by Josh Hogan

Libby Anne's long blog featured in the December 8^th edition of Times and Reasons about how she lost faith in the "pro-life" movement was very thought-provoking. As a man I cannot speak to the great sacrifices women go through for us as they conceive, bear, and raise children. My wife sacrificed so much more of her time and energy, physical, mental, and emotional, for our children than I did because I went off to school or work each day. I was there for her as much as I could be but I did not feel the pain she did. I did not sacrifice personal time, time with friends, meals, and sleep like she did.  I appreciate my own mother more because of what I saw my wife go through for our children. I admire single mothers who sacrifice their whole lives for their children.  

I also cannot speak to this issue from a legal standpoint. I have no expertise in the law. I can only speak from the perspective of a child and citizen on this issue. As an LDS child I have learned several doctrines that relate to this issue. As an LDS Democrat in Utah I realize this issue is a big reason why many of my faith think the Democratic Party is evil. Therefore, limited though I am, I feel compelled to respond to Libby Anne's blog.  

There are many issues surrounding the issue of abortion. Libby Anne focused on an important one. Is a zygote a baby? I believe in the sanctity of life. Our constitution says one of my rights is to live. Therefore, the question I have is, "When did I start to live?" In other words, as a child did my spirit enter my body when I was conceived or somewhere between conception and birth? I don't know. According to Elder Russell M. Nelson, this question is irrelevant. However, this I know. A temple recorder taught me that Church policy is to record stillborn children on family group sheets, making them a part of our family. However miscarriages, which are natural abortions, are not to be recorded on family group sheets. I take from this policy that a spirit whose body has been aborted will have the opportunity to be born again someday. I also take from this policy that the act of being born has eternal significance, whether you are alive or dead at birth. According to my limited understanding of the political part of this issue there is no argument on this matter. Once life has been born our laws protect it. Therefore, Libby Anne's focus on life before birth is appropriate, and it is where the issue of abortion lies.  

Since I believe in the sanctity of life, and I know that the natural development of a zygote results in life, I certainly do not believe in abortions of convenience. I thought Libby Anne addressed this very well. She points out that most people who get abortions cite reasons of distress.  

The other end of the spectrum is conception. This has to do with sexual behavior. I believe sex is sacred, and is only to be done within marriage between a husband and wife. If we all lived this doctrine abortion would not be an issue.  

This leads to another doctrine that I believe, that people have the freedom to make their own choices. It is part of my religion to teach what I know is true to others. This allows people options to choose. Therefore, I believe that abstinence should be taught as an option in sex education classes.  

I also believe that as part of allowing people to make their own choices they should take the consequences of those choices. However by its nature, as Libby Anne points out, abortion involves many people, each with choices to make. There is not only the mother and the child, but those who care about them, like the father and the mother's other children. Expanding the circle of care, there are grandparents and people who would like to have children. Conversely, there may be people who don't care, like an absentee father or even a rapist. There are many people, each with the freedom to choose, that have stake in a pregnancy.  

There are two other points that are important concerning the freedom of choice. First, I cannot not force my choice on those able to make their own choices. Second, those not able to make choices for themselves need to be represented by someone who can make choices for them. If I am an unborn child I would want people who care about me to do so.  

Because of these two things the Church wisely teaches us to council with those who have an important stake in a pregnancy, including our local Church leaders and the Lord Himself, when considering an abortion. I cannot image the emotional turmoil a woman goes through in this situation. She is literally making a life and death decision. She needs our support, not our condemnation, at this time, regardless of how she became pregnant or which decision she makes.  

Knowing all of this, what sort of laws should there be surrounding abortion? It seems to me that the laws need to support the issues involved in this decision. They need to balance the rights and concerns of both the mother and the child, and take into consideration those that would care for the child. I think the Church's policy and practice does this. Except in the case of forced sex or the threatened health of the mother or the child, the child should be allowed to develop naturally. Once born, if the child is not wanted by the mother, the child should be given to someone who wants her/him. The Church has a system to support this policy.  

Outside the Church I am concerned about the part that the child should be given to someone who wants her/him. The Family Proclamation teaches that children should have parents that love and care for them. What if there are not enough people to care for the children of unwanted pregnancies? I don't think there are. Otherwise we would not have orphanages with so many older children. It also seems to me that adoption laws and practices are very restrictive regarding who can adopt. If I am an unborn, unwanted child what would I want you to do for me? Would I want you to let me be born and take my chances in the government child care system or would I want you to abort me so I could have a chance to be born later to someone who would want me? To me this is the crux of the matter for the unborn child. If I could be loved and cared for in the government child care system I would probably want to be born. If not, then I would probably want to take my chances later.  

