Freedom of religion has been, and still is, an essential moving force in the grand experiment of American democracy. Planting that principle of religious freedom in early America brought about two profound results—the rejection of a “divine right of kings” doctrine, and breaking the 1,500-year European tradition of upholding a state-established church.[1] And with that, a heritage of self government, not to mention distinctly different congregations, sprang up. Yet no one could take freedom of religion for granted. Baptists, Catholics, Jews, Mormons and others have all faced, at one time or another, overt prejudice and serious attempts to curtail their liberties (sometimes coming from fellow religionists). Yet looking back over the long narrative of American religious history and the experience gained, the principle of religious freedom is prevailing.

“What’s that?” I asked my friend Lehi, pointing at the large, silver ring on his index finger. Lehi is a talented artist and a Native American of Navajo descent.

When A Deaf person comes to Salt Lake City to watch a live session of General Conference, the LDS Church goes through great lengths to make sure that the Deaf person can enjoy General Conference in American Sign Language.

To many Americans, Mormon theology seems an impenetrable stew of biblical literalism, weird relics and a supernaturalism so aggressive as to border on science fiction, stirred together by a parade of shady self-declared prophets, from the frontier polygamist Joseph Smith to the complacent, dark-suited elders who run the church today. "Plutocratic oligarchs," Harold Bloom labeled them: men (all men; women are barred from participation in the Mormon priesthood) either cynically manipulating the religion for personal gain or themselves taken in. Does this confection make the religion a cult, as commentators as wide on the spectrum as the evangelical Baptist Robert Jeffress and the acerbic atheist Christopher Hitchens have speculated?

There is no doubt that 2020 has been full of physical and emotional challenges, some of which have had profound global effects. But what if there was a good challenge that could come out of this year? Something that would help you grow spiritually and maybe even change your life? In this week’s lesson, we’re going to dig into 3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi to uncover a spiritual challenge based on these chapters that will help bring you closer to Christ.

As Latter-day Saints, we strive to build Zion on earth, but what does Zion really mean? Here are eight different meanings of Zion that can help you understand it better.

Tucked into a corner of Old Town San Diego is a place where people of all ages can step back in time and discover some unsung heroes. At the Mormon Battalion Historic Site, visitors learn about the only religion-specific military unit in American historyand what motivated their 19th-century trek from Iowa to California. The recently remodeled site offers a fun, interactive experience for the whole family.

America is famously religious, but also famously illiterate of religion. Only about half of Americans know, for example, that the Quran is the holy book of Islam or that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist. So why is Modesto School District the only one in the nation requiring students to take a world religions course? Part of the problem is widespread misunderstanding regarding U.S. law. According to a 2010 Pew Forum survey, nearly two-thirds of Americans erroneously believe that the Constitution forbids public schools from offering a course on religion.

A deadly combination of intense summer heat and dry terrain has resulted in a massive outbreak of wildfires throughout the American West threatening land, homes and lives of people in the endangered areas. According to firewhat.com, each state in the Western region, with the exception of Washington and Oregon, is suffering from at least one wildfire, some with as many as nine fires burning within state boundaries.

For most of American history, voters wanted their president to be white, Protestant and male. But such prejudices have eroded — dramatically, in some cases. The last Democratic presidential primary contest was between an African-American and a woman — two groups that many voters once ruled out for the presidency. While a sizable share of voters still would refuse to support any gay or atheist candidate for president, those numbers also have dropped significantly, according to the most recent Gallup poll on the subject. But in a trend that may prove troubling to Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, nearly one-fifth of voters surveyed nationwide told Gallup last year that they would not support a Mormon for president — about the same as when Romney's father, George, ran for president more than four decades ago.