Utah Senator Mike Lee compared President Donald Trump to Captain Moroni in a recent Trump-Pence campaign event in Arizona, which has a very large LDS population, and which has become a swing state. The Salt Lake Tribune covers the story, which I include below. Because Lee has received a lot of criticism for his comments from LDS and non-LDS people alike, I want to take a moment to weigh in.
Senator, thank you for your courage and for being willing to speak the truth. You realize, unlike some members of our Church, that President Trump, love him or hate him, is the last man standing between freedom and tyranny in this the United States of America. I wish Mitt Romney had 1/10 of your courage and humility.
Your humility is especially refreshing as most of us remember that you were a never-Trumper with Mitt 4 years ago. But, you, like many of us, have seen the results of this President, who has lowered taxes, reduced regulations, been unabashedly pro-life, nominated 3 conservative Justices to the Supreme Court, funded our military while bringing troops home, supported law enforcement, supported Israel, supported governors and states during times of crisis, and much more… And now, realize that this is a man who is doing all that he promised and more.
I fully support your leadership in our State and Nation and love your comparison between President Trump and Captain Moroni. Honest people know and appreciate the message being conveyed and I think it’s quite apt and timely. Thank you, Senator Lee!
Americans may have called President Donald Trump just about everything possible this year, good and bad. But standing by his side at an Arizona rally on Wednesday, Sen. Mike Lee called him something new to urge Latter-day Saints to vote for him: “Captain Moroni.”
“To my Mormon friends, my Latter-day Saint friends,” Lee, R-Utah, said as he pointed to Trump standing by his side, “think of him as Captain Moroni. He seeks not power, but to pull it down.”
Lee added, “He seeks not the praise of the world or the ‘fake news,’ but he seeks the well-being and the peace of the American people.”
He then asked a crowd with many cheering Latter-day Saints — which a video shows had many sitting close together without masks — “Are you willing to stand with me and millions and millions of others who want four more years?” A loud cheer followed.
Lee, an Arizona native, campaigned at numerous rallies in that swing state on Tuesday and Wednesday, including one sponsored by Latter-day Saints for Trump. The president’s campaign spokesperson Samantha Zager said earlier that was part of a “concerted effort with our outreach to the LDS community in Arizona and Nevada, seeking to expand President Trump’s base of support.”
Polling has showed former Vice President Joe Biden having a narrow lead over Trump in the swing state.
Lee comparing Trump and Captain Moroni — who is a different character than the prophet and later angel Moroni whose statue tops many of the faith’s temples — quickly brought attacks on social media and elsewhere.
“These are the moves of a desperate campaign, one that fails to understand that governing from the extreme right does not work for our United States,” Rob Taber, president of Latter-day Saints for Biden Harris, wrote in a news release.
Taber complained that it was another example of how “Latter-day Saints for Trump, who never signed Mormon Women for Ethical Government’s pledge, have time and again exploited our shared faith. They have willfully used sacred symbols, including the temple multiple times, in their propaganda.”
Social media also erupted over Lee’s comments, from humorous to condemning.
Sam Houston State historian Benjamin Park tweeted, “I didn’t think I’d have to say this, and I don’t feel like writing a whole op-ed about it, but let me be clear: Donald Trump is not a Captain Moroni.”
@hmdoppelganger tweeted, “@SenMikeLee you humiliate your state and your religion. And Captain Moroni.”
Instead of describing Trump as Captain Moroni, Barbara Jones Brown tweeted that Lee should have realized “King Noah is more like it.” He was an evil ruler in the Book of Mormon who overtaxed his people to support harlots, and who burned a prophet at the stake for criticizing him.
@reluctanteng tweeted, “@SenMikeLee, I knew Captain Moroni. Captain Moroni was a friend of mine. @realDonaldTrump, you’re no Captain Moroni.”
After the backlash, Lee posted a statement on Facebook to explain his remarks.
“Some people found that comparison upsetting, blasphemous, and otherwise wrong,” he noted. “I respect their right to feel that way, and realize that my impromptu comments may not have been the best forum for drawing a novel analogy from scripture.”
Lee went on to say that he never meant to suggest that Trump was a prophet or “should [b]e revered as a religious leader.”
Instead, Lee said he meant to convey that he sees Trump differently than he once did and illustrate parallels between Captain Moroni and Trump. Where Captain Moroni “s[ought] not for power, but to pull it down,” Trump has tried to “drain the swamp,” Lee said.
