I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have probably mentioned that a number of times in this blog, but since this is my second entry after a four year hiatus I probably need to reiterate the fact (in case that also wasn't made apparent by my referencing and linking my church's second article of faith in the last entry). My faith is a HUGE part of who I am, and therefore it plays a huge part in the values I espouse relative to temporal matters as well.
"...Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." Moses 4:1. In case anyone reading this is not of my faith, this is an account from the LDS standard work called the Book of Moses which is comparable to the the book of Genesis. This particular line pertains to the War in Heaven (wherein God put forth a plan and purpose for our mortal lives here on earth) and it is credited not to God the Father or His Son Jesus Christ, but to Lucifer. Basically, he offered an alternate plan to God's--"Give me the power and I will MAKE people good."
Does this sound more like the political left or the right?
Of course there are so many out there who would claim that Trump has no shortage of power-grabbing and impositions on the public--hell, you could probably argue that any politician running for office adopts this slogan in some form. However, the universally acknowledged difference between Conservatives (ideally represented by Republicans) and Liberals/Leftists (ideally represented by Democrats) is that one is for bigger government than the other. One of these parties uniquely calls for big government solutions to all of America's big issues (healthcare, gun control, public education, income inequality, climate change. racial injustice, pandemic outbreaks) and a lot of the smaller issues (obesity, gay rights, hate speech regulation). I suppose the exception would be immigration in which the guilty party wants NO government regulation at all, but this relates more to a separate issue I will briefly address later.
If anyone reading this would dispute any of the above examples, please comment! All of this I have pulled from the media and experienced very little of it first hand myself, so if you can provide evidence to refute or support my claims I will gladly discuss. I am yet looking for more truth.
"Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down." -Moses 4:3. What's so wrong with wanting people to be good? Nothing. FORCING people to be good, however--and not even to be good, but rather YOUR idea of what is good, then we have a problem. It defeats the purpose of mortal life. I believe that in God's plan, it was more important that man be FREE rather than man be good. That way, he may choose for himself, and CHOOSING good is way more impactful than being good at gunpoint (yes, ultimately the government enforces all its policy at gunpoint). This is why I believe that God's relationship to man is primarily manifest through covenant--it's an invitation. His hand is always outstretched and we are free to accept it in our lives--with the greater reward AND responsibility that comes with greater light--or not. So, which party promotes agency and which party restricts it? I know I am now free to choose whether or not to have Health Insurance without paying a penalty.
Again, up for discussion here. What freedoms have been restricted and granted under separate administrations?
Some would argue that the freedom of choice is exemplified in a woman's right to choose an abortion. The term "Pro-Choice" however is actually a huge misnomer, but I will keep my argument here along spiritual lines: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been very clear about abortion. Honestly, I wouldn't have an issue with abortion if it weren't for my theology. Part of me, the harshly practical Ebenezer Scrooge part, thinks that people opting for abortions would probably be bringing the kids into some pretty crappy situations anyways... but what I consider absolute truth has declared the fetus to be a living human, and that's where the matter lies.
When it comes to abortion, Trump may not have always been against it but he is now. He is also attempting to put a very strong pro-life judge in the Supreme Court. The other side... well, just check Planned Parenthood's webpage to see where they stand.
Ok, now let's do a little exercise. You have to bet a thousand dollars on determining which party of the two major parties someone is going to vote for based on ONE thing they tell you about themselves.
1. "I am an atheist."
2. "I hate America."
3. "I think marriage is a prison for women."
Sure, extreme examples but that's the point of the exercise. The left will never be outright about its anti-Christian, anti-America, and anti-family agenda, but it's all there in Marxist theory. These three things, with America representing small government democracy, all get in the way of the big state. Only Bernie is outright communist, but most politicians on the left have espoused socialist, big state ideals. It's also all there in the demographics, which if you are honest with yourself on the above exercise you could see how the left caters to certain mindsets. According to my theology, America (1 Nephi 13), the family (everywhere), and Christ (also everywhere), are all central to God's plan. Who would be the most invested in attacking these things?
Some evidence regarding anti-Christian theory:
DNC Resolution Regarding Religiously Unaffiliated Demographic (see Paragraph 5 in particular)
I also find that many of my LDS friends defend leftist movements like BLM by citing the teachings of Jesus. There is a big problem with this however, and only by ignoring this critical teaching of Jesus can Christians still wholly support the modern incarnation of the Democratic party: You cannot pull the compassion of Jesus's teachings out while ignoring the personal responsibility! " 'Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?' She said, 'No man, Lord.' And Jesus said unto her, 'Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.' " -John 8:10-11. Here the compassion of Jesus's forgiveness is also complimented by his admonition for accountability with the instruction to "sin no more". For those who say that "Jesus is going after the 99th sheep" or "We mourn with those that mourn" regarding BLM, consider the personal accountability of each individual upon which the narrative is built. While it is still a tragic loss of human life, 90% of the "victims" had long criminal records, resisted arrest, and endangered the police involved in the altercations. Are the advocates of BLM truly mourning, or are they throwing an unjustified tantrum? I think this nitpicking of Christ's teachings leads to softer, weaker devotion to Christian values, and is therefore another attack on true Christianity.
Anti-American theory:
I don't care what you think Kaepernick or LeBron's intended messages are, when young Americans see their role-model athletes (though they really shouldn't be role models) kneeling for the anthem, the message they are getting is "America is bad. America is racist." Who are these guys' biggest supporters and who is calling them out on their hypocritical elitism? No links needed here.
The policy for open-borders is also an anti-American policy. Apart from the chants of "No border, no wall, no USA at all" just the idea of unmitigated immigration compromises security immensely. Who cares though if it brings in a swarm of blue voters!?
Also Monday is Columbus Day, or as the PC crowd would call it, "Indigenous People's Day". I have talked to a few who believe that Christopher Columbus was a monster and should never be celebrated, but I believe this man was inspired by God to lay the foundation of the discovery of the New World. Why? Well, this particular man is also referred to in 1 Nephi 13 (v. 12).
Anti-Family theory:
The celebration and promotion of the LGBT community may not be viewed as anti-family by most people, however, to deny that the redefinition of the family and marriage does not bear consequences on the family is dishonest. I only came to this conclusion due to the church's stance on such back in 2008 despite many of my friends wanting to treat revealed doctrine like civil rights. What does this have to do with the left?
I have always believed that feminism up to a point is a good thing. Women should respect themselves and not throw everything away for the first guy that pays attention to them. Then there's bad feminism, which is basically the "all men suck always" mentality. It's pretty obvious how this is harmful to the nuclear family and it's also pretty obvious where these type of people always throw their votes.
In conclusion, I believe in absolute truth. In an age where truth is bent, broken, and outright ignored by both sides of the media and man is motivated by selfishness to manipulate the masses, I find hope in my belief that God still speaks to man and He is a source of truth that cuts through all the noise. This is why my theology plays such a big part in my personal search for truth, even when it comes to politics. Frankly I find it kind of troubling that so many of my LDS friends will support the pro-abortion party because Trump says mean things, but if any of you are reading this please help me to understand more and let me know your reasoning! The leaders of my faith yet remain politically neutral, but I'm not sure that will always be the case as the polarization intensifies and the mask falls away to reveal the leftist party as what I think it truly is: The great and abominable church (1 Nephi 13:4-6).
