On Wednesday, Sept. 25, more than 100 leaders from a variety of religious traditions demonstrated the friendship that comes by following President Russell M. Nelson’s invitation to “interact with others in a higher, holier way.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted an interfaith symposium in downtown Chicago, Illinois, with the theme “Peacemakers Needed,” the topic of President Nelson’s talk in April 2023 general conference. Speakers and attendees shared how to promote peace in a world filled with conflict.
According to a Sep. 30 press release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, the symposium included talks from representatives of seven faiths, as well as two moderated discussions to draw audience participation.
Speakers shared topics from the value of listening to creating spiritual unity among religions. They discussed understanding cultural differences and practices, doing more than just talk about peace, and educating both mind and spirit to connect with others.
Members of Jewish, Muslim, Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, Baptist, Zoroastrian, Latter-day Saint and other religious traditions gathered to learn and foster greater understanding of one another. And demonstrative of their desire to treat others with compassion, they ended with stronger bonds of friendship too.
Messages of peace at the event
Elder Corbin Coombs, an Area Seventy from Schaumburg, Illinois, thanked the leaders in attendance for coming and “locking arms with us.”
“You are all included in our prayers,” said Elder Coombs. “We are so grateful for you.”
Steven T. Collis, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, shared traits he has found in peacemakers and ways to elevate conversations with others. He encouraged listeners to be open to change, spend time getting to know others and assume that people mean well.
“Reminding myself how little I know about the one field that I am an expert in always makes me want to learn more from the people I talk to,” Collis said.
He emphasized intellectual humility, saying peacemakers recognize they “know almost nothing about most of the things people argue about.”
Imam Hassan Mostafa Aly, director of MedGlobal’s Humanitarian Faith Initiative, cited the Quran’s teaching on believers being peacemakers. “Being a peacemaker,” he explained, “means reaching out to those who are different from us, who are worshipping in a different form, looking different, speaking in a different way.”
He said that peacemaking “means more than advocating for peace. It means actively working to restore justice, to uplift the oppressed and to promote understanding between people.”
Rabbi Shoshanah Conover of Temple Sholom of Chicago invited attendees to work toward peace even when others have wronged them.
“You should be the pursuer of peace rather than wait for the other person to reconcile first,” she said.
Father Larry Dowling, who led a Catholic parish on Chicago’s West Side, said vulnerability and a willingness to engage more peacefully in conversation are strengths.
“Jesus Christ lived that as He taught,” he said.
‘Love for our fellow beings was expressed by all’
One goal of this interfaith conference was to bring spiritual leaders together to teach one another, said Wilford Wagner, who served as the Church’s area communication director during the planning of the conference.
“Each participant brought a special spirit to the event,” Wagner said. “It demonstrated we have way more similarities than differences. Love for our fellow beings was expressed by all.”
For Devesh Pandit, a Hindu community leader in the suburbs outside Chicago, living peacefully is a key principle of his faith. He said after the event that sharing words about peace must turn into more.
“I could feel the same feeling that everyone has, that we need to put words into action.”
