Spread Liberty, Spread the Gospel

Spreading Liberty is one of the best means to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who spread liberty lay the path that missionaries and members can then walk on to carry forth the gospel. It is also a path into countries that are not yet open to the gospel, or where it is illegal to proselyte.

There is a powerful relationship between countries that are relatively freer and the spreading of the gospel, which can be illustrated by recent data. Empirically there is a positive trend between a country’s economic freedom and the number of latter-day saints, temples, and missions in that country. One way to gauge this relationship is by using an index of economic freedom and comparing the number of church members and other measures to indexed countries. The Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation have the Index of Economic Freedom, with the 2009 version covering 183 countries measured by 10 “freedoms.” The report defines economic freedom as

“. . . the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. In economically free societies, governments allow labor, capital and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself.”

The economic freedom index shows that those nations with more economic freedom are without a doubt more prosperous and wealthy. For the purposes of this article, however, it is useful to compare those countries ranked highest and lowest to the presence of the Church in those countries. The Church’s presence in economically free countries is unmistakably and understandably greater than its presence in less free countries.

Countries with higher scores of economic freedom have a greater number of latter-day saints (cumulatively), and those with lower scores have fewer latter-day saints. Table 1 shows the fifteen countries that scored the highest and lowest on the economic freedom index. In the bottom fifteen only four countries had any latter-day saints while in the top fifteen every country had at least some amount of church members. In total, there are 7,164,595 saints in the top 15 countries and only 186,407 in the bottom 15 countries.

The country ranked as most economically free, Hong Kong, is a striking example because of its close relationship-yet dramatic contrast-to China. In China the Church is restricted in its preaching, there are hardly any members (it is not listed under “statistical information” on www.newsroom.lds.org), and it has no temples. Yet over the past ten years membership in Hong Kong has nearly doubled, and in 1996 the Hong Kong temple was dedicated as a reflection of the growth of the Church in that area. These two countries are similar in many ways, yet they are vastly different in their economic freedom: Hong Kong is ranked first while China is almost in the bottom quarter of economically free countries (153^rd).

The presence of temples in a country is an important measure to relate to economic freedom. As Elder David A. Bednar taught in the recent General Conference, “. . . in the ordinances of the holy temple we more completely and fully take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.” Do economically freer countries have more temples? Ten of the top fifteen economically free countries in Table 1 have temples; of the bottom fifteen only Venezuela has a temple. The number of missions in a country is also a useful measure. In the top 15 countries there are a total of 144 missions; in the bottom 15, only 6 missions. Even excluding the US, the top 15 countries have 38 missions.

Table 1   A country’s economic freedom and LDS population

Assuming the above illustrated general positive relationship between economic freedom and the presence of the church in a country, the questions may be asked, “Why does this relationship exist? How does economic freedom relate to religious freedom?”

Economically free countries, as measured by the index, give individuals more control over their own property, including their labor, i.e., their own bodies. In socialist or communist arrangements the logical conclusion of such a property-less system is that no one owns his or her body, making a mockery of individual agency.

Additionally, a natural consequence of the idea of property ownership is the necessarily connected gospel principles of responsibility, accountability and stewardship over our actions. Without the possibility of property ownership-or the State’s continual threat of removing ownership-individuals tend to blame others for their actions. In contrast, property owners tend to feel responsible for their actions, which increases individuals’ desire “to act for themselves and not to be acted upon” (2 Ne. 2:26).

Another benefit that comes from recognizing property rights is the economic idea of (production and) exchange, where exchange is essentially trading the property right to own a good. Trading with others opens up the means to make exchanges and respect others’ property. Obviously the individual who must provide everything for himself, i.e., produce and consume his own food, will have a much more difficult time achieving prosperity. Prosperity most easily comes through specialization and the division of labor, production and exchange, savings and investment-recognizing that people are endowed with different talents and abilities, and born into different geographical locations. Economic freedom allows one to see the fruit’s of one’s own labor, thus illustrating the law of the harvest.

Also, because economically free countries are more prosperous, their inhabitants can expand their time horizon beyond a hand-to-mouth existence. In other words, contemplation of the future-beyond mere sustenance, and without the near-constant threat of starvation-allows individuals to progress from temporal needs to a reflection and pondering of spiritual needs. It also allows individuals to have more time to serve others.

These are merely a few of the important reasons why Church members should understand the importance of economic freedom and promote liberty. Of course, economic freedom does not necessarily cause religious freedom or inevitably lead to the growth of the Church. Yet, as the evidence shows, there is no doubt a strong positive relationship between economic freedom and the growth of the Church in a country.

It should be no surprise that the Church tends to flourish in freer countries. The empirical evidence shows that there are more members, temples, and missions in economically free countries. Liberty-promoters should seek to spread the idea of an individual’s freedom and right to act and not be acted upon, which allows them to have the opportunity to take responsibility and be held accountable for their actions. The Truth can set us free from both spiritual and physical bondage (John 8:31–32; Gal. 5:1). In short, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Gospel of Liberty.