In Sydney, Australia, speakers at the University of Notre Dame’s religious liberty conference discussed ways that legal frameworks could help individuals to follow the Savior’s two great commandments — to love God and neighbor (see Mark 12:30-31).
“Loving God and neighbor has never been more important,” said Michael Quinlan, a professor and national head of the School of Law and Business at the University of Notre Dame Sydney, according to the Church’s Australia Newsroom.
Other speakers at the conference April 11-12 emphasized the importance of faith, shared values and religious education. Latter-day Saint Jeffrey Cummings encouraged those of different religions to work together.
“We can do more good together than alone,” he said.
In his remarks, Keith Thompson, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Australia and former international legal counsel for the Church who helped organize the conference, cited a statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith on the same topic: “If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for [a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints], I am bold to declare before heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul — civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race.”
Thompson continued: “It’s not just about tolerance, it’s about loving and respecting one another because we understand them more. To me, tolerance is condescending. Respect and understanding reflect the Savior’s command to love one another.”
Elder Peter F. Meurs, a General Authority Seventy, spoke at the conference a year ago about the need for laws to allow all people to love God and love their neighbor.
Read the entire article at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
