Former federal Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the importance of religious liberty and political civility

Church News

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.9 • 782 Ratings

🗓️ 30 August 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On July 20, President Dallin H Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offered a keynote address at the 2022 Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit — calling for a global effort to “defend and advance” religious freedom. President Oaks’ address followed other historic remarks on religious freedom and the United States Constitution. This episode of the Church News podcast features Judge Thomas B. Griffith, a former federal judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In addition, Judge Griffith served as Senate legal counsel and then as general counsel for Brigham Young University. A Latter-day Saint, he talks about religious liberty, the powerful possibilities of the United States Constitution and civilly engaging in an increasingly polarized political climate.

The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I don't believe that I've ever heard a more articulate statement of what it means to defend and support the Constitution.
0:15.8	Then the one President Oaks gave in that talk when he said, on contested issues, we seek to moderate and to
0:25.0	unify. And that's something that Latter-day Saints ought to be really good at doing, right?
0:33.0	Our ward structure. We know how to see somebody who's different than us and learn to work
0:41.6	with them and get along with them. Now, can we take that skill that we've developed in our
0:47.9	wards and our stakes and can we take it out to our community? Can we be the ones in our community
0:53.6	who are agents of reconciliation?
0:56.3	I think we have, as Latter-day Saints, we have a distinctive and unique role to play at this moment.
1:07.6	I'm Sarah Jane Weaver, editor of the church news, welcome to the church news podcast.
1:12.2	We are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of the Church
1:17.0	of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1:23.2	Judge Thomas B. Griffith joins this episode of the Church News podcast to talk about religious
1:28.2	liberty, the United States Constitution, and engaging in an increasingly polarized political
1:33.7	climate. Judge Griffith is a former federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
1:39.4	Circuit. Before his appointment to the bench, he worked in private practice in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., served as Senate Legal Counsel and then as General Counsel for Brigham Young University.
1:51.4	A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he graduated from B.Y.U. in 1978 and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1985.
2:01.8	Between his graduation from BYU and his study of the law, he worked in the church educational system where he directed seminary and institute programs in Baltimore, Maryland.
2:12.0	Judge Griffith, we're so grateful that you would join us today.
2:15.5	Thank you. I'm happy to be here.
2:19.0	Well, you were just in Rome,
2:24.5	where President Dallin H. Oaks gave a historic address on religious liberty. His address was titled Religious Liberty Worldwide. So I think we can start today and talk about that topic.
2:30.9	Why should the average person care about religious liberty? Because it goes to the heart of what it means to be a human being.
	...

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