Mormons and American Government

This article was written in late 2011, when there were two members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints running for the office of president of the United States. Much controversy has been generated during the presidential campaign due to these candidates' Mormon beliefs. As much as 40% of the American citizenry claims it would not vote for a Mormon president. The Constitution of the United States says there may be no religious test for the office, but people are influenced by their own religious beliefs when they vote, especially where social issues are concerned.

There are two kinds of people most opposed to a Mormon candidate for the American presidency. One comes from the left side of the political spectrum and is opposed to the conservatism of the LDS Church and its members regarding the gay marriage issue. Mormons are also against abortion, and Mormons worry about the compromising of religious rights as American becomes more liberal on social issues. The other challenge to a Mormon president comes from the 'religious right' in America, made up mostly of Evangelical Christians who consider Catholicism, Mormonism, non-Christian religions, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other non-traditional Christian sects to be cults, and which condemns adherents of these sects to damnation. One claim made by the religious right is that Mormons want to take over America and remake it into a theocracy. This is false. The following is an explanation of Mormon doctrinal views of America and why American Latter-day Saints are good citizens of the United States.