In July 2022, President Dallin H. Oaks, then first counselor in the First Presidency, traveled to Rome, Italy, to offer the keynote address at the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit.
When he was asked to offer a blessing on the food during a luncheon at the event, President Oaks included portions of the Lord’s Prayer in his heavenly petition. Uttered just miles from the Vatican, the prayer was a sweet and powerful acknowledgement of Notre Dame University as the sponsoring organization and of the many members of the Catholic faith in the room.
That beautiful, thoughtful, unifying prayer — which concluded with recognizable Latter-day Saint petitions — reflected love, respect, gratitude and reverence.
For me, it was also a glimpse of the grace of a world religious leader.
President Oaks was in Rome to talk about religious liberty. I was touched, however, that during an interview he spoke of religious liberty not only for people of faith but also for people of no faith.
“The only way to make progress on religious freedom worldwide is for people who enjoy religious freedom to think about the circumstances of people who are not religious, who are not believers, who haven’t yet seen the importance or can’t enjoy religious freedom in the country where they live,” he said. “We have got to think about religious freedom for all the children of God. And if we don’t, we’re falling short of what our divine Father in Heaven expects us to do.”
I should not have been surprised. As an attorney, law professor, Utah Supreme Court justice and as an apostle of Jesus Christ, President Oaks has spent his life advocating for the rights of all of God’s children — even those he disagrees with.
Just a year earlier in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Oaks called on religious leaders and organizations to come together and seek a peaceful resolution to the “painful conflicts” between religious freedom and the rights of LGBTQ individuals to live free of discrimination. In the remarks, he urged leaders to care for “each other enough that the freedom and protection we seek is not for ourselves alone.”
We need to live together in peace and mutual respect, he said.
Then in February 2023, after the Church supported the Respect for Marriage Act — which provided needed protections for religious expression while further codifying same-sex marriage — President Oaks spoke up again. This time, however, his remarks were directed to Latter-day Saints. “We see a need to clarify the Church’s position on that new law,” he said.
While the Respect for Marriage Act codified same-sex marriage in federal law, the act also provided needed protections for religious expression, he said. “Putting such protections in the federal law was a big step forward.”
I was struck not only by what he said but also why he said it.
His words were not motivated by politics but to spread understanding. He said some Latter-day Saints had expressed concerns about the Church’s support of the new law, and he wanted to help them by clarifying the Church’s position.
Just as in his other addresses, his words reflected love, respect, gratitude and reverence.
It is hard to think of virtues we need more at this moment in history.
The headlines of the day reveal the opposite. Will the Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal hold? How long will the United States government shutdown last, as Republicans and Democrats appear no closer to an agreement to reopen it? Why is the federal government deploying the National Guard in U.S. cities? Can Russia and Ukraine come together for peace talks?
President Oaks has repeatedly told us that unity and cooperation are the answers.
“Our belief in divine inspiration gives Latter-day Saints a unique responsibility to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and principles of constitutionalism wherever we live,” he said during April 2021 general conference. “We should trust in the Lord and be positive about this nation’s future.”
And on “contested issues,” he urged us to “seek to moderate and unify.”
I remember watching President Oaks during the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit in Rome. He didn’t just give his address and slip out. He took time to listen to other presenters. And he spent time before and after those sessions engaging in conversations with participants.
Moments after being ordained as the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Oaks committed his “whole heart and soul to the service to which I have been called.”
“There is much to be done,” he said, “for our ministry is a ministry of all the children of God on the face of the earth. We pray for all, we seek to serve all, and we invoke the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ upon all who seek to serve Him, to do so in worthiness and commitment and optimism.”
In my own prayers, I continue to express gratitude for a Prophet who is bold, unifying and unfailingly kind.
At a time of confusing and divisive headlines, I will remember his sweet prayer in Rome and look to him for clarity, direction and hope.
— Sarah Jane Weaver is executive editor of the Church News.
