While speaking at The Second Global Summit on Religion, Peace and Security in Geneva, Sister Sharon Eubank quoted Joseph Smith as she discussed how to help protect against religious scapegoating and harmful generalizations.
The conference, organized by the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty and the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention, featured high-level keynote speakers as they discussed the need to protect religious minorities amid hate and violence.
Among those speakers was Sister Eubank, the first counselor in the general Relief Society presidency and the director of LDS Charities. Speaking about the recent, unfathomable massacres taken place in places of worship, Sister Eubank discussed the importance of standing with and defending those of other religions with a quote from Joseph Smith:
"'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; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics (or Muslim), or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves.'"
Sister Eubank also shared that blaming individuals, not groups, will help eliminate the "broad-brush speech," or harmful generalizations and scapegoating that causes a cycle of hate and incitement.
"As the incitement continues, it erodes rights and protections until there is criminal violence, as we have all talked about today," Sister Eubank shares, adding, "I challenge every citizen to be able to do something about this. We can always stand up to this broad-brush speech."
Sister Eubank ended her remarks by giving three guiding principles: 1) Include religious minorities in the solution, 2) governments should not use religious minorities for governmental ends, and 3) the best antidote for religious extremism is better religion.
"The best answer to Islamic extremism will be authentic Islam," Sister Eubank said. "Just as the solution to Christian extremism will be authentic Christianity. It will be the best of faith that defeats the distorting versions of religious belief."
Watch Sister Eubank's remarks here beginning at 1:47:50.
