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2020-10-20                                                                View this email in your browser  The Eternalist  HAVE A QUESTION? Send an email to: ChristianEternalism@gmail.com Elder Bednar's Alarm Clock ASK YOURSELF A QUESTION Questions are the portals of discovery. What would you answer if you were asked a question such as: Is religious gathering an essential activity? or How can a nation as politically divided as ours ever overcome our ideological differences to become united?  Recent talks by general authorities have had a lot to say about such political questions.  Below are quote highlights from two talks in particular that reinforce many of the principles from Eternalism's politics modules.  ETERNALISM QUOTES      ELDER BEDNAR In the following quote, Elder Bednar uses a metaphor of an alarm clock going off, warning us of our political wake-up call about the delicate nature of religious freedom and how easily it can be lost. "The COVID-19 crisis has presented us with a unique opportunity to reaffirm and shore up religious freedom. We have witnessed the government's swift, well-intentioned, but often dangerous breaching of the boundaries that protect the free exercise of religion. Do we hear the buzzer on the alarm clock? This is a wake-up call for all of us. Those fundamental boundaries and protections must be healed, renewed, and fortified." He also had this to say about the essential nature of religious gathering: "Gathering, in short, is at the core of faith and religion. Indeed, if the faithful are not gathering, sooner or later they will begin to scatter. And because gathering lies at the very heart of religion, the right to gather lies at the very heart of religious freedom. ... While believers and their religious organizations must be good citizens in a time of crisis, never again can we allow government officials to treat the exercise of religion as simply nonessential. Never again must the fundamental right to worship God be trivialized below the ability to buy gasoline." Here is a quotelist with other significant quotes from his talk.        ELDER OAKS In the following quote from the recent General Conference, Elder Oaks describes how only constitutional principles can unite Americans over our political disagreements. "Two Yale University scholars recently reminded us: 'For all its flaws, the United States is uniquely equipped to unite a diverse and divided society. ... Its citizens don't have to choose between a national identity and multiculturalism. Americans can have both. But the key is constitutional patriotism. We have to remain united by and through the Constitution, regardless of our ideological disagreements.'"   Here is a quotelist with other significant quotes from his talk.   SHARE IT?  The world can always use more Eternalists. Forward it to your friends and they can subscribe to the distribution list here: SUBSCRIBE Previous Articles? Review past Eternalist articles here: The Eternalist Eternalism Book? The "Christian Eternalism" ebook is available on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.  It covers everything from the online videos and more.