2021 Spring Conference

Elder L. Whitney Clayton addressed the International Advisory Council (IAC) during its Spring Meeting broadcast from the J. Reuben Clark Law School on Friday, April 2, 2021. Elder Clayton spoke of the value of the Center’s work.  

“[The Center] seeks to bring the hearts and minds of government, academic, and media leaders across the world to a shared respect for human dignity and the religious rights of all mankind, including non-believers,” he said. “It enlarges the understanding of those who are in a position to encourage religious freedom among the peoples they govern, inform, and educate.” 

Elder Clayton also emphasized the necessity of helping believers and nonbelievers listen to each other with a modest respect for and deference to others’ views. 

“Religious freedom, a human right, rests on the foundation of human dignity,” he said. “Human dignity is a recognition that there is divine spark in everyone everywhere. That spark cannot be extinguished. It is part of our humanity.”

Other speakers at the event included BYU Law School Dean Gordon Smith, ICLRS Director Brett Scharffs, and Associate General Counsel of the Church Bill Atkin.