“In short,” Lee wrote about the comparison, “Donald Trump has far exceeded my expectations by sticking to his effort to reform the federal government even when it’s hard and unpopular.”
During that same rally Wednesday, Lee also sought to appeal to evangelicals and Protestants.
“To my Protestant and evangelical friends, we have to remember that it is by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we’ve had four years of prosperity and peace,” he said as he urged them to vote for Trump.
Reporter Paighten Harkins contributed to this article.
BYU American Heritage icon Frank Fox, spoke out recently against the President of the United States and made the bold claim that he would “bet his eternal salvation” that the Brethren were not quietly supporting President Trump, as Mike Pence is alleged to have said recently in Arizona.
Mr. Fox begins his letter by reminding readers of his bonafides and noting that he’s worked directly with the First Presidency on many important matters over the years. Fox sets the stage so as to say that “he would know,” if the Brethren were voting for and supporting President Trump or not. And he’s so confident that they’re not, that he’s willing to wager his soul on the question.
One final comment. It was recently reported that Vice President Pence, in visiting Arizona, intimated that the General Authorities of the LDS Church were quietly supporting the President. I will bet my eternal salvation against that. The values of patriotism, truthfulness, justice, honor, decency and respect for the law are deeply ingrained in LDS culture. Few church members in full possession of the facts would condone what I have described above. (My emphasis added)
IF this is true, the Brethren wouldn’t be the only prominent members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “unable and unwilling” to support Trump. Jeff Flake, former Senator of Arizona, is so anti-Trump, that he’s joined a coalition of like-minded Republicans, whose sole focus is to make sure Biden beats Trump this November. Flake also voted against Conservative Justice Kavanaugh and threatened other political tricks to show his disdain for the President as he was leaving his senatorial seat.
New York Times, Evan McMullin Anti-Trump, 44 yr single Mormon who endorses Biden
Evan McMullin, failed presidential candidate in 2016, whose sole purpose in running for president, was with the hopes that LDS people all over (especially in Utah) would vote their “consciences” as the Brethren were signaling, and thus create a brokered convention, where the Republican Party would choose a candidate other than Trump to run against Hillary, is another die hard LDS never Trumper. The posturing was all pointing to Mitt Romney to save the election just like he “saved the Olympics” — after all, he was leading the charge against Trump, “the phony, the fraud, the film flam man,” as Romney openly name called him. This was his and McMullin’s and maybe the Church’s plan to get Romney in instead of Trump. Now it would seem that Romney’s only goal in the Senate today is to “protect the world from Trump.“ He made history as the only Republican Senator to vote to impeach and remove Trump from the Office of President and yesterday announced proudly that he had voted in Utah and NOT for Trump. This, despite Trump’s many endorsements and support of Romney over the decades.
Are we, as members of the Church, to believe that this anti-Trump sentiment also exists among the 15 top leaders of the Church and that they too will NOT be voting for President Trump? The Brethren do not ever signal that they disagree with Mitt Romney, Jeff Flake, Evan McMullin, Frank Fox and other LDS public figures. They’ve not said otherwise. Is it possible that these LDS political voices are simply a reflection of private conversations with LDS Church leaders? I sure hope not.
Let me tell you why I believe the Brethren and every member of the Church SHOULD be voting for President Trump this November. (Assuming we believe Gospel principles matter).
First of all, let’s establish one important reality: NOT voting for Trump, IS a vote for Biden.And a vote for Biden IS a vote for a long list of things that should offend freedom loving religious people of all faiths.
Abortion
Gay marriage
Liberal Supreme Court Justices
The abolishment of the Electoral College
The continued advancement of Transgender “laws”
The advancement of pedophilia
The continued legalization of drugs
Higher taxes
More Federal regulations
Court-packing
Adding DC and Puerto Rico as States making it impossible for conservatives to win the Senate or the Presidency or the House.
Orwellian News Control (see Facebook and Twitter as 2 examples of many)
Using the IRS to punish conservatives (see what Obama did D’Souza and many others)
The end of Conservatism as we know it
Closed down economies for “pandemics”
Closing down Churches for our “public safety”
Mask shaming
Riots
#BLM
Antifa legitimized
Defunding police
Defunding the military
Green New Deal
The destruction of our economy
The punishment of anyone not complying or supporting
And much more…
Now, for any who believe my list is exaggerated, I would cite you to research each of the topics listed above. It’s all out there. From liberal media outlets such as Netflix who are in legal and criminal jeopardy for their movie “Cuties” that glamorizes child sexuality — to today’s news that Joe Biden will appoint a commission to “review the Supreme Court’s number of seats” — to Facebook and Twitter being subpoenaed for playing news gods. This list IS what today’s Liberal leftists are pushing for.
