Editor,
Living in a state where politics and religion hardly seem to be separate, I feel it is my obligation to speak out for the timid majority who dare not.
As a member of the LDS faith, I found it quite shocking to read about prominent members of the LDS religion meeting with President Obama to discuss the topic of illegal immigration. Indeed, an accord was struck that the road to immigration reform must be of a compassionate nature (March 14 editorial, "Uchtdorf right on immigration")
Why, I ask, does this issue concern leaders of my faith and the leaders of other faiths? Are we the people not intelligent enough to decide what in fact is the right course for immigration reform in our own country and or state, or has our own ignorance on the subject lead us to a point where ecclesiastical authority combined with executive power is a necessary solution? Heaven forbid that the states should have any say in the matter, unless of course, what they say is, “Let them come.”
Should the faith we profess to follow have such a profound influence? Such may be the case; but leaders of the faith do not speak on behalf of the members at large.
The people of Utah spoke out against HB 116 that the LDS Faith, along with the Utah Compact and others vehemently supported.
Together as a whole, we rejected a bill that made us in effect, a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigrants. But, our ecclesiastical and gubernatorial leaders failed us. Why do we let religion influence our vote? God has given us the ability to reason in our own minds; we need not have religion influence our vote, be it by fear of not conforming or other means.
If the people of the great state of Utah are sick and tired of “tolerating” those who willfully break our laws and feel it their duty to demand more from us, then let it be known. We are a nation of law and order, that is something neither government nor religious sect can take away from us.
Michael Greenwood
Ogden
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