Orson Scott Card: No nation is devoid of error

Published: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 11:59 p.m. MDT
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What part does patriotism play in a worldwide church?

On the one hand, the 12th Article of Faith says, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

That certainly implies that we should be excellent citizens of whatever nation we live in. It implies that Mormons have no particular reason to replace kings with presidents — in other words, there is no doctrinal reason why Mormons should be committed to revolution in a country that is not democratic.

Whenever possible, we get along with existing governments. That's why there was a Mormon temple in East Germany before the end of Communism there.

That's why we didn't close down our temple in Hong Kong when the Communist government of China took suzerainty over the city.

Read the full column on MormonTimes.com

Recent comments

Making up our own definitions are we?

re anon | 7:28 p.m. July 2, 200 | July 3, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

We tend to confuse "Patriotism" with "Obedience'
Patriotism is duty...

anon | July 2, 2009 at 7:28 p.m.

Thank you, OSC, for an excellent article. People are not perfect,...

Fergie | July 2, 2009 at 6:46 p.m.

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