Rachel Esplin is a junior from Blackfoot, Idaho working on a degree at Harvard in East Asian Studies. The video below shows her part in a panel moderated by Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn. The panel discussion was titled “Engaging Religious Difference: Personal Quests for Purpose” and was part of an all-day series of events on “Faith Live on the Harvard Campus: Personal Quest, Public Conversation, and Global Citizenship.”
In this 21-minute segment, Rachel explains her background growing up in Idaho, and how coming to Harvard impacted her religious views and convictions. She articulately responds to questions such as
- “What does religious diversity mean?
- What does it mean to be in a secular environment?
- What does it mean to come face to face with what I don’t know and what I have to learn?
I share the video here to encourage us all to talk openly and matter-of-factly about what we believe. As we do so, we can make friends, build bridges, and forge alliances.
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.
I admire Rachel and members of the Church of Jesus Christ who live their religion and can articulate their beliefs in this way.
I really enjoyed this video, and I thought overall Rachel did an excellent job. The only time I found myself cringing was when she said that Joseph Smith is second only to Jesus Christ in importance. Firstly, we shouldn’t forget about Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost. But maybe she was only talking about humans that have lived on the earth. The other reason I cringed when she made this comment was because a lot of people outside of our church think that we worship Joseph Smith, and her comment might lend to that misconception.
Other than that, I thought she did awesome! 🙂