If the Brethren are in fact in favor of anyone but Trump, as Professor Fox suggests in his open letter, and are voting accordingly, then here is my open letter to them:
Dear Brethren,
You have spent your entire lives teaching us members of the Church to uphold and sustain righteousness and to discern between truth and error. You have preached against such evils as abortion and homosexuality and have spent millions of tithing dollars in the fight against gay marriage. And we finally have a President who is nominating conservative Supreme Court Justices and hundreds of other conservative Federal Judges across this nation, thus setting the stage to overturn Roe v. Wade, gay marriage, Obamacare, and who knows, maybe even Federal Income tax AND YOUR consciences won’t let you support the man responsible for all this? With all due respect, what on earth are you thinking?
You who call yourselves Prophets and Apostles should be able to see that good is coming from President Trump’s presidency.
Have you forgotten Israel? Has Israel ever had a better ally than President Trump? Look at the peace he and his administration are negotiating in the Middle East! Is this of no value? This is Biblically historic! Obama, Biden, Bushes, Clinton and Hillary did the opposite in the Middle East. They promoted war and desolation. Trump should be given a dozen Nobel Peace prizes for what he’s doing. Instead, he’s given no credit and he’s treated like a buffoon. Under Hillary and Biden and Obama, we got Benghazi. Which, once they unitedly decided to let a US Ambassador and several other American soldiers die, they then fabricated a lie that the attack on the US Embassy in Libya was caused by a video that offended Islam. They are liars and they are murderers. One of my best and dearest childhood friends was killed in Afghanistan. How many more souls will be lost fighting wars, that if they ever had a moral foundation, are immediately politicized by traitors and cowards — most often Democrat politicians and the liberal media. NO President has done more in the last 20 years than President Trump in bringing soldiers home from unending global wars. We should be praising God for that.
Has anyone done more than Trump to uphold the rule of law by nominating more than 200 Federal Judges? Numerous prominent people have argued that President Trump’s actions to appoint conservative Judges throughout the nation will positively impact and reshape our country in ways impossible until now for issues such as gun control, voting rights, abortion, immigration, the environment, etc. Do you no longer believe such issues are important?
Is it true, as it is for Romney and Flake and others that somehow Trump’s personality or his morality offends you too deeply and won’t let you vote for him?
And yet, let’s talk about morality. Senators Flake and Romney, who were so offended by the weak accusations of Christine Ford, against Justice Kavanaugh — 30 years ago — where she “thinks,” she “remembers” the said accused being at a party where bad things were happening. She “thinks” he was there. You holier than thou fools who joined the chorus of idiots screaming that “every woman should be believed!” Jeff, who I know from playing Church ball 30 years ago, you looked so concerned as those women accosted you in the elevator. Their voices invoked deep and solemn, contemplative emotion that YES, you needed to do something. So, you convicted a man, his family, his character — on the foundation of the hearsay testimony of a democratic activist that “thought” she may have seen Kavanaugh at a party 30 years ago!? Are you truly so self-righteous and so foolish? Brethren, did you support Senator Flake in his display of sanctimony? Did you call him to offer your support for his courage?
And yet now, Mr. Flake, you openly endorse Joe Biden, who is being accused by at least one very credible source, of being raped while she was an intern for him in D.C. Unlike, Dr. Ford’s testimony, her’s is corroborated by those she reported the incident to WHEN IT HAPPENED. And she told many witnesses. She wasn’t drunk at some party, Mr. Flake and Senator Romney (and the Brethren, if you agree with them), she was walking the halls of Congress as a sweet and naive young volunteer when she alleges that Joe Biden forced her against a wall, forced himself on her, and pinning her there, “fingered her” and said he wanted to “F— “ her. For a list of many other credible X rated accusations against Biden from other victims, you can read here.
It is worth noting that NONE of these victims are Trump supporters. They deserve to be believed and be heard and be given the same level of concern that you Jeff Flake and you Mitt Romney GAVE Dr. Ford. Not believing Tara Reed and others, after what you did to Justice Kavanaugh, is an utter disgrace.
Now Brethren, let’s talk about another issue that should offend your consciences. And I begin with a question: Did you support or instruct Senator Romney to vote to remove our President from Office? If so, shame on you. Especially given now that we have the facts.
