At the LDS Newsroom: “Church Reaffirms Immigration Principles.” Here are the three principles this statement reaffirms:
- “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obeys the law.” Well, except when it doesn’t, but let’s limit the conversation to immigration. I think what this means is: “Don’t expect the Church to make any objections to new US government plans to raid schools and churches in search of undocumented immigrants.” If ICE agents show up at an LDS sacrament meeting, I expect the MAGA Mormons in the chapel to energetically point out any brown-skinned members in the congregation, and tell the agents there might be a few hiding in the basement, over behind that door. Here, let me look up their home addresses for you on the ward list.
- “We follow Jesus Christ by loving our neighbors. The Savior taught that the meaning of “neighbor” includes all of God’s children.” Interpretation: We want to be seen as loving our neighbors, while practicing the latest version of White Christian Nationalism. We’ll love God’s brown-skinned children when they’re back on the other side of the border.
- “We seek to provide basic food and clothing, as our capacity allows, to those in need, regardless of their immigration status. We are especially concerned about keeping families together.” Interpretation: We’ll give you a blanket and a protein bar on the way out the door, as we cheer the local ICE agents, who are only doing their job. The best way to keep families together is to deport the whole family, regardless of immigration status.
In related news, NBC News reports, “Quaker group files suit over the end of policy restricting ICE arrests in houses of worship.” There are no stories with the headline, “LDS Church files suit over the end of policy restricting ICE arrests in houses of worship.” It is certainly the case that MAGA Mormons are happy to deport their brown-skinned brothers and sisters. Hiding behind the “we obey the law (except when we don’t)” policy, it seems pretty clear LDS leadership thinks that’s fine as well.
While this is not a political post, there is a political angle that is relevant. Trump has brought immigration into the tariff threats he has recently leveled at Canada and Mexico. It’s one of the several confusing and shifting justifications he has issued for rather brazenly breaking the NAFTA trade treaty he signed during his first term (and then celebrated as a big success). The predictable result is America and Americans are suddenly very unpopular in Canada, where Canadian hockey fans now boo the US national anthem sung before games in Canada against a US team. That’s a big step for painfully polite Canadians.
As Trump continues to threaten pretty much every ally we have with punishing tariffs or simply sending in the troops, that anti-American response is happening all over the world. We’re the bad guys now. In two weeks, Trump has squandered the good will established over decades by previous US presidents and programs. How do you think this will affect US products that we export and US companies who do business overseas? And how do you think this will affect thousands of smiling US missionaries that the LDS Church sends north, south, east, and west into other countries to preach the Mormon gospel?
LDS leadership is standing idly by while these things happen, seemingly unaware there are going to be costs to pay. As the popularity of America plummets around the world because of Trump’s impulsive actions, the popularity of the oh-so-American LDS Church overseas will plummet with it. LDS missionaries are going to find they are not very welcome anymore. How do you think pairs of US missionaries knocking on Canadian doors this week are going to be greeted? With planeloads of deported immigrants very visibly returning on US military transports to various Central and South American countries, often in handcuffs we are told, will it be any surprise when visa applications for LDS missionaries suddenly hit government resistance? Or when some LDS missionaries get deported back to the States?
- Take sixty seconds and read the LDS press release. What is your impression?
- Are you planning a summer vacation to Canada or Mexico? Having any second thoughts? Your US dollars go a long way in Canada right now, but if you have US plates you might get your tires slashed.
- Any boots on the ground reports from your branch, ward, or stake? What are local leaders doing or saying? What are the local LDS members doing or saying?
Wheat & Tares 
A Salt Lake Tribune story includes the text of a more detailed letter about immigration recently sent to LDS local leaders. It’s worth a read as well:
What President Russell Nelson is telling local LDS leaders about undocumented immigrants
(1) Is there anything new in the statement or letter? Maybe a phone hotline is new, but I have seen all the other language before. The money for housing may be new, but I don’t know. Not testifying, not sponsoring, not using our buildings for sanctuary are not new.
