This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in modern times officially maintained its neutrality during election years, although its declaration regarding political involvement contains the following caveat: "The Church reserves the right as an institution to address, in a non-partisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church."

As I have observed with astonishment the antics of Donald Trump and listened to his egregious rants with growing alarm, I cannot imagine an issue with more significant "moral consequence," than the possible election to the presidency of this arrogant and profane demagogue.

Trump has earned the condemnation of some of the finest minds from both sides of the political aisle, people who stand with the philosopher Edmund Burke, who said, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Historians, scholars, politicians and business leaders alike have found Trump's ideas not only offensive but dangerous, and have joined the growing chorus against him. Fifty former national security officials from Trump's own party have recently signed a letter to the nation, expressing collective alarm over this man's ignorance on foreign policy, his likely erratic behavior during a crisis and his arrogant unwillingness to educate himself regarding diplomacy. These respected officials stated flatly that Trump, their fellow Republican, would be "the most reckless president in American history."

Trump's arrogant, "I-alone-can-solve-every- problem" performance at the Republican Convention only affirmed the words of former presidential nominee Mitt Romney who told us in March that with "the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics," Trump lacked "the temperament to be president." Said Romney, "This is an individual who mocked a disabled reporter, who attributed a reporter's questions to her menstrual cycle, who bragged about his extra-marital affairs, and who laces his public speeches with vulgarity."

Recently, Trump added an insensitive attack on a Gold Star Muslim family to his list of outrageous actions, causing even some of his avid supporters to wonder if the man knows the meaning of common decency in any context, politically or otherwise.

The conservative columnist George Will has actually left the GOP over its support of such a man as Donald Trump, and the writer and radio personality Garrison Keillor ended a recent column with these words: "If this man is not defeated, then we are not the country we imagine we are. All the trillions spent on education was a waste. The churches should close up shop. The nation that elects this man president is not a civilized society."

So what do I want from my church, limited by its tax exempt status from openly endorsing and campaigning for any specific candidate?

While it might not be able to specifically endorse, the church can still use its power and influence to persuade, and I believe in this case it has the moral obligation to do so. Donald Trump is not who we are, and he is not what we stand for. The state of Utah should never be listed on the side of such an immoral demagogue, no matter how many Supreme Court justices he may or may not appoint. Turning our beloved state blue will be far better than turning it dark.

In a recent address at Claremont University, LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks defended the church against those who criticized it for lobbying the Utah Legislature over a medical marijuana bill, stating, "We cannot lose the influence of religion and religious bodies in our public life without seriously jeopardizing our freedom and prosperity." If issues such as medical marijuana are worthy of my church's attention, surely the possible election of a self-confessed womanizer and bigot "directly affects" its interests as well. And politics aside, committing Utah's electoral votes to support a foul-mouthed clown who brags in public about the size of his genitalia and claims to be a "hero" of the Vietnam era because he managed to avoid getting an STD certainly does not reflect positively on the church or on its honorable home state.

Elder Oaks speaks of the importance of religious bodies in influencing the public, and my church officially reserves the right to address issues of moral consequence. I am praying that it does so now.

Lynne Larson is a writer and retired teacher who lives in American Fork.