In a patriotic speech in Provo recently, LDS Apostle Dieter Uchtdorf touted citizenship in the “kingdom of Almighty God” as equally important or even more important than citizenship in the civic polity of the United States.

Uchtdorf said that “Heavenly Father holds the nations of the world in his hands.” His audience at BYU were led to understand that since the LDS church represents God on earth, the nations of the earth should look to the church for guidance.

In order to encourage this kind of consultation, Uchtdorf also promised, “No earthly threat is beyond his power to overcome.”

If this is so, it begs the question why aren’t both church and society celebrating success in reducing crime and gun violence, recognizing substantial progress in overcoming depression and addiction, and seeing a reduction in today’s political hyper-partisanship?

Perhaps the church, in addition to the state, still has some ground to cover.

Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross

Newsletter