Many thanks to Pauline Colton for sharing this beautiful watercolor painting with us. Below, she shares some of her thoughts about the painting, and a few of the many scriptures that came to mind as she was working on this piece. We first shared this in 2009 but the image was not accessible. We figured it was a great opportunity to re-share. Please note the image is copyrighted, and shared with permission. More information below.

Alma 37:6 “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”

The greatest of all the gifts of God is His Son. Christ willingly and lovingly makes the blessings, the healing and the power of the atonement available to each of us. Only by small and simple means can I be in a position to partake of the atonement.

As I worked on the drawing and design of this piece, I had many scriptures come to mind. By taking note of each scripture as I recalled it, I ended up with six pages of scriptures. I categorized the scriptures by elements in the painting. Here, I include only one reference for each category:

1. Being partakers – Alma 5:62

2. Fruit – 1 Nephi 8:10-12

3. Tree – Revelation 2:7

4. Oil – D&C 33:16-17

5. Support for the lamp – Isaiah 41:10

6. Drop by drop – Deut 32:2

7. Light of the World – John 8:12

8. Light of Christ given to man – D&C 84:45-46

9. Clay lamp – Isaiah 64:8

10. Being invited – Revelation 3:20

<font=size=”1″>Copyright Pauline Colton. Picture may be reproduced and used for for personal, non-profit use.</font=size=”1″>

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Today the Ogden, Utah temple will be rededicated (it went through a significant renovation process — see some photos here or videos here and here).

Following is information about temples and temple dedications that we posted a couple of years ago. We hope these links can give an appreciation for what the temple means to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”). For more information, you can also read more about why Mormons build temples and what happens inside the temple. And learn more about how temples differ from the thousands of meetinghouses we have all over the world.

Open House: Inside a Mormon temple

Before a temple is dedicated, the public is allowed to tour the temple, to see what the inside of Mormon temples look like, and to learn a little more about the significance of temples in our doctrine and religious practice. You can see a slideshow of photos from inside the Brigham City temple here at the Mormon Newsroom. To learn more about the different rooms and their purposes, see this article.

Hear from an artist who helped create the mural in the endowment room in the Brigham City, Utah temple. Very often, the decor and art in the temple reflect the local heritage and landscape so that, as this artist explains, the temple will feel like home to the local people who worship there.

Mormon Temple Worship has Ancient Roots

Our beliefs about temples have ancient roots connected to Old Testament teachings. “[T]he Lord told the Israelites to build a portable tabernacle that would be their temple while they traveled in the wilderness (see Exodus 26-27; 40:35). Additional Old Testament references to temples are found in 2 Chronicles 5:1-14; 7:1-2 [and] Ezra 3:1-13; 6:3.” We also share a love for the prophet Elijah. (You can read more about his role in our beliefs here and here.)

Ancient records that are part of our canon of scripture talk about other ancient temples, such as the one built by Nephi, an ancient prophet. One of the most sacred events recorded in ancient scripture was the visit of Jesus Christ to people who had gathered — at the temple — in a land called Bountiful, as recorded in 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon.

The temple was also important to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and for us, the temple is a place where we can learn more about Him and His role as Creator, Savior and Redeemer of the world.

This video explains more of the ancient roots of temples in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Mormon Youth Celebrate the Temple

Last night, nearly 5,000 youth living in the area of the Ogden temple participated in a cultural celebration — which has been a tradition for years in the Church. These cultural celebrations allow the youth to recognize the history and heritage of their area and of Church members who have gone before them, making the blessing of a temple possible in their area. They also help the youth feel a connection to the temple.

The cultural celebrations always include a lot of music and dancing, with bright, colorful costumes, as well as historical narrative about the area. A temple dedication is a joyful time for Mormons!

Here is a video clip about the Kiev Ukraine cultural celebration that captures some of what youth in that temple area did for their celebration. You can also hear some of their expressions of faith and gratitude as they had a temple built in their midst.

