On Nov. 9, 2016, the day after Donald Trump won the Electoral College (but lost the popular vote), the LDS First Presidency congratulated him on his win and later sent the Tabernacle Choir to sing at his inauguration.
When Joe Biden won the 2020 election with not only the same number of electoral votes as Trump, but also the popular vote, the First Presidency waited nearly five weeks to congratulate him, while Republicans filed 65 bogus lawsuits, all of which they lost. Meanwhile, Pope Francis and even Vladimir Putin congratulated Biden before the LDS Church did.
Now, in 2024, the church has once again congratulated Trump immediately after the election.
In the church’s October 2024 General Conference, many Latter-day Saints had hoped the First Presidency would caution members against voting for a man who embodied virtually all of the Book of Mormon’s dire warnings about how wicked leaders destroy societies. Instead, they counseled members to vote based on abortion and religious freedom, two signature Republican issues.
So much for the church’s claims of political neutrality. “Ye shall know them by their fruits,” Jesus taught.
Blair Bateman, Midvale
