Partisans And The Saints: Choosing A Side Or Choosing The Right?

The Prophet Joseph Smith cautioned latter-day saints to avoid undue political partisanship because it didn’t amount to much more than giving one side or another the rope with which to hang us.  He said, “And if we have to throw away our votes, we had better do so upon a worthy rather than upon an unworthy individual, who might make use of the weapon we put in his hand to destroy us with.”  (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 217)

The point I made in an earlier Examiner article, which I wish to reiterate here, is that partisanship or undue devotion to either political party is harmful to the unity of the Church. In 1897, latter-day prophet Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the Church, said this about our responsibilities in regards to our participation in the political process.

“It is time to close this conference; but before closing I want to say a few words to the Latter-day Saints. I have attended conferences under the presidency of Joseph Smith during his lifetime, from 1833; I have attended conferences under President Brigham Young nearly forty years…; I have attended conferences under the presidency of John Taylor, and I have attended conferences as President of the Church myself since that period. That responsibility has rested upon me, and rests upon me today. Sixty-four years of my life have passed away as a member of this Church. I do not know that I shall ever address you again; I cannot tell anything about this; but I feel strongly impressed to say a few words to you upon principle, although it is late.

“I want these Latter-day Saints to lay to heart what has been said by the apostles and elders who have spoken at this conference. I want to say another thing. I prophesy, in the name of Israel’s God, the day has come when the mouths of Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith, and these Twelve Apostles, should not be closed because of the opinions of the children of men. There have been feelings that these men holding high position—the Twelve Apostles and Presidency—should say nothing about politics. I want to say to you here, the day has come when God Almighty requires at your hands to unite together in your temporal business, and in your politics, so far as it is wisdom. I do not care whether a man is a Republican or a Democrat. In that he is free; but it is your duty to unite in electing good men to govern and control your cities, your local affairs, and I will state that when you do not do this you are losers of the blessings of Almighty God. I want to tell you this upon this occasion. My mouth shall not be closed upon these principles. I know it is the duty of the Latter-day Saints to unite together in your local affairs, the election of men to act for you in the affairs of state. Lay aside your extremes in democracy and republicanism, as far as is wise in that matter, and in other than local matters as Latter-day Saints unite together within your party lines and appoint good men. When you do that God will bless you. You won’t all be taxed to death and lose your property if you will appoint good men and pursue this course.

“I take the liberty, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of making these remarks. No matter what the feelings of men may be towards me; I shall not stay in this country very long. But I realize very well that this people are groaning under poverty, under affliction, under taxation, and in positions that they ought not to be if they would only unite and do their duty. And this idea of a person being afraid of somebody because he is a Democrat or a Republican, it is all wrong. I feel like saying to you, as the President of the Church, and do state, that it is your duty to unite together and appoint good men to act in every capacity for the public welfare. Therefore, let us do our duty, walk uprightly before the Lord our God, and leave the consequences with him.”  (Conference Report, 70-71, October, 1897, excerpted from The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p.206 – p.207)

In George Washington’s farewell address, delivered 19 September 1796, he warned of the dangers of political parties and partisanship.  One paragraph of that address seems very relevant here.

“It [partisanship] serves always to distract the Public Councils and enfeeble the Public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.”

THE CHURCH IS NOT PARTISAN

The Church is strictly neutral when it comes to politics.  We don’t allow candidates to campaign in our congregations.  The Church does not endorse candidates.  Latter-day saints are counseled by prophets of God to support good men and women for public office.  There are good people on both sides of the aisle.  Conversely, it is our duty to oppose rampant partisanship that is dominated by extremists, whether they be on the right or the left.  There are politicians who are simply in it to game the system, get their hands on the public coffers, and pay off those who put them in power.  Both parties have those individuals also. It is our duty to identify those corrupt politicians and to persuade others to join us in opposing them.  Once they are entrenched in power, it is difficult to remove them.  In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin warned:

“And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood. For behold, he has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God;  And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he causeth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous king doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.” (Mosiah 29:21–23)

A commitment to stand for truth and righteousness will put us in the “common sense center” and will invite potshots and attacks from both sides.  This is clearly the situation today, when the Church is often the target of the right-wing Christian “Taliban” and left-wing radicals whose agenda is intent upon undermining the family, morality, and religion while promoting secular humanism and pseudo-religious Earth worship in the guise of “saving the planet.”

