. …That private, non-profit sector has always been an important counterweight to the powers and potentially repressive influence of governments. The private sector is essential to preserving pluralism and freedom in our nation.”


Elder D. Todd Christofferson addresses members of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Feb 4 2016

“Law Allows Us to Reach Our Potential…”

“…insofar as humanly possible, man’s laws and legal systems should be tied to and reflect the same purpose as God’s laws—to foster our becoming all that we can become here and hereafter… Rather than seeing law as an instrument of domination, it is our mission to use it as an enabling power to help men and women achieve greater independence and ultimate potential.”


President Gordon B. Hinckley speaks at a Fireside during the annual Provo Freedom Festival, Sunday June 29 1997

“In God We Trust”

“We thank thee for this great and sovereign nation of which we are citizens. Touch the minds of those of our Congress that they shall stand…in defense of the liberty of the people. Bless the chief executive… Let thy spirit move upon him to…lift the burdens of government from the backs of the people and keep this nation under God, a citadel of freedom standing as an example to all the world. Bless the Supreme Court of the United States which in recent days has declared unconstitutional a measure designed to secure the religious liberty of the people of this nation. May a way be found under thy divine inspiration to bring to pass another measure which will be sustained by the court.”