Bryan Gentry is a writer whose work has appeared in university publications, magazines and newspapers for more than 20 years. Originally from North Carolina, he served a mission in Nevada and California before earning an English degree at Southern Virginia University. He is a member of Heterodox Academy, an organization that promotes viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement in higher education, and he contributes to Discourse Magazine on topics of political polarization. He now lives in South Carolina with his wife and their three children. He works as a college communications director and serves as a counselor in his Elder’s Quorum presidency.
Enter Bryan…
One of my earliest memories of church involves my best friend’s dad at the pulpit talking about politics.
No, he wasn’t giving a campaign speech or endorsing a candidate. Quite the opposite. He was my bishop, and he had just read a letter from the First Presidency reminding us that the Church remains politically neutral. He then added his own commentary, which went something like this:
“Please forgive me if I ever forget to take my political buttons off my suit coat when I come to church, or if you see a political bumper sticker on my car. Those reflect my personal opinion, but they don’t reflect on the Church. You don’t need to vote the same way as me!”
That memory has stayed with me for more than 30 years. I was just old enough to know that politics and elections existed. I barely knew my parents’ political views. It was eye-opening to hear my bishop express his fallibility and say it was OK for people to disagree.
But that was the early 1990s, and political attitudes were about to diverge sharply. Today, social media has amplified political divisions, and some of society’s loudest voices agree on just one thing: It’s not OK for people to disagree. Over the past decade, political disagreements have ended friendships, cut short Thanksgiving dinners, and— let’s be honest—they’ve made the testimony meeting before Election Day a bit awkward, especially when Brother You-Know-Who gets up.
In this era of polarization, church leaders may wonder how they can lead their congregations when political contention is bubbling beneath the surface. Fortunately, there are a few things that church leaders can do to help, and they center on what we are supposed to do anyway: Help people come unto Christ.
Politically Neutral and Pluralistic
To begin with, we can reaffirm the Church’s values of political neutrality, which really begins with Doctrine and Covenants Section 134, an 1835 document outlining the church’s beliefs about government and laws.
This scripture says that human laws are “instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations” while divine laws are “given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship.” The separate spheres for civil and spiritual law free the church from having to make declarations about tax rates, speed limits, or international trade. Those are for people to work out through a civil process while the church focuses on teaching the gospel.
The Church’s approach to politics has varied over time, though. According to a church topics essay, early church leaders often endorsed candidates. Some church leaders started their own political party. But when that party dissolved, the church “recommended bipartisanship among Church members.”
The church’s political neutrality creates room for political pluralism—having church members who hold different political views and supporting different parties. In the October 1932 General Conference, Elder James E. Talmage shared the following:
“My religion ought to teach me to regard my fellow as entitled to his views, as well as I am to mine, in matters political as in all else. … I know too many honorable Democrats to believe that all the good is in the Republican party, or the reverse. … Do not think because your neighbor does not vote your ticket that he is reprobate and bound for destruction. … Do not let rancor and hatred find a place in your heart because of political differences.”
Today, the General Handbook teaches that regardless of politics, “all should feel welcome in church settings.”
In a 2023 letter to members in the United States, the First Presidency affirmed that “some principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties.”
President Dallin H. Oaks added this perspective:
“We encourage our members to refrain from judging one another in political matters. We should never assert that a faithful Latter-day Saint cannot belong to a particular party or vote for a particular candidate. We also insist, and we ask our local leaders to insist, that political choices and affiliations not be the subject of teachings or advocacy in any of our Church meetings.”
Charity and Humility
Clearly, the Church aims to be politically neutral while encouraging its members to be politically active. Next, it may help to focus on the Christlike attributes of charity and humility, which can help us overcome the challenges of political polarization.
Even secular approaches toward decreasing polarization recognize the value of these virtues. The nonprofit Heterodox Academy, which promotes viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement in universities, espouses a set of guidelines called “The HxA Way” advises that to keep discussions civil. Two of those guidelines are “Be intellectually charitable” and “Be intellectually humble.”
Intellectual charity is about treating other people and their ideas respectfully. Rather than considering someone who disagrees with us to be less rational or less righteous, we should “look for reasons why the beliefs others hold may be compelling, under the assumption that others are roughly as reasonable, informed, and intelligent as oneself.”
Humility Prepares Us to Learn
Intellectual humility involves being open to learning. “Take seriously the prospect that you may be wrong. … Acknowledge the limitations to one’s own arguments and data as relevant.” Pride encourages us to dig in our heels as though we know everything already. Humility prepares us to learn.
Every secular program designed to help people resolve conflicts and differences has some element of these principles. The Crucial Conversations model tells us to “master our stories,” to make sure our inner narratives “represent reality, and this helps us engage in better dialogue.” The Pluralist Lab, a program of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, encourages people to seek to truly understand why people believe differently from them. The nonprofit BridgeUSA holds “Bridge the Gap” events that encourage college students to take turns speaking, listening, and asking questions about their different political views. The nonprofit Braver Angels organizes debates focused on finding common ground.
