Congratulations on manifesting this into the world. www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

We’ve certainly seen plenty examples of that. I guess my only question is what happens when we see a “breaking point” - where members are literally forced to choose between their “Church tribe” and their “politics tribe.” I expect (hope?) that most will choose their Church.

I’m 100% in agreement, and I love your citation to Matthew 19:6. I had never thought to interpret the verse that way before.

I think it’s a fool’s game to speculate on the thought process of Church leadership, but I agree that the letter is probably not coming. Far more likely that GOP leadership takes a direct shot at the Church (though I don’t think that’s particularly likely either).

Explicit to an absurd degree. Something that doesn’t allow for mental gymnastics (there was plenty of that as far as the vaccine goes). Either a letter from the First Presidency saying “This guy sucks, don’t vote for him” or a GOP leader saying “Your church sucks, don’t go there anymore.”

Very likely you’re right! It’s purely hypothetical at this point. Bannon brought it up, but he’s fringe enough (I think? Who even knows anymore) that explicit anti-Mormonism probably won’t catch on among the mainstream GOP.

Lack of engagement and tribalism. I would argue that tribalism is the great sin of our times, and absolutely antithetical to what the Church teaches. But it’s REALLY hardwired into the human mind, and very tough to deprogram.

The capital-c Conservative elements of the Church are far more bottom-up than top-down these days.

Fair enough, but I still don’t see much influence from Benson’s political ideas among current Church leadership. The opposite, if anything. Even President Oaks (probably the most conservative by far?), has taken a far more tempered approach for years now.

Genuinely hilarious.

I think that accurately describes the current mindset of a substantial number of US based Latter-day Saints. They don’t see any conflict between their faith and voting Trump. But when/if that conflict is made explicit? I think that mindset changes for most Church members.

b) I think you’re overestimating the lasting impact that talks from, say, Ezra Taft Benson and Cleon Skousen have on the current membership of the Church. (And there’s a question as to how much Benson Republicanism has in common with Trump Republicanism, but I don’t have the chops for that one.)

a) Yes, but that point applies to the entirety of the country,not just Mormons, and we STILL elected him. Not necessarily because people stuck true to their political identity (look at the Independents vote totals), but because they didn’t like inflation or whatever. People just aren’t dialed in.

Put another way, most Trump-voting Mormons have no idea that there is a conflict between their faith and their politics (which may not speak well of their engagement, but that’s a different issue). If/when that conflict becomes explicit, I expect that most will pick their faith.

I get it, and if I thought that Mormons voted for “all of THIS,” then I would be inclined to agree with you. But since the election it has become abundantly clear that most Americans are not at all versed in the consequences of their votes. I don’t think that Mormons are the exception here.

I guess it depends on how you are defining “typical LDS membership,” but yes, I would argue pretty aggressively against your point.