INVITATION TO ALL MORMONS TO VOTE THEIR CONSCIENCE
LDS Church encourages member involvement in political process
By Carrie A. MooreDeseret News
Published: Monday, Sept. 22, 2008 12:28 a.m. MDT
While the LDS Church has long affirmed its political neutrality regarding political parties, platforms and candidates, it is reminding its members of their duty to vote and of the church's right to speak out on political and social issues.
In a letter sent to priesthood leaders dated Sept. 11 to be read from the pulpit in LDS congregations nationwide on Sunday, the church's First Presidency titled its message "Political participation, voting and the political neutrality of the Church."
Church leaders each year read a statement of political neutrality from the pulpit and encourage members to get involved in the political process, but this year's letter differed from previous years in the urgency with which it encourages individual political participation.
"As citizens, we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy. Participation in the political process affects our communities and nation today and in the future," the letter reads.
"Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties."
"Therefore, in this election year, we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government," the letter said.
As in the past, the letter affirms the church's "neutrality regarding political parties, platforms, and candidates. The Church also affirms its constitutional right of expression on political and social issues."
In June, the First Presidency sent a letter to church leaders in California — also to be read from the pulpit — asking church members to "do all you can" to uphold traditional marriage. The move came following a ruling earlier this year by the California Supreme Court that overturned a previous referendum outlawing gay marriage.
Voters there will decide in November whether to approve the proposed amendment, and opponents have grown increasingly vocal in their criticism of the church's stance and the political involvement of its members.
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com
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First Presidency Issues Letter on Political Participation
SALT LAKE CITY | 22 September 2008 | The following letter was issued by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 11, 2008, to be read to Church congregations throughout the United States: Political Participation, Voting, and the Political Neutrality of the Church As citizens we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy. Participation in the political process affects our communities and nation today and in the future. Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties. Therefore, in this election year, we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government.The Church affirms its neutrality regarding political parties, platforms, and candidates. The Church also affirms its constitutional right of expression on political and social issues. Sincerely yours,
Thomas S. Monson Henry B. Eyring Dieter F. Uchtdorf The First Presidency
Greetings!LDS Members are invited to join Mormons for Obama!This is a group dedicated to bringing together members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormon) who support Barack Obama.We encourage all people to participate with their local Obama groups (i.e. Utah for Obama).Please read Obama's speech on faith.Also, please use the blog feature for discussions, and make announcements over the listserv. The listserv is now moderated.The Mormons for Obama email discussion group can be found here.Visit the Mormons for Obama Store!Some other Mormon groups for Obama:Oregon Mormons for Obama 08AZ Mormons for ObamaLatter Day Saints (Mormons) for ObamaDFW Mormons for Obama
Greetings!
LDS Members are invited to join Mormons for Obama!
This is a group dedicated to bringing together members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormon) who support Barack Obama.
We encourage all people to participate with their local Obama groups (i.e. Utah for Obama).
Please read Obama's speech on faith.
Also, please use the blog feature for discussions, and make announcements over the listserv. The listserv is now moderated.
The Mormons for Obama email discussion group can be found here.
Visit the Mormons for Obama Store!
Some other Mormon groups for Obama:
Oregon Mormons for Obama 08
AZ Mormons for Obama
Latter Day Saints (Mormons) for Obama
DFW Mormons for Obama
Thank you to all of you who participated and volunteered last night at Canyon Rim Park. A special thanks goes to Mike Lookinland who kept things running with the giant screen.
All four major news stations covered the event as well as local papers and radio stations.
Kristen Garbett did a great job running the soda and snacks booth and Rob Skraznas was a great host. The event was hosted by Rob, Kristen and I. Over a dozen volunteers registered voters and signed up more future volunteers. Sydney Rhees merged his ever-expanding house party with ours and we really appreciate his help and participation. If you haven't seen his house it is on 7th East. His little paint job has made the papers. He also brought cardboard Obama and many people took pictures with him.
We don't have any banners locally, but by all means, if you want to make something and display it on your home that says a lot about your support.
Many people brought homemade signs and banners. Obama t-shirts abounded and some even got their dogs into the spirit by decorating them. No animals were harmed or will be harmed in this campaign. I swear.
We had around 300 people attend. More than that showed up just to get yard signs. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker attended and gave a great speech.Candidates Jean Welch Hill, Brian King, Bob Springmeyer,and Lynn Hemmingway were on hand to speak to voters, get their input and celebrate with the crowd. Grae Wallace from Canyon Coffee did a great job keeping everyone caffinated.
Suzanne Gelderman addressed the crowd. Duchess and Patrick worked the Obama booth and spoke to everyone. If you forgot to take home the candidate sign you wanted go to slcountydems.org for more information on getting lawn signs of local candidates. It is vital that we keep up the pressure and show our support not only for Obama but for local people on the ground who will contribute as a whole to the Obama Presidency.
John and his wife had those great Jute bags for sale with the logo on them. If you missed getting one you can catch him at the Farmers Market downtown every Saturday. We signed a banner to hang in headquarters. If you haven't made it to headquarters yet is is on 780 East, South Temple. Stop by to volunteer this Saturday or stop by sometime just to say hello. Hopefully we will get some t-shirts and bumper stickers.