But applied in a church setting, charity and humility gain additional power when we apply the gospel view of these virtues.
For example, the gospel teaches us that charity is more than goodwill and respect for others. It is “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47). Knowing that the people who disagree with us politically are children of God for whom Christ died will change how we see them. The definition and examples of charity given by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 show us how to respond to political disagreement:
- “Charity suffereth long and is kind” — Longsuffering means loving someone and showing kindness even in strong disagreements.
- “Vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up” — Charity rejects the prideful tendency to congratulate ourselves for having “correct” opinions that make us popular with our tribe.
- “Rejoiceth not in iniquity” — Charity does not delight in the unrighteous ways that politicians and pundits treat those who disagree.
- “Rejoiceth in the truth” — Charity leads us to accept truth, even if it contradicts our current views, even if it comes from a politician we disagree with.
- “Is not easily provoked” — With charity, we are less likely to get angry because of political disagreements.
The Power of Persuasion
Imagine how politics would change if every politically active person aspired to have charity. Political rallies might become more boring—which might not be a bad thing. But because “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18, Moroni 16:18), more charity in our politics would translate to less fear, which would lead to less anger.
The gospel view of humility is instructive, too. One of the most instructive examples came when Alma was the high priest of the church and the chief judge of the government. After a period of righteousness and prosperity, “The people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches.” Pride led them “to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure” (Alma 4:6,8). Doesn’t that sound like politics in 2024?
Alma could have used his power as chief judge to try to force some changes. But he understood that true power came from persuasion (D&C 121:41). Alma resigned as chief judge “that he himself might go forth among his people [and] preach the word of God unto them, … that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions” (Alma 4:19). He was humble enough to try winning people’s hearts with “the virtue of the word of God” (Alma 31:5).
How Church Leaders Can Lead in Polarized Times
With these principles in mind, what can Church leaders do to make their wards resilient against political polarization? Many business leaders and university leaders are asking similar questions, and the answers may be useful at church.
A Harvard Business Review article published in January 2024 advises business leaders to start by “co-creat[ing] ground rules of expression with your team.” The ground rules for expression might be, “No politics at church, but with charity outside church.” It may be helpful to use a fifth-Sunday lesson or another discussion opportunity to review some of the scriptures outlined in this article, or General Conference talks such as the following:
● “Peacemakers Needed” by Russell M. Nelson
● “Love Your Enemies” by Dallin H. Oaks
● “Defending our Divinely Inspired Constitution” by Dallin H. Oaks
● “Instruments of the Lord’s Peace” by Robert S. Wood
The Harvard Business Review authors also recommend creating a “release valve” for political tensions by allowing team members to discuss difficult political issues. Because we have been asked to avoid political teaching at church, this exact recommendation is unavailable to us. But we can seek creative alternatives.
For example, what if the Elders Quorum and Relief Society each spent some time discussing what to do on a ministering visit if the member we’re visiting brings up politics?
Ward councils may also want to practice how to respond if a member makes a political comment during class. We don’t want members who disagree with them to shift uncomfortably in their seats, but neither do we want them to pounce on the person with political comebacks. There’s a kind, Christlike way to respond and remind everyone of the Church’s political neutrality and our desire to focus the lesson on the gospel.
One exception that might make overt political discourse necessary is when political differences spark relationship conflict—if political discourse between ward members on social media is harming the church experience for anyone involved. In this case, the priesthood duty to prevent “backbiting, nor evil-speaking” (D&C 20:54) may necessitate intervention. Leaders can counsel with the parties involved not to instruct them on their political beliefs, but on a more constructive, Christlike way to interact.
The Harvard Business Review article also recommends that leaders “make counter-cultural behavior prestigious.” I think back to my bishop more than 30 years ago who told the ward that none of them had to vote the same as him. I think of President Nelson sharing how his counselors sometimes disagree, but “they do so with pure love for each other. Neither suggests that he knows best. Neither evidences the need to compete with the other.” Without divulging specific political views, church leaders can share how they personally work together despite differences and make this the aspiration of the ward
Last, church leaders can do something that no secular organization does: invite all to come unto Christ and develop the Christlike attributes of charity and humility.
Mormon admonished us to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48). He also said that as we repent, “the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart,” which would invite the Holy Ghost, “which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer” (Moroni 8:26). In this way, humility and charity form a virtuous cycle, reinforcing each other.
A More Peaceful Way
President Nelson said, “The pure love of Christ is the answer to the contention that ails us today.” As church leaders teach the principles of political neutrality, political pluralism, charity and humility, we can influence church members around us who then influence the world, creating a more peaceful way to engage with politics.
