Mormon liberals: A 'minority within a minority'

i was born into an LDS family, raised with the values our Savior wants me to have, i am temple worthy and raised my children with firm values. how do members of the church have liberal values ? i just do not understand why some support abortion like it is going to the dentist for a cleaning. how do they support gay marriage when they know better ? there are some members in my area whom are so mad at me for not being liberal. so tough luck on them, i stand firm and strong in the gospel. when we give in to the world then we loose site of the eternal blessings. this is a division now in the church. when it comes to the final decisions at tough times the sides will be obvious. Chad Daybell wrote a series of books and in one of the books he wrote how the firm members and the non firm members divided then the wishy washy members had to make decisions which would determine their futures.

motherof3 - Motherof3----it is your self righteous attitude that makes ur argument so one centered. The gospel allows us to make choices. I was not born in the church, but joined later in life. My political and religious views coincide with each other. There is a reason why the church does not sustain only one political party. You are clearly under a notion that all Mormon liberal are less worthy than you…..is that really ur holier than thou thinking? Not only democrats are pro-choice. Many Republicans are pro-choice. Even Mitt Romney, at one point, was pro choice. Abortion is not just about taking the life of a child – it is also about the life of the young mother. In our church, they are clearly advised to consider adoption. That is a great tool that we have. But many women who have abortions are not just teenage girls…they are women who were raped by strangers, or family members. Also, some are from abusive relationships. Yes…it is a tough call. Even Eve made a tough choice…..YOU CAN NOT JUDGE US based on our political beliefs…you shouldn’t judge us at all.

In the article people are quoted saying "I am a Democrat because I'm a Mormon", "I'm a Liberal because I'm a Mormon, and "I'm a Democrat because I believe in Jesus Christ". They say this is because of what Jesus Christ taught about in the New Testament. Well I can honestly say that I'm a Conservative Republican for those very same reasons and I believe that most Conservative Republicans can say the same. The teachings of Jesus Christ are a mixture of both conservative and liberal view points. I have a number of Mormon Democrat friends and their political viewpoints really aren't that much different than mine. What I'd say is that we're moderately Conservative/Liberal because we believe in Jesus Christ. Arguing that being Conservative or Liberal, Democrat or Republican because we're Mormons will and already does cause contention amongst us. We need to achieve a balance between the two viewpoints and work together as Christ would have us do. It is the extremists on both side who are not in line with what Jesus Christ teaches us in the scriptures and that is what we should strive to avoid.

I support what you said Mother of 3.. you did NOT judge anyone. And I feel the same as you do. Others that are chastening you .. then go on to say that abortion is also for rape victims, etc.. GET a Grip. OF COURSE.. We Support those views too. It is the Liberal mind.. that supports ALL abortion.. including the "morning after pill" Etc.. if YOU Do NOT support that.. then maybe you need to Rethink your political status? Mom of 3 is not judging Anyone.. she is stating how the Church Stands about Abortion.. if you feel judged.. then maybe you are supposed to rethink ?? Why Do Liberals always feel attacked?? Maybe because they are wrong.. 1N 16:2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center."

The democrat party has gotten out of hand! As a member of the church and a temple going member. I have answered the question to obtain my recomend, Do you support or afiliate with any group or individual that has teachings that are contrary to that of the LDS Church? Right now I dont think one can answer that accurately and still obtain a recomend if they vote democrat. The Democratic party platform barely even mentions God. It supports abortion and gay marraige. The left is slowly trying to take away the freedom of religion. To vote for Obama and or most democrats, is a vote against the teachings of the church.