Dedication of the Temple

In the areas where a temple is being dedicated (or, in this case re-dedicated), no regular church meetings are held in the church meetinghouses. (These are rare Sundays when LDS meetinghouses in those areas are not open to the public.) Instead, church buildings during those couple of hours become an extension of the temple. Church members in good standing (and children ages 8 and up) are able to attend a closed-circuit satellite broadcast of one of three dedicatory sessions for the temple. Temple dedications include the singing and performing of sacred music, speakers addressing the dedication attendees, a special dedicatory prayer, singing of the hymn The Spirit of God, and the Hosanna Shout (read more about the history of temple dedications here).

Hosanna is a word from Hebrew that means “please save us.” As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participate in this temple dedication, this becomes our plea to our Heavenly Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. Again, the Hosanna Shout has ancient roots.

As explained in the LDS Bible Dictionary:

[Hosanna] is used in praise and supplication.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrated the Lord’s deliverance of Israel into the promised land, people chanted the words of Psalm 118 and waved palm branches. At the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the multitudes cried “Hosanna” and spread palm branches for Jesus to ride upon, thus demonstrating their understanding that Jesus was the same Lord who had delivered Israel anciently (Ps. 118:25–26; Matt. 21:9, 15; Mark 11:9–10; John 12:13). These people recognized Christ as the long-awaited Messiah. The word Hosanna has become a celebration of the Messiah in all ages (1 Ne. 11:6; 3 Ne. 11:14–17). The hosanna shout was included in the dedication of the Kirtland Temple (D&C 109:79) and is now a part of the dedication of modern temples.

In the Book of Mormon, the people who were visited by the Savior, Jesus Christ, after His resurrection were able to feel the prints in the nails in His hands and feet. After each of them had that personal experience with the Savior, they all cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!”

The temple Hosanna Shout allows us to reaffirm our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and in our absolute reliance on Him for our salvation.

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Mormon LDS Apostle Dallin H. Oaks #ElderOaks

Last night, my husband’s family gathered in the evening so the men and young men in the family could attend priesthood session of General Conference together. The women (and young boys) of the family enjoyed our tradition of a dinner cooked by Favorite Aunt Chris. We often will do a movie, but this time Chris had provided an activity for us all. It’s an awesome tradition that we all love.

When “the boys” got home from priesthood session, they ate and we all enjoyed some dessert and then many of us gathered around the television to watch the excitement of the Final Four game between Kentucky and Wisconsin. It was fun to be able to enjoy both spiritual stuff and some fun stuff together.

Now as I’m decompressing from the awesomeness that is General Conference and family traditions around Conference, I took a look at the trends on Twitter. A few minutes ago, six of the top ten Twitter trends (one of which is a promoted hashtag) had something to do with General Conference. #FinalFour was up there, too.

#ldsconf
#ElderOaks
#priesthoodsession
#PresMonson
#FinalFour
President Monson
Priesthood

And now, #ElderOaks and #priesthoodsession are bookending #finalfour.

Twitter reflects the two things that made up our day memorable!

Kinda fun.

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I love it when I find out about Church resources from my daughter! She’s a passionate media follower and she introduced me to these videos that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently released several new videos that give some summary information about our faith.

What do Mormons believe? The video at the end of this post explains some of our basic beliefs. Following is a summary of what is shared in the video.

We believe in God, the Father, and that we are all His children. The reality and power of this doctrine is so simple, and yet it has the power to change individual lives and relationships. Simply knowing we are loved by our Father in Heaven, and that ALL of His children are loved by Him, is a doctrine that is an anchor in our lives.

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer. Everything we do and believe centers on Jesus Christ and His role in Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. We know that it is only by His grace that we have the opportunity to live and breathe and learn and grow and repent and potentially live with God and our families again after this life.

We believe in the scriptures. We love and use the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments) and gratefully proclaim that the Book of Mormon is also a testament of Jesus Christ.

We believe in living prophets, in latter-day revelation just as in the days of ancient prophets where the Lord spoke to and reached out to the people through prophets like Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and then Peter and the apostles in the New Testament. (To read more about the experience depicted in the photo above, see this post by Becky called Meeting the Prophet on the Roadside in Gila Valley.)

