As many of us at M* have been writing for years, Harry Reid is a good latter-day Saint who is an embarrassment as a politician.
With any luck, Bro. Reid will soon be just another senator from Nevada and not the majority leader, and his many gaffes will be confined to the Nevada press, rather than the national scene. And we can all hope that in 2016 he will retire and do something more productive (perhaps become a senior missionary?). Most pundits are predicting the Senate will soon be taken back by the Republicans.
But in case Bro. Reid is inclined to think he still has a reason to be involved in the dirty world of politics, I would like to remind him of his worst gaffes, and I would ask M* readers to chime in.
Bro. Reid’s single most horrifying gaffe, in my opinion, is his completely unsubstantiated charge that Mitt Romney did not pay any taxes for 10 years. This ridiculous claim, in the middle of the 2012 contest, was part of a coordinated and incredibly slimy campaign by the Democrats against any honorable man (and a very flawed candidate, as I wrote here). I predict that Bro. Reid will repent about this very low moment in his life, either in the coming years or in the afterlife.
But this is not all. Bro. Reid went on to say that Mitt Romney, a former bishop and stake president, had “sullied” Mormonism. This coming from the man who once said Barack Obama could be elected because he is “light skinned” with “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
Harry Reid came from a very small town in Nevada, grew up poor and entered the Senate with almost no money. Yet after years in the Senate he is now worth millions and lives in a luxury apartment in the Ritz Carlton in Washington. Government work can make you very, very rich, at least if you are Harry Reid. Compare Bro. Reid’s behavior to that of another politician, former president Harry Truman, who left after seven years as president nearly dirt poor.
Meanwhile, a reminder of some of Bro. Reid’s worst gaffes:
*He is obsessed with race (but gets a pass from the national press because he is a Democrat). In addition to his comments about the president, we have him saying that Hispanics should not vote for Republicans and insulting Asians in a variety of ways (he says he cannot keep his “Wongs straight”). Is there any ethnic group Bro. Reid has not insulted?
*Bro. Reid says that tourists in Washington are smelly (note that he said it even though he staff begged him not to).
*Harry Reid called people exercising their First Amendment rights “evil-mongers” and then said he was proud that he said it.
I could go on and on because there are so many gaffes out there, but this post is getting too long as it is.
I would like to note that M* has published this guest post that points out that Bro. Reid appears to be a good member of the Church while being a horrible politician.
And I would like to draw your attention to a very good post by Rameumptom during the 2012 campaign that called out Bro. Reid on his incredibly uncharitable comments.
To sum up: it would be a very good thing for Bro. Reid personally to get out of the political limelight because he just does not know how to control his tongue. And it certainly would be a good thing for Mormonism. Let’s hope Bro. Reid moves on to do better things with his life in the years ahead.
New Post: Harry Reid’s most embarrassing moments: As many of us at M* have been writing for years… http://t.co/pHlCmVJC70 #LDS #Mormon
TheMillennialStar: Harry Reid’s most embarrassing moments http://t.co/Ouy0uX4s9i #lds #mormon
Geoff, I don’t disagree with you much, and I agree that Senator Reid is not a good politician, but I am going to disagree with the assertion that him retiring would be good for the Church.
I have heard from multiple sources that the two people most responsible for opening doors of foreign countries to the missionaries are Senators Hatch and Reid.
In an eternal perspective, I can deal with a bad politician (and even bad policy) if his presence helps the work move forward.
One reason I have no desire to enter politics myself – I doubt I could go 24 hours under the kind of pressure national level politicians are under without saying something really, really stupid. In fact, I say stupid stuff every so often – all of us do; it’s just we aren’t having our every utterance recorded and reported.
Jonathan Cavendar, it goes without saying that you have excellent taste, given that you usually agree with me. However, I have heard that Sen. Hatch has helped with missionaries but never heard that Sen. Reid has. Do you have any links or proof that he has? (I am not doubting you, just asking for some proof so readers can see for themselves).
