What I Learned and What I'm Going to Do Next
President Heber J Grant has said, “I pray for our country and ask the Lord to bless those who preside in the nation; in the states, in the cities, and in the counties." Now that the election is over I hope as LDS Democrats that we will not only pray for the victors, but reach out to them to continue letting them know our concerns.
President Grant continues, "I pray God to inspire the people that they will obey His commands, and elect good men to office; that they will bury their political differences and seek for good men to hold office..."
I have not had a lot of experience with politics. In fact, this year was my first attempt at being active in any caucus. During this election year I reached out to both Democratic and Republican candidates to try to learn their views on various issues, whether they were high profile issues or not. My goal was to get past the campaign rhetoric and learn what they really thought. By doing so I learned a few of things.
First, I learned that there are many good people running for office. Most of them truly want to make a positive difference. I admire those of you who ran this year. Thank you.
Second, I learned that many candidates, or their campaign personnel, do not respond to people who simply want to know what they think. I don't know why. In my ignorance I thought they would respond to people who are truly interested. Perhaps it is not worth their time answering emails and phone calls compared to updating websites, cold-calling, or writing the next media response. Nonetheless, it was a surprisingly difficult process to get clarification on the issues from the candidates.
Third, I learned most voters are apathetic. They complain a lot and believe many rumors, but they are not interested enough to take the time to get involved. I understand these people. I was one of them until recently. However, now I have met many of you and am excited to work with you from now on. I hope you know how truly exceptional you are.
Fourth, most voters make their decisions on their feelings. These feelings are primarily influenced by the campaign rhetoric in the press. I think it is sad that decisions are made in such a shallow way. (Perhaps this is the reason for the second thing I learned above.)
Fifth, candidates and I agree on most things, no matter their political party. This is something I already knew, but was not sure was still true. I have tracked congress in the past and agree with most of the things they pass by voice vote, which is a lot of the legislation they pass.
The press talks a lot about the differences between our two major parties. Pointing out differences is important for candidates so voters can make the best choice. However, when it comes to governing we need to use a different method.
I met Congressman Matheson for the first time this year. In that meeting he said that he tries to find common ground with people before attempting to solve differences. I like that. I think that if we get past the evil party labels we put on one another we will find that we agree on many things. This will give us an opportunity let down our guard and create ground on which we can agree on more things that are good for our country.
Sixth, campaigning is ugly. I am disappointed at the name calling and accusations I heard and saw from both parties and their candidates this year. I hope in the future our LDS members and candidates will be better examples of our religion. Obviously we will disagree, but let's not "be disagreeable" (President Thomas S. Monson). As President Obama said, "I'd be remiss if my values were limited to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends. So instead, I must try - imperfectly, but I must try - to make sure those values motivate me as one leader of this great nation." (National Pray Breakfast, 2/2012) (On that note, I had ample opportunity to forgive the candidates for maligning one another. :) )
Seven, it takes a lot of work and money to get the word out! Again, thanks to those of you who are involved!!!
From my rookie year learnings I have a few goals.
First, reorganize the Utah County Chapter of LDS Democrats. We lost our wonderful chair, Muriel Xochimitl, to her busy life. Here where the Republican party is so strong we need to organize to fulfill our mission.
Second, keep learning about the candidates and the issues. Come next election I should have few questions for the incumbents because I have been tracking them for 2 years.
Third, work with those willing to be Democratic candidates in 2014 to prepare for that election. I hope they will be willing to help us educate the public on the issues between now and when they run.
I am sure my sophomore year will bring many more opportunities to learn about this world of politics. I look forward to your tutelage as we work to instill LDS values into our communities, state, nation, and world.
Josh Hogan, Acting Chair, Utah County LDS Democrats
Josh is a native of Hansen, ID, who joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 15. He served a mission to Taiwan and holds a B.A. in Chinese from BYU and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Pheonix. He is currently the Manager of Enterprise Data Management at NuSkin. Josh and his wife Lisa have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. He has served in a variety of callings in the LDS Church. Josh is a Reagan-voting-Republican-turned-Independent, and currently serves as the Democratic Chair of Payson's 2nd District and Acting Chair of the Utah County Chapter of LDS Democrats.
