I recently finished reading Timothy Snyder’s book On Freedom (his follow up book to On Tyranny). He talked a lot about a concept that I’ve had a little difficulty wrapping my head around: the distinction between “freedom from” and “freedom to.” In his view, we often get the balance wrong and focus too much on making people free “from” bad things, and not enough on creating the freedom “to” create the lives we want to live.
I recently returned from a cruise after my mother’s death. It’s kind of a weird way to conclude a long weekend with family after a funeral, to jet off on a 10 day Caribbean cruise, but when you pay for last minute tickets in and out of Miami, it seems like a prudent way to make more value out of the cost of the trip. When it came up that we were there because of a funeral, one stranger (new friend?) said, “Oh, I’m sure your mother would love that you are out living your best life.” It was a nice sentiment, whether true or not (who’s to say?), but my reply was that one thing I have always said about my mother is that she lived the life she chose, and so do I. According to Timothy Snyder, that’s the type of freedom we should seek–the freedom “to.”
Before you can have the freedom “to,” though, you have to also have freedom “from.” If you are born into extreme poverty, you may never even reach adulthood, so all of your freedoms are limited. If you live under a violent regime, your life may be forfeit. You could be sent to fight in a war. You could be orphaned or raped. You don’t even come close to experiencing basic freedoms in these situations. Here’s a good starter list of things we have to be free “from” before we can be free “to”:
- Fear – People need to be free from fear of violence, persecution, or threats from the state or other entities to live and express themselves freely.
- Oppression – Freedom from authoritarian control, censorship, or systemic injustice is essential for autonomy.
- Poverty – Economic insecurity can undermine individual freedom by limiting choices and access to opportunities.
- Ignorance – Misinformation or lack of education can prevent people from making informed decisions, restricting their freedom.
- Hate and Discrimination – To be free, individuals must be protected from prejudice and systemic barriers based on race, religion, gender, or other identities.
- Exploitation – Workers and citizens need freedom from exploitation and unjust working conditions to preserve their dignity and independence.
- Surveillance – Excessive monitoring and invasion of privacy can stifle personal freedom and self-expression.
- War and Conflict – Individuals must be free from the chaos and destruction of war to exercise their rights and live in peace.
It’s an interesting list because even within each of these items, we are free to varying levels. For example, let’s say you are raised in a home where misinformation is shared and believed, and where you are only accepted if you agree. You may be ignorant of other perspectives. If you never get access to accurate or better information, this ignorance will curtail your freedom to create the life you want. Or consider surveillance. We are all surveilled to some extent by the groups in which we engage: employers, families, online interactions. The pressures from those who observe our actions can alter what choices we make as individuals in order to avoid social consequences for non-conformity.
So, what about the freedoms “to”? Here’s a starter list of what those entail:
- Speak and Express Themselves – Freedom to voice opinions, share ideas, and participate in public discourse without fear of censorship or retribution.
- Choose Leaders – The ability to vote in fair elections and participate in democratic governance.
- Seek Knowledge – Freedom to access information, pursue education, and question authority to make informed decisions.
- Move and Travel – The right to move within and between countries without unnecessary restrictions.
- Pursue Opportunity – Freedom to work, create, and seek economic or personal advancement.
- Practice Religion or Beliefs – The ability to follow one’s faith or secular principles without interference.
- Associate with Others – Freedom to form communities, unions, or organizations based on shared interests or goals.
- Create and Innovate – The freedom to express creativity, invent, and contribute to cultural or scientific progress.
- Live Authentically – The right to make personal choices about identity, relationships, and lifestyle without societal or legal constraints.
- Protest and Resist – Freedom to challenge injustices, question authority, and demand accountability from those in power.
This list feels much more like the experience of freedom. When I was reading this book, the BYU crackdown on professors (which feels like an evergreen topic at BYU) that has been burgeoning under Clark Gilbert’s draconian leadership was being reported in the Tribune and discussed by the world’s worst humans on Twitter [1]. The environment at BYU isn’t really the topic for this post, but it is an example of how one can be free in some sense, but not truly feel free when there is no freedom to be authentic or to behave in ways that are not controlled by the state (in this case, BYU). Professors described feeling that they couldn’t pursue academics freely and couldn’t express their true opinions, albeit with a faith-promoting spin, because everything was being scrutinized and surveilled with dire consequences to employment. That’s not freedom, according to Tim Snyder’s book.