Cheers.
Ivan, there is stupid (I definitely do that often) and then there is malicious. Bro Reid’s comments about Romney during the 2012 campaign were malicious and uncalled for.
Harry Reid seemed to be a decent politician until he “sold his soul” to become the majority leader. Now he seems to jockey position to ensure he stays to the left of Nancy Pelosi.
I don’t mind someone playing hard politics, but he has sadly allowed himself to align himself very closely with unscrupulous people, just so he can stay in power. For him to say the things he has about Mitt Romney, reminds me of Isaiah’s warning, “woe to them who call good evil and evil good.”
That there are 380 bills sitting on his desk (some are 6 years old) that the House has passed (many of them bipartisan), shows there is a problem with his method of politics. Even bills that can fix Obamacare that were voted for by many House Democrats are not seeing the light of day in the Senate. We have not had a budget pass in years, thanks to House budgets sitting on Reid’s desk. At least allow these to have an up/down vote, or discussion on the Senate floor, Harry!
His worthiness as LDS is between him and God. But he is clearly allowing himself to step over the line frequently to the dark side, when it comes to politics. And whether it is Harry Reid or any other LDS politician, I can’t help but think that if you allow yourself to step over the line to the dark side of politics too often, you may soon find you can no longer distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, light from dark. I pray for Brother Reid’s soul, as I pray for our nation while he remains in the Senate.
Geoff, thanks for linking to my old post. I had to reread it to remember how good it was. 😉
Anyway, in the comments is a discussion on the concept of a Creator providing us with inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, and the importance of freedoms provided in the Bill of Rights, etc.
Isn’t it interesting that we are now 2 years beyond that letter, and see those same rights being suddenly threatened to a level we have never seen before? Freedom of religion is now threatened by the new “right” of LGBT. Freedom of speech is threatened by anyone speaking out against sexual sin.
Harry Reid stated that it was easier to be LDS and a Democrat than a Republican. Yet, we now see our basic freedom of religion being threatened by key principles being pushed by the Democrats. I do not question my many LDS friends who are Democrats, but I wonder how this will eventually play out….and whether they will someday have to choose between their zealous liberalism and the Church. Of course this could apply to some things on the Republican platform, as well, but I do not see it as threatening to the Church as the liberal platform now seems to be.
Geoff –
Oh, I wasn’t trying to excuse Reid; I agree some of his comments (especially about Romney) were inexcusable. I was more musing on general principles.
Sometimes we err because of ignorace, somtimes because our enthusiasm for something we perceive as valuable overcomes propriety and good sense. I have heard second hand of several cases where Harry Reid aided the cause of truth, but he has become a laughing stock to many because of various antics. For that matter, Senator Hatch is no shining knight. I’m happy that my faith is not dependant on the ideas or behavior of prominent men and women, or for that matter, obscure children. The Gospel as restored by Joseph Smith is true.
Thank you for this Geoff B. I haven’t been on in a while to make a comment. Was fascinated by my friend Joyce Brinton Anderson’s recent last post on here with its last discussion, so just happened to head back on over to Millenial Star today to see the topic is Harry Reid. I don’t want to make it sound as if I’m ganging up on anyone, but it would be nice Johnathan Cavender to hear whether or not there was any documented material on either one- either Senator Hatch or Senator Reid that states they were helpful for opening up doors to LDS missionary work anywhere in the world? As for Senator Reid, who apparently does not know what a filter means when it comes to watching what you say about others, because I was raised in the South, you probably don’t want to hear what I would really like to say (though it would have decorum and propriety, and absolutely no swear words). But I will say this-anyone that plays dirty, it will catch up with them soon enough. I believe in the law of the harvest. You reap what you sow, and what goes around, comes around-every time. And if it doesn’t happen in this life, there is always the next. I expect those same principles to apply to everyone-myself included.