Fact one, President Trump simply asked the new president of Ukraine to look into the many allegations of corruption related to American political figures such as Joe Biden, who admitted on video that he forced Ukraine to fire a prosecutor investigating his son Hunter Biden, or he would make sure Ukraine did not get 1 Billion Dollars in aid that had been promised. Fact two, the prosecutor WAS fired and their case against Hunter and other felons was dropped. Fact three, it turns out now we KNOW, that the “Big Guy” (aka Joe Biden) had reason to be concerned about this investigation because the money trail went up to him. Fact four, this is only the beginning. 30,000 or more pictures of crack pipes and child porn are on Hunter’s computer and witnesses are already testifying against Joe and Hunter for the damning evidence on the device confirming illegal activities including money laundering and who knows what else. Fact five, Joe Biden is a truly compromised man. He sold his office and President Obama’s Office to the highest bidders. Does this not offend you? What else will we discover Mitt, about Hunter and Joe? Are you concerned about your own son who also makes money in the Ukrainian Energy sector? Or your top adviser, Joseph Black, who served alongside Hunter Biden on the Board of Burisma? (See here)
It appears that Romney, Kerry, Biden, McCain, Pelosi, Clinton, Mueller and Schiff all have ties to Ukrainian firms. VP Biden bragged on camera that he was able to force the former Ukraine President to fire a prosecutor who was investigating his son, Hunter, by threatening to withhold $1 BILLION in US loans from Ukraine – all with approval from Obama!
It’s also alleged, “Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert, a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, helped Mitt Romney build his fortune at Bain…” (Source) This ought to give anyone concern given what we know about Maxwell and Epstein.
Mitt, is your disdain for Trump due to the fact that he has dirt on you too? Are you worried that Trump will uncover something in Ukraine that incriminates your family? Your relationship with Joe and Hunter Biden and Jeffrey Epstein?
Brethren, you of all people, should want darkness to come to light as it pertains to all these vital moral and ethical issues. And now, you know for a fact, that Senator Mitt Romney was wrong in his vote to remove our President from Office. Senator Romney should be apologizing right now for having cast his vote and should be repenting of his actions by asking President Trump for forgiveness and acknowledging his error and foolishness before the world. Instead, Romney is doubling down. Do you agree with him?
Do you quietly sustain Senator Romney? Are you secretly voting for Joe Biden or are you writing in some other candidate to assuage your consciences? If yes, I would sure like to know. Just in case your tenures in office have caused you to forget what real LDS conservatives think and feel, let me help you.
We LDS conservatives still revere leaders like President Ezra Taft Benson. He understood the threats we now see taking over our government. We love our country and recognize the current threat and reality that our nation and our freedoms are hanging in the balance. Benson, like Captain Moroni, would take Black Lives Matter at their word, that they are avowed and trained Marxists, and he sure AS HELL would NOT march with them as did Mitt Romney. Brethren, are you not concerned about the message that Church member Mitt Romney’s sympathy for a violent Marxist group sends? President Benson would NOT sustain Senator Romney and like the current Pope who disavows Joe Biden as a Catholic, I guarantee you that President Benson would disavow Romney as a member of the Church and call him an enemy of the State.
Brethren, are you comfortable with the recent statement from the Kremlin that endorses Joe Biden and the Democrat Party?
The Democratic Party, he said, is “traditionally closer to liberal values, it is close to the ideas of social democracy,” and these positions could help build contacts with Russia. Mr. Putin noted that he was for 18 years a member of the Soviet Communist Party. “Ever since, I have liked many of the leftist values,” he said.
Do you really not think it’s important to teach members in a way that makes it more clear as to what form of government we should sustain? You certainly made it clear how you felt about Prop 8. Why so silent today when the stakes are so high? Do you really think we will ever establish Zion if we abandon our love of freedom and knowledge of good government?
Would President Benson NOT vote for Trump, knowing the alternative is the continued road to Socialism and Communism? I think President Benson would be ashamed of Brother Romney and Brother Flake and Brother McMullin and anyone else who doesn’t vote for the obvious less evil candidate we have to choose from, including any of you Leaders of the Church.
Brethren, we conservative members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, join the rest of the country in seeing Mitt Romney as a self-righteous, pompous, snake. He epitomizes hypocrisy. He makes our Church look bad. Just like Harry Reed, Mitt Romney puts the Church in a very bad light. And as a friendly bit of advice, I think many members are starting to wonder if Flake, Romney, McMullin, and even Reed, may actually be an extension of you and your beliefs.
