We must preserve freedom of the mind in the church

We must preserve freedom of the mind in the church and resist all efforts to suppress it. The church is not so much concerned with whether the thoughts of its members are orthodox or heterodox as it is that they shall have thoughts. One may memorize much without learning anything. In this age of speed there seems to be little time for meditation. While speak of independence and the right to think, to agree or disagree, to examine and questions, I need to remind myself not to forget that fixed and unchanging laws govern all God’s creation, whether the vastness of the starry heavens or the minute revolving universe of the atom or human relationships. All is law. All is cause and effect, and God’s laws are universal. God has no favorites; no one is immune from either life’s temptations or the consequences of his or her deeds. God is not capricious. [William Evenson, “Evolution,” from Daniel Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Macmillian, NY, 1991.