(2) On the SEC debacle, church leaders probably thought they were following the law. Church attorneys and those at Ensign Peak told them they were. The problem is that they listened to local Utah lawyers who don’t regularly practice in New York dealing with complex SEC issues. They got bad legal advice. They should have brought in smart NYC attorneys who know securities law backwards and forwards, or they should have sent their money to a smart NYC firm instead of creating a local firm with attorneys who don’t regularly practice with the SEC. One doesn’t go to a hamburger place if he wants quality sushi. Alternatively, a smart actor can accept inadequate legal advice from a bumpkin attorney knowing the advice is probably inadequate, and plan ahead of time to pay any fine in the event they’re caught.
Oh no, missionary efforts might suffer among educated citizens who watch the news and associate the church with American conservatism! /s But seriously: the same people who weren’t interested before still won’t be, and the usual cadre of the uninformed, desperate, mentally ill, lonely, or so far removed from
US politics that they have no idea what’s going on — they’ll still take the discussions.
Honestly I don’t expect much to change in my area, but we don’t have a substantial immigrant population here that takes interest in the church. Maybe in nearby major cities.
“The Office of General Counsel (OGC) has created guidelines to help local leaders comply with federal laws that criminalize harboring, transporting, or encouraging undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States.”
uh oh… Are there really laws that “criminalize harboring, transporting, or encouraging undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States”? I’m just a regular church member, not a church officer or any sort, and I am unaware of any such laws. I am sympathetic to the plight of migrants, and feel compelled by Christian charity to be kind to my less-fortunate neighbors — I hope showing Christian charity is not a crime in the United States.
On the SEC debacle, church leaders probably thought they were following the law. Church attorneys and those at Ensign Peak told them they were. The problem is that they listened to local Utah lawyers who don’t regularly practice in New York dealing with complex SEC issues. They got bad legal advice.
Sorry for perpetuating a threadjack, but this can’t go unanswered. Even if setting up shell corporations and forcing the “managers” thereof to sign reports that they were not allowed to read constituted “sound legal advice”, it still brings to mind the secret combinations of the Gadianton robbers. One would hope that the Gadianton association alone would deter such behavior, but it did not.
The immigration statements in question do not descend to Gadianton levels. In fact, they are probably designed prevent actions that could lead down that path. But at the same time, they do not ascend to the level of Abinidi either. Perhaps the time is not right for that. Abinidi was only effective because Alma was listening and our Alma may not be in place yet. But it does kind of feel like Jonah is running the show right now.
@Georgis
I don’t know if you’ve seen this: https://thewidowsmite.org/sec-misc/, but the whole “church leaders probably thought they were following the law. Church attorneys and those at Ensign Peak told them they were” is a myth.
Georgis, as others have mentioned, you are so mistaken, it’s difficult to even engage. I’ll wager you haven’t reserached it much. It really wasn’t that complicated for someone with a graduate degree to understand. A little research on the matter will go a long way. Go read the actual SEC order. Mind-boggling mistaken you are.
Some people think that I am giving cover to the church for the SEC issues. I am not. I acknowledged in my alternative that the leadership knew that they were getting poor counsel and followed it anyway, being willing to pay any fine if/when caught. On the advice of counsel issue, I didn’t praise the church’s defense. Rather, I found fault because, if they followed legal advice, they followed the advice of local SLC attorneys who haven’t practiced extensively with complex SEC issues. Those attorneys are primarily in NYC, not in SLC. A rich and powerful client shouldn’t hire a country lawyer for a major case: you hire the best, and there are legal firms in NYC who deal extensively with the SEC and who know securities law inside and out. My point, for those who could see it, was that the church’s decision to rely on local SLC counsel was a poor decision. I don’t think that I gave the church any positive ammunition, because I belied the argument that they relied on good legal advice. Or at least I thought that I did, and sorry for the confusion!