I personally know the daughter of a prominent general authority who most people know was a Democrat. This woman openly supports Black Lives Matter and is voting for Joe Biden, as an active and devout LDS member. She’s one of many LDS people I now see who think it’s “OK” to support such groups, who OPENLY teach things CONTRARY to what THE CHURCH SAYS IT BELIEVES.
I find it ironic that if I associate with a group that you see as a wrongful association, i.e. I choose to read a book that focuses on Christ (The Second Comforter), you threatened my Church membership, BUT you don’t seem to have any issue with members OPENLY supporting and AFFILIATING with Communist, Marxist, Transgenders inciting violence, murder, and mayhem.
And recently President Nelson, you made a statement in General Conference that I think reinforces my concern. You said,
“I grieve that our Black brothers and sisters the world over are enduring the pains of racism and prejudice. Today I call upon our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice. I plead with you to promote respect for all of God’s children.”
Such a statement may cause members to wonder if you too would have marched with Mitt Romney in a #BLM parade. At a minimum, this statement shows you, as the leader of our Church, adding credibility to the idea that there is systemic racism in our country. If we conservative LDS people are being honest, this feels very much like what the Church has done on all major political issues of late — i.e. jump on the bandwagon. If you truly believe that our nation suffers from systemic racism, then you, like Joe Biden, have perhaps been in office too long.
Most of us LOVE our country. We LOVE its people — of all colors! WE don’t think America is racist! And most of us conservative members LOVE President Trump! Despite any moral failings he has, HE has done more to uphold our Freedoms and our Constitution than any of you or any other President in the last 40 years. YOU should sustain him. YOU should be more supportive. And it should concern YOU that so many LDS people are supporting Biden… I think, following your examples.
Are we to believe that you also side with Lebron James? Stephen Colbert? Madonna? The cast of the West Wing? Oprah Winfrey and Ellen? The NBA and NFL players who last I checked are morally bankrupt? Are you joining hands with Hollywood? It sure feels like it. Google? Facebook? Twitter? Netflix? Amazon? Do you not see that these are the enemies of America and of Religion? As a side note — look at what #BLM is doing to professional sports. The LDS Church risks the same outcome by jumping on this bandwagon. The bandwagon of Babylon.
President Nelson, your words play into a false narrative that incites division and violence. Can you not see that? You apparently wanted to be on record siding with the progressives. The same progressives who are literally destroying our states and our cities.
The contrast and the choice are clear. That form of government leads to cities being overtaken by anarchists who kill and destroy. It leads to law enforcement being disregarded and/or assaulted and killed. It leads to racism ironically. Anger towards a white privilege that doesn’t exist. All these cities And states are run by Biden-supporting leaders. President Nelson, do you support this kind of leadership? Your words and your silence both seem to indicate it. Flake and Romney and Fox, do you also believe that the Democratic leadership that is now on display, aligns with LDS Gospel principles? No rule of law? Anarchy? Soft on crime? Two tiered justice? Ballot tampering and election fraud? Statues destroyed? Destruction of life and property? Allowing graffiti everywhere? Allowing cars to be set on fire? Businesses and homes to be burned down? Allowing (encouraging) murder? Homeless people everywhere? Defecating and doing drugs in the streets?
Honestly I cannot say it any other way and I’m not trying to be offensive, but, what in the hell is wrong with you Frank Fox?
How about JUST the issue of abortion alone! Biden and his Judges WILL lead to many many more abortions. They not only admit it — they celebrate it! Look at the liberal states in our country. They see the destruction of innocent human life as a civil rights issue, even partial birth abortion. Trump and Pence proudly fright against it. They support LIFE. They protect children. THE MOST VULNERABLE. That issue alone should NOT allow you to vote for Biden or any pro-abortion candidate. Your support of Biden, is a vote for the murder of children. Shame on you Frank Fox. May God damn your efforts to stop a candidate and his running mate from being elected. You expose yourself as a fraud and a fool. You are no conservative, that’s for sure.
I call on you Brethren, to OPENLY avow or disavow Professor Frank Fox’s statement that YOU do NOT support our President. He’s wagering his salvation on it. The least you can do is set the record straight. If it’s true, I want to know. If he’s right and you hate our President as much as he does and if you are quietly supporting Joe Biden over Donald Trump, I will resign from this Church today and will renounce you as blind fools and false prophets. That’s a promise.
