The First Presidency has sent a letter to Church leaders in the United States inviting members to be a part of a “unified fast to express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray that it may be strengthened throughout the world.” This will be held on July 5th, the day following the 250th anniversary of the United States.
In addition, a new video will become available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org in which President D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Quentin L. Cook will teach about the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Wards and branches in the United States are invited to show this video at a fiftth-Sunday screening on May 31. It will probe how these two national documents support religious freedom and moral agency.
In addition service projects will be available throughout the year on JustServe and FamilySearch.
The intense interest in religious freedom for the Church of Jesus Christ lies both in the present and the past. Latter-day Saints were denied their basic human rights as citizens when they were driven from their homes twice in Missouri and again in Nauvoo. The reason was made to clear to them, even in written documents: we do not like your religion and we cannot tolerate you.
When Joseph Smith went to Washington to attempt to get help for the Saint’s situation, he was also interested in the persecution of any religion. This position was also reflected in his 1844 presidential bid.
In his journal of July 9, 1843, he wrote:” If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a Mormon, I am bold to declare before heaven that I am just as ready to die for a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or any other denomination. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul. Civil and religious liberty were diffused into my soul by my grandfathers, while they dandled me on their knees.”
On the January 22, 1840, he wrote a newspaper editor:
“I believe that a religion is instituted of God and that men are amenable to him and to him only for the exercise of it unless their religious opinion prompts them to infringe upon the rights and liberty of others. But I do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men nor dictate forms for public or private devotion. The civil magistrate should restrain crime but never control conscience, should punish guilt but never suppress the freedom of the soul.”
In our day, many of our apostles have addressed public gatherings about the importance of religious freedom. President Dallin H. Oaks was awarded the Canterbury Medal for a lifetime of supporting religious liberty by the Becket Fund.
When he received the award he said:
“The free exercise of religion is the basic civil liberty because faith in God and His teachings and the active practice of religion are the most fundamental guiding realities of life.”
First Presidency Letter
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence throughout 2026. A new video will be available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org in which President D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Quentin L. Cook will offer instruction about the significance of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and related events that enabled the Restoration of the Church. All wards and branches in the United States are invited to use this video during a fifth-Sunday meeting on May 31 to discuss the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and how these documents support religious freedom and our God-given agency.
Additionally, on Sunday, July 5, 2026, all are invited to participate in a unified fast to express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray that it be strengthened throughout the world. Please convey this invitation to members of your stakes, wards, and branches beforehand so they can prayerfully consider the focus of their fast.
Over the course of 2026, members are also invited to participate in service projects and activities associated with the 250th anniversary observance, including projects organized through JustServe and FamilySearch.
Sincerely,
The First Presidency
Dallin H. Oaks
Henry B. Eyring
D. Todd Christofferson