This issue is pertinent for the immigration issue. Who are the best and smartest immigration attorneys? Is the church asking them for advice, the immigration experts, or are they relying on in-house career attorneys who might not be the sharpest knives in the immigration law drawer?
Georgis,
ANY attorney would have told them not to do what they did ( I have heard this stated clearly by more than one attorney that looked into it). I have heard an attorney state that the forms are simple and straightforward to fill out and not hard to understand. You don’t need a lawyer to understand what these forms ask for and that lying on them is breaking the law. That’s why they didn’t show the forms to the low level managers they got to sign them.
If they received bad legal advice, that would have been a defense for their actions when they faced legal action from the SEC. If that had been the case they would have likely not received the fine. They could get away with saying publicly that they had received bad legal advice with no repercussions because attorneys are bound by confidentiality laws with their clients, and could not defend their own legal advice without breaking confidentiality.
You excusing the church’s actions as “a smart actor” for disregarding tax law and just planning to pay the fine, really makes it clear who the church is here: they are a giant corporate entity that puts business interests in front of honesty to their membership. I love the church and it is part of me so it hurts me to believe this, but the evidence is in front of my face repeatedly. I cannot ignore it.
Georgis, I typically have a lot of respect for the kind of things you write. I read what you write carefully and consider it. This particular entry seems to be written by someone who failed to research the point in question, made up a few things that sounded good, but felt they had to defend the church somehow.
For me, all the huge amounts of money hidden in Ensign Peak (since my early adulthood) and the SEC fine debacle, is a significant betrayal by the church. My special needs family was suffering without that money, and still I paid it. The church doesn’t need it for anything. They lied to the membership about what they were doing with our money. They still aren’t transparent about providing basic financial information in the way I expect any charitable institution to be before I give them our money. They are unrepentant and unaccountable for their actions. I am still waiting for them to follow the basic rules they taught me in Primary: admit what you did wrong honestly to anyone you hurt, make specific efforts to correct any problems you caused, apologize for your errors, and never do it again.
This is a painful betrayal; it hurts to listen to you defending their actions.
Georgis,
Leaders can’t hide behind your supposed “advice of legal counsel.” Lawyers know how to protect themselves, too, and thoroughly explain to their clients the pros and cons and risk of any particular action to avoid liability if the client gets caught. And in the SEC matter, the First Presidency (composed of a doctor, judge, PhD in business, etc.) *absolutely knew* that what they were agreeing to (use shell corporations who purported to have investment authority) was a lie, pure and simple. There’s no way to get around that. This kind of deceit, which church leaders do for the “greater good” (i.e., in this case, keep church members in the dark about church wealth so they won’t stop paying tithing) is a common theme throughout church history.
With respect to the immigration issues, sure the church is relying on legal counsel, just like it did with the SEC and with child sex abuse cases where the church policy or local leader clearly had some fault. I wish I could expect more from the church than that, like maybe following the teachings of Jesus? But I’ve learned not to have those kinds of expectations. Also, in our church, using money and legal resources to defend “religious freedom” only applies to fighting against LGBTQ, but apparently not to keeping ICE from entering churches that claim to be following Jesus’s teachings about taking care of the least of these.
“While this is not a political post….”
Funny
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
Georgis, thanks for weighing in. It may be the case that LDS leaders simply relied on local counsel when they shouldn’t have. Or it may be the case that they asked what would happen if they were caught, the lawyers said, “They will fine you, maybe five or ten million,” and leaders said, “No big deal, we’ve got billions.” Or course, it’s not coming out of leadership pockets. It’s coming out of the big LDS pot of money. If LDS leaders were personally liable for violating securities and tax laws, I’ll bet they’d hire New York lawyers and follow their advice!