- Do you feel that you are both free from and free to, according to these lists?
- Are you more free in the church or outside of it?
- What types of freedom do you feel you lack?
- How do you strike the right balance between these types of freedoms?
Discuss.
[1] The defenders of the faith who swarm any thread about the Church on X to make sure that everyone knows that everything is just hunky-dory, and that if you don’t agree you should GTFO.
Wheat & Tares 
I have been working on becoming free from the expectations of parents and church leaders, which is difficult. Even more difficult has been the work to become free from expectations in my own head that I had internalized as I grew up.
I am working on becoming free to: speak and express myself, and live authentically.
The paradox that I have is, when I was younger I had a lot of certainty in my beliefs and I lived true to those beliefs, and I really feel like I was living authentically. Now that my beliefs have changed, my life might look different, but I feel like I am also living authentically again.
So my question is: when I was younger, and I was being fully obedient to what others were telling me to do, did I have the freedom to live authentically?
Anyways, great post. Thank you.
Timothy Snyder and Anne Applebaum are my two “go-to” authors for understanding our emerging world of authoritarianism. That, plus a re-reading of Hannah Arendt’s Origins of Totalitarianism.
On BYU: At some point in the near future, I suspect all those pesky professors will be replaced by projected 3D images at the front of the class of a correlated, orthodox LDS-AI droid. Probably using Chinese technology — better at filtering unwanted content from the feed.
After 50+ years of active LDS Church membership I took the exit ramp. I will admit that I felt free as an active member. I was free because I had the truth and the truth sets you free, right? But you already know where this story goes. When I left I found a new kind of freedom that I could have only imagined.
Some of the folks still in will come to the simple conclusion that I’m fooling myself. They will say that I am only feeling free. And that I am feeling free to sin. But honestly my lifestyle has not changed drastically. Sure, I love my Sundays now and it’s nice to have an extra 10% $$. But this isn’t the kind of freedom I am talking about when I say I have found a new kind of freedom.
I discovered two main avenues of freedom that I had not anticipated. First, I discovered the value of individuals. People were no longer valued based on their group membership or level of obedience. Instead, I learned to find value in the wide diversity in the population. People became very interesting to me, especially the kind of people I would have previously ignored. And I began asking myself how I was treating others. Second, I discovered the value of today. Instead of thinking about the future (i.e., “think celestial) I began to focus on living the most of life today. Life itself became more interesting. I began asking myself what I could do to make the most of my daily / weekly life as opposed to stocking away future blessings.
I don’t want to insult those of you who are fully active in the Church and/or those who believe. It is very possible for good people to do good no matter what they believe. But when you get to the point in your life where you’re valuing people and time like you’ve never done before you really feel free. It’s great.
Great article with a lot to think about.
I’m sure many of us have thought that we were free when we obeyed the commandments, went to church, and followed our church leaders. But, FDR’s statement, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” rang true with me. I also could see so many people who set limits on themselves for reasons that came from their family and church but didn’t seem to matter. (things like college you choose, career you choose, where you live, even what you eat).
Looking back, I realize how much I missed because I limited myself because of what I now view as artificial standards. I also see how much I beat myself up for not measuring up to some standard or being jealous of others because they seemed to have everything alright in their lives but they never had to face what I did in my life.
Now that I’ve left the church behind (I haven’t abandoned it, but I view it through my lens and not through someone else’s), I’ve found that I don’t stress Saturday night about the coming Sunday morning and the interactions I have to defend some point of my life (politics, hair, playing in a band, LGBTQ child, or any number of things important to me but stressing to others).
