Welcome back to
the Liberty Insider.
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Before the break
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with Associate Editor
of Liberty, Melissa Reid,
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we were discussing something
really big for liberty, right?
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The campaign's report. Yes.
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But the effort to make sure
that all the good stuff we do
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is enabled with
donations, commitments,
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even paid subscriptions
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from a wider range
of array of supporters,
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not just Seventh-day
Adventists who are our base
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but anybody that
believes in religious liberty.
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Right.
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I was thinking during break
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we're actually a
lot like this network
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but lot like 3ABN.
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Sure.
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And that we've been so blessed
by the favor of our supporters,
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by our donors and just
really have been able to be
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a consistent presence
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because of the
generosity of our donors.
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And so, just like
this network I know that,
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you know, we are
incredibly grateful.
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Liberty is now,
since 1906 we've existed.
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So over 100 years.
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That's under its
present name. Yes.
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church
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had actually began publishing
a Religious Liberty Magazine
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back in the about 1880.
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Yeah. Yeah.
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And there was a
little bit of break
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and then it restarted
under the name Liberty.
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But to have that
continued presence
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advocating for
religious freedom,
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it's just incredible.
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And so I know you and
I are both very grateful
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that it's continued in that way.
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Well, it reminds me of, I think
I've ever seen the whole movie
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but "Gone with the
Wind" there is a line about
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"I've always been dependent
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on the kindnesses of strangers."
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Kindness of
strangers, that's exactly right.
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But really that's
not true about liberty
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because all of our
supporters are not strangers.
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They are people of
a common viewpoint.
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Anybody that supports liberty
shows that they think like us,
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that they see the great
importance of religious liberty
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from every angle.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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What do we send out
this year in our "pack?"
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What are the types of materials
that we think are necessary
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for someone to really
adequately support what we do?
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Well, we try to
really give people
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anything that they feel
like they could make use of
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and support or
promote in different ways
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whatever ways
they are comfortable.
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For example this year we
have a religious liberty camp.
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We have a sermon.
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Well, each year we
have a new sermon composed.
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That's true. I
remember that sermon well.
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Yes. I think you should.
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Lincoln Steed is
actually the individual
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that wrote and
preaches the sermon, so...
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Which is not the norm.
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We have rotating assignments
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and we've had some
very powerful sermons
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done by different
guest sermonizers.
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Right.
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Well, this is a
great one this year
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and again we make
it available in print.
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You can find it on our website
to download either as a PDF.
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You can just sort
of preach it as it is
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or you can, there's
like a support version
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where you can sort of
make it your own as well.
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Or we have a video version.
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You've actually preached
it and made it available
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to download there
online so you can show it,
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you know, either during church,
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you know, on the
weekend or you can show it
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at your midweek
service in anticipation
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but it's a
really great resource.
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Another thing that we
have, I mentioned earlier,
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we always try to highlight
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a particular
religious liberty case.
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You know, really sort of show
how religious discrimination
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can affect
individuals personally.
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You know, what it does
to an individual's life
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and to their family's life.
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And so we do that this
year with a lady in Texas
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who was working
for an organization.
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She actually was working
at a kind of a call center.
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So people living
in the United States
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have difficulty getting
religious accommodation?
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I thought this was
the land of the free
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and the brave and the,
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you know, total
religious liberty.
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Right. Well--
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I'm being sarcastic but--
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I know. Yes.
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But people need to realize that,
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even though the
constitution specifies that,
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you know, no government
involvement in religion
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and then beyond that
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the Civil Rights
Legislation Act Title VII
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says that you
can't be discriminated
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against on the
basis of religion.
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People are all the
time. All the time.
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And so we put up
these examples, don't we,
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usually during the campaign.
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Right.
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You know, we talk a lot
about religious discrimination.
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First of all as
Americans, you know,
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we are blessed with the
laws and the freedoms that,
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you know, that we enjoy
and we certainly, you know,
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look to other
countries and we are seeing,
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you know, religious persecution.
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Oh, you're not to be
equated. Yeah, absolutely.
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I mean, there's not too
many beheadings for apostasy
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in the US, it's
not at the moment.
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Absolutely. Yeah.
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And so, you know, we're
grateful for what exist.
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However as you are
saying there are situations
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where a person's
religious beliefs or their faith
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are not respected in the
manner that they should be.
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And so you talked a
little bit about, you know,
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the Civil Rights
Legislation that occurred
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and I think we just celebrated
the 50 year anniversary of that
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just recently.
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But even under that
law there are situations
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that occur and actually
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so the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
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which is sort of
set up to monitor
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those sorts of situations,
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whether it's discriminations
in the workplace,
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whether it's based
on gender or ethnicity
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or race or religion.
