Given the constant churn of propaganda against the President—from our one-sided news media, millionaire-pedophiles in Hollywood, and billionaire tyrants in Silicon Valley—it was only a matter of time before this vitriol would seep into the minds of my fellow churchgoers.  

Whether it’s online or in-person, far too many people have asked me, “How can you—as a Latter-day Saint—possibly support Donald Trump!?” 

My response is, “How could any Latter-day Saint possibly not?” 

The modern Democratic Party constitutes an existential threat to our way of life. They want to abolish our freedom of religion, outlaw our freedom of expression, prevent our assembling, and strip our church of its tax-exempt status.

People who hate us would really, really like it if we continued to play nice and keep our heads down. Christianity is no stranger to this type of hate, nor are Latter-day Saints in particular. And I don’t use the word “hate” lightly. 

There seems to be a few main issues that divide us on our choice for president. One issue of debate among Latter-day Saints in America is that of immigration: the (false) premise is that if we truly follow the Savior, how could we turn anyone away? 

The United States has the kindest, most generous immigration policy on earth. No other developed nation welcomes as many immigrants nor hands out its citizenship so freely. Because of the nature of our world-wide missionary experience, we have first-hand love, knowledge, and understanding of so many peoples, cultures, languages, and traditions that are truly part of our world-wide family, regardless of where we live. And we welcome all into the folds of our wards and stakes with open arms and hearts.

But the notion that a stricter immigration policy than the one we have now is somehow un-Christian is unfounded. Democrats continue to promote American immigration policies that lack the consent of the citizens of our country. And that is antithetical to a U.S. Constitution most of us believe is divinely inspired and contrary to our scripturally condoned nature, sometimes commandment, to protect our families and communities. The gathering of Israel includes the strengthening of stakes throughout the world, and we’ve worked hard to this end, including establishing the Perpetual Education Fund. We rejoice when we hear the General Conference announcement of new temples dotting the earth because it means our faith family is growing and strong.

Regarding perhaps the most prejudicial propaganda against the President on this issue, something some Latter-day Saints regard as unforgivable, the Department of Homeland Security refuted the myths that families are separated at the border. Policies on children at the border have not changed since Obama’s presidency. Trump has pushed to improve border security, which has been effective in keeping illegal drugs out of our country and ending the harm to women and children used as human shields by criminal enterprises exploiting weaknesses in our processes. In other words, Trump supports immigration but also is protecting citizens in the U.S. from drug cartels and human traffickers who are destroying our families and harming vulnerable people seeking a better life.  

The destiny of the human race, and that of Christians in particular, depends on the United States’ remaining the strongest economic, cultural, and military nation on the planet. Joe Biden’s policy on open borders, empowering terrorist nations, and conceding to unfavorable agreements with China, while ignoring grave human rights abuses, will lead to the inevitable destruction of that strength.

It is also vital to the Church’s mission to proclaim the gospel that the bulk of its missionary force comes from a country with a strong standing in the world. It will not serve the spreading of the gospel in the 21st Century if the most powerful country on Earth is China, who has driven its Christian citizens into hiding and other religious faithful into labor camps and nightmarish forced organ harvesting. Our faith-cultivated and innate compassion should compel us to stay strong for oppressed people of the world. 

All of this further obscures the danger of Joe Biden’s march toward socialism, which we know is devastating to nations’ economies and souls. Ask a ward member from Cuba, Venezuela, or Ukraine who is suffering from observing the demise of their previous beloved homelands, grateful to have escaped, but mourning for family who weren’t so blessed.

President Trump has also made great strides in peace in the Middle East, neither starting any wars there nor shrugging his shoulders with a fanatical group like ISIS’ rampages and murders. He has brought about normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. In his second term, he will continue this peace process. Where there is peace, the Gospel may find an open door. Biden’s policies are contrary to the achievement of peace and do not contemplate the role or advancement of peaceful faith in the world.

Many of us have viewed President Trump’s Supreme Court nominations as a reprieve against the totalitarian left’s advancements. They have provided hope that we have a fighting chance to preserve our great nation, at least for a bit longer, and the things that continue to make us a beacon of hope to the world and a shining city upon a hill. A Biden-Harris administration understands full-well what this means to their agenda, and they will snuff that hope by stacking the court.

It is understandable that many in our culture are repelled by their judgment of Trump’s incongruence with the 13th Article of Faith. But as Lance Morrow pointed out “while Trump is a serial fibber and boaster, his ideological foes lie systematically about the nature of the human person, the history of our country, the choice-worthiness of revolutionary ideology, and, as with transgenderism, the very nature of reality.” Do not confuse style with intent. Perhaps we needed a King Cyrus for our time. President Trump is our defender against the Democrats’ war on America, Christianity, and freedom. How could any Latter-day Saint not support him?

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