Compare & Contrast…

But I think that’s part of the pitfall for the church and for any church. The church teaches political neutrality and tells us we should each vote our consciences. It’s certainly not beneath the church to tell us what our consciences are because they more or less do it in most Sunday School and priesthood/RS/youth lessons (while also telling us we must have our own testimonies). I agree with the earlier comment about the church recognizing that more and more there is a wide diversity of beliefs in the church. You’re probably not going to hear it in testimony meeting, but there are both pro-choice and pro-life (and everything in between, it’s not necessarily all that black and white) church members. I think the church learned a big lesson about alienating the membership with Proposition 8 (gay marriage in California). I think it was expected that people outside the church might take exception to the church’s stance, I think they were surprised at the pushback from inside the church, and agree with what others have said – they church doesn’t want to divide us into us and them camps. I think the COVID19 vaccines are another example of somewhat unexpected pushback from within the church. We might be divided along those lines in some cases, but the church isn’t responsible for that. Such us and them divisions fueled by churches have caused great rifts within the Methodist and Episcopal churches.

Specifically in the United States there is also the concern about preaching politics in churches relative to tax exempt status. I know it does happen in other churches, and I have heard stories about it in our church but never directly experienced it. But the church is extra careful (hence the annual letter) because they fear such government sanctions (imagine the taxes we’d have to pay).

From my personal point of view, I always disliked it when the church only commented on issues when they affected Utah.

And apparently the church did make some subtle move regarding the recent Supreme Court decision, according to this news article: https://www.deseret.com/faith/2022/6/24/23181718/roe-v-wade-ends-latter-day-saint-leaders-mormon-protect-life-and-to-preserve-religious-liberty” class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.deseret.com/faith/2022/6/24/23181718/roe-v-wade-ends-latter-day-saint-leaders-mormon-protect-life-and-to-preserve-religious-liberty

Soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints updated a webpage on the topic of abortion.

The updated page on the church’s Newsroom website says that as the process unfolds in each state, it is appropriate for church members to join efforts to protect life.

“The church’s position on this matter remains unchanged,” the webpage now says. “As states work to enact laws related to abortion, church members may appropriately choose to participate in efforts to protect life and to preserve religious liberty.”

(Response typed at the same time as Amy.)

When we were growing up, one of the first lessons we learned was: “always play well with others”.

As an adult there were times when I had to interview people for open positions. One of the main considerations I

had was: “will this person fit within the personal dynamics of our department?” Or, in other words, will they play

well together?

In today’s environment, I don’t expect the church leadership to act as Abinadi in the BOM & cry repentance to the people.

I do expect them to remind the church membership, US government leadership & the citizens in general, to not only

play well with each other but to talk. Respect opposing viewpoints. avoid arguing, if you reject proposals from the other

side you have a responsibility to come up with a better plan.

At the very least, I expect the church to take the moral high ground & remind members, church leaders, government leaders, etc.

to work together & solve problems. Or move over & let someone else try.

Where is the line that divides politics and morality? Does the church have a responsibility to call out morally reprehensible actions done by governments around the world? What happens if they do?

In case you haven’t noticed, people sharply disagree about what’s moral. Everyone agrees that we should do what’s good, but we very much disagree about what “good” is. At this point in US politics it seems that we have two completely separate and competing moral systems, represented by the Left and the Right. They are two very different systems of morality with different values and different goals. I don’t see this as a sustainable situation, with two very different visions about what the US is supposed to be. We can’t survive very long with two strongly conflicting national narratives.

The decline of Christianity as the primary religion in the US has created a void of meaning and purpose, and many people have sought to fill that void of meaning and purpose with politics. Political parties and political ideologies have come to replace churches and religious beliefs as a place for people to find belonging and a sense of meaning and purpose in life. And who can blame them? The consequences of political decisions seem immediate and critically important, while concerns about the afterlife seem far away….if there is an afterlife. God doesn’t always answer prayers, but laws and politics affect you directly.

It does seem to make some sense from a nonreligious point of view. We got rid of our silly supernatural religious beliefs, so now we can turn our attention to what really matters, which is building a better world here and now. Except that we can’t agree on what “better” is. We can’t agree on what’s good and what’s moral, so we’re having a lot of trouble (from a secular point of view) building a better world without religion.

I actually think that’s why religion is important. Religion helps us think about a world beyond this one, which makes politics less urgent and less immediate. If this life is all we get, then yeah, politics is the most important thing – and I think that’s a bad situation because we can’t agree on what’s moral, and we’re going to end up fighting constantly. Thinking about the afterlife makes politics less all-important: maybe your candidate lost the election, but you’ll still get your reward in heaven, so no big deal, right?

Overall, I’m a bit disappointed in the direction given to us by our higher-ups. The most recent advice for surviving in modern times from RM Nelson was “gratitude” — a very benign message that I think many people are practicing with or without his advice. No new scripture in recent years. We did get a stand on the family with the Proclamation years ago and some attempts at policy that define our stance on the family, but that was back-pedaled.

Perhaps I have too much of a desire for sensationalism. But if you compare the revelations of the current time with revelations and divine activity of the past, there isn’t much really happening. The experience of being a Mormon is very routine and well, boring, in my view.

Yeah, it does feel like there’s this culture war that is the elephant in the room, and the leadership seems content to mostly ignore it and stick to the usual talking points. It would be nice to hear more that is (to use an over-used word) relevant to what everyone can see is going on. At this point I’m not sure that anyone knows the answer to our very divided situation. We’re essentially in the middle of a psychological civil war, and it sure would be nice to get a little better guidance. I think that Church leaders are wise, though, to not try to divide further and to keep the Church as unified as possible.

How can I respond to this thread and not offend someone? I grew up in a very political family. My father was adamant that our family should support only one of the political parties in our country. His reasoning was that as a prominent member of a particular political party could contact their representative and have some respect and influence. It is sadly true that ordinary citizens that wright letters to their representatives are not respected unless they have strong party connections. And so I was raised to be a card carrying member of the Republican party.

Shortly after my mission, I worked on and was a major individual contributing to republican running for a state office in Utah. It became very evident that this good church member was not just politically corrupt but was involved in criminal activity. I did all I could to rectify what was going on and ended up with more problems than those committing the offences – which interestingly included vote tampering.

I became very upset and left the republican party forever and moved out of Utah. In this country the only other viable option is the democratic party. I moved to the DC. Area and tried to become an influential democrat. I discovered that the democratic party to be exponentially more corrupt than the republicans. All this took place 45 years ago. I personally refuse to support either political party or candidate in any way shape of form. As a result, I am somewhat despised by both the so-called liberals and conservatives which each now are the polar opposite of their initial definition.

I am pleased beyond measure that the Church is not politically active in the USA nor does the church support any political party or candidate in the USA. It is my personal opinion that those that think the Church is not involved in issues are quite ill-informed and naive. I believe the church follows the advice of Joseph Smith – that it teaches correct principles and allows people to govern themselves – with the exception of some that think it is their job to govern whoever they can.

It seems to me, especially in the current political climate, that taking any stand on any issues requires the demonization of any and all that oppose it. I know many good and saintly individuals that are republicans and many that are democrats. I do not know any political or news commentator that can speak with respect of individuals that voted for political rivals. I fear this country is headed for another civil war and I do not intend to pick a side – nor do I believe that the church should pick a side either. Someone is going to have to pick up the pieces when it is over – hopefully with love and compassion.