Considering this, I think laws could be created that support a woman seeking an abortion. She should declare why this is an unwanted pregnancy. She should be examined to determine her health and the health of the fetus.  We should make sure she understands that if left alone a healthy fetus will become a person with the same rights that she has. We should also determine who might want the baby. Once the mother understands the issues surrounding an abortion she will have the information she needs to choose what is best for her and for her child.  

She may decide to abort due to her own emotional trauma. She may decide to go to term and keep the baby despite risking her own health or even her own life. There are a myriad situations that could happen. I think the laws should simply address the education of the mother regarding the effects of her choice on herself, the unborn child, and those that want the child.  

These principles guide me in my outlook on abortion and address the issues involved therein from conception through birth through the raising of the child, from the mother to the child to others who care about them both. 

by Crystal

2013 is nearly here! It may already be here by the time you read this blog. I’m sure you’ve made a personal list and checked it twice, but here are a few political resolutions to add to your list for 2013.

1. Brush up on your political knowledge. You might check out thinkers like Jim Wallace or Joseph E. Stiglitz.


2. Brush up on your spiritual knowledge. So many of us say we’re Democrats because of our Mormonism, and not in spite of it, so what better way to boost our political power than with some spiritual power!


3. Sign up 5 friends for LDS Dems. You never know who among your contacts are among those illusive 17% of American Mormons who are also Democrats! It never hurts to ask.


4. Follow LDS Dems on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ldsdems and twitter: http://twitter.com/ldsdems
   


5. Take a messaging workshop with LDS Dems! Watch our email and social media for details. You’ll learn how to talk to your more conservative friends about your values.


6. 2013 isn’t a big election year, but every election is important! Commit now to spend at least 5 hours on a campaign. Make some calls, walk for a candidate, help with a mailing or honk-n-wave. No matter your comfort level, there’s something you can do!


7. Do some service with LDS Dems! We’re providing a great opportunity on January 19th. Mark your calendars now and watch our email for details!


8. Write a blog/facebook post/twitter series etc. spelling out why you are a Latter-day Saint and a Democrat. Your post could change some minds! Share it with your family and friends. Just don’t be too push or preachy about it. :)


9. Get engaged in the legislature. Utah’s legislative session is mid January - mid March. We’ll have another LDS Dems day on the hill like we had last year, but stay engaged throughout the rest of the session as well! Write/call your representative. Utah isn’t a huge place, so your contact makes a difference. It can be overwhelming to keep on top of all of the bills that come out in a legislative session. We suggest you follow blogs such as Blue in Red Zion to help you keep track of it all!


10. Attend an LDS Dems executive committee meeting. You don’t have to make time to attend one of our meetings every month, but you can work with an executive committee member to find a specific job that you can do for LDS Dems that works with your schedule.


11. 
    

And a bonus resolution for our friends outside of Utah: help found a chapter in your state! A number of LDS Democrats have been meeting regularly to launch a national LDS Dems organization. Our next meeting is February 12th, at which we’ll discuss bylaws and some other important items. Email us at [email protected] if you’d like to get involved!

The PBS Newshour ended Monday's broadcast with this piece.  This simple honor roll of photographs moved me more than any of the other reporting that day.  Please pray for the victims of this tragedy and our national leaders that they might be inspired in the creation of new legislation to curb this violence.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nitqUwpHkXs&w=560&h=315]

RULES_AND_BYLAWS_OF_THE_LDS_DEMOCRATIC_CAUCUS_4.10.12F[1]

Post by Joseph M -

Nothing like the back-and-forth, finger-pointing, and grand-standing bluster of John Boehner to throw water on any lingering post-election celebratory feeling.  Yes, the congressional Republicans are the ultimate buzz-kill.  And of course, once again, President Obama is proving himself perfectly diplomatic in the fiscal cliff negotiations.  He is even doing campaign stops, which makes me suprisingly nostalgic for two months ago when the idea of moving forward seemed much more of a possiblity than it does right now.  Also, the President is proposing real compromise (cuts in spending in addition to raising rates on the wealthiest of Americans) while the Republicans are offering a vague proposal to close tax loopholes as a way to generate revenue from the upper 2% and to cut spending on who-knows-what.

A large majority of Americans agree with President Obama's balanced approach to dealing with the fiscal cliff.  In fact, according to Kwame Holman from the PBS Newshour:

...new polls show Americans do want compromise, and it's the Democrats who hold the edge. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday shows a majority, 65 percent, say President Obama has a mandate on both increasing taxes on the wealthy and reducing federal spending.

A similar two-thirds are willing to accept tax increases or cuts in federal government programs to reach a deal. But while public support on taxes is overwhelming, opinion on proposed cuts is less so.

