Professor at BYU Law and Distinguished Fellow at Wheatley Institute
March 07, 2025
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English | French | Portuguese | SpanishI was born in Iran and grew up speaking Persian. When my family moved to America, I was seven and I didn’t speak any English. Before I went to school, my parents taught me two words: “yes” and “no.” I remember going to school trying to carefully remember these new words and my teacher instructing me very quickly on what to do. As she looked at me waiting for a response, I thought in my mind: which of those two words should I say right now? I often said the wrong one inadvertently, and my choice had unpleasant consequences. This experience reminds me of a monumental choice we all made before we were born.Before we came to Earth, Heavenly Father called a Grand Council in Heaven to present His plan for our salvation and exaltation. We learned at this council that Heavenly Father wanted us to come to Earth to receive bodies and learn how to become more like Him.Lucifer rebelled against God and proclaimed that he could save everyone.i
Elder Larry R. Lawrence teaches that Lucifer may have tried to convince us with arguments like: “It’s impossible to make it back clean.” “There’s too much risk.” “How do you know you can trust Jesus Christ?”ii
Christ volunteered to suffer for us in Gethsemane and on the cross — providing us an opportunity to return to the presence of God. Jesus wanted to protect our freedom to choose, which meant that some of us would not choose to come back to live with our Heavenly Parents.God chose Jesus as our Savior; He wanted us to have agency. Our Heavenly Father wanted us to be able to choose to return and not be forced to do so. But then we had a choice too. We could choose Jesus or Lucifer.One third of our spirit siblings sided with Lucifer and left, never receiving a body. Instead, they came to Earth, where Lucifer became Satan and, with these lost spirits, works to remove our agency. By now they have accumulated “thousands of years of experience” deceiving, tempting and trying to destroy the rest of us.v
Before my family immigrated to America, my mother was a political activist, fighting for freedom in her country. Her government did not allow her the freedom to worship God or speak freely. One day, military personnel barged into our home and arrested her while I was sitting on her lap. She went to prison for two-and-a-half years for fighting for freedom. Not long after she was released, my family left Iran and moved to California so my father could do medical research.In California, my father met a nurse named Maryam. Maryam had a prompting to talk to my father about the church she belonged to. She bravely invited our family to her church’s Christmas party. That is how my family found Jesus Christ.Even though, as a child moving to America, I appreciated the different varieties of candy and chips that were now available to me, the greatest gift from my move to America was my ability to learn about my Savior, Jesus Christ. My mother prayed that God would lead her to a religion that would bring her closer to Him, and He guided her to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through miracles, my family joined the Church and, based on that decision, I was able to remain in America to practice my faith freely. I cannot overstate the gratitude I have for my freedom to worship God “according to the dictates of [my] own conscience.”viii
x
Articles of Faith 1:11; Governments cannot “exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience…” (Doctrine and Covenants 134:2).
My greatest joy has stemmed from my opportunity to join the Church of Jesus Christ.Because of one woman’s courage to share her precious faith, I have been sealed to my family in the holy temple of God. I have five children who know Jesus Christ, and I am blessed by the power of the priesthood of God in our home. I also have the blessing to teach at BYU and study how religion changes people’s hearts, helping them leave lives of crime and drugs.ix
x
I am grateful that I live in a time and culture where I am able to prioritize my relationship with my children while also having the ability to teach about religious freedom and criminal justice reform; see Quentin L. Cook, “Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 88
My decisions to become baptized and make sacred covenants in His temple were not the first time I chose Jesus Christ. And if you’ve joined the Church of Jesus Christ, you have also chosen Him before.The battle in heaven was a “war of conflicting ideas” where “Satan sought to destroy our agency.”x
Any of us earthly parents with children who have walked away from faith know the pain of seeing our loved ones follow dark paths. God likely experienced a sadness we cannot comprehend as He lost so many children all at once. God did not prohibit one-third of His children from leaving. He let them walk away from the only everlasting joy that can exist: a covenant relationship with Him and His Son.God loves us so much that He gave us the gift of freedom.xii
The ability to choose Him and to choose Jesus. He lost many of His children because He offered us our agency. We learn through this agonizing decision that God does not want any of us to be forced to choose Him. Though God “has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding,”xiii
He did not and does not use His power to stop us from choosing other paths. Indeed, God wants us to obey because we love and trust Him, not because we are compelled or fear Him.xv
x
Jesus Christ is the guardian of our freedom to choose faith — our agency. He will not force us to choose God, but He will guide us lovingly through His example, forgiving us when we fail and patiently nudging us to turn back to Him when we fall short. But Satan is also very real, actively plotting to destroy our agency in preventing us from choosing Jesus Christ and even compelling religion upon people through force; see Doctrine and Covenants 29:39
And the battle for agency in faith is ongoing here on Earth. “We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men [and women] are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it….”xvi
x
This is, of course, “unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others” (Doctrine and Covenants 134:4).
