by Susan Hinckley
As part of our 250th anniversary observance, U.S. Latter-day Saints are invited to participate in a unified fast on July 5th “to express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray that it be strengthened throughout the world."1
Our 11th Article of Faith says:
“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.”
I believe in religious freedom and wonder why our leaders don’t get a little more specific about what they’re thinking of when they use that phrase. The fact that they don’t leaves room for me to engage with it for myself, and I’m going to take full advantage of that precious mental space.
First, I’m going to call out the fact that when Joseph Smith penned this article, he should have said “people,” but I’ll overlook that and just remind us all that “men” doesn’t really mean “everyone,” and words matter. In 2026, I think we could consider updating language where it would be easy to do so, to reflect current usage and culture.
Secondly, I hope all church members recognize that in order to be real, any religious liberty you publicly proclaim being devoted to must exist for YOU as a Latter-day Saint—inside the Church—as well as for everyone outside it.
Need to change the way you think or talk about God? A She perhaps? A They?
Need to pray using different words? Maybe even completely different practices?
Need to start coming at scriptural interpretation a bit more broadly, and a bit less literally?
Need to ask big questions about stuff, and maybe stop focusing so much on having the answers?
Need to talk about whatever you struggle with…out loud?
Not a comprehensive list of possibilities of course, but I hope you’ll feel at liberty to change, adapt, and grow in your religious and spiritual life in any way your relationships and experiences may call you to do so. Why wouldn’t we take Joseph at his word, secure in the idea that being LDS need not prohibit us from worshiping how, where, or what we may, and according to the dictates of our own conscience?
“When the missionaries were sent out into the different parts of the world, they began loving the people they worked with. This broadened their scope of understanding about what all human beings have in common. They began to understand the concept of ‘Other sheep I have which are not of this fold’ (3 Ne. 15:21).”
—Chieko N. Okazaki (2)
There are things in our culture and history that make religious liberty a naturally resonant topic for Latter-day Saints. I think we’re generally pretty insistent on it for ourselves as a church, and therefore invested in defending it for others.
Allowing all people to find meaning and connection however and wherever they may is a worthwhile goal. Can you love people enough to give them space to express what matters to them, and why it does? Can you get out of the way to let them figure that out for themselves?
What about in a Relief Society lesson?
I wish I’d felt more freedom to think, reason, feel, believe differently, and ask questions throughout my life as a Latter-day Saint—you know, the things humans need to grow and develop spiritually. I’ve been in these pews and classrooms for well over half a century, and if we’re going to make noise about religious liberty as a church, from here on out my noise as a member is going to focus on defending our diversity of thoughts, ideas, spiritual needs and practices from the tyranny of ourselves.
It’s an interesting focus for a fast—I think we generally reach for a fast when we’re hoping to get God’s attention, and in this case we really only need to get the attention of ourselves and the people around us. After all, God doesn’t vote. God also doesn’t keep people in boxes, but some of us are prone to keeping ourselves and everyone else—including Them—in one.
Wishing you a happy July 4th, however, wherever, or whatever you may be celebrating.
Yes!! If we truly believe our own stuff, religious liberty must allow those inside the church to freely assert: “I claim the privilege of worshipping almighty God, according to the dictates of my own conscience…” MY conscience can and should exist among “our” church’s collective conscience, not be replaced by it. Loved your thoughts. 🔥
If the church members really believed their own stuff when it came to the 11th article of faith, it wouldn’t be so difficult to leave. Leaving would be met with “I am so glad you found a way to worship that works for you!” instead of changed relationships and pleas to come back. Even those that choose to no longer worship Jesus should be met with the same respect if members truly followed this supposed tenet of their faith. In actuality, this article of faith must come with a disclaimer saying that allowing others to “worship how, where, or what they may” only applies if that how, where, or what is Jesus Christ on Sundays in a two hour block at an LDS church service.