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Day: May 15, 2022

Your Most Important Identity + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: President Nelson tells young adults to focus on three fundamental truths, including ‘who you are’ Tad Walch—Deseret News President Russell M. Nelson told a worldwide audience of young adults that they have three primary identities 1) Child of God 2) Child of the Covenant 3) Disciple of Christ. You can read more of our coverage. USCIRF Calls on Iran to Remove Restrictions on Golrokh Iraee Following Release from Prison United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Iran has released religious prisoner Golrokh Iraee from prison. She had advocated for the end of stoning. She continues to have travel and speech restrictions, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has called for those restrictions to be removed. Being a Political Journalist Made Me a Better Christian Jon Ward—Christianity Today Yahoo’s Chief National Political Correspondent writes about how his career in journalism has helped him increase his faith. His journey is useful to all people of faith seeking to find a way to balance their interaction in the public square with their convictions and relationship with Christ. 5 Ways Pastors Can Care for Those Struggling with Sexual Identity Carl R. Trueman—Crossway Carl Trueman, author of the new book Strange New World, has written about ministering to those dealing with issues of sexual identity. His article is directed to pastors but is applicable to all folks looking for a way to navigate these issues in a caring and Christian context. Making Sense of the Racist Mass Shooting in Buffalo Isaac Chotiner—The New Yorker The New Yorker has a useful explainer of what influenced the senseless racist shooting in Buffalo. By Common Consent has a take on how Latter-day Saints might appropriately approach the kinds of media that influenced the shooting.

C.D. Cunningham May 15, 2022

“Black lives matter! That is an eternal truth.”

In mourning in the wake of the racist hate crime mass shooting in Buffalo, we are reminded of the words of Dallin H. Oaks at BYU a year and a half ago. “Black lives matter! That is an eternal truth.” Reports are currently suggesting that the shooter engaged in this act specifically to kill black people because of the color of their skin because he was afraid his own race was losing power. If these reports prove to be true, it is a despicable act. It mocks the Christian faith his despicable manifesto claims he wants to protect. As Latter-day Saints, our scriptures teach of many anti-Christs who teach damnable philosophies, and then murder to try and make them come to fruition. This murderer then joins a list of anti-Christs—a man who pulls people away from Jesus by perverting the gospel of peace. President Russell M. Nelson’s well-timed words the day after the attack remind us that we are all children of God. This senseless murder took the lives of ten children of God. Rather than allow ourselves to be desensitized to the racism around us by the constant calls of those who have diluted this idea, we should each work to root out the hate, racism, and identity politics that motivated this killing from our nation, communities, and our own hearts. The murderer hoped that his killings would intimidate those who looked like his victims. We pray this is not the case. We need all of our neighbors to feel comfortable, confident, and safe in their communities. We must do our best to stand shoulder to shoulder in ensuring that these intimidation tactics will not succeed.    

C.D. Cunningham May 15, 2022

Social and Cultural Implications of Russell M. Nelson’s Remarks

Sunday night President Russell M. Nelson spoke to members of the Church 18-30 years old. In his remarks, he encouraged young adults to not allow any other labels to come before three primary identities: Child of God Child of the Covenant Disciple of Christ He clarified that other identities can be important, but that there are significant eternal risks for allowing anything else to obscure our view of these core sacred identities. Certain voices online warned before the remarks that they would be “hurtful,” “terrible” or require cleaning up. Presumably, this is out of the growing perception that the plain teaching of the restored gospel is now harmful to those who identify among one of the “marginalized groups.” At Public Square, we are interested in how our convictions intersect with core issues being discussed publicly. So his remarks remind us that some of the top political columnists in the U.S. believe, “All politics is identity politics.” If our public discourse hinges so much on identity, is it any surprise that this is the topic the Lord would most want us to get right? His remarks have wide-ranging applications. One he addressed directly is political labels. We, of course, have published frequently, and as recently as last week, about the need for unity among Saints. Deprioritizing our political identities can help with this. President Nelson also remarked that if we prioritize other identities, we can inappropriately judge those who have chosen differently than us. He touched on many topics relevant to our discourse in the public square. He warned against prejudice and abuse on the basis of nationality, race, education, sexual orientation, gender, and culture. As we focus on our primary identities, not only can we improve ourselves, but that we can improve our relationships with others by focusing on their nature as a child of God first and foremost as well. That can also help unify us with Latter-day Saints by further recognizing our shared identity as children of the covenant and disciples of Christ. We hope that President Nelson’s remarks will have the effect of increasing discipleship, reducing prejudice, and increasing unity.

C.D. Cunningham May 15, 2022

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