A day of fasting and prayer for America
We are concerned about the future of our country, as are most Americans. In this season when we have chosen new leaders for our nation and our communities, and in the spirit of following the counsel of the First Presidency, we would like to encourage our fellow Latter-day Saints, and all Americans of good will, to join us in fasting and prayer on December 2nd for our country. In this fast, we ask those who participate to consider the following in their prayers:
1. Thank our Heavenly Father for the great privilege of living in America.
2. Express thanks to the Lord and ask His blessings to be on candidates for political office, regardless of political affiliation or who won or lost. Running for office is a great sacrifice for the candidates, their families, and their supporters and we should be sincerely grateful to them for caring so much to serve our nation and communities.
3. Pray that America’s citizens will take their responsibility seriously to thoughtfully and prayerfully study the issues and engage with their elected leaders on finding fair, common sense solutions to the problems facing our nation. On this matter, as in other aspects of our lives, we should with humility “seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand” (Jacob 4:10).
4. Plead with the Lord that our newly elected leaders will be inspired to approach their great responsibilities with humility, hard work and respect for others, especially those with differing political views. We would ask the Lord that our newly elected officials would be inspired to follow the counsel in “The Mormon Ethic of Civility” (Church Press Release, October 2009) and in Chapter Four of President Gordon B. Hinckley’s book, “Standing for Something”, entitled “Our Fading Civility”. Pray that the Lord will soften the hearts of Americans of different religions, ethnic backgrounds and political views toward one another that the spirit of divisiveness and enmity that has existed in the political sphere will cease.
5. Pray that we as Americans would remember the counsel in D&C 134, that “governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man”, and “that every man should be honored in his station, rulers and magistrates as such, being placed for the protection of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty”. Help all Americans to render proper respect to those we have chosen to lead us, regardless of whom they personally voted for – and help those so chosen to earn that respect.
6. Finally, we would pray that our newly elected leaders would be prompted to have special care toward those who are most vulnerable among us; our children, people with disabilities, the sick, and those suffering temporary economic distress during these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Executive Committee, LDS Democratic Caucus
Reflections
Kelly shows support for President Obama in Virginia[/caption]Post by Joseph M -
Thanksgiving is surely a great time for reflection. Rob's post, Michael Otterson's guest article in the Washington Post, and this recent post by Joanna Brooks have all caused me to think on this past election season and the part that we Mormons for Obama played in it. I am thankful for the community of saints who have come together here and the amazing amount of good that we have accomplished. Not only have we demonstrated our support for President Obama, but we also have shown the world that Mormons are a diverse group of individuals with varied political ideas and persuasions. (And I fully acknowledge that this post is starting off a tad bit self-congratulatory.)
I have especially enjoyed hearing the many stories that folks have shared about their Mormons for Obama t-shirts and bumper stickers. Kelly ended up in an Italian online news journal with her shirt. And another example: Butch in Pennsylvania emailed me describing reactions that he has received from people. He takes his sister shopping and sometimes will wait in the car, and he has enjoyed watching the positive reaction of the passersby. (This kind of sounds like missionary work.)
He writes, "I have to laugh at stop lights here - seeing people take pictures and some honking their horns." Of course not everyone was happy with his bumper sticker: "one lady pulled up next to me and shook her finger at me, scolding me!" But Butch isn't alone in seeing some negative reactions - as we see in this post by Joanna Brooks - but much of the reaction has been positive. And even when it wasn't, we found it humorous all the same.
In fact, many people found this website and Facebook group because of the bumper stickers on your cars or the t-shirt that you casually wore to the grocery store. One woman emailed that she was tailed down the street, and when she finally exited her car, her follower asked, "where did you get that bumper sticker? I need one!"
Read this wonderful post by Jana Reiss about her thoughts on the bumper sticker and how the conjunction "and" is not enough.Admittedly, we Mormons for Obama have a lot to be thankful for this season. Also, we were pleased to discover that Mormons actually voted for Obama in higher numbers than those who voted Democrat in 2004 when Bush was reelected. (Or said another way, GW Bush received more Mormon votes than did Romney.) See this article from Business Insider, and thank you to Dave in Seattle for emailing this to us.
