I’ll just leave this here….

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“We engage in the election the same as in any other principle; you are to vote for good men, and if you do not do this it is a sin; to vote for wicked men, it would be sin. Choose the good and refuse the evil. Men of false principles have preyed upon us like wolves upon helpless lambs. Damn the rod of tyranny; curse it. Let every man use his liberties according to the constitution. Don’t fear man or devil; electioneer with all people, male and female, and exhort them to do the thing that is right. We want a President of the U.S., not a party President, but a President of the whole people; for a party President disfranchises the opposite party. Have a President who will maintain every man in his rights.” Hyrum Smith…History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.15, p.323

(I hope it is not necessary to point out that “good men” in the 19th century can mean “good women” in the 21st century.  “Wicked men” can also mean “wicked women.”)

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About Geoff B.

Geoff B graduated from Stanford University (class of 1985) and worked in journalism for several years until about 1992, when he took up his second career in telecommunications sales. He has held many callings in the Church, but his favorite calling is father and husband. Geoff is active in martial arts and loves hiking and skiing. Geoff has five children and lives in Colorado.

10 thoughts on “I’ll just leave this here….”

  1. “I hope it is not necessary to point out that ‘good men’ in the 19th century can mean ‘good women’ in the 21st century. ‘Wicked men’ can also mean ‘wicked women.'”

    Never underestimate the easily offended.

  2. True enough yet none of us is perfect. Also, many lies are told to decive the public into believing a “good” but flawed man is not good enough to hold public office..
    A person may have done evil things yet is good enough and may be preferable
    to one who may be “good” insofar as morals are concerned yet a coward politically because he or she is afraid to name names and seriously take on an opponent or unrighteous movement. Courage ( spelled Trump) is a form of morality if it can help a society move back in the direction of freedom.
    Bottom line is that it is easy to spew out platitudes but more difficult to apply them.
    Fred

  3. virtues = expression of my principles
    platitudes = expression of your principles

    Am I right, Fred?

  4. I think people of all kinds of political persuasions can make an argument that their candidate is “good.” At the end of the day, you must live with your own conscience. In 2008, I hated the idea of voting for McCain, but I did. I still regret that to this day. (It goes without saying I never would have voted for Obama). I should have voted for the Libertarian or Constitution party in that election. I am less conflicted with voting for Mitt Romney in 2012 even though I disagreed with him on many issues, because he is clearly a good man. But the point is that my inner dialogue is about my struggle with this issue, which is going to be different than other peoples.’ If your conscience is clear with your vote (no matter who it is), then good on you.

  5. A person may have done evil things yet is good enough and may be preferable
    to one who may be “good” insofar as morals are concerned yet a coward politically because he or she is afraid to name names and seriously take on an opponent or unrighteous movement.

    I’m curious–is there any threshold of evil that a candidate would have to cross, that would make him no longer acceptable under this logic?

    Fraud?

    Preying upon the weak?

    Robbery?

    Rape?

    Murder?
    —-
    Also, does it make a difference if the candidate penitently admits to his prior sins; as opposed to denying them (after previously confessing them), smearing the eyewitnesses to his depredations, and hinting that even if he were guilty, it wasn’t really that big a deal?

  6. Dear Brothers and Sisters, I won’t vote due to the simple fact that I am a legal resident but not a US citizen. Maybe next year I will finally find the funds to pay the naturalization fee and have dual French and US citizenships. And I will vote in the French presidential election… Meanwhile, I am surprised at how few “millennials” (millennialstar bloggers, pun intended) have posted. Election burnout, privacy, sensitive topic… Walking to the bus stop after work, listening to Sean Hannity and Hillary’s laughter when she as a young lawyer was bragging about getting the rapist of a twelve-year-old off the hook. I was almost brought to tears. Trump is far from perfect. We all know this. But there are enough decent people in the Republican Party that will have, I hope, a spiritual influence on this Alma the Younger/Son of Mosiah (they were the vilest of sinners) this Corianton-like Donald Trump, if elected. If Clinton wins, it is a more certain sign that this nation has lost its moral compass and turned away from the God of this land, even Jesus Christ. Had I lived in France in the 1940’s, I hope I would have joined the Resistance and fought alongside communists compatriots against the greater evil at hand, the Nazis. I tend to trust Robert C. Oaks and Ben Carson–and Mike Pence in their judgment. I wish Trump had apologized where necessary. Anyway, that’s my take. Hillary has zero credibility among the non brain-dead, she has zero claim over the “goodness” of the American people. Trump gives some people hope.

  7. Hi Laurent,

    I’m a permablogger here at M*, I’ve not written about the election for several reasons. One, I like to stay away from political blogging as much as possible. I don’t see it as an effective way to communicate ideas, but I’ll talk to anyone privately or in person about why I believe what I do. Second, building on my first reason, I have a 100 other, and more important things I’d blog about before I blog about my politics — and yes a big part of this is burn out. Third, I no longer have the energy for the mud fights that usually ensue after a political post, (here and on other social media platforms … I’m talking to you facebook). People are convinced their guy (or gal) is the right one, the only one, the savior of the world, the nation, the state, the person. Good for you! I don’t care two hoots about it at this point. However I will say that, I am sick of the “shaming posts” to try and get me to vote for Trump, or Hillary. Sorry, those reasons have never worked on me, and they’re still not going to work on me at this 11th hour. I don’t believe that God has appointed him/her, I don’t believe that God is going to use him/her to better the US. I believe that we have Trump and Hillary because the Lord lets us make our choices and then live with the consequences. No matter the outcome in a few days, we clearly have a few more lessons to learn as a nation because we’re choosing between two evils — neither of them is lesser in my opinion, they are both equally bad. Because of that, I resigned my membership in the Republican Party and voted for Evan McMullin this year. I felt totally at peace with this decision and am fully confident that if I am keeping the commandments, and my covenants the Lord will bless me and my family.

    That being said, my last few posts have been about important gospel topics that relate to this election.

    This one on forgiveness: https://www.millennialstar.org/forgiveness-matters/

    This one on stopping contention: https://www.millennialstar.org/stop-the-contention/

    This one of religious freedom: https://www.millennialstar.org/the-importance-of-religious-freedom/

  8. Thank you Joyce, I respect and have always enjoyed your comments. I apologize if my comments appeared to be attempts to shame readers into voting or not voting a certain way. I am wondering if I should have resisted the urge to comment on the topic at all.
    By the way, I just uncovered a conspiracy. There are a few McMullin signs in my neck of the woods (Western WA), but I am sure you have seen them in UT, AZ… etc. The logo is the letter M with a small red star above it, in a circle. M star, M*, clearly a conspiracy to influence the millions of M* readers, or is M* the secret organization behind the McMullin candidacy?
    Just having a little fun.

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