Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University is a nationally ranked private research and teaching university in Provo, Utah. With more than 30,000 students representing every state in America and many other countries, BYU is the largest religious university in the United States.

One of the unique benefits of being a student at Brigham Young University is the opportunity to attend the school’s regularly scheduled devotionals. Every Tuesday at 11:05 a.m., students, faculty, and staff head to the Marriott Center for the weekly Devotional or Forum address. BYU President Kevin J Worthen and his wife Peggy often kick off the semester. They are followed by members of the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ, BYU employees, and a range of industry leaders and thinkers.

On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, the BYU Devotional hosted Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church. He told the students, “My message today is of the fundamental doctrine of agency – the opportunity to choose between good and evil.”

He continued, “Agency – the freedom to choose – depends upon robust religious freedom.” Speaking of the Church’s 16 million-plus members, he said: “We, as members of the Church, must recognize that the erosion of religious freedom will significantly impact our opportunities to grow in strength and gospel knowledge, to be blessed by sacred ordinances and to rely on the Lord to direct His Church.”

“Choose to feel joy in your very existence as a child of God,” he admonished the students. “You have to look farther than today’s pleasures, disappointments, worldly accomplishments, or current trends to receive needed revelation from God. Do not be fooled; you are not of the world; you are divine.”

Three Keys to Freedom of Religion

According to the Church’s newsroom, Elder Rasband encouraged the students to consider three keys to religious freedom. These include freedom to believe, freedom to live our religion, and freedom to share our faith in Jesus Christ and the knowledge of His gospel with others.

“No one should be forced to compromise what they believe because others may think another way,” he stated. “Because of freedom of religion, I can stand here today and tell you what I believe.” Elder Rasband said that freedom of religion allows students who attend BYU to learn both secular and spiritual knowledge.

“Freedom of religion means you can attend the temples, be sealed as a family, teach gospel principles as outlined by the Lord in your homes and pray to your Father in Heaven and receive personal revelation,” he explained.

Elder Rasband said, “As college students, you can be ‘gathering’ people to the gospel in so many ways. Begin with being an ‘example of the believers’ as described by Paul. Choose to exemplify what you believe ‘in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.'” He continued, “You can be a believer to roommates, spouses, neighbors, work associates, even teachers. You can join in service with ‘like-minded’ believers who are not of our faith but who honor God with their lives.”

He added, “Religious freedom is central to our worship and our work in the kingdom of God. Yet we are seeing the secular world draw boundary lines to set religion and even morality aside.”

Elder Rasband concluded his remarks by inviting the audience to serve others and to share their experiences on social media.