So according to these numbers, even Americans who may not have supported President Obama for reelection acknowledge that his balanced approach to looming fiscal cliff is the way to go.  Presently, Obama's approval rating is at 55%, while the Republicans stand at a 32% approval rating.  See the full report from the PBS Newshour's coverage for more complete "notes" of the going-ons of this debate.

But what does this say about the Republican's digging-their-heels approach to dealing with President Obama's agenda?  Apparently, the Republicans view this as their means of getting what they want, while America sees it as more of the same.  However, President Obama clearly has the upper hand.  The Republicans run the risk of being the party that denied tax cuts to the majority of Americans in order to preserve tax breaks for the wealthy.  And seriously, is $250,000 really the defining cut-off for the middle class?  Many would disagree and believe that Obama's proposal of going back to the pre-Bush tax rates are not enough.  According to Chris Weigant, "If we're going to tax the rich... then let's tax the rich."  See his recommendations on Huffington Post.com.

So hope and change are once again side-stepped by Boehner's need to hold a daily press conference where he says the same thing over and over again with his gravely voice and his blunt affect: "It's clear the president is just not serious about cutting spending!"  Meanwhile, America's economy is inching closer and closer to the edge of some cliff.  (Probably in the Arizona desert somewhere.)  Which causes me to think: while I hope we are spared a Thelma-and-Louise-type ending in 2012, (although there are a few things/people/Boehner I would like to see driven over a cliff,) maybe this is the end the Mayans where predicting?  In lieu of that meteorite colliding with the earth, we get a tumble off of a fiscal cliff instead.  This might be the time we should call our members of congress.

See this inforgraphic from DailyKos.com for more insight into the so-called fiscal cliff.

[caption id="attachment_2970" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Click on the Infographic to link to Daily Kos[/caption]

2013fireside (3)

I just read a book that changed the way I think about both religion and politics. The book is entitled “#Occupy the Bible: What Jesus Really Said (And Did) About Money and Power” by the Rev. Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite. Those who have read the works of Hugh Nibley will find much that is familiar. Dr. Thistlethewaite challenges Christians to #Occupy the Bible by reading the words of Christ from the perspective of those he was preaching to: poor itinerant day laborers and artisans who were suffering under the tyranny of Roman rule, abetted by the Jewish theocracy.

The author finds her inspiration in the Social Gospel movement during the Gilded Age between the Civil War and World War I, and how the movement worked with the leaders of the Progressive movement to fight for social change in America. The problem then, as it is now, are the social ills in America resulting from the ever widening gulf between the rich and poor in our nation.

Dr. Thistlethwaite calls on followers of Christ to #Occupy the Bible by reading it from the street level; when the modern equivalent of Jesus’ original audience dwell today. She promises that if we do so, we will see that the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth was not a prophecy about a future coming of the Kingdom of God, but was an admonition to reject the Kingdom of Caesar to bring about the Kingdom of God in the present. I was led to understand many of the Lord’s parables and much of his preaching in a new light. Foremost is the call from Jesus, in his very first public sermon in Nazareth, to bring about a return of the Old Testament Jubilee; to do a “reset” of the Jewish economic system by forgiving debt, freeing slaves, and returning property taken from the poor. (This is especially reminiscent of Dr. Nibley’s teaching.) And it becomes clear that this call for Jubilee, which threatened the riches and power of the ruling class in Jesus’ day, was the root cause of the fierce anger against the Savior that ultimately cost him his life.

“#Occupy the Bible” is a clarion call for followers of Christ to take upon them the mantle the followers of the Social Gospel fulfilled during the Progressive era. The book challenges us to be on the streets, among the poor, and to speak out bravely and passionately in our communities and churches for social justice. Praying for the poor and dispossessed is important, but must be followed by action. When I closed the last page, I had the feeling that maybe progressive Latter-day Saints need to speak up a little more, to be the disciples on the right hand of the Savior that the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats talks about. Here’s a final quote from Dr. Thistlethwaite: “All Christians, left, right and center, as well as Unitarians, can come together around the simple truth that the biblical message as taught by Jesus of Nazareth was the love of God and neighbor acted out in the Jesus movement. What Jesus and followers did was build up communities of equality and mutual support, economic fairness, gender equality, and live a life of celebration of one another and our love of God. And where those values were not realized in His society, Jesus and his followers protested. That’s real, and that should be the message that the church not only teaches, but also lives.”

