Pro-choice and, more recently, gay-rights stands of the national Democratic Party have helped Republicans paint the donkey-symbol party as taboo.
Jensen said it is time for LDS members to take a broader view of political affiliation. "We would probably hope that they wouldn't abandon a party necessarily because it has a philosophy or two that may not square with Mormonism. Because, as I say,[parties] in their philosophies ebb and flow," Jensen said.
"You know, the Republicans came very close last time to bringing a pro-abortion plank into their platform. That was maybe the biggest battle of their [1996 national] convention," he said. "Which shows that if you're a pure ideologue, eventually you're going to have trouble in either party."
"Everyone who is a good Latter-day Saint is going to have to pick and choose a little bit regardless of the party that they're in and that may be required a lot more in the future than it has been in the past. But I think there's room for that and the gospel leaves us lots of latitude."
What I love about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it does not dictate to us everything that we should do or believe. Instead, we are to guide our lives by the two great commandments: To love God, and to love our neighbors. When I make choices about politics, I decide based on the principle of charity and the example of Jesus Christ, not by what any politician or pundit may say. That is my litmus test.
5 comments:
I agree. I have "heard" that a couple apostles are not republicans.
A presidential race should be about who you honestly believe is better for your country, not making sure your party wins. I was going to blog about this too. Too many people today remain loyal to just their side. Although I almost always vote republican, I always look at the issues.
Thank you Carrie for this post.
I agree. I don't think you should remain loyal to one particular party. Both parties have corruption and ideals that are not in accordance with the teachings of the church. But when it comes to electing a politician or a President, I can not support someone who supports gay marriage or abortion, especially a man who will nominate 2 supreme courts justices in the next few years.
For me, I feel like I have to carefully look at both candidates (Republican or Democrat) and then choose between the two people instead of the two parties. In fact, this last presidential election I had a very hard time deciding who to vote for. I felt like both candidates had lots of good qualities and I was worried about some of the views on both sides too. It took a lot of searching, listening to debates, and even praying for me to finally feel confident about my final choice. You've got to pick and choose and even pray about it and make the best choice you can.
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