Recently, I flipped out in a Messenger group chat — a reaction I have experienced with more frequency lately. In this instance I was venting, somewhat unfairly to my good friend, over the portrayal of our shared faith. We are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In popular media, it is referred to as the “Mormon Church,” a title which our religious leader actually has advised members not to use, as it can confuse people who believe that we worship Mormon. Our religion actually centers on a monotheistic god and his son Jesus Christ, hence “The Church of Jesus Christ.”
However, this time, it was not the continued use of our nickname as “Mormons” that I was upset about. My friend was attending a talk called “Will Mormons Forever be Republican?” in Pennsylvania. I would like to combat this notion, nay, stereotype that all “Mormons” are Republican. It is true that most church members in Utah do affiliate with the cult of the red elephant, and most members with ties to Utah will have conservative views. However, not all members of our church are from Utah.
Believe it or not, our church actually claims a global membership — funny that most news sources and people who talk about “Mormons” never mention that. Like ever. It’s something that I, as someone who is part of an international family, have always appreciated about my religion. It means that when I travel, I usually always have a place to attend services, whether I’m in Potsdam, Germany or Whangarei, New Zealand. What that means is that there are members outside of the United States who actually can’t even register with the Republican Party because they’re not citizens.
The face of my church that is always presented in mainstream media, the angry white Trump voter, is not the only face my church contains. We have members who are Mexican, African-American, African, Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Samoan, Tongan, Hawaiian and Native American — and I am only listing ethnic identities I have met. We have congregations within the United States and abroad that perform their services in another language. So far, I’ve been to services that were conducted in Spanish, Chinese and Tongan. The Book of Mormon, a key canon of our religion, has been translated into 110 languages. Yes, I know this argument has the ring of “I’m not racist because I have ethnic friends,” but let me continue.
Let me now speak from personal belief. I am a member of my church, but I am also a socialist. As a dual citizen, I align myself politically with New Zealand’s Green Party, but in the United States where third parties have little to no political presence I find it easier to say I’m unaffiliated. I’ve never believed my political beliefs to be in conflict with my religious beliefs; in fact, I decided to become a socialist because of my religion. Jesus preached about loving others and taking care of the poor. The Book of Mormon also discusses these subjects, and further discusses the importance of democracy (contained in the story of Captain Moroni and the king-men) and the importance of a righteous government. Alma 11 of the Book of Mormon discusses the wickedness of governmental judges and lawyers who create conflict within the city of Ammonihah for the purpose of gaining money from the increase in court cases. It is a condemnation of government corruption. If anything, the doctrines of our religion are progressive. In Utah, the church actually founded several cities such as Orderville that for a period in the late 1800s were governed according to doctrines akin to Utopian Socialism. These cities really existed — you can even Wiki it.
I am not denying that there are a multitude of problems relating to the conflation of our religion with conservative politics in Utah. As someone who lived in Utah for ten years, I saw my fair share of racism, homophobia, xenophobia and class prejudice. Yes, Utah has issues. Yes, Utah church members tend to be the base of these issues. However, the people who make up a religion do not always reflect the tenets of a religion. When I lived in Utah, I often saw the doctrines of our faith taught incorrectly or with a misleadingly narrow scope. I knew people who grew up in the religion who never bothered to personally search through and analyze church materials. I believe that many members from Utah, both those who have stayed in our church and those who have left, were misinformed and misled by cultural beliefs they believed represented the stances of our church.
Faith should not be ignorance. Utah is not the world and neither is Utah the scope of our religion. The Republican Party is not the scope of our religion. I have met many members, within Utah and without, who were not Republican. Saying that a majority of Utah church members align themselves with the Republican party is factually correct. I have been informed by my friend who attended the talk “Will Mormons Forever be Republican?” that there are a lot of graphs to uphold this statement. But generally ascribing such conservative politics to “Mormons” as an entire faith is a stereotype. So, when talking about “Mormons” please be aware that not all of us are Utahns, not all of us are white and not all of us are Republican. As a favor to me, a Kiwi-American Socialist mixed-Native Hawaiian female member of this church, please stop portraying my religion inaccurately. When you meet a member, give them the benefit of the doubt. I’m not saying that they won’t be a Republican, but sometimes even Republicans need liberal friends.
Contact Sophia Kim-O’Sullivan at huali99 ‘at’ stanford.edu.