Once I did that, I realized a cup of coffee was much better than a gallon of diet Coke, Sunday morning was better with CBS Sunday Morning News than listening to a member put down public schools or LGBTQ kids or how we are losing our country and religion because of the democrats or the media or those sinners in Salt Lake City. I also found that I could look at people who were different with love instead of fear and I could find joy in their success instead of being jealous. I finally realized that I just had to be me and helping my kids and grandkids was much more important that worring about what was going to happen with “the youth” I don’t even know.
The freedom “from” list is so interesting. That presupposition seems really important. As I’ve been going through deconstruction, one of the realizations that hit me was how much fear is used in our religion to control or drive people to certain specific actions, or to keep them in particular spots. I don’t even think we realize we are doing it. Comments like “you need to keep doing _____ or you might lose your testimony,” “pay your tithing or be burned” are so common. Once this got pointed out to me and I sat back and listened, it became so obvious to me that fear is the foundation upon which we frame almost everything. Brene Brown has some interesting thoughts on fear. And it strikes now as I read your post that this explains so much of the actions of the church and at BYU. They really are just afraid. @josh h’s observation that, “Some of the folks still in will come to the simple conclusion that I’m fooling myself. They will say that I am only feeling free. And that I am feeling free to sin.” is poingant because I believe the people making those comments are also experiencing unacknowledged fear. They have to invent some scenario in their head as to where this person will unavoidably end up to make themselves feel better. Honestly, it was the recognition of this fearmongering (unintentiional or not) that led to me being more free. I was trapped in one fear or another mostly originating from church in one form or another. And I was exhausted. So, I set down prophecy (after learning that most, if not all of it is ex eventu or just plain wrong), I threw away end times nonsense (believing that no one is coming to save us ends up incentivizing better human connection because now you have to take responsibility for your actions), I took up responsibility for my own actions and the authority I have (I stopped delegating my authority, for example, to the Q15 to tell me what is right and wrong. That’s not to say I won’t consider what they say, but my agency is my own and I will the choice, not have it made for me). I’m tired of being afraid or making decisions out of fear. Instead of worrying about all the things the church says I should worry about, I instead started working on things I had neglected because of doing that. My marriage has never been better. I’m more connected with my kids and the people around me. I’m open to experiences that differ from mine and don’t feel threatened by them (still working on this one).
Fear is what drives MAGA and makes them so easily controllable by people like Trump. It’s what keeps people tied to Fox News and social media. If someone can make you afraid of something, they can more easily drive you to do what they want. My prayers have changed a bit. I’ve told God I’m done being afraid. I’m done with that being used as a tool to get me to comply. If he wants me to do something, then I’m open to counseling together so that I can make the choice. I have personally found that I will stick to something better if I’m the one that made the choice to do it rather than being coerced into doing it.
Because I view the church as an instrument of oppression, I cannot help but feel more free outside of it. As many have already said, perhaps the most valuable freedom I enjoy now is the freedom to not view other people through a Mormon lens. I still hear members of my own family talk about feeling blessed by the church and “feeling sorry” for others who don’t enjoy the same blessings, but their empathy really smells like condescension. By leaving the Mormons and exploring other belief systems, I discovered through Buddhism the freedom of not having to think anything. We are SO conditioned by social media and a fairly rigid culture to have an opinion about everything, regardless of ignorance. It’s so liberating to not have to have an opinion when I don’t know anything or have no dog in the fight.
In America, there is no ‘freedom from’ without money. The four horsemen of the middle-class apocalypse–healthcare, education, child care, housing–eat up so much of our paychecks that few of us have the freedom to travel extensively, pursue additional educational projects, learn a language, etc. We continue to allow the owners of capital to do just what they want–gobble up housing, find new computerized ways to deny health coverage, decrease public funding for higher education, raise the prices of basic food items–which makes life increasingly more expensive and, well, not free. When FDR gave his four freedoms speech, he focused on freedom from fear and want, and I think all freedoms actually stem from the elimination of fear and want, as Angela mentioned. But we are not trending in the direction of eliminating these things, and I’m starting to wonder if we every will again.
