I share Tribune columnist Michelle Quist’s hope for an LDS Church more proactive on issues of social importance (Jan. 25), but we probably shouldn’t hold our breath.
Although, as Quist points out, it does much good, the LDS Church and religions in general have a track record of languishing in the backwaters of social change.
You would expect Christian religions in particular, based as they are on the example of Jesus Christ, to be in the forefront of movements for human rights and social justice, but, sadly, such is not the case. The LDS Church, for example, was slow to grant African Americans full membership, and, to this day, LDS women are denied important ecclesiastic and leadership roles. To many observers, the LDS Church policy of withholding full fellowship from same-sex married couples and their children is cruel and unchristian.
I know LDS humanitarian programs are generous and global, but, as Quist suggests, the church could do more. Imagine the social impact were the LDS Church to deploy its missionaries, 70,000 strong, on service missions, service to those less fortunate among us. It’s a strategy that could win more converts than proselytizing.
Allan W. Smart, Salt Lake City
