Time to turn to the Lord and away from politics?

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

From the Dedication Prayer of the Salt Lake Temple, April 6, 1893.

"O God, the Eternal Father, Thou knowest all things. Thou seest the course Thy people have been led to take in political matters. They have, in many instances, joined the two great national parties. Campaigns have been entered upon, elections have been held, and much party feeling has been engendered. Many things have been said and done which have wounded the feelings of the humble and the meek, and which have been a cause of offense. We beseech Thee, in Thine infinite mercy and goodness, to forgive Thy people wherein they have sinned in this direction. Show them, O Father, their faults and their errors, that they may see the same in the light of Thy Holy Spirit, and repent truly and sincerely, and cultivate that spirit of affection and love which Thou art desirous that all the children of men should entertain one for another, and which Thy Saints, above all others, should cherish. Enable Thy people hereafter to avoid bitterness and strife, and to refrain from words and acts in political discussions that shall create feeling and grieve Thy Holy Spirit.

[anatess2]

Away from politics?  They’re not mutually exclusive.  As a matter of fact, civic duty in the political arena is part of being a Godly people.

[CV75]

16 hours ago, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

From the Dedication Prayer of the Salt Lake Temple, April 6, 1893.

"O God, the Eternal Father, Thou knowest all things. Thou seest the course Thy people have been led to take in political matters. They have, in many instances, joined the two great national parties. Campaigns have been entered upon, elections have been held, and much party feeling has been engendered. Many things have been said and done which have wounded the feelings of the humble and the meek, and which have been a cause of offense. We beseech Thee, in Thine infinite mercy and goodness, to forgive Thy people wherein they have sinned in this direction. Show them, O Father, their faults and their errors, that they may see the same in the light of Thy Holy Spirit, and repent truly and sincerely, and cultivate that spirit of affection and love which Thou art desirous that all the children of men should entertain one for another, and which Thy Saints, above all others, should cherish. Enable Thy people hereafter to avoid bitterness and strife, and to refrain from words and acts in political discussions that shall create feeling and grieve Thy Holy Spirit.

I agree that political matters can become too much a part of a person’s focus, and political identify too much a distraction from our identity as children of God, especially those who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ. This can happen even when things aren’t so contentious and divisive as we’ve seen the past few years.

And at best, such emphasis can turn into a reliance upon the arm of flesh.

Case in point: I’m hearing on the news interviews more and more people expressing their grief by talking about gun control sooner and sooner after losing a loved one, more tragically a child, to gun violence. The grief is very real, but the emotional outlet is more frequently political than spiritual The deeply personal seems to have become politicized more often, too soon. I don’t think is healthy, either individually or collectively and can breed political extremism.

People do the same with their religion; their spiritual feelings and identity get merged with their political positions.

[Sunday21]

We need to vote! In my country, we are careful not to inconvenience seniors, because seniors vote! 

[Vort]

45 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:

We need to vote! In my country, we are careful not to inconvenience seniors, because seniors vote! 

Good thing we in the US did away with seniors voting. The old coots. Much better to have 18-year-olds voting, using the immense wisdom of Millennial youth.

[Sunday21]

31 minutes ago, Vort said:

Good thing we in the US did away with seniors voting. The old coots. Much better to have 18-year-olds voting, using the immense wisdom of Millennial youth.

Hmmm. The US seems to have many of those old coots in office!

[Vort]

4 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:

Hmmm. The US seems to have many of those old coots in office!

Yes. What an embarrassment for us.