Even as “pluralism” has increasingly become a dirty word in some sectors of American Christianity, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have doubled down on the need for those with divergent views and beliefs to live together peacefully.

That urging has taken the form of sermons on civility, public speeches decrying political polarization and, now, a Sunday school lesson on the nation’s founding.

This coming Sunday, Latter-day Saints from Los Angeles to New York City will assemble in their respective meetinghouses for a special discussion commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Titled “Celebrating the Founding of the United States and the U.S. Constitution,” the outline reinforces the long-taught belief that the founding documents are divinely inspired — but stops short of arguing, as Christian nationalists do, that the country is therefore one established by and for followers of Jesus.

It quotes heavily from President Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice, regarding the need for compromise on divisive issues and avoiding putting people into boxes based on their political beliefs.

And that approach, say two Latter-day Saint legal scholars of differing political persuasions, makes all the difference in a world where growing numbers have come to view members of an opposing political party as the enemy.

“There is a lot of criticism and frustration roiling on both the right and the left,” Katrina Lantos Swett, a human rights advocate, said. “I am wholeheartedly in support of an effort to say [the Constitution] is good work. It’s not perfect work, but it’s inspired work.”

Thomas Griffith, a retired federal judge, concurred.

“The most fundamental thing that the Constitution does is it creates a system of government that shows us how to work together even when we disagree,” he said. “And it only works when you have people who are willing to do what President Oaks says the Constitution requires, and that is” to be willing to tuck in one’s elbows to make room for others at the raucous dinner table that is American democracy.

‘Not…a political discussion”

Sunday’s lesson “is not a history lesson or a political discussion,” the outline admonishes, but “an opportunity to rejoice in ‘the Lord our God, who has redeemed us and made us free’” — a quote found in the faith’s foundational scripture, the Book of Mormon.

Major takeaways include the belief that the nation’s founders weren’t just creating a new type of government when they established freedom of religion. Rather, they were helping to “prepare the way” for Mormon founder Joseph Smith to reestablish God’s one true church.

Another is the all-important nature of “moral agency,” the ability to choose between right and wrong, and the Constitution’s role in safeguarding the principle — and not only for Latter-day Saints.

“I am bold to declare before heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist or a good man of any other denomination,” reads a featured quote from Smith. “...It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul — civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race.”

Embedded in the outline is a 20-minute recorded conversation between apostles D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the governing First Presidency, and Quentin L. Cook. Both are attorneys by profession. Together, they emphasize Smith’s inclusive vision of religious freedom.

“We need to find ways to learn from one another and reinforce the common commitments to hold together and promote stable, pluralistic societies,” Cook states. “We should walk shoulder to shoulder along the path of religious freedom for all, while still exercising that freedom to pursue our distinctive beliefs.”

He and Christofferson also stress that saying the Constitution is “inspired” does not translate to “perfect,” citing the amendments abolishing slavery and giving women the right to vote as evidence of God’s ongoing intervention.

Rounding out the lesson plan is an admonishment against judging others for the way they vote — a plea issued by Oaks in a 2021 General Conference sermon.

“We should never assert,” the quote reads, “that a faithful Latter-day Saint cannot belong to a particular party or vote for a particular candidate.”

Pluralism amid polarization

None of these messages is new coming from church leaders — and all of it is sorely needed, say Katrina Lantos Swett, a former Democratic congressional candidate, and Thomas Griffith, a judicial conservative appointed to the D.C. Circuit by Republican President George W. Bush.

Although the two differ in their political identities, both named the same three worrying trends — political extremism, congressional dysfunction and growing cynicism about the courts.

In this context, they agreed that this message — one that the United States was no historical accident but divinely orchestrated with the specific aim of giving all its inhabitants the right to exercise their God-given agency — is “timely.”

“Even within the church, many find it hard to look at anything except through a highly politicized and therefore highly divided lens,” said Swett, daughter of the late Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress.

In contrast, the president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice said, “this material reminds individuals to take a step back and think about the underlying inspiration behind the Constitution and the underlying hopes behind the establishment of our nation.”

She and Griffith agreed the messages should give pause to the roughly 4 in 10 Latter-day Saints who, according to a 2023 PRRI study, expressed support for tenets of Christian nationalism, such as the belief that laws should be based on “Christian values.”

Griffith underscored the inclusion of a quote from Oaks’ April 2021 sermon on the Constitution calling on listeners to “moderate and unify” on “contested issues,” a point Christofferson focuses on in his recorded remarks.

As Americans work together, Griffith said, “pluralism” becomes the nation’s “superpower.”