I am grateful for a lot this Thanksgiving season. And I am especially grateful to all of the Mormons for Obama out there who stood up for the President (and sometimes made difficult sacrifices) in the midst of a contentious election season that sometimes came closer to home than we would have hoped or anticipated. Please share your stories with us! We would love to hear about your experiences with your t-shirts and bumper stickers! (And Happy Thanksgiving!)
Mormonism Stayed off the Table: Thank You OFA and DNC
Rev. Derrick Harkins, National Director of Faith Outreach for the DNC
It's hard to believe that the election ended less than two weeks ago. I didn't post much the last few weeks of the campaign because I was knocking doors in Florida, and there's one thing I must say:
THANK YOU to Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee for keeping Governor Romney's Mormonism and mine off the table this campaign! I never doubted President Obama's or Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz's commitment to steer clear of religious attacks, but presidential campaigns are gigantic operations. For Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee to keep the message that tight required serious dedication on the part of staffers and surrogates to resist the urge to "go there."
In the most high-profile anti-Mormon maneuver by a surrogate of which I am aware, she quickly announced her regret for her remarks. I recognize this effort didn't prevent Bill Maher, Andrew Sullivan, and other pundits from attacking the Church, and that we read some news stories that were uncomfortable-but-accurate, but I think these things further underscore the tremendous amount of work the campaign did to keep Mormonism a non-issue in its own operations. Throughout the campaign, Latter-day Saints on the other side of the political aisle would ask me, "What are you going to do when they attack Mormonism in late October?" I told them, "Not going to happen." Thank you again, OFA and DNC, for proving me right and for running a great campaign.
Too often we fail to recognize what goes right in politics. If you (Latter-day Saint or otherwise), want to express your thanks to Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee for keeping Mormonism out of it, I encourage you to leave your name and state in the comments.
Abortion
It has been my experience that the majority of mormons choose their political ideology based primarily upon one issue: Abortion. It is sad that this happens as I know many mormon liberals who consider themselves pro-life. Harry Reid, for example, pursues most of the Democratic agenda with the exception of abortion (he is pro-life). So I want to first say that one can be liberal without being pro-choice. In this post however, I want to present the case for pro-choice mormons. In my experience, most pro-life mormons' views on abortion are influenced by two things: 1) The view that a fetus is a full human being. 2) That the church is "officially against" abortion.
At End of the Campaign
I am still incredibly excited about last Tuesday night's win - and I guess I'll admit, I've felt no small desire to gloat. This is partly due to the amazing amount of vitriol we've received in emails and comments on this website. And now that Governor Romney has gone from that title back to Brother Romney, we've seen an overwhelming increase in "hate mail" here; I've been deleting inappropriate comments regularly, and I have to stay on top of it or I'll find myself swamped in it like a zombie apocalypse. I keep thinking, "who are these people? and how did they find our email address? (And then I remember, "Oh yeah, that's right. I put it out there on the website.")
But then I saw this video - and I am humbled. President Obama is not gloating here, but instead he expresses genuine gratitude for his supporters who have worked so hard to make this second term possible. As Brooks and Shields pointed out on Friday's PBS NewsHour, this is a side of President Obama that we don't often see. He generally plays it very "cool" and expresses a limited range of emotion. But considering the ugliness of this election season and the bitter battle we've all just witnessed, his heartfelt speech to his campaign staff in Chicago revealed a truly inspired man with a depth of feeling that often goes unrecognized. I am thrilled for these next four years. And the President is already back to work, taking the lead towards a great compromise that will help us avoid the "fiscal cliff." So once again, let each of us get back to work as well - mending fences, repairing relationships (Facebook or otherwise,) and maybe even getting our home and visiting teaching done! Also, let's follow the words of our church leaders released in a statement this past week:
We congratulate President Obama on winning a second term as President of the United States.
We invite Americans everywhere, whatever their political persuasion, to pray for the President, for his administration and the new Congress as they lead us through difficult and turbulent times. May our national leaders reflect the best in wisdom and judgment as they fulfill the great trust afforded to them by the American people.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBK2rfZt32g?rel=0]
Is there reason for hope, Utah Dems?
