Latter-day Saints church hosts religious freedom panel on National Day of Prayer
Janene NielsenBy Zaira Perez Staff Writer [email protected]
Prayers surrounding peace, acceptance, and love echoed through the chapel at a local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday evening during an interfaith service to celebrate the National Day of Prayer.
The National Day of Prayer was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman as a day to invite people of all religious backgrounds to pray for the country. It’s celebrated annually on the first Thursday in May.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 3000 Old North Road held a panel discussion on religious freedom and offered dinner and an interfaith service.
About a dozen people attended the discussion on religious freedom at the church in Denton, but the room grew to about 50 during the interfaith prayer service.
During the discussion, the panelists spoke of the importance of religious freedom and what it really means.
“Religious freedom is more than just a freedom to believe in what you want,” Calvin Griffin, president of the Denton Texas Stake. “It’s also the freedom to talk about and act on your core beliefs, without interference from government or others except when necessary to protect health and safety.”
Other panelists included Denton City Council member Deb Armintor, Clay Thurmond of the Denton Zen Group and Bill Benac, the president of the DFW Alliance for Religious Freedom.
The moderator, Dr. Abraham Benavides from the University of North Texas, said it’s important for religious people to band together in light of all the attacks at churches, mosques, and synagogues over the last few years.
Read the rest of the story at The Denton Record Chronicle