One thing that annoys me is that as a post-Mormon there are so many presumptions made about me by everyone. John Dehlin constantly mentions that Mormonism ruined Jesus for us and that’s why we don’t simply join another church. I didn’t join another church because I didn’t need to. Mormonism gave me a structure and once I de-constructed it I appreciated the good things that structure gave me such the building blocks of a moral code that I have been able to re-build on my own value system based on what I now thing is important. I can be the person I need to be without the structure of religion. As josh h beautifully mentions above, my biggest value is now my relationship with other humans. No shade to those who find value in organized religion, but I’m now free from it, and that works well for me.
I still feel like I lack the freedom to completely be myself around my Mormon friends and family. I don’t want to give them any reasons to put me in that “wickedness never was happiness box” so I’m not completely real with them about the hard stuff and I don’t always speak my mind about things. I hope I can get over it.
Josh H.
Very beautifully written; my Friend. My sincere compliments. I’m entirely “with” your narrative.
Chadwick: I think something many Mormons don’t realize is that things they think are wickedness never were wickedness.
I tend to think that strong communities have a tendency to stifle individual expression which makes it difficult to maintain the freedom “to” even while they might be good at creating freedom “from.” But the church, unfortunately, (at least from Snyder’s list) isn’t great at the freedom “from” list either, at least for people who are LGBTQ or in many cases for women. It’s pretty good for white cishetero men on the “from” list, but it’s bad for everyone on that “to” list. Except for top leaders, that is. They’ve got loads of freedom to say any fool thing they like and compel others to pretend to agree.
There was a moment when my husband and I discussed that we both now understand our church leaders are fallible people, and that they are wrong about many things. While we knew that concept superficially originally, over time our life has shown us multiple ways the narrative taught at church simply doesn’t match the reality we are experiencing.
I remember a moment when I fully accepted this reality of fallibility and accepted my own right to choose things according to my own wisdom instead of depending on leaders to tell me what to do. For my husband and I it feels very very freeing in comparison to how we felt before. We feel free to think and consider what is actually best for our family instead of trying to force a reality that doesn’t fit into the narrative at church. It is so much more peaceful to simply accept what is today, and focus on caring for others now, instead of focusing on after death, and personal purity, and controlling what our children do.
We live pretty much as we always did, but each choice is because we choose that, rather than because we are afraid or guilty about not meeting an external standard.
Great question Hawkgrrl
After my own 45 years of active membership, and similar to Josh H, the freedom I’m experiencing after leaving the church does not have much to do with “sinning” (coffee, a full restful weekend, etc), but is mostly about not having this constant voice in my head reminding me how my every action, my every decision, my every thought must be aligned with what some men in SLC, Utah, have decided those actions, decisions and thoughts should be (I was all-in, and if the brethren the past 200 years had said anything on any topic, that was the word of God).
I can’t overstate how freeing it is to live my life based on what I think is the right thing to do based on my own life experiences, my own understanding of what is good…to just be able to live in my own head and not worry about some person in space somewhere judging my every thought!!!
Yes, I know the scriptures. I’m trusting in my self and not in “God”. And yet, I’m so much more at peace, and I think I’m a kinder, better, more ethical person now. So yeah…I guess I am “off the covenant path” but wow, to be truly free to think for myself…I’m thinking this is the path for me.
Very thought-provoking post, thanks for writing.
I’m still working on some “freedom from” categories, most notably the fear and discrimination categories. This past week, I’ve gotten unpleasant reminders that some of my issues would make me the target of ridicule and discrimination. My work environment is not a safe place for me. I talk freely about my issues here, but at work, I am constantly on guard to not cross a line and be too … queer, too liberal, too mentally ill, too single.
I am very glad to finally, and at long last, be free from poverty. Most of my life has involved pinching pennies. My job that stifles parts of me also finances a lot of freedom and so the tradeoff is worth it.
As many have mentioned, the freedom to find out who I am without the Church’s structure and expectations has been a glorious experience. I like myself! I’ve spent so long trying to fit a mold. Sitting down and really asking myself what I prioritize, and what I enjoy, and what I want to do was so healing and energizing.
I also like the focus on today and here. ‘Thinking Celestial’ is such a disconnect anymore. No, I’m not going to make myself stressed and agitated about an imaginary future and what God might think of me.