We also believe in personal revelation — in being able to connect directly with God in prayer and to have Him answer prayers through the voice of the Holy Spirit and through tender mercies that happen in our lives.

We believe in seeking to follow Jesus Christ, to serve and love others. We believe in seeking to live what we believe. We know we aren’t perfect at that, and we definitely know we aren’t the only ones who care about serving others, but the bottom line of our faith, as Clayton Christensen explains in this video, is that it moves us to want to help others.

There’s a funny story from a talk given by President Henry B. Eyring that comes to mind.

I was part of the crew of Latter-day Saints who spent a number of nights putting in landscaping. I remember the last night, standing next to the husband of the family as we finished. He surveyed our work and said to us standing nearby, “This is the third yard you Mormons have put in for us, and I think this is the best.” And then he quietly but firmly told me of the great satisfaction he got from membership in his own church, a conversation we had often in the years he lived there.

In all that time, the acts of kindness extended to him and his family never ceased because the neighbors really came to love them.

We are encouraged, as described on this LDS Humanitarian Services website page, to be proactive about seeking opportunities in our communities to help and serve. (I didn’t know that in the U.S. one can call 211 in most metropolitan areas to find out about community service opportunities!)

What do Mormons believe? You can find out more about our beliefs at Mormon.org.

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As a mother of tweens/teens, I have been (and will be) doing some of my personal scripture study using “Come, Follow Me” — the new youth learning materials from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The purpose of this new curriculum is to invite youth to become more involved in the learning process, and to help them discover and apply gospel truths in ways that can help them feel God’s involvement in their lives — and help them become converted to Jesus Christ.

The more I considered what the youth will be learning, the more I wanted to commit this year to learning along with my children — because the truths they are discussing are the most important, sublime truths that have been revealed through ancient and modern prophets. And, of course, because I hope to be able to engage in discussion through the year with them about what they are studying, learning, discussing, and applying.

My goal here at Mormon Women is to highlight and share principles, teachings, scriptures, and videos from the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum, because I think the curriculum captures well what Mormons believe.

We invite you to study along with us this year.

Following are some of the introductory videos that present some of the principles of learning that this new curriculum seeks to apply — principles that are powerful for any of us wanting to understand truth more fully and to be changed by it.

As the Savior said, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.” -John 7:17

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Or perhaps you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and want some thoughts on how to answer gospel questions.

There is a new resource available to help address stereotypes about Mormons and answer questions people have about our faith.

The purpose of this website is to help provide “clear, simple statements that present those who are curious with the basics about the Church as it is today.”

The LDS Church News article quoted above gives an example of the kinds of questions you can find answers to, related topics such as Mormon Church doctrines, policies of the Church, and information about the worldwide nature of the Church.

For instance, under the link Questions about Church Doctrines, users can find a list of resources answering specific questions such as, “How could members respond to the question, ‘Are Jesus and Satan brothers?’” and “Do Church members believe they can become gods?”

Along with each question are scriptures, talks, lesson materials and other resources from lds.org that can help Church members or those interested in understanding Mormonism better find information and Church teachings about various subjects.

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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently addressed students at the Harvard Law School. [Find transcript of Elder Holland’s Harvard Law School address.] He urged students of the law to take religion seriously, and then, in response to the invitation extended him, shared some of his thoughts about what we’ll refer to here as the “Mormon moment” — for example, about seeing two Mormons running for president, and seeing New York City taxi toppers advertising the Book of Mormon musical. He quipped that the Church’s rejoinder to the musical has been: “Now you’ve seen the show; read the book!”

But his main point in this address is that the contemporary “Mormon moment” attention doesn’t mean much without understanding the fundamentals of Mormon beliefs. And the majority of his remarks focus on those fundamentals.

Mormons believe in God, in Jesus Christ, in priesthood authority, in a loss of that authority for a millennium and a half, necessitating a Restoration of such authority and of doctrinal truth lost through the time of apostasy. He references verses from the Bible, as well as explains latter-day Restoration history. But he also explains Mormon belief in a divine plan of God. We believe in a literal Adam and Eve, in the fall of mankind, in the need for a Savior, and in God’s universal love for all His children and His invitation to all to come to Christ and be saved by Him.

