I hope that these small steps for each of us individually, will move us forward to a different kind of politics, where we can live out our commitments across deep and genuine differences, and rediscover the common ground that makes so much of life possible, and sometimes even beautiful.

Wheatley Institute hosted a special screening of the National Museum of American Religion's second film in the "Religious Thought During Times of National Crisis" series: We Are Not Afraid. This film explored religion's role in Americans' response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with a focus on New York City.

Differences of opinion are part of life and differences of conviction are part of life too. I think we need to have the expectation that we're not always going to agree, even on the most important, even on the most personal, down-to-the-heart type of things. And that is okay. The way that we disagree is what's important.

Latter-day Saints provide something of a case study in the fruits that come when prosocial faith is provided space to live out its ideals.

Too often we use the yardsticks of wealth, power and prestige to measure success. But those three measures all rely heavily on the unruly variable of luck. If we define the American dream as success reliant on luck, we have taken agency out of the pursuit such a dream.