Can a Christian Vote for a Mormon?

Published October 18, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger. 

John Jay was one of our most important and influential Founding Fathers, yet few today recognize his name.  He was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses, negotiated the peace treaty with England to end the Revolutionary War along with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, one of the authors of the Federalist Papers and authored the Jay Treaty preventing the U.S. from becoming involved in the war between France and England.

Besides being an accomplished statesman and juror, John Jay was also a devout Christian.  In 1818 he was elected president of the Westchester Bible Society and in 1821, he was elected president of the American Bible Society.

On October 12, 1816, Jay stated, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to elect and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

In the 196 years since Jay made that statement, our nation has gone from being a Christian nation to a post-Christian nation and is now rapidly becoming an anti-Christian nation.  Largely because we are woefully ignorant of our American history, we have allowed anti-Christian activists to banish God from public education and the public arena.

I attribute the many woes we see today in the American society to God withdrawing his hand of protection from our nation because we have rejected Him.

So we now find ourselves on the precipice of history.  Will our nation continue down the socialistic road Barack Obama is leading us down, or will we begin to reverse course back to a free enterprise economy under Mitt Romney?

Barack Obama claimed to be a Christian when he first ran for the presidency.  Although only God knows what is in his heart, Jesus tells us how identify a false leader.  In Matthew 7:15-16 he said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?”  What is the “fruit” of Barack Obama?  Not only support for homosexuality but for unrestricted abortion and even infanticide.  He rejects the Biblical principle of free enterprise in favor of the socialistic beliefs of Marx, Lenin and Stalin.

Mitt Romney does not claim to be a Christian.  He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly called Mormons.  The Jesus of the Mormon Church is not the same Jesus of the orthodox Christian church.  Although they use the Bible, they also add a second book, the Book of Mormon.

In his book “Kingdom of the Cults,” author Walter Martin lists Mormonism as being outside the pale of Christian orthodoxy and among the list of cults.  Normally when we hear the word “cult,” we think of Jim Jones of the People’s Temple and David Koresh of the Branch Davidians.  However, many among Martin’s list of cults are just non-Christian religions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Zen Buddhism, Unification Church and Scientology.  Many who practice these religions are people of strong moral character.

Even today we see what we call the “mainline churches” rapidly falling into apostasy.  The Roman Catholic Church chose to ignore the sin of homosexual act and the Episcopal Church has chosen to embrace it.  Other denominations such as the Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans are following closely behind the Episcopalians.

I believe the reason Jay stated we should prefer Christians (note he did not say demand) is because of the issue of character.  He reasoned that a committed Christian would likely have a stronger moral character than a non-Christian.  However, that is certainly no guarantee as I know some who claim to Christians who have very poor moral character.

Many of the states agreed with Jay when they drafted their new constitutions after independence.  For example, the Delaware constitution of 1776 required officeholders to pledge the following, “I do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His Only Son and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forever more, and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration.” 

In his commencement address at Liberty University this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney acknowledged the difference between his faith and that of the audience when he said, “People of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose, when there are so many differences in creed and theology.  Surely the answer is that we can meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation stemming from a common worldview.”

Mormons do indeed share the “moral convictions of our nation” and I would argue more fervently than many Christians.  They are far more likely to confront the culture than are some of the Christians I know.

If we were voting for someone to take a leadership position in a Christian church, such as deacon or vestryman, or even pastor, a Mormon would be unacceptable.

However, we are voting for a civil leader and as such we should select the one with the highest moral character.  Mormons are traditionally a people of high moral character.  Being a Mormon, however, is no guarantee as exhibited by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who is also a Mormon.  He is indeed a despicable person and a pathological liar.

So, to answer the question, I believe the answer is yes, a Christian can vote for a Mormon for two very good reasons.  First, although we disagree with his theology, we are in full agreement with his political ideology.  Second, the alternative, Barack Obama, would change America forever making us just another third-world nation.

Finally, there is a third option on the ballot which has me concerned.  Former Congressman Virgil Goode is on the Virginia ballot and on the ballot in 16 other states.  I would have thought Virgil would have had more sense than that but obviously not.

Virgil Goode cannot possibly win, but he has the potential of re-electing Obama.  Religious “legalists” may just opt for “Christian Goode” over Romney.  With Virginia being a battleground state, in a close race, they could swing Virginia's 13 electoral votes over to Obama.  In a close race nationally, that could conceivably be the difference in re-electing Obama.