It’s my hope that those who have found greater satisfaction outside the church will not let go of their belief in the resurrection–let alone the existence of God. The vast majority of humanity has lived as paupers and peasants or servants and slaves. And the thought of there being nothing more to their existence than the harsh lives they endured for so short a time is too sad for words.
Exactly, Jack, which is why we should do more for them now. Maybe we’d all be more charitable if we stopped believing in an afterlife.
Neal A. Maxwell:
“The disciple knows that the only conclusive test of a cause is the test of eternal truth, not mere sincerity, for dictators are often sincere; not gallantry alone, or the charge of the Light Brigade would have been a resounding success.”
When reason fails, fall back on the opaque utterances of an authority figure propped up by the fear of millions who hope and pray he’s right, even while he can’t adequately explain why he is. Eh, Jack?
“But in fact, 50 million people can be wrong—totally wrong” — Pres Nelson
Yes, true, but so can 15 men as history has painfully shown.
@jack, what are we talking about when we say “eternal truth?” Is it whatever the church says it is? That doesn’t sound much different from “dictators [that are] often sincere.” I personally don’t think we are remotely qualified to even talk about what is and is not eternal truth. The best we can do is, like the wind, declare it has sightlessly brushed our skin from time to time and left just as quick. We cannot contain it, control it, put it in a box or dumb it down.
Interesting topic. I appreciate the efforts that went into this. Thank you. On a personal level, I cannot speak for anyone else, but it took me a long time to be from the church’s opinions, culture, side-eyes, and ever changing emphasis on things non-Jesus. But once I was free from that, I found an amazing freedom to worship and follow the savior. As I look back – all the times I rushed to the temple, to church, to Bishopric meetings, to service projects I was never worshiping and moving to the Savior. I was moving to some replacement for the Savior, that others said was necessary. I remember serving as a Bishop and wondering often “What in the world am I really doing?” Rarely did I feel God was telling me to do those things, mostly others were. But the narrative in the Church leads you to equate a direction from the SP or Area Seventy to a direction from God. I have recognized now that is simply not the case. Once I was freed from that perspective, did I feel that I was making progress moving TO the Savior. So, I am still in the church, as you would call it, but I feel much freer. I recognize others around me being critical and judgmental about that, but I respect myself enough to move my direction. Towards the Savior. In freedom. Funny how that all-of-a-sudden frees you up from having to worry about so many callings.
oops, I meant to say “it took me a long time to be free from the church’s…”. Should have better proof-read.
Cam, I really like what you shared. It reminds me of a conversation with my sister who remains active in the church (many of us in the family have left). Once I found out she had similar feelings that you have, I stopped worrying about her staying in the church.
I’m happy for her because I know she is freely (word of the day) participating in the church on her terms and therefore mentally and spiritually at peace. That’s all I want for her and others that I love immensely who have chosen to stay.
We were married in 1970. I came home from my mission in 1970. Our first child was born in Jan 1971. I had no qualifications, though I did get a sales job in 1970.
The church was teaching that a missionary should get married as soon as possible after his mission, do not let education or lack of employment hold up your marriage; the lord will provide.
The church was also saying that birth control was Satan’s way of stopping us from keeping the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.
We obeyed because we believed these men knew the will of God.
God did not provide; so we spent the first 10 years of our marriage in poverty.
There are consequences to claiming you speak for God. He/She has to back you up.
Our freedom was severely curtailed.
Australia is suffering climate disasters at the moment. So we are not impressed by countries not pulling their weight to fight climate change. Around Townsville they had over a yard of rain over the weekend, with another yard forecast for the next few days. A years rain in a few days. Producing extreme flooding. In Townsville flood water is also the home to crockodiles. In other parts of the state and country there are heatwave with temperatures in the 40s daytime and high twenties at night.
Not many Forrest fires yet, or cyclones. Where I live just a little warm with temperatures around 30c. Ocean temperature 25c.
So many of our freedoms rely on electricity. I hear some Canadians talking about turning off the electricity to north east usa in response to trump tarrifs.