Great work! The irony for me with being most closely related to the Catholic Church… Makes me chuckle to watch the church become more and more like them because growing up that organization as known as “The Great and Abominable Church”!
They're institutionalists with strong ecclesiology, strong conservatism, immigrants to Protestant America, a history of being outcasts in America, and highly educated. The similarities are more similar than you tend to realize.
Problems inhere in reading world geopolitics through eschatological lenses, as
other chapters in this volume attest. The difficulties are as relevant for Mormons as
for evangelicals. Nevertheless, I find little reason to expect convergence between
Mormonism and evangelicalism on eschatological geopolitics. Many elements
from the two systems are certainly similar. Both tend toward literalist readings
of eschatological scripture, for example. In both, those who most insistently read
geopolitics through eschatology share similar right-wing politics. Agreement
between evangelicals and Mormons should not be surprising on certain U.S.
foreign policy issues.
However several factors mitigate against deeper alliance. Perhaps most
important, neither of the two faiths shows internal unity about the eschatology-
geopolitics relationship. Mormonism’s emphasis on unity under prophetic leadership, in particular, suggests that lack of unity on eschatology may mean lack
of importance. Mormons have collectively proposed many, sometimes mutually
contradictory, scenarios matching eschatology with geopolitics. The majority of
Mormons, however pay the relationship very little mind. Second, Mormons are
less prone than evangelicals to act directly on their eschatological inclinations.
The relatively few Mormons who desire to do so are not in a political position
to achieve much. No LDS campaign is analogous to the pressure campaign on
American politicians from evangelical dispensationalists (McAlister 2003).
Mormonism’s current institutional effort to build strong relationships with national
governments around the world also suggests that the Mormon hierarchy is not
interested in promoting any blatantly partial geopolitical objective (Underwood
2003; for something similar in evangelicalism, see Mouw 2004). As a social
phenomenon then, eschatology motivates little direct, foreign policy-related action
among Mormons.
Finally, the last-days novels themselves, which in the LDS case originate from
somewhere toward a fringe in Mormon culture, seem to suggest the improbability
of anything beyond a diffuse, temporary, and reactionary coalition of evangelicals
and Mormons eschatologically/geopolitically. Despite many similar interpretive
tendencies, important differences exist. Evangelicals are unlikely to compromise
on eschatology stemming from LDS prophetic additions to the Bible. In addition,
the Latter-day Saints’ eschatological impulse leads them to turn inward and
emphasize the religion’s distinctiveness. Finally, Mormonism’s sense of possession
of last-days events, peoples and places will not be easily reconciled by those who
believe God’s purposes do not run through the LDS church. These are hardly the
ingredients that make for a solid geopolitical coalition." Mapping The End Times, Contests over Latter-day Space, Routledge, 2016, Ethan Yorgason
I suppose by your chart I'm more towards the religious libertarian, and a constitutionalist, but recognize certain roles of the government for the overall strength of our nation. One can dispute Medicaid being a necessary role, and I lean more away from it and more towards family based care (much of the medical and pharmaceutical industries keep us sick as a more consistent source of income and not providing cures, or even outright hiding and banning them through regulations)
I support Trump's effort to dismantle a lot of the corruption that has been institutionalized nationally and globally, and doing so is messy.
As a reaction (I believe in an emotional level - immediate) people are moving to the left because of media bias in reporting, and it's working. To me this denotes a lack of critical thinking skills and perhaps a lack of knowledge of, and adherence to, constitutional principles.
I do have some criticisms of Trump stemming more from the unnecessary bombastic outbursts, but perhaps some of this is due to the types of attacks against him in the media. (some of the questions given to him are unquestionably silly and meant to elicit a ridiculous (kind word) answer.) I have some serious questions about the overt nature of the conflict in Venezuela, but I think there is a deeper reason for it such as election tampering originating from there and continuing. I'm hoping he'll provide evidence of that beyond what whistleblowers are saying to the American people so that we can get our voice back in truly electing who we do choose instead of being selected by the institutions that benefit from big Govt and perpetual conflict. Unless such overt evidence is shown, congress isn't going to vote for election reform, because too many benefit from the corruption.
The constitution is based on a government of moral people, and until we return as a nation to being a moral people, we will continue to diminish, hanging as if by a thread. It's not designed for any other type of people. This suggests to me that there is a drifting towards a party more aligned with lawlessness and the more easily desired solution - control of the people - Satan's plan. We are losing people to seeking solutions to their problems through immediacy (quick fix) and a lack of personal responsibility - ie, by the government, and not through self discipline.
I think the evidence to this can be seen in the booming vanity industries seen in the jello belt. Quick fixes and personal aggrandizement over personal sacrifice and spiritual development requiring discipline.
There's a lot of money in supporting pride, and great will be the fall thereof. No foundation, people pointing a mocking finger at the minority clinging to an iron rod, and drawing some away as things get tougher.
This is a winnowing. Definitely more signs of the last days, where even the very elect will be deceived.
Hey Alex, this is why I write my book! Thank you for providing the data I needed!
