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Lawmakers, LDS Church brainstorm

Its rather amusing how the Church is so hard core when it comes to obedience -- except when it comes to obedience to immigration laws. I think it must have everything to do with getting illegals to join the Church. And please don't edit this comment out Mr. Cannon. I mean if you're going to run an article about the Church touching on a controversial political subject, you have to allow comments.

To Bob: The Church is not supporting disobedience, but rather reminding people that this issue is about more than just illegal actions. It is about treating everyone as a child of God. I am very much opposed to illegal immigration. However, I believe that we should be civil in how we deal with the issue. We can hold people responsible for their actions according to the law and still treat them with respect. Deciding to join the church or not is up the them. We just want them to know that there is a God, and that he loves them very much.

I don't see anywhere in the article where the Church advocates disobeying any law? What did you read BOB? Please help me see your point of view

I applaud the LDS leaders for taking this stance. Moreover, many of us in Arizona would appreciate it if some LDS leaders could pass on the message about being humane about immigration laws to state Rep. Russell Pearce. The man's words are fanatical and frankly embarrassing to anyone with a sense of human decency. The neo-Nazis eat what he says up like candy, and even worse, he's quoted them in return to support his position.

Bob, do you mean to say that there's any greater law than the one Christ gave: Love God, and love your neighbor? Do you think the Lord exempted illegal immigrants from that? I agree with the church's feelings here: Illegal immigrants should not be treated inhumanely. It's not a question about who does or doesn't join the Church. Come on, Bob, that's just flat-out silly.

Penalties that match the severity of the crime can definitely be discussed. (Pearce's *better* ideas, for instance, best apply to illegal immigrants who commit felonies.) But we should never forget that illegal immigrants are people, too, and deserve humane treatment. That's the core principle here.

They haven't said anything about being against 'obedience to immigration laws'. They stated that when looking at ways to deal with the illegal immigration issue, we all need to remember we're dealing with people, families, children, etc.

So I don't understand how you can find it 'amusing' that a religious organization is promoting the idea that we deal with people humanely and compassionately.

I thought that the LDS church believed in being obedient to the laws of the land? I find it hypocritical that they are now compelling our lawmakers to indulge our illegal immigrant population in their law breaking ways.

Bob, you misinterpret the position of the Church on obedience. The Church isn't hard core on obedience to any law or commandment. Instead, the Church is trying to help people come closer to God. Never has the Church spoken without compassion or love for those who fail to keep or live all of the laws and commandments of God and generally don't judge its members harshly when it comes to them keeping the laws of the land especially when those laws are controversial (i.e., if Rosa Parks was a member they wouldn't have excommunicated her for breaking the law and refusing to sit at the back of the bus).

The Church regularly calls on its members to not be full of hate towards those who suffer from a sin or temptation and to remember that they are people. Furthermore, the position of the Church has taken on this has nothing to do with current immigration laws or people failing to keep them instead it's about the immigration debate and the tone it has taken.

To accuse an entire Church of having malignant or sinister motives because they speak of compassion indicates that this issue has gotten out of hand.

Litvack commented in the article that, "As Mitt has been treated unfair, targeted for being Mormon, so too have some LDS Democratic candidates been targeted in Utah as somehow unworthy of election," and then went on to note "And it is not fair to bring religion into our own campaigns here. I hope people remember this in Utah local elections later this year."

I agree with Rep. Litvack, who isn't LDS, that it is something that LDS Democrats deal with and what really offends a lot of us is how Romney supporters use his religion as a tool to get votes and support for his campaign.

Simply because someone doesn't like Romney doesn't mean he loses a primary because the people are anti-Mormon. It's probably because he is lacks character and experience since that is why I, a Mormon, will not vote for him.

Even if sompe people were anti-Mormon it's offensive to Mormons for Mormons to use our religion as a way to say "look at poor me. People aren't voting for me because I'm Mormon" when a lot of Mormons in Utah don't vote for people because they see them as not being Mormon or good Mormons.

It's rather telling that Bob believes Mr. Cannon is personally sitting at his computer at one in the morning, personally editing comments out that he doesn't like.
The church didn't say illegal immigration was ok...they said that we should retain our sense of humanity. Unfortunately, there are those who will refuse to listen...including Mr. Hickman and his friends.

Before each general legislative session, legislators meet with a special affairs committee of the LDS Church? I thought the Church stayed out of politics except when moral issues demanded it. What am I missing here? This article needs more explanation as it begs the question.

Bob, I see nothing wrong with having compassion when addressing our illegal immigration issue. However, the editor of any newspaper should have enough integrity and not hide behind a cloud of misrepresentation that compassion is the only issue to be considered in order to be respectful to the wishes of its owner as our nation embraces the rule of law. This surely is not good journalism. I do give credit for your article that you have finally have come out of the closet by informing the public that you have these special meeting prior to each year�s legislative session which includes the hierarchy of the LDS Church.

Who said anything about obedience? Obedience implies that there is a law to obey. I don't know if you noticed or not, but the church officials are talking to law MAKERS. They never said anything about obeying or disobeying the law, they just want them to use compassion in their law making process. Or is it contradictory for the church to teach compassion? You know if you try real hard you can find a way to criticize the church for every single action they take, but I don't really know why you would want to waste time doing that.

Compassion is always important to include in any of these matters. That said, the situation of those illegal aliens who have broken the law is trumped by the compassion for citizens of the U.S. Specifically, I am thinking of the families lives destroyed by the rampage of drunk driving illegals, the murders and rapes and many other crimes. This is secondary to the mexicanization of neighborhoods and in some parts of the U.S., whole cities.

The article is correct to state no need to hate or demonize but there is also no reason to tolerate this ongoing cultural invasion. If we don't get control of this situation, in 10 or 20 years, the balkanization in parts of the U.S. will produce much more chaos and anarchy that we already see reigning around our country.

After all, it is our country; let's begin with the idea of national sovereignty and then let's re-establish our Americian culture. Multi-racial U.S. is fine; multi-cultural U.S. will not work. Cultures by nature want to and will dominate. I am unaware of any foreign culture that we should allow to be installed as the standard in the U.S.

Thank you LDS Church!! It's about time they say something about how our lawmakers should deal with immigration.

Bob you are biased in your thinking. Obedience does not supercede compassion, love thy neighbor and respect for human life. You cannot legislate morals. That is why the church is stressing obedience. I have never read in the scriptures anything about immigration laws. They do stress obedience to the law of the land except when they are in violation of moral principals.

What part of what was said do you disagree with. We should not show compassion? The only reason they want them to be treated compassionately is they can will join the church, just a tad synical aren't we? Believe me, I am not here to defend the church, haven't attended church for over 20 years, but if you can't have a little compassion for some of these families then I feel sorry for you. I know of many families in this predicament, they are good families, just trying to survive. Hopefully you will recognize that dark spot in your chest where your heart used to be.

Ah yes Bob, always an ulterior motive right? Get real. It has nothing to do with getting illegals to join the Church and everything to do with treating them humanely and not deamonizing them....gee, I think that's just what the article said...imagine that Bob.

Bob,

It's because current federal immigration laws are uninforcible and newly proposed state laws are bordering on inhumane. You can see ulterior motives where ever you want to find them but the truth of the matter is that these immigrants are human beings, regardless how much the right wing politicians, pundits and bigots want to demonize and criminalize and marginalize them.

Bob, that is a falsehood!

yea, bob. I am amused, but not for the reasons you put forth. Humanity is not a word you seem to understand. That makes me saddened and amused.