Politics and Religion

I would like to take this opportunity to post my own thoughts about reconciling Politics and Religion, as well as general political thoughts in general. In the months leading up to this election I have seen many of my friends and family sending various emails out regarding various political candidates and constitutional amendments. We've also had letter from the First Presidency read in Sacrament talking about how we have a civic duty to vote, and that the Church does not support one party over another. It is my opinion that one would have to be very naive to believe that any political can be a perfect solution. It also seems to me that many people forget that structure of the government that we have in this country. Let's look at our governments structure first.

We have 3 branches of Government, each with separate but equal powers. The Executive Branch, home of the President and various Federal regulatory agencies, signs bills into law. has limited War Powers, and is responsible for enforcing the law. They can encourage policy, and ask for policy but they cannot make laws, and cannot force the Legislative branch to make policy. One thing they can do is Veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress can over come even that with a 60% majority vote.

The Legislative Branch composes mainly the House of Representatives and the Senate. We use a Bi-Cameral, or two house, system in an effort to best represent the needs of the country. It is here that laws are written and passed or not. It is Congress that passes the budget, levies taxes, declares war, ratifies international treaties, and generally writes the laws of the land. Therefore, any policies that any Presidential Candidate has, have to be written, voted on, and approved by various Committees in both the Senate and the House and then get approved by a majority vote in BOTH houses, before being sent to the President to be signed into law.

The third Branch is the Judicial Branch. They have the Responsibility of interpreting the laws and constitution. The Supreme Court is made up of judges who are appointed by the President and then Approved by Congress. They serve a life long term or until they retire. The Judicial branch also is comprised of all the federal courts, but I will focus mainly on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is composed of 9 judges. One Chief Judge and 8 associate judges. Any law that is passed by congress and is signed by the President can be challenged in court and eventually taken to the Supreme Court to verify its Constitutionality. The Court can then say 'Yes' it is constitutional or 'No' it's not and strike it from the books. They also render any decision that interprets or defines terms and phrases in the Constitution. One example of this is the definition of a "Person" in Roe vs Wade that defined a fetus as a person once it is in the third trimester. Thus, allowing abortions up to the third trimester where the life of the mother is not at stake, and into the third trimester if the life of the mother is at stake.

So, now that that is established, it seems to me that people have lost sight of the big picture when it comes to elections. There is so much focus on the President and their "policies" and "plans for the future", when in reality, they have little hope of actually getting those policies into play as they campaign them. They have to pass Congress unchanged(which I don't think has EVER happened), and then they have to withstand any challenges that may be brought up in the court system. So, voting on economic policies or environmental policies, or tax policies when it comes to President doesn't make much sense to me, when it's Congress who will ultimately decide these things. No, it is my opinion that when voting for President we should look at how they would handle a crisis, what are their personal beliefs and how will that reflect how they appoint judges who interpret the constitution according to their beliefs. Is the candidate one we can trust to be as honest as possible and really have the best interests of the WHOLE country at heart. For he is the only candidate that is voted on by the entire country, he is to be the People's Champion in Congress and to the World at large. He needs to truly represent this country and what we the people care about. As such, everyone in this country is different. It's one of the things that makes this country truly great, is that generally speaking we tolerate, even encourage, many different viewpoints and values. We really do try to draw strength from diversity.

This all being said, I vote according to my conscience on various social issues, and how I interpret the constitution. I try to pick the Candidate that most closely aligns to my personal views. There have been none that match 100%, but I do my best as I see fit. I hope everyone else does the same, even if it's different than mine. It's what's best for this country as a whole that matters, not what's best for me personally, although that would be nice ;). What's best for the country as a whole can only be evident if everyone that is able gets out to vote and votes according to their conscience. I truly believe that's what the Founders wanted and hoped for.

As for Religion, it has played a role in the formation and the development of this country. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet and that we are led by a Prophet of God today. As such, I believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God and it states this land needs to be a righteous people in order to continue to enjoy the blessing and protections of our Heavenly Father. So I also cast my votes on various amendments and referendums that I believe will help us maintain this standard of righteousness. I want to make it clear that I have no hatred or even dislike for people who choose to live differently than I do. I love all of my brothers and sisters, fellow children of our Heavenly Father, but I do not have to support or encourage chosen lifestyles. It is in fact my duty to gently, persuasively, and with all the charity and Christ-like love my pitiful soul can generate, to teach them the error of their ways and then stand back and let them choose to accept it or not. I have been severely dismayed by certain Facebook posts or emails that do not seem to resonate this, but take a much more hateful and even violent tone in regards to our fellow Brothers and Sisters and I do not support that AT ALL.

I know this post is long, but I have had many discussions recently, and seemingly every major election year, about the process I use to select a candidate and I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain. Feel free to leave contrasting Comments, or comments of support.