What is it about good food that often eases tensions, encourages conversation or otherwise adds pleasantness to life? On road trips with teen agers we discovered we eliminated bickering by stopping for a meal; snacks didn’t do it. We found that breakfast, after watching a movie together the night before, was a good time to talk about the film, reminiscing on the humor, the action, the feelings as well as the concerns. However, politics is often thought to be a topic to be avoided among friends and family.
This year, 2012, in the United States, is a presidential election year. Though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t endorse a candidate it happens that two of the candidates this year are Mormons. As a result there is a lot of national media coverage about Mormons. The Salt Lake Tribune ran a 3-part series on Mormons and politics that is informative.
With two Mormons running for President there has been some claims by other churches that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a Christian church. A co-worker some years ago asked me, “The name of your church is named for Jesus, how can anyone question that you are a Christian?” Perhaps listening to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland will help those who question, understand.
The Tribune notes that the LDS Handbook for leaders states, “Latter-day Saints have a special obligation to seek out, vote for and uphold leaders who are honest, good and wise.” Can it be that practicing Mormons might differ in their choice of a candidate? Are some Mormons conservative and others liberal? Is there only one candidate that is “honest, good and wise.” Absolutely! Every person has the responsibility to discover for themselves. Its in seeking, studying and the sharing of ideas, that we come to a better understanding. There is a scripture:
. . . seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith
No matter what our faith or politics, we all have obligation to discover our personal opinions on issues and to seek out opinions of candidates. This is a great time for teaching children about political issues and making decisions. Mealtime might be a good place to start.
Which candidate best matches our ideas? Where can we find reliable information about candidates and issues?
Election 2012: Park N Sun has a short list of several websites to help match voters with candidates and their views on the issues. Taking time to learn more about the issues, learning to check for accuracy, helps parents and families become more informed. As a result of talking with one another about the issues we can better defend our positions with others. In the process every person has to prioritize which issues and attributes are more or less important in a candidate. No one candidate is perfect.
When I did this process in 2008, I was surprised to find my candidate of choice really didn’t match my beliefs on many issues; we matched on only one or two. As I started to discover more about the issues, I started to discover we had significant differences. In seeking, my voting became more responsible. No one candidate was a perfect match for me. It took me 18 tries on one candidate matching quiz over a period of time to find out where I really stood and how I would vote. It was February and I had time to gather information.
We are almost in February and about nine months to go. Lots to talk about at the dinner table and the computer screen. More debates to watch. The day after a debate or startling news item gives opportunity tor checking facts and accuracy. There is lots of support and information out there to choose from. There has never been a time when there has been better access to good information.
We just might find out our children have some really good ideas and insights. In the process we learn to talk to one another and even linger longer at the dinner table.
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