It is common for people to complain about the political positions of other members of the church and to describe themselves as “Conservative Mormons,” “Progressive Mormons,” “Libertarian Mormons,” “Gay Mormons,” etc. The problem with this is that these types of identity politics are incredibly dangerous for all those involved- the person in question and the Church as a whole, not to mention society in general. It divides, marginalizes, and diminishes what should be one whole- the Body of Christ. The reliance on political ideology to create a better world through government violence has failed and will always do so. The more we allow political identities to define and divide us the less able we will be to do the real work necessary to create the better world we all hope our children will inherit. The Book of Mormon provides clear warnings about allowing political ideology to direct our lives while providing us with the blueprint to create a truly equal, just, free, and prosperous society for all.