He concludes by addressing the question of why some think Mormons are not Christians. He concedes that we aren’t “creedal Christians” or “fourth-century Christians.” We “teach that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ are separate and distinct beings with glorified bodies of flesh and bone.” And we declare that they are also one in mind, purpose, intent, love and more. “In this manner, we differ from traditional creedal Christianity, but we do feel we agree with the New Testament.”

We also differ from traditional Christianity in that we believe the heavens and the canon are not closed. Prophets and apostles are on the earth as they were in ancient times. We believe God continues to speak through prophetic revelation. (General Conference is a time when we look forward to hearing from living prophets and apostles.)

Lastly, our Mormon beliefs are unique in the world of Christianity as we claim that priesthood authority was lost and then restored to the earth by those who anciently held the authority, restored to be able to perform authorized ordinances and sacraments. Elder Holland shares a verse that he has quoted before, so we’re taking the previous explanation of restored priesthood authority from his talk, “Our Most Distinguishing Feature” [this part of the post was written before finding the transcript of Elder Holland’s Harvard Law School address]

[M]ost people longed for priesthood sanctioned by God and were frustrated as to where they might go to find such. ⁹ In that spirit the revelatory return of priesthood authority through Joseph Smith should have eased centuries of anguish in those who felt what the famed Charles Wesley had the courage to say. Breaking ecclesiastically with his more famous brother John over the latter’s decision to ordain without authority to do so, Charles wrote with a smile:

How easily are bishops made

By man or woman’s whim:

Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid,

But who laid hands on him? ¹⁰

In responding to that challenging question, we in the restored Church of Jesus Christ can trace the priesthood line of authority exercised by the newest deacon in the ward, the bishop who presides over him, and the prophet who presides over all of us. That line goes back in an unbroken chain to angelic ministers who came from the Son of God Himself, bearing this incomparable gift from heaven.

He also entertained questions in a Q&A session following his remarks, which allowed him to clarify about our beliefs in the divinity of God and His Son, about the Holy Ghost as part of the Godhead, our views about other faiths (we don’t think we are the only ones who are good Christians or who teach truth or who have had divine connections and private religious experiences throughout history; we do believe that the issue of priesthood authorization for ordinances is an important difference to make clear), and other issues (including an apparent question about women’s issues and respecting the dignity of women).

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This article at Mormonbeliefs.org outlines some of the fundamental beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as Mormons. Mormons believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that God has an eternal plan for us. Life has a purpose.

Mormons believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through a prophet named Joseph Smith, and that there are prophets on the earth today…just as in ancient times.

In the comments section of that post, you can see questions and answers about Mormon life and beliefs.

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Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 7:00 p.m. MST

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”
Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy.

Morality

Mormons also take a significant stance on moral issues in other areas, such as divorce, sex outside of marriage and consumption of alcohol.
Although teachings from the LDS Church emphasize the importance and eternal nature of t

he family, only 25 percent of Mormons surveyed said divorce is morally wrong, according to the study. That means Mormons are slightly less morally opposed to divorce than the general public.
“For Catholics, divorce does not exist. They think it is not only wrong but it is impossible,” said Matthew Bowman, member of a board of expert advisers to the Pew Research Center for the study and author of “The Mormon People,” a book on the history of the LDS Church. “That has not been true for Mormons. There is theological space for divorce within Mormonism. It is undesirable, but Mormons recognize it is sometimes necessary and sometimes the right thing to do.”

Other moral views revealed in the survey — 54 percent said drinking alcohol was morally wrong, compared with 15 percent of the general public — set Mormons apart, Bowman says. The assumption on the part of non-Mormons is that if Mormons think drinking alcohol is wrong, then they must think everyone who imbibes is morally flawed. That apprehension can make people suspicious of Mormons, and wary of an elitist attitude, he says.