The scriptures tell us that a time will come when ‘all things shall be in commotion,” when the secular governments of a fallen, telestial world will collapse . (See Doctrine and Covenants 88:91 and 87:6)  In that day, the principles of freedom as embodied in the United States Constitution will be upheld by latter-day saints in the kingdom of God.  I don’t believe that the partisans on either side will play a role in saving the Constitution when it will hang by a thread.  Instead, they will prove to be the cause of its undoing.  Latter-day saints who follow the counsel of God’s messengers will be prepared for the role they and their Church will play in those times.  Those saints who put party over principle, who seek the power and influence of Babylon, will discover their efforts to prop up the telestial order will fail.

It appears that my recent article, the one that dealt with the subject of torture and the political disdain both the left and the right have for Mormons ruffled some feathers.  What I found particularly interesting is that individuals who were clearly partisans for one side or the other accused me of being on the side they opposed.

NO POLITICAL PARTY OWNS THE MORAL HIGH GROUND

Some liberals felt that my remarks had a conservative tone.  Meanwhile, they clearly disregard the fact that I stand against the former administration’s policy on torture and harsh interrogations, based on the teachings of the Book of Mormon.  Die-hard consevative Republicans feel that my opinion on torture of detainees could endanger national security and accuse me of being too liberal.  (As a matter of fact, I was banned from the conservative web site Free Republic after documenting their anti-Mormon activities and they called me a liberal troll!)

That’s pretty typical, because a latter-day saint who lives his religion will have views that cross party lines.  This is due to the way constituencies have been pigeon-holed by the two parties.  Most latter-day saints (and perhaps most Americans) don’t fit neatly into those two categories anymore.

Hypothetically speaking, if a person is strongly for the development of “green” energy policies, why is it that he has to become part of a coalition that includes abortion rights and gay marriage activists to have a voice?  What if a person has strong environmentalist opinions about respecting the earth and the life forms on it and, as a corollary to those views, he strongly feels that abortion is morally wrong?  Why does one have to have the disjointed view of “save the whales” but “abort the humans” to be an environmentalist?  Similarly, what sense does it make to oppose war–which kills thousands–on the basis of morality while advocating abortion, which kills millions each year?  Conversely, why do many who oppose abortion so vehemently defend war, torture, or capital punishment?

A COMMITMENT TO TRUE PRINCIPLES, NOT POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Liberals accuse Mormons of being too conservative on abortion.  However, we believe abortion may be prayerfully considered in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger.  It is the individual’s choice, but that choice should be made after serious reflection, prayer, and receiving guidance through the Holy Spirit.  This more moderate position causes the religious right to label us as “flip-floppers.”  The militant feminist factions don’t want to have God come into the picture at all, because their agenda includes more than just “choice.”  It includes the advancement of godlessness.

Similarly, the religious right took LDS leaders to task for not backing their position on an outright ban on stem cell research.  However, we believe in the sanctity of life.  Our reasonable view is down the middle, which brings criticism from extremists on the left and the right.

If a person has strong conservative ideals regarding taxes, spending, and deficits, must she necessarily join with individuals who favor policies that support the war on terror, the Patriot Act, holding detainees at Guantanamo without trials, and the “abandoning of free market principles to save the free market system?”  It seems that the issues have been “sliced and diced” to create a perpetual state of polarization.  The question begs to be asked: “Who benefits from the extreme polarization of society and the Church?”

