We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
One of the things that annoys me the most about my fellow saints is when they develop a persecution complex on the grounds of religion.
There is a level at which it makes more sense for us than for many other Christian groups.
Remember, I have been reading about how the Bible came to be:
https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-eight-article-of-faith.html
There have been some strong reminders about how people were persecuted for translating and printing and making the Bible available to common people. There were the persecutions that happened in England as monarch changes brought changes in the official religion and piety and devotion to previous (or not yet allowed) religions was not seen as a virtue.
That happened in other countries too. One that affects my family history was the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. It sent my Huguenot ancestors, the Bobier family, fleeing from France. They went first to Ireland, then Ontario, then into New York.
That was 1572, but we also know that many of the people who came to the American colonies to freely practice their own religions were not great about believing other people should have the same rights. Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and lots of Quakers could tell you that.
Except that we think of that as being pre-Revolutionary War. The country with freedom of religion is the one where we have the Mormon Extermination Order issued by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs in 1838, the same year as the Haun's Mill Massacre, and President Buchanan admitting the persecution is wrong but refusing to help.
That seems like a long time ago now, but when I was a kid, the older adults around me probably had relatives they remembered who were affected by that.
I get it.
I am also aware of Catholic churches being burned in Philadelphia in 1844 and pogroms and other persecutions against the Jews in the early 20th century (with worse things coming later, yes), and persecution of Sikhs after 9/11 because turbans... I could keep going.
At some point you need to look around and see that no one is preventing you from going to church, or praying, or doing any of the things that are essential to your personal worship.
They might, on the other hand, prevent you from trying to force other people to live by your beliefs.
Maybe classes in public schools don't say prayers together (which I think would probably be uncomfortable for multiple people) but silent prayers are certainly offered frequently.
Maybe some people aren't allowed to beat their children, or deny their children medical care without facing criminal penalties (though usually the child is dead by the time they talk about charges; it's not a perfect system).
And definitely, your religious beliefs do not allow you to impose rules about love, sex, or reproduction onto other people. Well, they keep trying, but based on law and precedence it should not work.
It doesn't mean that there are no laws ever -- age restrictions regarding sexual partners are one example -- but you do not get to dictate the morality of others, and it is not a coincidence that those most interested in doing so often also tend to be abusive and terrible.
How, where, or what they may. It says it right there.
It's a good thing.
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