One of the tenets of the Constitution is that of religious freedom. The Founding Fathers thought that to be so vital that they wrote it in to that sacred document.
A few days ago I wrote about one of my ancestors, the first to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At that time, in mid-nineteenth America, Mormons suffered from severe persecution. Their homes were burned; their temples desecrated, their families driven from state after state until they migrated to the Sale Lake Valley. I'm sure those faithful members did not feel they enjoyed the blessings of religious freedom.
However, at the same time, they recognized that if their religion and the church were to grow, to flourish, it could happen only in America. The principles of religious freedom began several centuries earlier with such visionary men as Martin Luther, Tynsdale, and others. They challenged existing beliefs and insisted that holy scriptures should be available to everyone. Those who immigrated to the New Land brought with them these seeds and planted them in the rich and fertile ground of what was to become the United States of America.
So, for today, I am grateful for those who have gone before in giving voice and life to the ideal of religious freedom.
Jane,
ReplyDeleteThanks immensely for sharing your heart of gratitude--and allowing us to peek into your wonderful milestones and memories. And yes, we're grateful to those Greats of the Faith who went before us--and for our homeland of freedom. With an attitude of gratitude, Bobbe
We are so blessed, and yet we hardly ever stop to really think about that, much less offer our thanks to those who have helped us to have these freedoms. Thanks for the reminder!
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