I am LDS and a Democrat. I treasure my free agency and don't feel I have a right to determine how others live. I do determine how I live myself and what my morals are. I feel there is so much judgement on the part of the Republicans who have turned into right wingers rather than being more reasonable. I do believe in contraceptives to prevent pregnancies if they are not wanted or the mother needs to space children. I think children are a blessing as well. I don't see a morning after pill on the same level as abortion as a fetus is prevented from being conceived rather than eliminating a fetus. As to abortion, there are cases when that may be necessary. Many of the Republicans don't feel that an abortion is ever necessary. there are cases when woman and fetus or child if you wish, would die or likely die while an abortion could save the mother and the family have Mom around and she could have another child which could allow the child to be born later. We have to know that God knows how many spirit children will come here and they will no matter. And I made the decision for myself but I feel others and their doctors have to decide for them. However, I would encourage women to use contraceptives if they don't want a child or to abstain. Fortunately, abortion is decreasing. This isn't number one on my agenda though. The concern I have is about the diminishing middle class. Trickle down economics don't work - hasn't for 20 years. We are in serious situations here both on the international level and also in the economy. I feel that the democratic policies will bring back the economy better and the President has a grip on foreign matters. Romney is flip flopping and changing his mind all the time as he has no clue. I think his handling of Bain Capital is not a good example of how to bring jobs to America. He promised jobs in Mass. and he didn't deliver. Mass. was 47th out of 50 states in brining jobs so Romney failed to bring jobs to Mass. so why should we believe his same promise that he will bring jobs. Obama has had opposition for policies he has had to help the economy and yet he has improved the situation and there have been jobs created through construction. He is handling the foreign policy well. As to Benghazi, we know two generals knew of the attack and refused assistance for lack of intelligence information. There is no indication whether or not the Sec. of State or President were aware of the attack until after it was over. The local generals were in charge. They did relieve a Commander of an aircraft carrier of command but we don't know why yet. I do believe Romney will find the terrorists as soon as we know more. I think of the people standing on places of worship or great and spacious buildings and laughing at the people who were poor while they had so much wealth and were not sharing it. Our tax laws and huge rewards to CEO's whether they are successful or not has put them much higher than workers and middle class and they seem to think that firing people or anything they do to milk money out of a corporation is fine as long as they get a lot of money is fine. It isn't. We don't need a President without a heart and without caring for the 47% and the 99%, instead of only the top 1-2%. We need to care for others. The church has a welfare program and helps the poor and the widows. That is an example for us. Christ feeding the multitudes is also an example though it should be for right reasons. Romney and his method of gaining wealth may not be what we think is a good example for the church. We need to be honest and chaste and virtuous and do good to others. We need to control our own lives and to offer correct examples for our children and for others. But we can't force them, we can lead and set examples. We can't force a person to heaven. Let's think about getting us there ourselves and taking those with us who will go.

My husband and I don’t side with parties. We each registered with a different major party in the hope of becoming more informed from both major perspectives. I think the heart of the matter is this: Most of us have the same religious beliefs, but making a law about it has to do with deciding for someone else. I believe there is a strong argument on both sides of every issue. If it was really obvious one way or the other, we wouldn’t be debating. I think anyone who thinks it’s obvious, really doesn’t respect that other people are reasonable too. I think most on the Republican side believe they are protecting the moral standard for the sake of society, holding people responsible for their choices, and are supporting God’s view of preserving agency through the constitution, including financial decisions, allowing individual Americans to choose how they are compassionate. I think most on the Democratic side believe they are supporting Christlike compassion through government programs, demonstrating acceptance for all no matter their creed, and supporting God’s view of preserving agency through the constitution, allowing individual Americans to make personal moral decisions. I realize that this is very general and simplified, and that there are inconsistencies within both parties. I believe it is really the same old debate of justice versus mercy, with each party taking a different side on each issue. We really want both and the only perfect system for judgement is through Christ. So until He reigns on Earth, we have to vote for what we feel is right and allow others to vote according to what they feel is right, knowing that we all have an imperfect view of each other’s hearts. I believe that if Christ were somehow required to choose a political party, He would create His own.

You can read how my strong LDS faith has informed my politics, through careful consideration over 20 years, including my full-time LDS mission and being a Relief Society president here: http://iamamormonmom.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-good-mormon-girl-became-democrat.html I felt the Spirit really strongly when I attended my first Democratic caucus. I felt I was doing what was right for me, and that the Lord wants good people in both parties to fight for what is right. I follow the Church's exact policy on abortion and gay marriage. The Church said there is good to be found in both parties. There is also bad to be found in both parties. We must each support the good in our own parties, working together, with love, not hate. If what you are watching or listening to makes you hate other human beings, including Democrats, then it is not of God. I am glad there are good people in both parties, and I applaud the good things you do.