Ok, I have a hard time with this notion that he is a good person but a bad politician. How can you separate the two? It seems if he was a good person that would over rule the urge or the need to be nasty and he’d be a good politician and not say such horrible things about Romney, and Republicans, many of which are fellow church members. Or is he so entrenched in politics he’s past feeling at this point and doesn’t realize when he’s being an idiot? Either way, he can be done.
“I have a hard time with this notion that he is a good person but a bad politician. How can you separate the two?”
I have some thoughts about this.
In the case of Bro. Reid, let’s say that he never got into politics but instead decided to be a store owner in small-town Nevada. There is no doubt in my mind that he would have been a much less objectionable person. It is the ugliness of politics that led him down a road where he thinks it is OK to invent claims about Mitt Romney’s taxes and to claim that Mitt sullies the Church. Politics causes people to justify horrible behavior for a “greater cause,” and this is what Bro. Reid has done.
To be clear: there are Mormon Democrats who never lost perspective, like, for example, Rep. Matheson of Utah, who served for many years and had politics similar to Bro. Reid but never felt a need to become as malicious. I am not familiar with Utah politics, but my guess is that there are many Utah Democrats whose politics I may disagree with but who nonetheless are fair-minded people.
Personal opinion: people can have all kinds of political views without offending the Spirit, as long as they are sincere people who truly want to help others and treat people charitably. But the moment they become filled with self-importance, start lying about other people for political gain, or are filled with hatred for others, they are on a very bad path.
quote:
The Progressives in their smirking self-righteous piety and grotesque self-imposed ignorance are henchmen of the devil. Some know it, most do not. They stand between a woman and her human nature, her happiness, her children, and they speak the selfsame lie. The source of your happiness is the barrier to happiness. Destroy the source of your happiness, toss happiness aside, and you will be happy.
Thus, John C. Wright,
http://www.scifiwright.com/2014/02/david-warren-defies-the-empire-of-lies
agreeing with David Warren.
http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/2014/02/15/breeding-instructions-revisited/
Harry Reid is the essence of a progressive.
Yes Joyce, and Geoff B. I like the fact that both of you stated it outright, that #1 when you very well know as Harry Reid does that Mitt Romney is a temple going, faithful Latter-day Saint , with a good family, wonderful wife, loved by many members of the Church and Church leadership, you had to lie about your fellow member of the Church for political gain so that you could look good in the eyes of your party? When you place party politics (a cause), above speaking ill of a fellow member of the Church and purposely (and knowingly), lie and be deceitful to the American Public in order to curry political favor and sway an election, you are not much better than the corrupt judges seen throughout Alma and Helaman in the Book of Mormon that did exactly the same thing-do anything they had to to elevate themselves to the the highest political office in the land that they could get to. Sad, Senator Reid has a lot to account for.
My sister in law is in Reid’s Nevada ward. She says he comes to church bringing along his body guards. She says the ward members abhor him and mostly ignore him.
Hmm, I’m still not convinced. I think your actions reflect who you are … if Harry Reid is being horrible in public, I tend to think he is horrible in private. Maybe you are right, he stepped on to the wrong path, and like the emperor’s new clothes, does know he’s strutting around nekkid.
I’ve had the experience of sitting behind Senator Reid, his wife, and their bodyguards at a stake conference in New York City. Another Mormon I was there with that day said there was only one thing wrong with Senator Reid – that he wasn’t far enough to the left.
Another individual I know well has been active in politics and fundraising for the Republican Party. He has interacted with Senator Reid in the course of many years with events at the Washington DC Temple Visitor’s Center (e.g., the annual opening of the Festival of Lights, which is invitation-only and includes a wide range of ambassadors and other dignitaries. This friend of mine is very supportive of the Republican Party, but has conveyed that Senator Reid is one of the most genuinely good people he has interacted with.
