In the News

Elder Oaks Addresses Harvard Law Students

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently addressed students at Harvard Law School during their fifth annual Mormonism 101 Series.

Each year a member of the Church is invited by the Harvard Law School Latter-day Saint Students Organization to speak about the basic beliefs of Mormonism and to answer questions students may have.

Elder Oaks explained the LDS belief in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as three individual beings, separate in identity and unified in purpose. He also explained the purpose of life through a brief account of the plan of salvation.

He offered his testimony of Jesus Christ and the power of the Atonement, saying, “To me, the miracle of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is incomprehensible, but the Holy Ghost has given me a witness of its truthfulness, and I rejoice that I can spend my life in proclaiming it.”

He went on to explain the Church’s reliance on sources of truth, including modern-day revelation and scripture.

“We are not grounded in the wisdom of the world or the philosophies of men—however traditional or respected they may be,” he said. “Our testimony of Jesus Christ is based on the revelations of God to His prophets and to us individually.”

Cardinal Lauds Joint Efforts to Defend Religious Freedom

In the first address given by a cardinal at Brigham Young University, his Eminence Francis Cardinal George said Catholics and Latter-day Saints must stand together in defense of religious freedom in the United States.

“When government fails to protect the consciences of its citizens, it falls to religious bodies, especially those formed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, to become the defenders of human freedom,” he said.

Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressed a group of 12,000 Latter-day Saint students and faculty members in the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, USA.

He expressed his gratitude that “Catholics and Latter-day Saints have come to see one another as trustworthy partners in the defense of shared moral principles.”

Both churches have stood together on issues such as abortion, pornography, and gay marriage, he noted.

“Religious freedom cannot be reduced to freedom of worship nor even freedom of private conscience,” he said. “Religious freedom means that religious groups as well as religious individuals have a right to exercise their influence in the public square.”