There seems to be confusion as to what love is, and what it’s not. Some would have you believe that true love is to remove all consequences so that no one is ever punished or “hurt” by their own choices.
“We should simply love those who commit crimes, not punish them. We should simply love those who commit sin. Love those who are gay or criminal or confused or addicted. We should get rid of laws–the police, prisons, Courthouses, and while we’re at it, churches too, since those things just seem to make people judgmental.” So they say.
Yet what’s interesting is that these same people who have attained to this highest, purest form of love a human can attain to in this life, it turns out, are intolerant, violent, angry, murderous, and lawless. They rejoice when people die, black or white. They mock and would kill a gay man or a black man if he happens to be of a different political persuasion than their own. They love the world’s “Karens” who pepper spray mask offenders and injure and patrol the non-compliant. They love their right to kill their children. If it was up to them, all American cities would look like Portland. Anarchy would rule. America would fall.
American politics was meant to be messy. Fools such as Jeff Flake and Mitt Romney (who should know better), seemingly forget that our system is always a choice between the lesser of evils. All worldly governments are inherently evil, because they are endowed with the power to control people. Hence the need for checks and balances and most importantly, the need for wisdom, virtue, morality, and religion. Our system only works when we are moral and virtuous.
“Liberty considers religion as the safeguard of morality, and morality as the best security of law and the surest pledge of the duration of freedom,” said Alexis de Tocqueville.
“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous,” said Frederick Douglas.
“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society,” said Theodore Roosevelt.
“History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster,” said Douglas MacArthur.
Luckily we still have by and large a two-party system, where the majority of the people can choose their president. The voice of the people is important. Countries that allow for multiple candidates often elect presidents without this “voice of the people.” Without a majority. And so minority voices can take over a nation.
“Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct and which were given them by the hand of the Lord. Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right, but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right. Therefore, this shall ye observe and make it your law: to do your business by the voice of the people.” Mosiah 13:6
When the voice of the people, or the majority, choose that which is not right, the die is cast for our destruction as a nation. We are defined as a nation by what the majority of us choose to be and to do.
And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands. Wherefore, he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off, for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fullness of iniquity among the children of the land that they are swept off. And this cometh unto you, O ye gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent and not continue in your iniquities until the fullness be come, that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land hath hitherto done. Behold, this is a choice land; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under Heaven if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who has been manifested by the things which we have written. Eth. 1:7
An example of true love is the example of Moroni. He loved his nation and fought to preserve freedom. He wasn’t violent although he killed many. He wasn’t an angry man. Although he hated sin. He realized that letting immoral and evil people like BLM and Antifa get control of the powers of government would lead not just to death, but to millions of souls being swept off this continent. Moroni, filled with love, saw the bigger picture, and acted accordingly. He defended his nation and their freedoms with love and with violence.
And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah. And it came to pass that he rent his coat, and he took a piece thereof and wrote upon it: In memory of our God, our religion and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children. And he fastened it upon the end of a pole thereof. And he fastened on his headplate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole which had on the end thereof his rent coat, and he called it the Title of Liberty.And he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land. For thus were all the true believers of Christ who belonged to the church of God called, by those who did not belong to the church; and those who did belong to the church were faithful. Yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them gladly the name of Christ — or Christians, as they were called — because of their belief in Christ who should come. And therefore at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians and the freedom of the land might be favored. Alma 21:7
Let’s be crystal clear, a vote for Joe Biden in this year’s presidential election is a vote for Antifa and Black Lives Matter. You may think he is somehow a better man than Trump. More “moral”. Or you may think Trump is too offensive and is the reason so many are rioting and are angry. Either way, if you choose to vote for Joe Biden, you are, as a Christian, voting for a man who is being funded by these anti-Christian groups who seek to overthrow our nation.
A vote for Biden is also a vote for gay marriage and the advancement of the aggressive LGBTQIA+ agendas. And they are legend! Literally. In fact, there is now a push to decriminalize pedophilia in our country. LINKLINK This is the problem with the Queer agenda — IT NEVER IS CONTENT AND WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED. Vote for Joe and if he wins and your child’s Kindergarten teacher someday soon is a Transexual MAP (Minor Attracted Person), don’t be surprised. That slope, will slip quicker towards Hell than any other. A vote for Biden will lead to more abortions, more lawlessness. More control.
