10 Days

Elections are in ten days.

I've already voted.  Some of my votes may matter (local issues, etc.)  Some don't (any vote where the candidate has an "R" next to his name--heck, even if it's a future General Authority like Larry EchoHawk, voters in the Eastern Idaho section of the Mormon Corridor won't vote for a Democrat).

I like getting involved in politics, but the radical stance people take on issues--and how uninformed they are about the issues they're fighting for--has always bothered me.  This goes for ultra-liberals as well as ultra-conservatives.  The other guy running for president isn't ever as bad as he's made out to be.

But the thing that bothers me the most this year is how convinced many members of the church are that God wants Mitt Romney to win.

Email petitions go around asking people to fast and pray for Romney, with the unsaid assumption that fasting and prayer will help him win, because that's what God wants.

I hear people make comments like "You're not voting for Romney?  You better pray about that," with the assumption that, of course, God will tell them to vote for Romney.

We're told, repeatedly, by the leadership of the church, that the church takes no stance on which candidate should win, and that good can be found in both major political parties.  If only the members would listen...

There have been some attacks made on Mormonism--initially, in the primaries, by conservatives who didn't want Romney to win the primaries, and now, primarily, by liberals who don't want him to win.  Most of these attacks are silly and misinformed.

But there is one attack that would be both valid and potent.  "Look at how many Mormons "know" that God wants Mitt Romney to win the presidency.  See, they really are fanatical crazies."

Time to humble ourselves (as a people) and stop putting words in God's mouth.