Great work! The irony for me with being most closely related to the Catholic Church… Makes me chuckle to watch the church become more and more like them because growing up that organization as known as “The Great and Abominable Church”!
They're institutionalists with strong ecclesiology, strong conservatism, immigrants to Protestant America, a history of being outcasts in America, and highly educated. The similarities are more similar than you tend to realize.
"Conclusion
Problems inhere in reading world geopolitics through eschatological lenses, as
other chapters in this volume attest. The difficulties are as relevant for Mormons as
for evangelicals. Nevertheless, I find little reason to expect convergence between
Mormonism and evangelicalism on eschatological geopolitics. Many elements
from the two systems are certainly similar. Both tend toward literalist readings
of eschatological scripture, for example. In both, those who most insistently read
geopolitics through eschatology share similar right-wing politics. Agreement
between evangelicals and Mormons should not be surprising on certain U.S.
foreign policy issues.
However several factors mitigate against deeper alliance. Perhaps most
important, neither of the two faiths shows internal unity about the eschatology-
geopolitics relationship. Mormonism’s emphasis on unity under prophetic leadership, in particular, suggests that lack of unity on eschatology may mean lack
of importance. Mormons have collectively proposed many, sometimes mutually
contradictory, scenarios matching eschatology with geopolitics. The majority of
Mormons, however pay the relationship very little mind. Second, Mormons are
less prone than evangelicals to act directly on their eschatological inclinations.
The relatively few Mormons who desire to do so are not in a political position
to achieve much. No LDS campaign is analogous to the pressure campaign on
American politicians from evangelical dispensationalists (McAlister 2003).
Mormonism’s current institutional effort to build strong relationships with national
governments around the world also suggests that the Mormon hierarchy is not
interested in promoting any blatantly partial geopolitical objective (Underwood
2003; for something similar in evangelicalism, see Mouw 2004). As a social
phenomenon then, eschatology motivates little direct, foreign policy-related action
among Mormons.
Finally, the last-days novels themselves, which in the LDS case originate from
somewhere toward a fringe in Mormon culture, seem to suggest the improbability
of anything beyond a diffuse, temporary, and reactionary coalition of evangelicals
and Mormons eschatologically/geopolitically. Despite many similar interpretive
tendencies, important differences exist. Evangelicals are unlikely to compromise
on eschatology stemming from LDS prophetic additions to the Bible. In addition,
the Latter-day Saints’ eschatological impulse leads them to turn inward and
emphasize the religion’s distinctiveness. Finally, Mormonism’s sense of possession
of last-days events, peoples and places will not be easily reconciled by those who
believe God’s purposes do not run through the LDS church. These are hardly the
ingredients that make for a solid geopolitical coalition." Mapping The End Times, Contests over Latter-day Space, Routledge, 2016, Ethan Yorgason
I suppose by your chart I'm more towards the religious libertarian, and a constitutionalist, but recognize certain roles of the government for the overall strength of our nation. One can dispute Medicaid being a necessary role, and I lean more away from it and more towards family based care (much of the medical and pharmaceutical industries keep us sick as a more consistent source of income and not providing cures, or even outright hiding and banning them through regulations)
I support Trump's effort to dismantle a lot of the corruption that has been institutionalized nationally and globally, and doing so is messy.
As a reaction (I believe in an emotional level - immediate) people are moving to the left because of media bias in reporting, and it's working. To me this denotes a lack of critical thinking skills and perhaps a lack of knowledge of, and adherence to, constitutional principles.
I do have some criticisms of Trump stemming more from the unnecessary bombastic outbursts, but perhaps some of this is due to the types of attacks against him in the media. (some of the questions given to him are unquestionably silly and meant to elicit a ridiculous (kind word) answer.) I have some serious questions about the overt nature of the conflict in Venezuela, but I think there is a deeper reason for it such as election tampering originating from there and continuing. I'm hoping he'll provide evidence of that beyond what whistleblowers are saying to the American people so that we can get our voice back in truly electing who we do choose instead of being selected by the institutions that benefit from big Govt and perpetual conflict. Unless such overt evidence is shown, congress isn't going to vote for election reform, because too many benefit from the corruption.
The constitution is based on a government of moral people, and until we return as a nation to being a moral people, we will continue to diminish, hanging as if by a thread. It's not designed for any other type of people. This suggests to me that there is a drifting towards a party more aligned with lawlessness and the more easily desired solution - control of the people - Satan's plan. We are losing people to seeking solutions to their problems through immediacy (quick fix) and a lack of personal responsibility - ie, by the government, and not through self discipline.
I think the evidence to this can be seen in the booming vanity industries seen in the jello belt. Quick fixes and personal aggrandizement over personal sacrifice and spiritual development requiring discipline.
There's a lot of money in supporting pride, and great will be the fall thereof. No foundation, people pointing a mocking finger at the minority clinging to an iron rod, and drawing some away as things get tougher.
This is a winnowing. Definitely more signs of the last days, where even the very elect will be deceived.