The moral issues that are important to Mormons have been chopped up piecemeal and divided between the parties.  Our views don’t get heard because we’re way less than one percent of the population in the United States.  For example, prayer in schools is a hot-button issue in many jurisdictions.  The majority of Latter-day Saints, who have historically been targets of religious persecution, would voice the opinion that students should pray at home.  The question is pretty much moot for us.  If prayer would be allowed in a public school activity, chances are that a Mormon wouldn’t be allowed to offer it.

There was a high school in Texas several years ago that wouldn’t allow a Latter-day saint football player offer a student-led team prayer before the games.  It turned out that one of the other player’s father was a Baptist minister and he ignorantly claimed that the Mormon boy would be offering a prayer in the name of a “different” Jesus.  A controversy emerged as the students stood up for their Mormon team mate.  The LDS family sued the school because their son had become the victim of anti-Mormon prejudice.  The American Civil Liberties Union stepped in and the school lost the case. Most Mormon conservatives would have issues with the ACLU because it normally supports a very liberal agenda (like defending child pornographers), but in this case, the organization stood up for a basic principle of fairness in our favor.

Mormons came under fire from the religious right during the Reagan years, when our leaders opposed the deployment of the MX intercontinental ballistic missile system.  Mormons are patriotic citizens and we have many thousands of members who serve in the armed forces of the United States.  The defense industry has a large presence in the economy of Utah.  This particular missile system was designed to move on a system of underground tracks that would make it difficult for an enemy to target.  Many thought its advanced design was destablilizing to the tentative policy of mutually assured destruction that prevailed during the Cold War.  Many politically conservative latter-day saints considered the MX missile system as one of the keys to replacing the “hollow force” our military had become during the 1970s.  They were shocked when Church President Spencer W. Kimball issued a statement that not only objected to the basing of the MX system in Utah and Nevada, but strongly questioned the morality of nuclear conflict as a strategy.  The letter stated:

“With the most serious concern over the pressing moral question of possible nuclear conflict, we plead with our national leaders to marshal the genius of the nation to find viable alternatives which will secure at an earlier date and with fewer hazards the protection from possible enemy aggression, which is our common concern” (First Presidency Statement on Basing of MX Missile, Ensign 11 [June 1981]:76).

It’s clear that the religious right regards us with suspicion because we have often been less than supportive of some of their core issues.  Meanwhile on the left, Mormons are wrongly targeted as homophobic bigots and racists.  The Church has been a nearly constant target of left wing attacks by gay marriage activists since the passage of Proposition 8 in California.  Although Mormons make up between one to two percent of the electorate in California, the Church has been singled out for targeting because of its efforts to defend traditional marriage.  We have nothing to say against homosexuals that we have not said a million times to heterosexuals.  All sexual relations outside of marriage are improper and will result in the loss of communion with God’s Spirit.  Marriage is of God and it is not up to man to redefine it through his laws.  To do so invites the collapse of the family unit, which we regard as sacred.

Since November 2008, there have been several incidents of vandalism of our meetinghouses and temples, harrassment of members attending the temples, and even one incident where envelopes of white powder were mailed to a temple and the Church office building.  Just a week ago one of our meetinghouses in Cottonwood, Arizona was broken into and vandalized.  The vandals spray painted phallic symbols on walls and religious art.  That doesn’t sound like the work of sectarian Christians who oppose Mormonism.  It wouldn’t be a long stretch of the imagination to presume that the phallic symbols were put there by someone who opposes the Church’s position on gay marriage.

Nevertheless, the extremists on both the left and the right tend to react emotionally. Christian conservatives call Mormons “RINOS” (Republicans in name only).  The left accuses us of being shills for the Republican party.  I find no end to the irony that one of my critics said:

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but the majority of America couldn’t care less about the Mormons. Most of the time America considers LDS a small cult out in the boondocks that is inconsequential to American life. Most Americans even forget that Utah is a state. If Donny & Marie ever stop showing up on tv, the whole world will forget that Utah ever existed.”

