Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The Church and Politics

By the Church, I mean the Community of Christ, and its founding Prophet-President Joseph Smith III.

His father was very much into politics and planned on running for the President before he was murdered. 

His son, by contrast, avoided the politics of his day, and did not want church members to fight in the Civil War! 

I got an email today from Hillary O’Connor Mueri, who is running from Northeastern Ohio, which must include Cleveland and Kirtland. 

I have a cousin there, Becky, but I have no idea what her politics are - or that of the Church's. 

Probably it has continued the policy of not getting involved in politics, A policy that does not appeal to me.

My brother Steve added this:

JS3's position was not against fighting in the Civil War. When he was in Nauvoo he was the speaker at an Army recruiting event and was so successful that the Nauvoo quota was over-subscribed! However, as he considered the issue of war and violence as the Church's new President, he expressed his opinion (it never became a church policy) that church members should not volunteer to enlist, but wait to be drafted--and serve if drafted--and then the ethical burden became the Nation's responsibility, not the individual's.

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