You can read more at http://occupythebible.org/

 

Post by Joseph M -

So I am going to put my own spin on this (mostly because I'm an optimist in all things liberal) and make a guess that "Not Affiliated" is the new code word for "Democrat" in the leadership of the Church.  (Unless, as a friend of mine pointed out, it just means they are Libertarian.)  Regardless, we really find no surprises in this article found in the Salt Lake Tribune.  Many of the leaders of the Church are Republican, (even though I always fancied Elder Scott to be a Democrat.  He does that whole thing in General Conference where he asks us to imagine he's talking personally to us, and it seems so caring and warm, I've always thought: "He has to be a Democrat!") And we also learn that all 15 voted in this past election, although Church spokesman Trotter points out, "Party affiliation does not necessarily indicate how an individual votes. As an institution, the church is politically neutral. The purpose of the church is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ."

And also from the Times article: "LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter says party affiliation and voting are personal matters for individuals, even church leaders, and he warned people not to read too much into the voting-registration records."

Regardless of what many Republican Mormons might say, (i.e., how can we follow the prophet if we don't vote like the prophet!?!) I'm not swayed in my political leanings.  I am a Democrat.  It is part of my soul.  But I try not to confuse my politics with the gospel.  This can be difficult for me at times because politics is much more provocative and immediate, while a Sunday School lesson might feel more repetitive and uninteresting.  But I do feel strongly that while being a Democrat reflects my belief in the gospel, I know it's not the same thing as my faith and testimony.  It is much more complex than that - and surely it is much more complex than this graphic might be understood to imply:

Earlier today Buzzfeed blogger (and Mormon) McKay Coppins wrote the following:

In an evolution from its past teachings, the Mormon Church launched a new website Thursday asserting that sexuality is not a personal choice.

Read more

Post by Joseph M -

See Hannah's original post here.

When President Obama won the 2008 election, Seattle took to the streets.  And I also joined the throngs of thousands of people who celebrated downtown and up on Capitol Hill.  I remember feeling encouraged and excited to be a part of the community of Americans who had joined together to make the victory possible.  I felt the energy and motivation of a newly called missionary - all I needed was the rallying call of the President to tell me what needed to be done, and I would be there.  All of us Obama supporters seemed to be of the same mind; tell us what needs to be done - lead us into battle - and we will heed the call.  However, clear direction never came.  The recession hit like a hurricane, and President Obama became entangled in a health care battle with congress that left many of us wondering what our part in this fight might be.

This election, President Obama has the opportunity to continue to engage with his supporters and the electorate in ways that go beyond 2008.  Obama for America is still sending emails - of course not in the volume we saw during the campaign when a request for donations hit the inbox several times a day.   But this new campaign allows each of us to stay involved with the President's agenda during this lame duck session and also during his second term.  We Mormons for Obama may see life as going "back to normal" after the frenzied election season.  Conversations may shift away from the hope and change possible during this second term, and like 2008, we may be unsure of how we can continue to support President Obama.  I am not sure I have all of the answers, but I do know that we can stay involved by responding to the President's requests for support (whether that is writing to congressional leaders or sharing our support for President Obama's policies on Facebook or on our blogs.)

Here are two articles from that discuss the ongoing effort by Obama for America to promote the President's positions on the upcoming fiscal cliff.  The first if from TheHill.com; the second is from NPR.org

This is an excerpt from an email circulating from the Obama campaign this past week:

More than 1 million supporters took our survey last week, sharing feedback on their 2012 campaign experience and how they'd like to see us move forward. While we're still sorting through all of the responses, I wanted to share some initial results:

-- An overwhelming majority of survey respondents reported feeling welcomed and included, that their time was used effectively, and that there was a clear understanding of how their work directly helped re-elect President Obama.
-- Among those of you who volunteered at least a few hours, a majority went into a field office, though many of you got involved instead through the campaign's online tools such as Dashboard and the call tool. 
-- About 1 in 10 survey respondents are interested in running for office at some point, using their organizing skills to continue fighting for real and lasting change. That level of political engagement is inspiring.
-- Almost half of all survey respondents forwarded campaign emails, and more than one-third communicated with friends on Facebook -- both great ways to pass along information about the President's positions and plans, as well as opportunities to get involved.
-- Nearly 80 percent of survey takers want to keep volunteering, primarily around the President's legislative agenda.

Also included was this quotation from a supporter in Texas: "Don't let the energy of the re-election slip through your fingers. This is a very powerful network of people."  And this expresses how I felt in 2008 and how I feel now.  Check out barackobama.com to learn about the issues and tasks at hand and the ways that we can be involved.  I am hopeful that we Mormons can stay engaged in the change we hope to see in our country, whether on a national or local level.  Let's continue to follow the words recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants to stay anxiously engaged in a good cause; let's continue to move forward.