We are all imperfect. God asks that we leave judgement to Him. As for our wrongs, there is no one who will not have a need to cast themselves on the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Non sequitur, but when the politicians “cleaned up” Washington and eliminated mark ups/plus ups/pork, everyone thought it would be a great idea. After all, who could reasonably defend the large pots of money going to constituents, particularly when the roads or research or other effort was seemingly so flawed? However when they got rid of pork, they also got rid of all reason to actually work together towards passing a budget. There was no “grease” to lubricate compromise, no benefit to negotiating.
Secondly, various politicians throughout time have attempted to win friends and influence people by being nice to their opponents. The consensus is that this method does not work in campaigns. And with pork gone, there is no reason to be nice in Congress.
Sorry that I am slow to respond. I have no links, but have heard it from a pair of people. One is someone associated with FAIR, the other a Q&A at the conclusion of a speech from Thomas Griffith, Judge with the DC Court of Appeals, during a speech for CLE at BYU Education week. Neither have a source or cite other than my own experience, so feel free to disregard.
I will highlight Judge Griffith’s response to the question “How does Harry Reid still have a temple recommend?” He spoke of Reid’s assistance in the missionary effort, and then concluded with the statement “I don’t think the Lord has a stated position on the top marginal tax rate.”
It put things in perspective for me — I am a staunch conservative, but my political beliefs are not as important as my religious beliefs.
By the way, no offense and feel free to doubt me or disregard — I was trying to be clear that it was based upon second-hand information (thus my use of the word “heard”). It informs my opinion me based upon the circumstances but I don’t expect anyone else to rearrange their worldview on my account.
Jonathan, agreed that the Lord doesn’t have a stated position on the top marginal tax rate. As I say, I think people of all political stripes can be “good people.” What is more important is: are you arrogant and filled with self-importance, do you lie and dissemble, do you have charity for others? The public Harry Reid fails in this regard, although I have heard from several sources that the private Harry Reid is a good man.
It is of course possible that Bro. Reid has helped with missionary efforts, but I have no reason to believe that he couldn’t continue to help while not being the majority leader and even while not being a senator. Can you imagine a private Harry Reid lobbying for the Church in Washington, rather than making up stories about Mitt Romney not paying taxes? That certainly would be better for him and for the Church.
Geoff, my guess (and it is a guess) is that he helps the missionary work on his legislative junkets rather than through lobbying. I am not a Reid fan (in my opinion, there are ample reasons to dislike the man politically and personally — though I am glad my personal failures are not on public display). But Cyrus was put into position to get the Jews back to Jerusalem. Even assuming the worst about the man, if he is opening doors for the Church that is the spot I want him in.
Don’t buy it ONE BIT that he is a good man. If he was a good man then he wouldn’t be saying such lies, flipping the bird at people, supporting immoral legislation (and I’m not just talking taxation), and saying things contrary to the Church positions in public. He is a disgrace that has turned many people off from Mormonism who have questioned why a religion that believed in God would keep him as a member without repercussion. Even assuming he is a “good person” in private, Jesus had a name for people like him; hypocrite.
Meg, I don’t want compromise or to be “nice” in congress. Just wish that the Republicans could learn how to take the gloves off and throw bloody punches. They still pretend they are in a gentleman’s club while America burns. As it is, Democrat or Republican makes no difference. The choice is a slow burn or a fast bonfire as they both take away freedoms and support moral decay. Harry Reid is one of the three lynchpins that have made this kind of game necessary, and “pork” is far from gone.
Hi Jettboy,
Have you personally met the man, or are you informed by those who have interacted personally with the man? If not, I suggest that you may be forming your opinion based on those incidents selected to make you regard Senator Reid as an evil hypocrite.
Jesus gave us the parable of the wheat and the tares, growing together in the same field. Except that we don’t believe that any individual is necessarily a born “wheat” or “tare.” Each of us has the potential to return to God. I don’t think Senator Reid is unable to call upon the grace the rest of us count upon.