Satan is still spreading falsehoods about the freedom to choose religion. Indeed, there are places where some religions are prohibited or exercise of them is severely limited, where laws forbid changing faiths, worshiping at a church building is not an option, and where people are arrested for reading holy scriptures. I have observed that in countries where a government-imposed religion is enforced, punishing people for not fasting or dressing modestly, people often revolt from faith rather than choosing it. Even where freedom exists to share one’s faith, Satan will make people afraid to share their testimony with others where contrary secular viewpoints are shared freely. Satan shames us from publicly acknowledging God or praying where others might be present.I have never felt the Holy Spirit more powerfully as a lawyer than when I traveled to a federal prison in New York to represent my incarcerated client who was unable to pray according to the dictates of his faith. There I was: a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints representing an orthodox Jewish rabbi, who was restrained from praying in obedience to Jewish law. Under the Talmud, praying in a prison cell is forbidden since it is considered unclean as there is a toilet in each cell that is not separated from the living area.xvii
x
See Talmud, Berakhot 25a; see also Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 79–80; Deuteronomy 23:14–15
Our client asked prison officials to provide him a clean place to pray each morning and was denied, against constitutional mandates that should have protected his right to pray. While sometimes I worried about the financial resources we dedicated to a client who paid nothing for our legal services and the three hours of travel time each consultation required, I felt the Spirit powerfully testify to me that any time I spent to help an incarcerated man of another faith was time spent using my legal skills to do the work of God. I was helping a brother to worship, and I felt that God was pleased. Because of the laws existing that protected free exercise of religion, the case was successful, and our client was finally allowed to pray outside of his cell.As disciples of Jesus Christ, we can be defenders of religious freedom. President Dallin H. Oaks has instructed us to join forces with other people of faith when there are challenges to our religious liberty.xviii
We do not need to agree with our brothers and sisters of different faiths on everything, but as Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt of the Seventy has instructed, “[God] prefers … inevitable differences among his disparate children [to] be resolved amicably.”xix
x
Ahmad S. Corbitt, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Annual Fireside (Jan. 21, 2022); President Oaks continues, “All that is necessary for unity is our shared conviction that God has commanded us to love one another and has granted us freedom in matters of faith.” (“Four Ways to Strengthen Religious Freedom,” Jul. 20, 2022), newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Some of you live in places where you cannot share your faith freely without negative repercussions. Sometimes all we can do is pray for a change in policy or government to allow for people to worship freely. In these circumstances, you can quietly live your covenants and let those around you see your joy and, through your light, be led to our Savior.But many of you live in countries where you’re free to worship. You’re free to proclaim your love of God and your Savior and to practice living your covenants freely. For those of us in this number, we can follow the admonition of our Savior to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength — with every word that we speak and every action that we take in public or in private.xx
