The following is excerpted from the Church Newsroom. To read the full report, CLICK HERE.
On May 11, 2022, a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined nearly 100 leaders of major world faiths and government ministers of religion gathered in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for a groundbreaking conference entitled Forum on Common Values Among Religious Followers.
The visit by Elder Anthony D. Perkins, president of the Middle East/Africa North Area, is the first by a senior Church leader to an interfaith religious conference inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at the G-20 Interfaith Forum hosted by Saudi Arabia in 2020 but that event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based in Riyadh, the forum was organized by the Muslim World League, led by Secretary-General His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammad bin Abduikarim Al-Issa. In November 2019, Dr. Al-Issa visited the Church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, and he recently visited the Washington D.C. Temple during its open house.
In addition to Elder Perkins, other participants in the forum included:
- Muslim leaders, including Grand Muftis, Ministers of Endowments and Religion, or their equivalents, from dozens of Islamic nations.
- Jewish rabbis from prominent congregations or national organizations in the U.S. and European nations.
- Christian leaders, including a Catholic cardinal, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and representatives from national U.S. organizations of Evangelicals, Methodists and Baptists.
- Hindu leaders from the world’s most prominent temples in India and elsewhere.
- Buddhist leaders from Sri Lanka and other countries.
- Religious scholars from several nations.
Elder Perkins said the forum focused on the importance of religion and the good it can do in society.
To read the full report, CLICK HERE.
