In modern times, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has regularly disclosed its official stance on political neutrality. The most salient points of that stance are that the Church itself does not support specific parties or candidates, and that members may not use the name or the facilities of the Church to imply support for specific parties or candidates. Everybody knows these things. The prohibition on preference is clear.
Or is it?
In the movie Dumb and Dumber, one character gently rebuffs a suitor by telling him that his chances with her are one in a million. The oblivious suitor nods as if processing her message, and then he exclaims, “So you're telling me there's a chance!”
Throughout the same decades that I have heard Church leadership affirm its official political neutrality, I have heard rank-and-file members of the Church state that we should vote for the party of morality--and that in the US, that means the Republican Party.
Please understand: these statements are usually made on an informal basis, one-on-one, and are usually not said during Church worship services. I think the only time I heard a Church member state a preference from the pulpit was when a sister asked, in her closing prayer, for God to protect President Trump in the position that He had chosen for Trump. But off-the-cuff remarks supporting Republicans can be heard in many of the less formal social meetings of the Church. On social media, Latter-day Saints are just as likely as other people to publicly voice their political leanings--and most of them lean hard right.
When the Church sends the consistent message that it does not prefer parties or candidates, why do so many Latter-day Saints respond, “Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, we know you mean that we should vote Republican”?
Let's zoom out for a moment. The desire to choose moral rulers is not unique to Latter-day Saints. Some other churches encourage involvement in politics. In fact, some of them endorse specific parties and candidates.
One of the most surreal interviews I have seen was on the Christian Broadcasting Network in 2011. Republican candidate Newt Gingrich justified cheating on his second wife with his third wife by citing “how passionately [he felt] about this country”. The question to him was a softball, gently tossed by the host David Brody after invoking God’s forgiveness.
https://youtu.be/5Zde_U4s9Wo?t=316&is=8NW8s8e--TnNVdFN
Newt Gingrich was a Puritan on the streets (he led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton over sexual misconduct), but a hypocrite between the sheets. Why would a Christian influencer like Brody want to publicly support such a candidate? How did Christians get to that point?
The answer is the two-party myth: the belief that only votes for one of the two major political parties can do any good. Well-intentioned people across the entire political spectrum truly believe that if they don't vote for the horrible candidate that claims to represent their interests, then they will be directly helping the opposing major party. They also believe that the opposing major party is not just horrible, but is the worst thing that could ever happen to this country. I have lost track of the number of otherwise intelligent people who have tried to explain to me (like I’m five) that I am supporting evil when I vote for a third party. Voters from both major parties wholeheartedly believe this, and both major parties are determined to perpetuate that belief.
In his CBN interview, Gingrich (or the editors) made sure to lead off with intimidating statements about Muslims and atheists. Of course Christians want to avoid scary things like that, things that supposedly could threaten our Christian way of life. And if Democrats are supported by scary groups, then our only choice is to give more power to the Republicans who claim to be Christian, in order to save us. Right?
Fifteen years after that Gingrich interview, we see where those assumptions have gotten Christians. A disproportionate percentage of them voted three times for Donald Trump, whose personal and public actions have frequently violated Christian ideals on a wide variety of subjects. They have maintained their support for him as he has manipulated the stock market and accepted bribes from convicted criminals and foreign powers. They have stood by as he has brazenly carved away the checks and balances of the Constitution--the document that Latter-day Saints, in particular, believe Jesus established. When Gingrich was a candidate, the party asked Republicans to turn a blind eye. When Trump became president, the party asked them to live a blind life. And they accepted.
Ask them why. Likely, their first answer will be to stammer that Democrats are worse. Ask them what Democrats have done that is worse than the personal and official atrocities of Donald Trump. They will then be forced to deny Trump's most visible atrocities, and/or make ridiculously unfounded claims against Democrats. It's uncomfortable when the truth is not on your side.
The religious right is frightened and confused. They have always looked to trusted religious leaders for guidance, and now those leaders are telling them to double down on the party of Trump. As a wise woman told me, “They just never made a voting contingency plan in the event their party turns out to be corrupt.”
As noted above, Latter-day Saints have not been told by top leaders to vote for one party or another. But their fear and confusion matches those of other Christians, so they have chosen to follow the example of churches whose leaders are publicly supporting Republicans.
It's time for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to issue a statement. I don't know why its leaders have stayed silent for so long (even after Pope Leo XIV has spoken out about human rights abuses perpetuated by a certain party). What might it sound like if they spoke up?
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