We can love Him fully and openly and speak boldly of our faith and the ultimate source of all our happiness.Some of you travel more than an hour by foot to worship God at church each Sunday, like some of my friends did when I lived in Malawi. Some of you sacrifice financially and give up entertainment or even some essentials to choose Jesus Christ each week. I know that God delights in your devotion and rejoices when you continue to renew your covenants with Him. Our decision to go to church immensely blesses us.When my family moved to America, my parents left a comfortable life for one where we had freedom but very little money or possessions. I remember driving around with my parents at one point, looking for old mattresses discarded on the side of the road on which to sleep since we had no furniture. I will never forget one Christmas. A sister from church came to our house and noticed we did not have a Christmas tree or any presents. Because we had never celebrated Christmas before joining the Church we had no understanding of this tradition. A few days before Christmas, there was a knock at our door and there stood members of our church community who had brought a Christmas tree with lights and handmade ornaments, food, and presents for all of us. I will never forget the Christian love of our ward family who “open[ed] their arms to those in need ... seek[ing] no recompense,” as Elder Ronald A. Rasband has described members of the Church caring for those who have very little.xxi
It was and continues to be a blessing in my life to be served by and to serve my brothers and sisters at church.Academic research from the Wheatley Institute and others demonstrates that across the world people who regularly go to church are more charitable,xxii
There is also invaluable learning from participation at church. We learn how to get along and love others who are different from us; we learn to be patient and forgive and grow spiritually to become better people.xxx
My favorite part of attending church is strengthening my relationship with my Savior and feeling the exclusive peace that comes from One who understands all of our pains, our weaknesses, and loves us unfailingly despite our “favorite sins.”xxxi
Our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has instructed us to study the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ every week for the rest of our lives.xxxii
As I reflect on the love Jesus Christ has for every one of us, I realize it is incomprehensible. It is immeasurable. The language I grew up speaking, Persian, can be very dramatic. For instance, when you are speaking to your spouse, instead of saying “my dear” or “my honey,” you will say joon, which directly translated means “my heart and soul and being.” Or if you are trying to show your love to a cute niece you would say jigareto bokhoram, which directly translated means “I’ll eat your liver.”With that context, there’s another phrase that is quite beautiful, which is fadayet beram. It is a commonly used phrase you would say to a dear friend or family member to express love. Directly translated, it means “I would sacrifice myself for you.” While this is a beautiful way to express a deep love for someone close to you, most people would not feel this way about a stranger. While this phrase may seem exaggerated between ordinary people, it is not inflated when it comes to our everlasting Savior.Jesus Christ was willing to sacrifice His own body, His own life, His own will, so that each of us could be saved and return to be exalted with our Heavenly Parents. He was not only willing and volunteered to offer His body for us but He submitted to physical torment, being scourged, wearing a crown of thorns, and ultimately dying in one of the most painful, tortuous ways humans have invented. All of this He did for every single one of us because none of us are strangers to Him. And even with the pain He suffered and the blood that spilled from each of His pores, He stands back and allows us freedom to choose Him. He never forces. He never compels. He has no resentment when we turn away but only divine sorrow.As we study Christ’s Atonement, might we remember that when Christ stepped forward as our Savior before we came to Earth, He did it in part to protect our freedom to choose Him. Before He became our beloved Deliverer and Redeemer and “author and finisher of our faith,”xxxiii
He was the guardian of our agency. He did it so we could be free to choose Him: for us to enjoy the light and security of walking hand in hand with Him throughout life or the despair of being wrapped by the cords of Satan that, thread by individual thread, entrap us to suffer in hopeless darkness.xxxiv
Jesus Christ’s perfect love includes His protection of our divine agency, and, as His followers, we can be guardians of agency, working to allow others these inviolable freedoms He fought so hard to protect. May we protect the freedom of religion for all, even those who do not choose faith. And may we cherish our decision to choose our Liberator, Jesus Christ, premortally and continue to choose Him today, tomorrow, and always. I pray in His beloved name, amen.