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Disability is another
one. Disability is another one.
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So we have noticed
over the last few years
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that while they are--
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that religious discrimination
has been the category
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of all of those sort
of protective classes
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that has really
grown or skyrocketed
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in the number of
cases of people saying
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this is happening
to me in the workplace
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which is really unfortunate.
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We see this both in workday
people are wanting to have
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either, you know, the
Sabbath or the Sunday off
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to be able to attend church
and to keep their Sabbath holy.
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We also see this in
the way that people dress.
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Whether they wear, you know,
particular outfit or, you know,
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or grooming we talk about,
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you know, they have particular--
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And that in the
prisons. Yes. Absolutely.
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So there are
situations where, you know,
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where people's
conscience, you know,
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are not respected in
the way that they should.
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And so in this
particular situation
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as I mention a lady was
working in a call center
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and I had worked
there for many years
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and had had her Sabbath.
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She was a Seventh-day
Adventist Church member.
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She attended church on Saturday.
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She had that respected,
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it actually been
a five day work week
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and what happens
that they actually became
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a 24 hour call center.
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And so things changed for
her and, you know, it really,
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one thing I love
about telling these stories
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and interacting
with these individuals
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is to see and hear from them
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how the situation
strengthened their faith.
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You know, she said of course
that there was very scary times
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as they went
through this process
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working with, you
know, with her employer
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trying to get
this accommodation.
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You know, she, she
said that, you know,
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there was certainly times
where she was a bit discouraged
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but she said
anytime she was discouraged
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or anxious about the situation
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something in her life
where there was an individual,
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not even I
remember her telling me,
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it wasn't even a close friend.
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I met this leady and she is a
very upbeat enthusiastic woman.
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Oh, yes. You just see
Christ radiating from her.
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You know, she is, and--
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But this doesn't
seem to have been
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at least looking back
on us, it's not a hardship.
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She is so excited
about this, in fact,
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in her view things
improve because of it.
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The end result was not
status quo, it was much better.
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It was a situation
where she actually, you know,
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went through this whole warning
process of losing her job
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and actually
eventually lost her job
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but with working
with the legal team
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that was provided by our church,
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she actually was
reinstated to a better position.
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And so it's incredible sort
of the way that God loved her
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and protected her
throughout the process
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and it was, she
absolutely relied on Him and.
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So that's why we
call, before I call.
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Yes. Yes. A little bit of a pen.
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In fact the Bible does say,
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"Before they
call, I will answer."
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Absolutely.
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So, she received an
assurance that God had
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and it was a divine
providence working towards it.
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Yes. Yes.
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And I believe a big part of this
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is not whether or not
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you will win the legal
case, we would like to win,
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it's given that
constitution backs it up.
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But this is a
wonderful opportunity
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to explain your
faith perspective.
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Absolutely.
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From a matter of
personal conviction.
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Now before the law,
it's not important to prove
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that you're a good
Adventist or that your church
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or your priest or whoever
is going to vouch for you.
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You can be, you know,
just a majority of one.
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If you are
personally under conviction
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and so it proves your
own personal conviction,
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your own faith.
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And before the Lord, I think
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it's a spiritually
growing experience.
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Yeah.
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As I worked with
these individuals
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when we tell their
stories throughout the air,
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I've heard very consistently
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and I heard with
this lady as well.
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She said, you
know, there were people
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that she was working with
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and actually one of
them was a supervisor
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in a supervisory law
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and who came to
Pattie and said to her,
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"Don't let this,
don't let them win.
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Stand up for your rights.
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You deserve this. This
is something, you know."
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And so people are watching
whether you are, it's you know,
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your fellow, your coworkers,
whether it's, you know,
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the administrators,
whether it's your church members
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or your family,
people are observing,
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you know, the way
that that you handle this.
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And again it's not about
winning a case or, you know,
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God certainly
bless in the situation
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and blessed in a way
that she didn't even imagine,
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you know, would happen.
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That was a very inspiring
story which is why we chose it.
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But it's a privilege and
a pleasure to put that out
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before our many supporters
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and some are
supporters in waiting
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but this
hopefully will convince them
00:10:00.66\00:10:03.47
that there is
something very good in this.
00:10:03.50\00:10:05.13
Now, it's a great story.
00:10:05.17\00:10:06.50
I definitely go to our website
which is LibertyMagazine.org
00:10:06.53\00:10:09.14
and watch the story.
00:10:09.17\00:10:10.51
It's just like a
three to five minute.
00:10:10.54\00:10:11.87
And on our website as I remember
00:10:11.91\00:10:13.24
we also have some of the stories
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from previous years, right?
00:10:14.64\00:10:15.98
Absolutely. Yes.
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They were always
interesting. Yeah.