Differences in moral viewpoints can create a stumbling block for Mormon acceptance — not only in high-profile arenas, such as a presidential election, but also in communities.
“What you find throughout the report is a tension,” said David Campbell, assistant professor at Notre Dame and an adviser on the study. “Mormons like to use the phrase, ‘Be in the world but not of the world.’ They are certainly living their lives in the world. They are active and involved in their communities, but they have these beliefs and practices that set them apart a little bit, and sometimes there is conflict.”

Homosexuality

Mormons have some of the most conservative opinions when it comes to homosexuality. The survey asked Mormons if homosexuality should be accepted by society or discouraged by society, with an option for neither, both or “don’t know.” The response — 26 percent said homosexuality should be accepted, 65 percent said it should be discouraged — puts Mormons as the least likely to say homosexuality should be accepted by society. But a 26 percent acceptance rate, with roughly 1 in 4 Mormons saying homosexuality should be accepted, might be surprisingly high to some.

Of particular interest is the fact that only 8 percent of Mormons surveyed identified themselves as liberal, and 66 percent said they were conservative. That means some of those who said homosexuality should be accepted also identify themselves as politically conservative, Bowman says. That distinction illustrates the complexity of Mormons’ opinion on sexuality — that it is rooted more in religious precepts than politics.
Still, it’s difficult to draw a conclusion about Mormons’ views on homosexuality based on the study, says Pew Research Center adviser Terryl Givens, professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond.

“Results need to be viewed cautiously,” Givens says. “Official LDS pronouncements insist there is a distinction between (sexual) orientation and behavior, but the survey blurs that difference, probably leaving many Mormons unsure how to answer that question. What is clear, however, is that Mormons are trending toward greater acceptance of same-sex relationships, just as society as a whole is, although by a much smaller percentage.”

Polygamy

At one point 120 years ago, some Mormons practiced plural marriage, hence the association between Mormons and polygamy. The practice was discontinued in 1890, but the cultural association persists, perhaps in part because Mormons are sometimes confused with members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, a polygamist group not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the October-November 2011 study of a national sample of 1,019 Mormons, 86 percent said polygamy is morally wrong. That’s a number that surprises Bowman.

Were it not for the confusion surrounding Mormons and the FLDS Church practice of plural marriage, Bowman says that statistic might not be as high.

“It’s my experience that Mormons have a fraught relationship with polygamy,” Bowman said of the study results. “There is a sense that rejecting polygamy identifies a member of the LDS Church and distinguishes us from the fundamentalists. That is a cultural signifier as much as a theological statement.”

Some who responded to the survey, 11 percent, said polygamy is not a moral issue.
Email: achoate@desnews.com

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By Eric Schulzke, Deseret News

Published: Saturday, Jan. 14 2012 8:12 p.m. MST

The Pew Foundation survey of Mormons released this past week confirms that U.S. Mormons are more conservative (66 percent) compared to the general public (37 percent), and on most issues, they closely track white evangelicals. But immigration is one issue that sets Mormons apart from their evangelical counterparts.

Asked whether immigrants are a strength or a burden, 59 percent of white evangelicals said they were a burden, while only 41 percent of Mormons felt the same, compared to 44 percent of the general public. The result is surprising given how staunchly conservative Mormons are on nearly every measure. Interestingly, 50 percent of white mainline Protestants and 49 percent of white Catholics also tilt against immigration, though neither group is as uniformly conservative as evangelicals or Mormons on other measures.

Dan Cox, Research Director at the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington, D.C. sees several reasons for the surprising result. He points first to demographics to explain why Mormons are more open to immigrants than are white evangelicals. “White evangelicals are significantly lower on the socioeconomic scale than most other religious groups. Those who are more economically vulnerable are more likely to see newcomers as threats,” he says.

The Pew results validate the socioeconomic explanation. The key is a strong link between Mormon religious commitment and socioeconomic status. Eighty-four percent of Mormon college graduates are highly committed to the Church, but just 50 percent of those with high school education share that same level of commitment. This socioeconomic gap also translates to immigration: 50 percent of less committed Mormons see immigrants as a burden, against 36 percent of highly committed Mormons.

