My stake president read the Church statement on political neutrality during High Council meeting today. He reports that the Church is re-emphasizing the importance of this issue as the presidential campaign gears up.
Interested parties can read a very complete description of the policy here.
My stake president is one of the most professional, tactful and spiritual people I have ever met. I have no doubt he was chosen for this position (he is in his mid-30s) specifically because he is so dedicated to the Church and so in touch with the Spirit. I think his primary motive in re-reading the Church statement is to protect the Church and make it clear what kind of behavior is acceptable and unacceptable as the political campaign continues.
I also think Church leaders, including most of the GAs, are being especially careful with Mitt Romney’s candidacy to remind members not to mix the Church’s mission with Romney’s campaign. This seems like incredibly wise counsel, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many stake presidents are reminding their high councils and bishoprics of the Church policy.
Here’s my personal take on some possible issues that may be taking place and how we as members should deal with them.
1)No church-related e-mail or phone lists should ever be used for campaign purposes. I’ve read some indignant comments from people on the Bloggernacle that so-and-so used a Church list to send out a politically related e-mail to support the Romney campaign (or another campaign). I think it’s more likely that many members have e-mail lists of their friends, and many of those friends may be Church members, and many members assume others in the Church think as they do, so they feel it is OK to send out politically related e-mails. My advice: only send such e-mails to people you know want to receive them, and definitely don’t use a Church-related list of any kind. My advice to the offended: send an e-mail to the person who sent you political stuff you don’t want to hear, and tell them very politely that you don’t want to be on their mailing list. You may even want to remind them that it is against Church policy to use any Church-related e-mailing lists.
2)The point I’m trying to make in number 1) is that there is probably no insidious plot by anybody to support any specific candidate within the Church. Most e-mailing is done out of naivete rather than bad intentions. If you feel there is some insidious plot, please bring it up with your bishop and stake president. The instructions local Church leaders are receiving from the GAs is that campaigning should not take place at Church and/or using Church e-mailing lists. The offending party will quickly be told to stop.
3)I have already experienced an excitable member of my ward bringing up the Romney campaign in the middle of a priesthood lesson. This person did so simply because he is enthusiastic about the Romney campaign — not because he is on some kind of sinister mission. He also loves to discuss football during priesthood meeting (especially now). I remained quiet during the meeting, but later on I mentioned politely to him it’s better to stay away from politics completely while at Church. My advice to all home teachers, gospel doctrine teachers, anybody in a position of authority in the Church, anybody speaking during sacrament meeting, etc is to avoid discussing politics while you are in a Church position. If you are bursting with enthusiasm for one candidate or another, bring it up after church with people who are not likely to be offended, or bring it to the bloggernacle where you can have fun bashing all of those who disagree with you politically and sending encomiums to those in your political column.
4)If you are one of those people who are offended by people talking politics while at Church, please just ask the person politely not to do it. If it becomes a problem, discuss it with the bishop and/or the stake president.
There are hundreds of journalists and people from rival campaigns out there searching for dirt on Romney and the Church right now. They would love to dig up a “scoop” that the Church is secretly behind the Romney campaign and that Romney is taking orders from Salt Lake City. It appears to me that the GAs are doing everything they can to make sure the Church’s mission is separate from Romney’s campaign — while at the same time giving individual members the freedom to express themselves, vote for the candidates they prefer and participate in the political process. It is an extremely difficult balancing act, but based on the actions of my stake president so far, I am proud of how the Church is handling it.
OK, some ground rules for those who want to comment on this post:
A)Anything off-topic (such as advertisements for one candidate or another or insults for Romney or any other candidate) will be deleted. That’s not the subject of this post. The subject of this post is, “how to maintain an environment of political neutrality when a Church member is running for office.”
B)Anything that insults the Church or tries to imply based on rumors or innuendo that either Romney or the Church really did do something sinister will also be deleted. Take such comments to another blog. If you feel that something sinister did take place, and you have evidence, please bring it up with your bishop or stake president, so it can be handled privately.
Thank you for respecting these rules.