The Spokane Washington Stake is pleased to sponsor two presentations about religious freedom to be held on Wednesday, April 19th at the Spokane Stake Center, 1620 E 29th Avenue. Each event will feature Brother Matt Latimer as described below.
Free Public Lecture | 12pm-1pm
During this noon hour event, Brother Latimer will review freedom of religion’s definition, scope and importance. He will also outline how it is being challenged and ways in which people from various faith traditions can protect it. Light refreshments will follow. In addition to in-person attendance at the Spokane Stake Center, this lecture will be live-streamed on the Spokane Stake’s YouTube channel and available for delayed viewing.
Youth Fireside: You Be the Judge | 7pm-8pm
Youth and parents from the Spokane and Spokane West stakes are invited to attend an evening fireside presentation by Brother Latimer called “You Be the Judge.” In a fun and approachable format, Brother Latimer will introduce basic concepts of religious freedom and cover details of recent U.S. Supreme Court cases involving this critical civil right. Youth will be invited to form their own opinions based on the facts of each case. Held at the Spokane Stake Center, the fireside will begin at 7pm.
About Matt Latimer
Matt Latimer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Snohomish Washington Stake. He has served in a variety of church positions, including High Councilor, Bishop and Stake President. He currently serves as an Assistant Director of Communication and as the Religious Freedom Specialist for the North America West Area of the Church, which encompasses the states of Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, most of British Columbia, California and Oregon, as well as north Idaho. He has practiced law in the Seattle area for 27 years and is an affiliate professor of law at the University of Washington Law School, where he teaches on a variety of subjects. Matt and his wife, Pam, are the proud parents of five children and have one beautiful granddaughter.
Reviews for “You Be the Judge”
Brother Latimer delivered his “You Be the Judge” presentation to youth from the Spokane North and Mt. Spokane Stakes on October 18, 2022 and here is some feedback from the event:
This fireside was an amazing experience for me because it allowed me to learn about the importance of religious freedom. The words from the presenter and other youth was so strong and impactful during the fireside! The spirit was with us! Another thing I really loved was how the presenter made it fun as well as listened to what us youth had to say! Once again it was a great experience!
Emmy B. | Spokane North Stake
At the religious freedom fireside, I loved the interactive lesson. It was a lot different from the usual hour long lecture. It was also cool to learn about religious freedom, something I didn’t know much about and found out was really interesting.
Ashely C. | Spokane North Stake
I really enjoyed going to the religious freedom fireside! At first, I didn’t really know if I wanted to go, but throughout the whole fireside, I began to understand the blessing of religious freedom. It was very interactive, and the speaker did such a good job of keeping everyone engaged!! I encourage everyone to attend.
Baylie C. | Spokane North Stake
The religious Freedom Fireside was really engaging and fun. More than I expected. It made me think about laws and how they can affect our freedom to worship and the importance of how they are written and handled in court.
Stanton B. | Spokane North Stake
…[W]e had Brother Matt Latimer come to our stake… to give this fireside and it was excellent. He engaged the youth in the presentation and posed good questions that don’t have easy answers but invited the youth to think! It was my impression that the youth benefited from the exposure to the ideas of religious freedom and how to put it in a real-world context.
President Ronald D. Hardy | Spokane North Stake