To Whom Will We Show Our Greatest Allegiance?

Almost 50 years ago, at the time of our nation’s bicentennial, President Spencer W. Kimball wrote a powerful sermon about idolatry and its pull on otherwise committed Christians. His concern was not unique to that period; our human tendency to put complete faith in material possessions and raw power has been ever with us and takes many forms.

President Kimball described many idols but spoke most specifically about the militaristic tendencies of his flock, saying: “We are a warlike people… When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel… and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God: we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus… perverting the Savior’s teaching.”

These words describe the sorrow of a great religious leader seeing his people consumed with “patriotic” enmity toward the men and women of other nations. Yet, only a half-century later, that enmity has not gone away. It has instead intensified and expanded, pitting citizen against citizen and increasingly compromising the covenant relationship of co-religionists. His words of warning should lead us to reflect on how we each behave in the current climate of open political warfare. Both political parties and the majority of our leaders have declared implacable opposition to all those but the purest acolytes. When lines such as these are drawn, to whom will we show our greatest allegiance? Will we align ourselves with those who would make war, or with those who follow Christ and seek peace?

Peace is not present only when all parties agree. The faithful understand the role opposition and tension play in the refinement of souls. It is also critical to the health of our democracy; we are stronger when informed citizens of good faith and good will develop policy grounded in values and vision. Because of this, America is stronger and better when there are people of faith on both sides of any important issue. No single party or leader has cornered the market on virtue, and each represents only portions of truth.

People of faith should seek to champion one another in this process, coming together to solve our problems and treating each other with the care and kindness demanded by the Golden Rule. This is the act of true belief articulated by President Kimball — seeking to achieve peacefully what others would seek to accomplish through raw power and emotional and moral violence. Anger, vitriol, hatred, name calling, marginalization, the use of demeaning terms, and threats of physical harm should never be used by covenant people of faith as they engage in civic action. Even on the internet.

On February 5, 2020, Senator Mitt Romney made a thoughtful and reasoned speech on the Senate floor. He explained with great fervor and sincerity the ways his faith informed his decision regarding impeachment. As individuals, we may agree with that decision or we may not. However, as we calibrate our responses to his action, believers have a particular obligation to observe. We should each acknowledge our moral responsibility to act with allegiance to a more noble pattern of conduct than that modeled by our current political leaders. We must ask ourselves: If we denigrate and eviscerate a fellow Christian who is acting in a principled manner and according to his faith, what idol do we serve?

In this particular political moment, we need all members of our faith, and indeed all people of all faiths, to fight past the partisanship that would make fellow citizens (and saints) enemies. We can instead heed the counsel of a man who preached peace and encouraged us all to rise to the fullness of our birthright as children of God. We can follow the admonition to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” For, if we cannot heed that counsel when dealing with our fellow believers, when will we?