NevadaBrad

The election is less than a week away and it’s time that we address the abominable Harry Reid. There are a few reasons this is necessary.

First, Gregory A. Prince wrote an article in which he bragged about how little he knows about Mormonism. One of his claims is that Romney has somehow “sullied” Mormonism. When Reid was asked about this comment he just had to agree. I’m not sure why Reid thinks he’s any kind of authority on Mormonism. This is the same Harry Reid who bore false witness against Romney at least twice (God should make a law against that or something). He is now lying about Romney and claiming some kind of technicality to make himself feel better about. This is clearly a man who has sold his soul for a fleeting moment of earthly power.

Second, there was a rash of blog articles and news stories several weeks back that proclaimed, “I’m Democrat because I’m a Mormon, not in spite of it!” Go ahead, say whatever you have to to make yourself feel better.

Third, I’ve had several friends from church come out in open support of Obama. Let’s say you take away the obvious things like Obama’s sociopathic lying and despicable stance on abortion (“I don’t want them punished with a baby!”). You are indeed supporting these positions when you vote for the O, but can you make the case that supporting Obama makes you more compassionate? That voting for welfare and “insurance” for all outweighs everything else?

The answer is easy: no.

In a philosophical sense, this is where people like Gregory A. Prince (Ph.D.!) stumble. He states that we have a “sacred obligation to assist the less able.” In the next sentence, he almost touches on a key tenet of the church, which is this: “Work is a guiding principle in the Church’s welfare program.” Our president views government welfare as a vote-harvesting system instead of as a hand-up.

Even this misses the more important point. Welfare is not the responsibility of the government! As Prince brags about the church’s welfare system he conveniently forgets about another tenet of the church: self-reliance and preparedness. We should be prepared for circumstances that might place us in need. Should you not have sufficient resources, then you turn to your family. Should your family have insufficient resources then you turn to church welfare. Should the church not be able to take care of you, then turn to the community. The federal government should provide a safety net as a last resort.

Some may disagree and that’s okay. But consider this:

• When giving to the government, it is estimated only about .30 of every dollar is used for its intended purpose
• When donating to LDS Charities, 100% of your donation goes to the cause
• Most other reputable charities keep their operating costs below 10%

Why would you want to trust a bloated federal bureaucracy when people are in need? What’s more, shouldn’t you have a say in how your money is used?

Mormons believe that for each of God’s “institutions”, there is likely a sinister knock-off. This particular issue is a great example. God has a system to provide for His people, but the government provides an alternate system that replaces God with the government. This does not mean that the government programs are inherently evil. It does not mean that those who implement the programs are ill-intentioned. In the case of government welfare it seems clear that it’s being used to obtain power. This is certainly evil. Either way, it cannot ever work as well as God’s program.

Theologically, this is where the argument falls apart for well-intentioned Mormons voting for Obama. A great read concerning this is Marion G. Romney’s conference talk titled “Socialism and the United Order Compared“.

I believe that Mitt Romney understands the plan. I believe that most Americans understand the plan. Your government seeks to enslave you through taxes, which will be collected with a gun to your head if you don’t comply. The government enslaves the welfare recipients by giving them handouts in exchange for votes. God’s plan allows us to choose for ourselves. As George Albert Smith said, “… I believe our Heavenly Father is giving us our opportunity for development. … We will discover now whether the love the Savior said should be in our hearts is among us.”

So, will you make government your god? If you’re Harry Reid then that’s an easy answer: yes.