Voting criteria for Latter-day Saints

Voting criteria for Latter-day Saints

Guest post by Jelaire Richardson. Have you ever had someone tell you, “You shouldn’t be using the words of Church leaders in determining how you feel about certain issues. That’s just plain inappropriate.” Is using the words of Church leaders to guide us in our political decisions even something we should try to do? And what exactly have they said? Use this chart to examine your reasons for voting, to see what Church leaders have said to look for when voting, and possibly help revise your reasons.

Abortion and anti-circumcision laws

Abortion and anti-circumcision laws

I would love to ask proponents of outlawing circumcision this question: Would you have any objections to circumcising a fetus? If it were medically possible to circumcise an unborn human in-utero, and there was near zero chance of harm to the mother, would it be fine, in your view, to “mutilate” its genitals? If the answer is “No, it’s wrong to circumcise a fetus,” then I would ask how they can reconcile that with the idea that it’s OK to abort a fetus.

Prophetic counsel, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul

Prophetic counsel, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul

We feel that this chart is a great way of applying the prophets’ urging to “study the issues and candidates carefully” and to “ask … is the proposal, the policy, or the idea … right as measured by the counsel of the living oracles of God?” We’re sure others will come to varying conclusions, but as for us, we really do think for several reasons that Ron Paul is the best candidate for president because he most closely follows the repeated and united counsel of modern-day prophets as well as the letter and spirit of the Constitution.