Cox also points to age as a key factor, noting the surprising anti-immigration sentiment among mainline Protestants and white Catholics. “Both of these groups tend to be older than the general public,” Cox says, “and we find that younger people are much more open to immigration.” Sure enough, Pew finds that 49 percent of Mormons between the ages of 18-49 see immigrants as a strength, while just 39 percent Mormons over 50 say the same. The Mormon youth movement has an impact on the results: according to a 2009 Pew study, 41 percent of the general population was over fifty years old, while just 34% of Mormons fall into that category.

Cox also thinks culture is a factor in the Mormon tendency to be more tolerant of immigrants, citing in particular the outward focus of the LDS church and the percolating influence of missionaries returning from foreign lands. “When you have more interaction with someone,” Cox notes, “you have increased comfort with them.” One statistic conveys the impact of this element of Mormon culture: 70 percent of the 33,000 students at BYU are bilingual.

Theresa Martinez, a non-Mormon sociology professor at the University of Utah, emphatically seconds Cox on the outward focus. “I’ve taught over 7,000 students,” she says, “probably about half of them LDS, with a large proportion of those return missionaries, and half of those from Latin American missions.” Her students express strong attachment to the peoples and communities they served, Martinez says. “And after that, you are not the sheltered little Mormon kid, and you understand that life is much bigger than your backyard.”

While the seeds of openness are embedded in the culture, others note that Church leaders recently gave a gentle push in that direction. Last year Utah illegal immigration hard-liners were poised to copy Arizona’s stern immigration policies, when centrists—with quiet but clear support from Church leaders—turned tables with widely-noted legislation that will allow some undocumented workers to obtain drivers’ licenses and work. In the fall of 2010, the Church also stated support for the principles of the The Utah Compact, which urges humane and measured solutions at the federal level.

And yet, divisions within the LDS community remain. Utah House Rep. Chris Herrod of Provo, a leader on anti-illegal immigration efforts in Utah, considers himself pro-immigration, noting that his wife is from Ukraine, his sister-in-law from Korea, and his business partner from Ethiopia.

Herrod points out that the Pew study addresses immigration per se, rather than illegal immigration, and says he has often been puzzled when debates on the two issues become muddled. “I believe in immigration,” he says. “It’s the melting pot that has made the country great. But lately we seem to be splitting into a bilingual and bicultural nation. We need to give equal chances to Africans, Asians, South Asians, and Eastern Europeans, and we need to get back to those core beliefs, where you adopt the language and blend the cultures.”

Richard Davis, a political science professor at Brigham Young University, sees the Church position last summer as impacting dialog on this issue within Utah and among U.S. Mormons. “For years the drumbeat was all about illegal immigration and the need to enforce the law,” he says. “The Church has nudged the agenda. Now it’s more about how we treat people, however they got here.”

Charles Morgan, a BYU sociologist who studies immigration, sees culture and Church positioning as mutually reinforcing. Morgan notes that the “closer the contact you have with a group, the more likely you are to have compassion and see them as equals.” Like Davis, Morgan also sees the Church’s positioning as significant: “The Church is projecting a positive image of immigrants, and I think this is resonating with the more devout Mormons.”

Morgan points to Arizona, where a Mormon state senator from the heavily Mormon Mesa area, who was president of the Senate and had authored the state’s controversial immigration policy, was replaced in November by another Mormon in a recall election. The new senator, Jerry Lewis, was encouraged to run by LDS members in the Mesa area who were concerned with what they saw as a harsh tone on illegal immigration.

Jason Labau, who researches Arizona political history at the University of Southern California, also sees recent Church policy and underlying cultural factors as reinforcing. “This is a much longer shift,” he says, “and it stems from the missionary experience. Several friends I grew up with in Arizona are staunchly conservative, and the only issue we see eye to eye on is immigration. They served missions in Chile, Guatemala, and Mexico, and they see these people as equals who are looking for something better.”

Eric Schulzke is the director of the Apollo 13 Project (a13.org), a prisoner reentry initiative based at Utah Valley University. He can be reached at eric[at]a13.org.

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