You disagree with Senator Reid’s politics. You are likely not alone. After all, I likely would not have realized I was sitting behind Senator Reid if he hadn’t been accompanied by a Secret Service detail. I had thought them merely an attractive inter-racial couple until I noticed the tell-tale earpieces. I assume Senator Reid is accorded protection because there are those who would harm him, if given the opportunity.
Do you have reason to think Senator Reid is unfaithful to his wife? Does he beat his children?
As for the other behaviors cited here, do we really want the Church excommunicating high-profile individuals merely because they are sufficiently high profile to have their unwise moments publicized? The excommunication of the September Six persuaded many non-Mormon scholars that the LDS Church was intolerant of intelligent inquiry. Public Church sanction of Senator Reid for something as trivial as flipping the bird would be insane, in my opinion.
I think Meg’s comments hit the mark on this one. I believe myself to be a conservative and don’t agree with most of Reid’s politics. However, I can see how someone intelligent and well-meaning can and would. And I respect those who believe differently. In watching political news, I have noticed that in most cases, the object is to get us wound up. When we get wound up, we are emotionally involved and we continue to watch more. I have often wondered how much of politics is a show and if off-camera, some are friends and possibly laugh at what the reaction their “show” incites.
That being said, while being a conservative, I definitely cannot agree in entirety with either side. In my mind, each side seems to be trying to take away some of our free agency in the name of protecting us. The left says that we are supposed to look after the poor and thinks the government should do it, thus taking away our freedom to give of our own free will and choice. They also think the government should have enough rules to stop us from having to learn common sense. However, the right sometimes seeks to legislate moral views. The church supports some of this legislating of morality and I stand behind whatever the Prophet of the Lord says. But, I found I need to resist the temptation to think one side is evil and one side is good, because politics is an ugly business and I am grateful there are some good people who will get involved because they will almost always be made to look bad.
And just as an afterthought, is there really much less pork? From what I have seen, there’s still quite a bit there with temptation for corruption, but Meg’s comment about that is making me think.
Hi AmyE,
As to there being less pork, I work for the Navy. Up until roughly 2007 it was common for us to receive “plus ups” that funneled money to a particular state. These plus ups were ostensibly for some product or service that would benefit the government, but were rarely aligned with what leaders actually wanted. One duty we had in the day was documenting that we really didn’t support a change to the President’s budget, but describe what we would do with the funds if we were forced to take the plus up.
There are still sometimes pots of money that come in, but they are much more rare and, in my experience, they are no longer targeted to particular states. Instead, they are set aside for a particular market segment, such as small businesses. Rather than dealing with the irritation of accepting money for work we don’t think is absolutely necessary, we now tend to find ourselves trying to explain that losing millions of dollars from projects will result in damaged national defense. In fact, it is not so much trying to argue that there will be damage, but making hard decisions about what capabilities will be eviscerated or sacificed to permit other efforts to continue with some probability of success.
There is at least one question in the temple recommend interview for which I KNOW Harry Reid can’t answer in the affirmative:
Interviewer: Are you honest in your business dealings with your fellow man?
Sen. Reid (softly mumbling): it depends on what the meaning of ‘honest’ is…
@Meg:
Most of the questions you pose above to Jettboy are an argumentum ad ignorantiam. You don’t know Sen. Reid either. Or whether he beats his wife or children or how he became a multi-millionaire or why he thinks the public touring the Capitol building have an unpleasant odor or why he has stopped well over 300 pieces of legislation passed in the House from being introduced on the Senate floor or why he illegally changed the number of votes required to stack the federal benches with Democrats or … ad nauseam.
Harry Reid is working hand-in-hand to effect the goals of the most anti-constitutional, opaque, feckless, and secretive presidential administration in history.
