This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In "Group: GOP not the boss of LDS" (Tribune, Aug. 21), former state Rep. Holly Richardson said that Mormon Democrats must navigate conflicts between their faith and their political persuasion — as if Republicans didn't have to.
As an LDS Democrat who chose my political party because of my religion, I bristle at such statements. No political ideology is in complete harmony with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or any church, and the Republican Party is no exception. A few examples:
• LDS scriptures teach of our obligation to orphans, widows, the poor and the sick, but Republicans insist on gutting programs that help these groups in order to pay for more tax cuts for the rich.
• Mormons believe that "the glory of God is intelligence," but Utah's Republican Legislature invests far less per pupil to educate our children than any other state.
• Mormons are commanded to "renounce war and proclaim peace," but Republicans have opposed limits to military spending, war, torture and firearms.
My Republican friends will doubtless disagree, and that's fine, but I wish some of them would stop implying that they're better Latter-day Saints than I am just because our political views differ.
Blair Bateman
Provo