If you think otherwise, I invite you to ponder further and to reconsider. No reasonable person, in my opinion, can support a candidate that IS unwilling to renounce those who seek to overthrow our government, WHICH was at one point, approved of by God. It is not valiant in my opinion, to embrace, support, vote for, those who will “get us to the Second Coming sooner.” WE MUST choose more good over more evil. God will do His part when the time comes. HE does not need our votes for more wickedness to accomplish His works. HE will judge us based on our ability to discern and to choose, as it has always been.
In a recent statement Elder Ballard said the following regarding the Church’s decision to end its 105-year relationship with Boy Scouts of America:
“The reality there is we didn’t really leave them; they kind of left us… The direction they were going was not consistent to what we feel our youth need to have…to survive in the world that lies ahead of us.”
But, did the Boy Scouts really leave “us”? Is that a fair description of what actually happened? And is BSA really heading in a different direction than we are as a church?
A Little Bit of Background
For over 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America was an iconic defender of Constitutional principles. They won case after case before the Supreme Court that reaffirmed their right to allow or disallow participants, based on their own criteria for affiliation. Their victories established important case law and legal precedent for other institutions that sought the same protections.
But then all of a sudden, the Boy Scouts decided to vote on whether to allow openly gay scouts into their organization. This went against 100 years of Court victories that gave them that right and to many members of Scouting and of the Church, this came as a huge surprise.
At this same time, two of my sons were literally only a Court of Honor away from getting their Eagle Awards. I was the official Charter Leader in our ward, was an Eagle Scout myself, and was over Scouting as the bishop.
I was certain the Church would vote against the proposal and knew they represented a very large voting bloc and funding source within the organization. Surely BSA could not pull this off without the Church’s full support.
To make sure my voice was heard, I did all the things my Church had taught me to do to be “involved” in such important matters. I wrote letters to the Church and to the Editor of our local newspaper and gave reasons for why I believed the Church would/should vote NO on this progressive proposal. I was very open about my views with ward members and with local Church leadership. In fact, I received letters and phone calls from people in my town, even from strangers, thanking me for my letter to the paper. One elderly man said, “I agree with every word you wrote.” Another gentleman said, “When I saw your letter in the paper I thought to myself, ‘oh no, he’s going to be excommunicated.’ Then I read it and now I think you’re going to be called as a general authority.” (Not very prophetic obviously). The point is, many LDS people of all walks of life had very strong feelings about this issue and were opposed to caving to the pressures of the progressives.
Like many of you, I could see this for what it was. It was never about young boys or girls being discriminated against. Not even for a moment. It was always about taking down an iconic conservative institution. And I wasn’t going to just sit idly by. I was hopeful the Church would do the right thing — back then in 2013 — and pull out of Scouts if everyone else voted in favor of the measure.
Eventually, when the Church and other Scouting Board members voted in favor of the above proposals, I refused to sign the yearly ward Charter and refused to support Friends of Scouting. My boys, to their credit, refused to continue in an organization that suddenly seemed confused about what it meant to be morally straight.
Our family left Scouts in 2013 and I was very perplexed why the Church wasn’t doing the same.
The Rapid Demise of Scouting
The great conservative thinker John O’Sullivan once said: “All organizations that are not actually right-wing (conservative) will over time become left-wing (liberal).”
The Boy Scouts is now among countless other institutions that have fallen prey to O’Sullivan’s First Law. They officially filed for bankruptcy in February of this year.
And Yet…
For 105 years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had partnered with the Boy Scouts. Scouting literally had been the activity arm of the Aaronic Priesthood. It shared our same values. We were literally joined at the hip.
Both the LDS Church and the BSA had become synonymous with conservativism. In fact, I challenge you to find two more conservative institutions at their pinnacle.
But, at the same time Boy Scouts was moving left, it seemed the Church was moving left too. Here’s just a quick list of things the Church has done in the last 9 years that clearly represents their own change in direction:
The Church changed its conservative position on illegals.
The Church abandoned its formal role in the fight against gay marriage.
The Church unwittingly paved the way for gay marriage by introducing added protections for LGBT people in Utah. A plan they hoped would be the new model for the nation. This upended legislation that had protected landlords and employers previously to be able to choose who they rented to or who they employed.
Mormonsandgays.com, later changed to “Mormonandgay” was put online by the Church.
The Church published numerous videos highlighting people who are gay, but who are trying to not act out on it. A very different and deliberate approach that would be criticized by people of all different opinions. Some might argue that if you are not acting out on it, then you are not gay. Others would say it’s preposterous to “be” something and then be asked to not be allowed to be who you are… and then to be withheld the same blessings of those who do not act out or who are straight.