00:10:17.38\00:10:19.01
They are not
always a total victory,
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there's usually a
lesson to be learned in it.
00:10:22.52\00:10:24.62
And unfortunately many
go the full legal route
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don't turn out as favorable.
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And in my view even those
ones with this a cash payout
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that's not a total victory
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because the person may have gone
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on to another
job, lost that job.
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But the point is
really good witness.
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Well, and most of the
time they have been out of,
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they have been out of
work for a period of time
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not making any money and
without any sort of benefits
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whether it's health
insurance or things like that.
00:10:47.11\00:10:48.74
So this is not a
situation of people's victories.
00:10:48.78\00:10:50.85
So a victory where
there is money involved is,
00:10:50.88\00:10:53.05
it's not an unqualified victory.
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The best sort of
element to the victory
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is what Pattie
was talking about.
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Absolutely.
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She's been encouraged and
inspired and other people see
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the Lord working through this.
00:11:03.76\00:11:05.09
Absolutely.
00:11:05.13\00:11:06.46
So what's your prognosis
for the campaign this year?
00:11:06.49\00:11:10.63
You think this is
gonna be the best year yet?
00:11:10.67\00:11:12.27
I certainly--
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I know you and some
others have teased me
00:11:13.67\00:11:15.20
when I get the latest
issue of Liberty Magazine.
00:11:15.24\00:11:17.51
I'll say this is
the best magazine yet.
00:11:17.54\00:11:19.51
Yes, the best issue yet.
00:11:19.54\00:11:21.11
I mean, I certainly hope so.
00:11:21.14\00:11:23.55
I know that we tell
encouraging inspiring story
00:11:23.58\00:11:28.28
and I know that I
think it really illustrates
00:11:28.32\00:11:30.69
sort of the need for
participation for individuals,
00:11:30.72\00:11:35.92
you know, to donate and to share
00:11:35.96\00:11:40.70
in sort of this in
this ministry that we do
00:11:40.73\00:11:44.17
but I felt like
it's just, I don't know,
00:11:44.20\00:11:47.20
we put, we try to do
the best work that we can
00:11:47.24\00:11:50.21
and then we put it in
God's hands from there.
00:11:50.24\00:11:52.14
And so I certainly
hope that it will be
00:11:52.17\00:11:54.14
as far as the campaign.
00:11:56.44\00:11:57.88
But it's, you know, we
just leave it up to God
00:11:57.91\00:12:01.12
and how He impresses
the hearts of our donors.
00:12:01.15\00:12:05.82
A few weeks ago, I was
privileged to sit close by
00:12:05.85\00:12:08.89
actually in an adjoining room
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looking through the wide opening
00:12:11.03\00:12:13.09
between dining and a lounge room
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and watch as a
Seventh-day Adventist woman
00:12:15.43\00:12:19.17
spoke committedly
and at great lengths
00:12:19.20\00:12:24.21
with television
reporters from a national studio
00:12:24.24\00:12:28.14
from a national network.
00:12:28.18\00:12:29.98
She was telling them
00:12:30.01\00:12:31.41
why she should
have accommodation
00:12:31.45\00:12:34.02
for her deeply
held Sabbath beliefs.
00:12:34.05\00:12:36.45
It was inspiring and
it's the sort of thing
00:12:36.48\00:12:38.89
that we always share
each year during our campaign.
00:12:38.92\00:12:42.56
We have another similar story
that we are making available
00:12:42.59\00:12:45.59
with our campaign
materials this year.
00:12:45.63\00:12:47.70
But what it tells me is that
00:12:47.73\00:12:49.73
there is a great
reservoir of enthusiasm
00:12:49.76\00:12:53.74
that with Liberty Magazine
going out to the legislators,
00:12:53.77\00:12:56.97
whether being read by laypeople
00:12:57.01\00:12:59.11
and being funded by your dollars
00:12:59.14\00:13:02.31
we can make a difference.
00:13:02.34\00:13:04.01
We can not only be on
national television networks,
00:13:04.05\00:13:07.32
we can, and what we do
and the effect of our work
00:13:07.35\00:13:10.45
can be read every
day in newspapers,
00:13:10.49\00:13:13.25
it can be studied in colleges,
00:13:13.29\00:13:15.59
it can make a
difference in the community.
00:13:15.62\00:13:18.59
But you need to respond
00:13:18.63\00:13:20.40
and this annual appeal
for liberty is make or break.
00:13:20.43\00:13:25.13
We can't do
anything without the money
00:13:25.17\00:13:27.47
and you really can't do anything
00:13:27.50\00:13:29.20
without the involvement.
00:13:29.24\00:13:31.41
For Liberty
Insider, I'm Lincoln Steed.
00:13:31.44\00:13:35.08