My parents are both converts to The Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young and recently baptized married couple in Brazil, one of their biggest dreams was to establish their family in the “Estados Unidos” (USA), more specifically Utah, to be closer to the large body of unified saints there. What they wanted more than anything was to raise their children on high moral ground. This fact, is something they have always been proud of, “our family legacy,” as my dad always says.

So they stood in long lines, filled out many forms, and waited…and waited…for six years. Then one day their request for permanent resident status was approved. That’s when our family (I was six at the time) moved. My dad jokingly recalls, “with four pieces of luggage and eight hundred dollars.”

Through hard work, and sheer grit, I saw my immigrant family struggle to survive. We worked as janitors, we delivered news papers, we worked odd construction jobs. I don’t think I ever saw my parents sleep. But I always saw them on their knees in prayer.

Now looking back at the upbringing they were able to secure for their children, the freedom from corruption and oppression they were able to give us, the opportunity every single one of us was able to access…their struggle was worth it.

This event happening on Tuesday is actually more than just a rally for marriage…to me at least. This event is about gratitude, and exertion of liberty. This event is the opportunity to stand as a collective body of saints for what matters most -our faith, our family, and our freedom.

That’s what brings me to you now. I wanted to share my story and why I want to personally go. It’s because my parents fought for me to have this very opportunity.  I remember waking up at 4:00 am and folding newspapers with my mom and dad. It’s for them that I’m going to this rally. It’s for the sacrifices they made to give me what I enjoy today. It’s for their marriage, the mutual covenant made between each other and God Almighty. It’s for their belief that the “Estados Unidos” is truly a place where if good men dwell, they will be free. It’s for Utah, the ‘city set high on the hill’, built from the ground up… out of nothing.

The very existence of my state was founded upon the backs of those who have gone before us. Courageous men, women, and children — families — that collectively gave their all for what we currently enjoy today. This is the legacy of Utah.

I want to stand with the large group of strong and courageous sons and daughters of those fathers and mothers that are counting on us to continue their legacy. I want to support this event with my presence.

-Carolina Sagebin Allen

Note: Mormon Women: Who We Are and the More Good Foundation take no official stance on events such as those mentioned above. Please remember, also, that this site is not an official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

The post How I am standing for faith, family, and freedom this week — by Carolina appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

In short:

– The Church doesn’t promote or endorse any party or candidate or try to influence any candidates.

– Mormons are encouraged to vote — to study issues and candidates and to exercise their freedom and agency to vote according to their consciences.

– The Church as an institution does sometimes speak out on moral or social issues (again, not promoting candidates or parties), which is consistent with the right of individuals and religions to have a voice in the public square. “Moral positions informed by a religious conscience must be accorded equal access to the public square. Under the constitutions of most countries, a religious conscience may not be given preference, but neither should it be disregarded.” (Quote by Quentin L. Cook. See also “Should Religion Influence Policy?”

For more on the topic of Mormons and politics and the Church’s political neutrality, see the following articles:

Political Neutrality (@mormonnewsroom.org)

A Note about Mormons and Politics (found here at Mormon Women: Who We Are)

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No, he’s not running for president in the United States. Yeah Samake is running for president in the country of Mali.

Brother Samake and his family are the only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this country, which is about 90% Muslim. He says that his faith is not something that is a divider in his country. What people are talking about is his service and desire to stamp out corruption in the government.

Hear more about him and his passion for education, service, honesty, integrity and faith in this video.

You can find out more about Yeah Samake and his life, professional and political background, and faith in the following articles/podcasts:

BYU Alumnus to Run for President in Mali at Deseret News

Yeah Samake Runs for President in Mali at LDS Mag

The Other Mormon President at Slate

Radio Interview: Latter-day Saint Mayor runs for President in Mali

Mormon from Mali interview at PRI

Note: This story is meant for informational purposes only (it is not meant to be a political post). 

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Immigration continues to a hot topic in the United States right now, and will likely continue to be as we move into the 2012 presidential campaign over the next several months.

While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains a position of political neutrality (meaning that it never endorses any one political party or candidate), it also exercises its right to take a stand on certain issues.

Immigration is one of those issues.

The Church has written several articles on the topic of immigration in the past. (See the following articles: “Immigration” — “A Principle-Based Approach to Immigration” —  “Immigration Response” — “Church Supports Principles of Utah Compact on Immigration” — “Presiding Bishop Attends Signing of Immigration Bills”

Yesterday, it issued another statement, further explaining its position. The Church discourages state immigration legislation that focus only on enforcement, stating that such an approach is “likely to fall short of the high moral standard of treating each other as children of God.”

Note also that “As a matter of policy, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints discourages its members from entering any country without legal documentation, and from deliberately overstaying legal travel visas.” [Link in original.]

But obviously, as the statement notes, the most tension on this issue comes with what to do about the millions of undocumented workers in the country.

How should decisions be made about immigration reform? I hear the Church reiterating principles that could guide lawmakers and politicians as they seek for comprehensive solutions to a complicated issue. The Church “supports a balanced and civil approach to a challenging problem, fully consistent with its tradition of compassion, its reverence for family, and its commitment to law.” (Read more about those three guiding principles in this LDS Newsroom article.)

I encourage you to read the entire article and the other links above to understand more about these guiding principles for comprehensive immigration reform.

And what principle should guide Church members the most? This brief statement provides an answer to that question:
Responsibility of Church Members: Avoiding Being Judgmental

The post LDS Newsroom: On Immigration appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a glimpse of what you will read in the article:

Fortunately, the Supreme Court has never held that citizens could not join together to translate their moral beliefs into laws or public policies even when those beliefs are derived from religious doctrine. Indeed, there are many sophisticated and articulate spokesmen for the proposition that the separation of church and state never intended to exclude religiously grounded values from the public square. For example, I offer the words of Richard John Neuhaus:

“In a democracy that is free and robust, an opinion is no more disqualified for being ‘religious’ than for being atheistic, or psychoanalytic, or Marxist, or just plain dumb. There is no legal or constitutional question about the admission of religion to the public square; there is only a question about the free and equal participation of citizens in our public business. Religion is not a reified ‘thing’ that threatens to intrude upon our common life. Religion in public is but the public opinion of those citizens who are religious.

(This article was written in 1992, but the principles may still be of interest, even as some of the specifics of recent important public policy issues are not included.)

As an FYI, Leaders of our Church attended the inaguration of Barack Obama. You can read more about that here and here.

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