Let's review some recent history:
2006: This year was actually pretty good for us. Even Utahns were tired of the Bush wars, and we were starting to see troubling times for the economy. Progress was made, baby steps to be sure, but progress. We had high hopes for the next cycle. Which leads to:
2008: I have to admit, personally, that after my favorite candidate (Bill Richardson) was out of the picture, I started rooting for Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton. The reason was very simple: I knew Utahns hated the Clintons, so I figured Obama at the head of the ticket would be the better choice for electing Utah Democrats. Sort of misjudged that one, didn't I? It remains a mystery to me why, from the very beginning, there was such enmity from the people of this state towards a man who obviously is faithful to his wife, adores his daughters, and despite all the contrary rhetoric, is very much a centrist. Hate to say this, but is there a possibility some of our fellow Mormons didn't get the 1978 memo from President Kimball? Anyway, turned out Obama was a drag on our candidates that year, for whatever reason.
2010: The Tea Party revolution. Don't need to say more. Democrats across the nation caught cold that year, Utah Democrats caught the avian flu.
2012: The Romney factor. We already talked about that.
So, what happens next? Just from the laws of probability, there is only a one in sixteen chance we can have four bad years in a row! But there are more reasons for optimism. The Romney factor is gone for good. The economy will get better the next two years, and Democrats will justifiably get credit for it. We will know in two years that Obamacare did not, in fact, lead to the ruin of the nation. Most of all, every nasty conspiracy/apocalyptic prediction against President Obama will have been discredited. (Rachel Maddow made a pretty good summary of recent ones in this rant.) At that point, even the most dedicated Obama haters will have to come to terms with themselves. Latter-day Saints do believe in repentance. Thanks to the letter last week from the First Presidency, I'm already seeing some softening towards President Obama among some of my ward members. If we can just be patient for two more years, things will start to look rosy for Democrats in Utah.
Book of Mormon and Class Warfare
“One scours the endless, incantatory pages of Joseph Smith’s revelation in vain for any suggestion that wealth complicates the spiritual lives of believers. Not for Mormons the queasy business about the camel going through the needle’s eye before a rich man enters the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead, paradise is pretty much set aside for the enterprising rich, whose upward mobility is thought to persist even in the three-tiered scheme of the Mormon afterlife.”
This excerpt from a Harper’s Magazine piece on the economics of Mormonism wasn’t too surprising: most articles I’ve seen about Latter Day Saints contain a few factual errors, instances of poor research. It’s a complicated topic and this can be easily forgiven. What I came to realize, however, was that any number of Mormons draw the very same conclusion, and for a Latter-day Saint, that conclusion is preposterous, crass, even obscene. This is the first in a series of notes which draw attention to scriptures that either condemn wealth or promote economic equality and wealth redistribution. This should not be controversial; one does not have to believe these things are the role of government, though there IS some support for that in the Book of Mormon. However, given the evidence, one should accept these things as being among the primary goals of every faithful LDS believer. In the words of President Uchtdorf, “Sometimes we see welfare as simply another gospel topic—one of the many branches on the gospel tree. But I believe that in the Lord’s plan, our commitment to welfare principles should be at the very root of our faith and devotion to Him.”
Read more
November 09, 2012
Scriptures say what?
Some favorite passages from the scriptures related to wealth, class, and justice. Please enjoy!
November 09, 2012
No Mormon President - thankfully
One thing all of us know: if something bad happens and a Mormon is involved, you will see that plastered all over the news reports. Murderers, thieves and spies of other religions - you will never know what their faith is. Not so with Mormons. That's usually the lead sentence in the story.
With that thought in mind, consider the following: Think back during the worst days of the Iraq War, when America was pretty much despised around the world, even among our usual allies. Now ask yourself: What if George W. Bush had been a Mormon? You know the answer to that: all the negative stuff being said around the world would have applied to the Church, not just America. What kind of an effect do you think that would have had on the missionary work?
Most Latter-day Saints have only thought of the upside of having a Mormon in the Oval Office; they haven't thought of the negative ramifications. Let me put it this way: the folks who work at 50 E. South Temple are wise men of the world. Given the possible negative effects of an unpopular Mormon American president on the Church's image, something tells me they probably weren't participating in the fast and prayer thing to have Romney elected. Their letter congratulating President Obama actually sounded pretty sincere. Maybe this is part of the reason.