Meanwhile, another partisan wrote, not sparing the hyperbole:

“Just think. If you’d stop waging worldwide, multi-billion dollar campaigns to eradicate the rights of others you wouldn’t be such “lightning rods” for controversy. People would just consider you another silly religious cult with funny underpants. Stop playing the persecution card.”

So which of these Mormon-haters is correct?  How does the “small cult” of the Mormon Church carry out a “multi-billion dollar campaign” to “eradicate the rights of others” while the “majority of America doesn’t care less about the Mormons?”  That would be a pretty impressive trick!  (And they call me a conspiracy nut!)  One calls us intolerant, yet calls us a silly cult and ridicules distinctive religious apparel that we regard as sacred.  Maybe he also should ridicule rosaries, phylacteries, nun’s habits, yarmulkes, and saffron robes also as a sign of his belief in “diversity” and enlightened tolerance.

Another commentator demanded to know if I had written things critical of the Bush Administration.  The answer to that is affirmative.  I have criticized Republicans (including the first Bush Administration). In my first book, The New World Order and Other Secret Combinations of the Last Days, which was published in 1998 by Cedar Fort, I criticized the several Republican and Democrat administrations that occupied the White House since Nixon for filling posts with globalists, members of the Trilateral Commission, and the Council of Foreign Relations.  Most liberal critics only have a memory that goes back to George W. Bush.  The current controversies that plague the Obama administration go back to Woodrow Wilson’s time as the very same tactics are being brought into play once again.

In the blogosphere, it is evident that anti-Mormon attacks are just as common on conservative Republican sites like Free Republic as they are on the Democratic Underground or the Huffington Post. Anti-Mormonism seems to transcend party affiliations.  Mormons are influential in both political parties in Congress.  Despite their differences, Senators Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch could join former Governor Mitt Romney in a Mormon sacrament meeting, set aside their political differences, and testify to the world that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  I think that’s just one of the things that makes the world wary of us. There’s more to their animosity than just mere partisanship, especially when Mormons are on both sides.

CHOOSING BETWEEN ZION AND BABYLON

If we are truly living our religion, the kingdom of God will come first.  Party, partisanship, and divisiveness must be set aside for the building up of the kingdom.  If any one of those three men I mentioned received a phone call from LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson tomorrow, asking them to set aside their personal affairs to go preside over a mission, I don’t believe that any of them would decline the call.  I expect that each of them would serve with dedication and distinction.  I would hope that each of these men would, despite their political differences, be willing to sustain one another in the cause of truth, in every way.  Such devotion to the truth breeds unity and heals angry hearts.  What a wonderful, touching example we witnessed today in the words of Senator Hatch spoken about his friend, Senator Ted Kennedy!

If you take one thing away from this article, let it be that latter-day saints seek what is “right and what is good.”  Most reasonable people can come to agreement on what constitutes “right and good.”  When the extremists start “shooting” at each other from the opposite sides, the unfortunate effect is that the people in the middle have to choose a side.  That’s what happens in civil wars, such as occurred in Bosnia.  Muslim and Christian neighbors who lived side by side for years ended up killing one another because the extremists were allowed to escalate from name-calling to violence.

Sometimes the truth must be spoken with boldness.  I think that’s what Glenn Beck has done in the past week.  He has called out both Democrats and Republicans.  He is demanding that the truth be told from both sides and the media.  The extremists want you to choose a side.  Making that choice isn’t always that easy.  Things are not always black and white.  Even our understanding of Genesis tells us that the choice of Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit or to remain in Eden was a conscious one, made with the understanding that both choices had positive and negative consequences.

Latter-day saints, because of our unique position as the possessors of restored truth and the guidance of living revelators, represent a third option.  Our focus should be to prepare to live the celestial law in Zion as fully as possible so that a place of refuge can be established for those who will surely seek it when all other systems of governance fail.  The Republicans and the Democrats are fighting for control of Babylon.  Let them keep it.  Latter-day saints are building something better.

(This article appeared on my Examiner.com column and was featured by the Meridian, Mormon Times, and Deseret News web sites during the months of August and September 2009.)