If you would like to see photos of last night go to this link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28691399@N06/
It was an emotional evening as we spread out on blankets in front of the glowing Wasatch Mountains under the setting sun. It was the next best thing to being in Denver because sharing this occasion with a cheering crowd is no comparison to sitting in one's own livingroom.We clapped, we screamed, we booed, and we gave standing ovations. Wouldn't we have felt funny doing that in front of the sofa alone at home?
Now is the time to get started on local campaigns. There will be many volunteer opportunities. Look in Events for them and register saying you will volunteer. The Neighbor to Neighbor program can be found when you go to your dashboard. We need a lot of people in Utah to help out. Volunteer early and you may be a local coordinator.
Thanks for sharing in the excitement. I hope to see you elsewhere in the community. Say hello and let's have a great election!
Somewhere I had read about a birthday celebration for Barack in SLC but I can't find any information on it now. Can anyone please help?
Also, does anyone know about his Utah campaign headquarters? Is it already set up or what is the status of it? I will volunteer if I can just get the information.
Thank you so much!
Kindest Regards,
Tresa
So...after a long and dramatic primary election, Barack Obama is the democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States. I would be lying if I said I wanted this all along, but I know that he is the best choice right now.
Until the sting wears off, I will just keep telling myself that this is what Hillary wants. She wants her supporters to support Barack Obama just as ferociously as they supported her. So I will!
However...I don't think Barack looks as good in a pant suit.
We're fighting to make the necessary preparations to take on Senator McCain!
The financial demands on our immediate horizon are greater than at any point in the campaign so far. We face a critical reporting deadline on Saturday, and your support could make the difference before these last three contests. This Saturday at midnight is the financial reporting deadline for the month of May.
Give our campaign a crucial boost before these final contests, and send a message that we are ready to move to the next phase and compete against Senator McCain in all 50 states.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT TODAY!
RESERVE YOUR SEATS ONLINE AT UTAH4OBAMA.ORG FOR THE BIG UTAH FUNdraiser "got hope" in Salt Lake City this Friday, May 30th! Or just come and donate at the door!
For more information on this event, go to utah4obama.org .
Tresa Stitley, Organizer
info@utah4obama.org
801.260.0265
Hey group, John McCain is going around the country trying to portray himself as a moderate and distance himself from Bush! We need to make sure voters realize that McCain is just like Bush on virtually every important issue facing our country—and that a McCain presidency would be like Bush's third term. This will be a very fun event!
Life-size figures of Bush & McCain!
Event URL: http://political.moveon.org/event/challenge/46662 President Bush will be in Utah the same day… Here’s thelatest from the Trib. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9334813?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.comBe sure to contact the host(ess), Tresa Stitley at 801-260-0265if you can help out!This should be fun!Thank you all!
Now, where's Al Gore?
Or how about our own - Jim Matheson???
I found this Map to be a very useful tool..if you mose over a states you will get its info Link: http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/demmap/
Please forward to all as needed.
GOT HOPE!
utah4obama.org
Operation Democracy Overview
It's clear that our country is facing some enormous challenges. Big Oil companies are allowed to write our energy policy. Millions of Americans don't have health care—and many of us who have it, can barely afford it. Five years, and thousands of casualties later, the war in Iraq still rages on.
To truly meet these challenges, we need to build up a progressive power base that is strong enough to overcome the influence of the radical right-wing and rich corporate special interests. We need to be able to apply real pressure on politicians to act on the issues we care about—and to work on winning elections so we can hold them accountable when they bow to special interests.
Operation Democracy is about taking MoveOn's work beyond email and building that power base— by organizing hard hitting actions in communities from coast to coast.
What we do
Operation Democracy provides extra strength to MoveOn's priority campaigns. In the fall of 2006, winning back Congress was MoveOn's biggest focus. Operation Democracy volunteers played a huge role in making this happen by providing the backbone for our campaign to get out the vote.
Many Operation Democracy actions are focused on earning media coverage, to educate the public and put pressure on elected leaders. To help with this, we provide volunteers with training and tools for breaking through to the media in their community.
Rapid response is also hallmark of Operation Democracy. When important news breaks, we want to be able to quickly respond with powerful local actions. For example, the day after President Bush announced he was sending more troops to Iraq, Operation Democracy led the way in organizing 500 rapid response emergency rallies. The rallies were on the front page of papers across the country and demonstrated that the public was opposed to Bush's plan.
How it works
At the core of Operation Democracy are hundreds of coordinating councils. Councils are groups of dedicated volunteers who work together in their community to organize MoveOn actions, like rallies, vigils and press conferences.
Councils have core members who plan each event and other members who just help out whenever they can. Each council has a council coordinator who makes sure the events are successful and the council is growing (recruitment is an important part of Operation Democracy).
To help councils grow even stronger, we have a team of volunteer Regional Coordinators and staff organizers who provide training and support.
Over the last few decades, the radical right-wing has build up a powerful infrastructure and large corporations have had enormous sway over our lawmakers. We can overcome these special interests if we bring people power back to American politics. We created Operation Democracy to help do just that.
Join Operation Democracy: Salt Lake City Council
Sign up @ OperationDemocracy.org
MAY 4th EVENT: Obama vs. McCain Brainstorming Potluck