The Church changed its position on whether a person could be born gay or not with Elder Oaks teaching a person can be born gay–a very different position than what its prophets had taught previously.
The Church helped fund the Hale Theater and tacitly endorsed the very pro-gay, anti-Mormon, Book of Mormon musical coming to Salt Lake City among other very non-PG-13 performances.
The Church removed its ban on children of gay parents being baptized (They flip-flopped on this one thank Goodness).
The Church-owned BYU changed its rules to allow gay ballroom dancers.
BYU seemed to change its policy on same-gender affection. Then “kind of” reversed it back.
The recent Cosmo the Cougar came out as gay without any retribution or official response from the Church.
BYU’s valedictorian came out as a “gay son of God” in an approved valedictorian speech. The audience erupted in applause.
And now they are in favor of decriminalizing polygamy.
Now to be clear, I am not arguing here that all these changes are wrong or right. I’m simply showing how the Church, like Boy Scouts and like most worldly institutions, is simply becoming more progressive.
The list of policy adjustments and talking points by the Church that veer progressive is much longer than what I’ve listed above. But, the evidence presented is sufficient to show that the Church is on the same course as Boy Scouts when it comes to “leaving” its more conservative principles.
Is it really fair to say that Boy Scouts left us? Even “kind of”?
Couldn’t the Church have voted against the Boy Scout proposals if it wanted to? Wouldn’t that have made a difference, didn’t they have clout in that organization? Some estimated that the LDS Church represented 40% of BSA funding. If the Church didn’t like the direction of BSA, shouldn’t the Church have left in 2013 instead of continuing to pour millions more of tithing money into it? What part about BSA’s direction finally made the Church uncomfortable? How can the Church now say that the Boy Scouts left them when they supported and voted in favor of all the changes being proposed? And when at the very same time the LDS Church was pushing its own progressive changes in the Church, I.e heading in a very similar “direction.” To the left.
One would think that all this capitulation and appeasement would mean that Boy Scouts would now have gay kids and gay leaders and girls and transgenders all lining up at their doors and that membership, even with the loss of the LDS Church, would be through the roof, instead of in bankruptcy. The very argument Scout board members were making was that they needed to “expand their base.” “Make the tent bigger.” “Be more inclusive.” Surely part of their reasoning, if not all of it, was to grow their membership by making these changes.
The Church has also suffered from a numbers and growth standpoint since they changed their course it would seem.
The church’s reported membership as of December 31, 2019 was 16,565,036. The growth of 1.21% in 2018 was the lowest annual percentage growth since the 0.93% in 1937.
Interestingly, since 2013, while the Church has been shifting further left, it has only been growing at an abysmal rate of somewhere between 1 and 2% compared to 8.74% when I was a missionary. The focus then was “flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon” rather than focusing on progressive policy adjustments. Coincidence? It just reinforces the idea that people want to focus on doctrine. The average growth rate in the last 40 years has been well over 4% — that is at least until the Church started trying to be more “inclusive.”
Careful What You Wish For
One thing is certain–the same people who took down the Boy Scouts are demanding more changes from the LDS Church. They demand that we abandon what they view as hate speech and discrimination among other things.
Will we continue to give in as a Church? Mormon Prop 8 picketers have been replaced by LDS pro-gay marriage protestors in a period of just a few years. Is that a coincidence? This picture from this website is the new face of Mormonism when it comes to these progressive issues.
In Closing
I’ve always been intrigued by what Ezra Benson said he was told by a visiting Soviet leader. I think the same applies here and I think the Church would do well to consider the implications of its movement left:
I have talked face-to-face with the godless Communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Khrushchev for a half day, when he visited the United States. Not that I’m proud of it — I opposed his coming then and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But according to President Eisenhower, Khrushchev had expressed a desire to learn something of American agriculture, and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why.
As we talked face-to-face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under Communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his, and all other grandchildren, would live under freedom, he arrogantly declared, in substance:
You Americans are so gullible. No you won’t accept Communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and you find you already have Communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you fall like over-ripe fruit into our hands.
–1966 address at Brigham Young University
Is the Church heading down the same road as our nation? Of Boy Scouts? Will it fall into the devil’s hands like over-ripe fruit? Is it doomed to move completely to the left? You can bet that these youth in our Church pictured above will push for Equality of Temple Sealings at some point especially now that the Church has encouraged them. And at this rate, they’re bound to eventually get what they want.
One could more reasonably ask, “Is the Church kind of leaving us?”