Barak Obama, Michelle Robinson Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Eric Holder, David Axelrod, Susan Rice, Van Jones, Cass Sunstein, the Emanuel brothers Rahm & Ezekiel, most of the State Department, and Bill & Hillary Clinton are all either red diaper babies or declared Marxists. They euphemistically call themselves Progressives. And as we know from history Progressives formed from Darwinians who extolled eugenics, were rabid racists, and were further organized under Pres. Woodrow Wilson in the early 20th century. But it didn’t stop there. FDR, LBJ, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and now, Barack Obama, are all milestone Progressives.
All Progressives work to destroy our Constitution and eventually our form of government. Joseph Smith warned us. So did Ezra Taft Benson. And, as it turns out, the vast majority of progressives are found in the Democrat Party, and the Communist and Green Parties, but there are also progressives found in the Republican Party (both George H. W. & George W. Bush are, in my opinion, progressives).
My last reading of the Doctrine & Covenants and Book of Mormon teaches me that these folks, all my brothers and sisters and some even LDS, seek to implement a government that is antithetical to our inalienable rights and our religious beliefs. In fact this government might even look like the government Lucifer would have necessarily proposed before the world was.
The Lord never told us to be optimistically stupid. The BofM doesn’t teach us that politicians, lawyers, and judges are to be implicitly or explicitly trusted and revered, especially if their religion is the same as ours. It teaches us the opposite, i.e., that they will corrupt a good government faster than General Ulysses S. Grant went through Richmond.
God does not tell me that I must not judge so that I can then be easily deceived. And that is in essence, what you have said to Jettboy.
Nobody is saying that Sen. Reid should be excommunicated but it is not unreasonable for one to wonder why an obvious hater of truth and an impediment in the legislative process should not garner the attention of his bishop, stake president, or even the presidency of the Church and asked to account for the egregious sins he has committed and shame he has brought on the Church.
@TheAntiSophist
Ok, it is now officially bizarro-land, as I am again coming to the defense of Harry Reid. I think rather than argue the issues themselves, I’ll take a step back and mention a couple of big-picture items:
1) Harry Reid is neither the antagonist nor the protagonist in the continuation of Satan’s War in Heave. He, like us, is the battleground.
2) If the Bishop, Stake Presidency, or even the First Presidency had called on Harry Reid to account for his sins, how would we know? If they did not call on him to account for his sins, who are we to second-guess them in their stewardships? We have enough on our own plates in our own stewardships to worry about to fuss about steadying the ark elsewhere.
Good points Jonathan C. I am not a big fan of the Church deciding to punish people based on their political beliefs. Is Harry Reid honest in his dealings? Probably not, but then almost all politicians on all levels (state, local, national) would have to say “no” also. Is Harry Reid an embarrassing politician? Definitely. Let’s start by getting rid of him as majority leader and then voting against him if he runs again in 2016. I would not encourage Church authorities to get involved (unless there are issues we are not aware of regarding worthiness).
If you want to come down on Bro. Reid for a potential worthiness issue, it would be his advocacy of same-sex marriage. However, the Church clearly said during the Prop. 8 discussion that people could be good members and disagree on that issue also. So, I disagree with Anti-Sophist on this point. I have kept his comment on this subject, however, because there are MANY church members who agree with his perspective, and it is a viewpoint that I commonly hear in church.
Well, I don’t want to be disagreeable but more must be said.
Jonathan C’s first point misses the mark. We’re all in the battleground including those spirits cast out to this earth that we cannot see. There are also many living false prophets and anti-Christs that operate in the same battleground. Harry Reid has done what he has done. It’s a matter of record. He *is* a form of antagonist and the BofM specifically warns us of such characters. Our government *will* collapse as a result of corrupt politicians/lawyers/judges like Harry Reid (and many, many others in the government). That is indisputable. We have been warned.
On your second point I must concede that I do not know what was said or not said by Reid’s PH authorities. I suspect the latter and that the authorities all the way up the chain will not say anything no matter how corrupt LDS politicians are or appear to be. But I could be wrong.
