Free Speech and Spiritual Evolution Need Each Other To Thrive

Why we must fight to preserve our rights to free expression

This article is to serve as a friendly reminder - that freedom and spiritual evolution are intertwined.

Indeed, as one may point out that spiritual evolution leads to more profound human freedom, basic freedoms themselves are needed to bring about the conditions for real spiritual evolution in the first place.

Basic freedoms like free speech, which is directly linked to freedom of religion.

The kinds of freedoms that, through most of human history, have been repressed in all societies throughout the world out of fear.

Because to control the people, you must control their minds, their hearts, and their souls.

And if we’re not careful, those freedoms can become diminished, or even lost, and we can return to an era of spiritual darkness once again.

Fortunately, for Americans, these freedoms are enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.

But that doesn’t mean censorship doesn’t come about in other ways, many of which are unfair.

And while one may argue about the legality of using such tactics, the spirit of them is certainly wrong - and un-American.

Whether it be from giant social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (before Elon Musk turned it into X and transformed it), or from certain bigoted religious communities spreading lies about other peoples’ religious beliefs and ostracizing those who refuse to listen (something I’ve personally experienced), the spirit of trying to actually control people through such tactics is antithetical to the spirit of liberty - and personal spiritual development.

Indeed, in my own religion, it has been written that God has said “all things unto me are spiritual.”

In detail (if I may indulge):

34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created. 35 Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself…” (Doctrine & Covenants 29: 34-35)

And why should he (that is, we) be agents unto ourselves? Because it is through our freedom and our choices that we are able to learn and grow.

But we can’t make those choices if we don’t even understand what those choices are to begin with. If freedom of expression is stifled, many wouldn’t even know the kinds of choices they have.

So the basic freedoms of expression we enjoy as citizens are not only to provide us the ability to affect public policies on matters of state and politics, but on the very matters that affect our daily, personal lives as well. Matters of culture, society, and freedom to express ideas that affect our spirituality, as a community and as individuals.

So when someone or something seeks to shut you up - like a social media platform, local leaders, or a group of political activists - remember that it isn’t just an offense against your liberty as a citizen, it is offense against you as a human being.

There will always be ideas that are politically incorrect or labeled “insensitive.” But we can’t be afraid to let them be discussed out in the open. Often, it is when things are controversial that there is great truth to be discovered, even if only in part.

It is these truths that can change your lives.

The ability to have an open mind and the decency to allow diversity of perspectives, even if offensive, is at the heart of ever free and civilized society.

But freedom is never more than a generation away from being lost, and it is with this understanding that we must vigorously defend our rights to expression in the public square and fight the out of control cancel culture mobs.