Nobody is trying to seize control of anybody else’s stewardship. LDS folks tend to ignore political issues or we wouldn’t be constantly counseled to be active and involved in government even though it is a slimy environment. It is a privilege and duty for me to call it as I see it. You are still free to do the same but for how much longer nobody knows.
Geoff B
Prop 8 wasn’t about same-sex marriage. It was about defining in the California constitution what the word ‘marriage’ meant. I and my family canvassed neighborhoods going door-to-door, talking with residents, handing out leaflets and doing everything our PH leaders asked of us. Many in our ward were afraid to do as they were asked and there were many other issues. But, as usual, 95% or more had not even read the one-sentence description of the proposed constitutional change. That’s why the Church was involved: the definition of marriage, not civil unions.
I wondered which of the M* moderators would throw the censorship flag. Telling Meg Stout that she was using sophistry to ‘school’ Jettboy wasn’t rude, nasty, or confrontational. It was accurate and to the point and I am well schooled in philosophy, especially in formal and informal logic. I am also a degreed, licensed engineer, and mathematician. That’s why I use the pseudonym TheAntiSophist. Am I perfect? No. Is it my duty to correct ALL sophistry I encounter? Again, no. There aren’t enough lifetimes.
Pointing out or telling the truth about Marxist/Communists/Progressives in the government isn’t just a ‘perspective’ as you put it. I suppose many readers of this list think that anybody who uses those ‘labels’ (as the left puts it) is some kind of knee-jerk nut-job far-right misogynist racist survivalist truther. Well, I’m none of those things.
What I’ve said comes from much research, reading, life experience, and praying. Leaving my post on M* just because MANY in the Church have that perspective begs the question: why *do* many in the church believe these things? Glen Beck? Fox News? Talk radio? The Book of Mormon or D&C? Or is it because they instinctively know that what is being preached from the left doesn’t square with their religious beliefs and life experiences? Could this instinct be the Spirit?
Bottom line is that this thread is about Harry Reid, the politician, who is LDS. My short list of Harry Reid’s public faults was not intended to be exhaustive — only illustrative. Me pointing out false narratives and illogical rebuttal intended to rebuke is, in my opinion, not worthy of contempt, censorship, nor even rebuke itself.
Antisophist, I agree with you about progressivism. It is evil for at least two reasons: 1)it actually hurts the people it is supposedly trying to help by making them dependent on the state and 2)it is an ethos that shows the superiority of man in planning the lives of free individuals (and meanwhile making them less free), which decreases reliance on self-actualization and ultimately on God. I also agree that Harry Reid buys into progressivism.
Here is where I disagree: God cares about peoples’ intentions and their individual encounters with people around them much more than He cares about ideology. A caring, loving Socialist who truly loves the Savior, spends his time in service and performs his Church calling is on the right track as far as God is concerned (imho). I am pretty sure most bishops and stake presidents would agree. So, I am unwilling to come down on Harry Reid as harshly as you would.
Peace brother. It’s election day and by all accounts we will slow the tide of evil taking over this great country by a few years at least. That is something to celebrate.
To second what Geoff is saying, I agree. Progressivism is evil and communism is evil. Progressives and communists are not evil — or, if they are, that isn’t something that we can judge. I am willing to bet that in the great waiting line for admission into the Celestial Kingdom that there are a number of progressives and communists well in front of me — my hope for myself is just that I am in the right line and get there eventually.
By all means, vote. To the extent that my political opinion matters, vote for the most conservative electable candidate. But be cautious before assuming that wrong, stupid, or misguided is the equal of evil. By that standard, we are all condemned.
Well, at this point, it appears that Harry Reid will no longer be in a position to inflict as much embarrassment on the Church.
Or do as much good for it.
I won’t pretend to be neutral. As a politician, Reid makes me cringe. As a fellow Saint, I know not the man.
“By their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:20.)
“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
“… Every tree is known by his own fruit.” (Luke 6:43–44.)