They preferred paying big fines from the LDS money pot rather than filing accurate statements and, more importantly, disclosing to the general membership how many billions of LDS tithing dollars they are parking in investment funds rather than using for charitable purposes or returning to donors. It’s secretly stockpiling money that is the real issue. Apart from Scientology, the LDS Church is the most un-transparent religious organization in America.
“We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”
Those words were written in 1842 when Joseph Smith was, after having been arrested multiple times, expelled from Missouri, and charged with various crimes including treason, trying his best to play ball with political authority while bolstering his own. For the church to grow uninhibited by the government, they had learned they needed to do things by the book.
The ramifications of that statement and broader policy, however, are that the church will not resist immoral government actions like the holocaust, like Jim Crow laws, or like mass deportations and separation of families.
And yeah, the church has a track record of breaking the law when it suits its purposes, but I think we’re unlikely to see any resistance from SLC to anything Trump/Musk decides to do in the coming years, no matter how bad it gets.
So many thoughts during these challenging times.
Firstly, I appreciate everyone correcting the record re SEC filings. Also I want to add that securities law practices exist outside of Manhattan. Why in the world lawyers all over the country couldn’t possibly understand securities law baffles me; is the code written phonetically with a Bronx accent or something?
Secondly, while this is a recent example, the church has a track record of civil disobedience, including establishing an anti-bank when they couldn’t get an actual bank charter from the state of OH, decades of practicing polygamy, keeping missionaries past their visa expiration date. For JS, marketing treasure digs was also illegal. As Steve Rogers says, we could do this all day.
Thirdly, this lay low version of Mormonism will not end well. To wit, I understand that JW stood up to Hitler and while several members lost their lives which is tragic, JW have a decent presence in Germany. Compare our faith tradition, that went with the flow, and the numbers are more than four times less than JW numbers. It seems actually taking a stand against oppressors matters.
Fourthly, I’m going to Honduras and Mexico in April and Europe in September. I’m not at all embarrassed to be an American. Other countries understand that 49% of us did not vote for this. And I think foreign countries recognize that generally it’s the 49% that travel the world because we don’t think America is so great that we don’t need to travel in order to become better. I don’t drive a Tesla so my tires should be safe. So there’s that.
My SIL is an American citizen. And she is a person of color. My brother has worked for the BLM for thirty-one years and was recently asked to resign. Currently, their entire lives are upside down. I can only imagine they are up half the night worried about all the what-ifs. I know most MAGA could care less about my family members. Hell, my own MAGA sister doesn’t even seem to care. It sucks.
the First Presidency (composed of a doctor, judge, PhD in business, etc.)
To be clear, the doctor and the judge were not part of the First Presidency when the SEC shenanigans were happening. Sadly, the PR guy, the publisher, and the airline pilot were.
“Fifty-five years ago this week, a British philosopher named Bertrand Russell passed away in Wales. The guy had some interesting insights, one of which is paramount: “People’s opinions are mainly designed to make them feel comfortable; truth, for most people, is a secondary consideration.”
That bit of wisdom is rising in America, as stimulated by President Trump. His supporters tend to accept whatever he does, while his detractors refuse to acknowledge any worthiness on his part.
Presto, a divided country.
The loyal American owes it to the country to understand what is truly going on. If you think Trump is Hitler, you need a long rest in a remote place.
Likewise, if you believe the man is St. Peter. Rest. Reflection. Rehabilitation.
The President owns a vivid vision of success. But that is certainly not shared by everyone. And that’s fine if a positive national result is the goal.
Trump’s tariffs created a mini-hysteria. You should read my mail. But, the economic deals may bring in significant money to American industry and improve our security as well. That’s what is likely to happen.
But if it doesn’t, and inflation ignites again, there will be a new set of facts. And they will be important to accept.
Comfort shouldn’t have anything to do with it.”
Gordon B Hinkley was in charge when Ensign Peak was originally established. It was hidden, not only from the members but from all of the apostles, except for members of each first presidency from Hinkley forward. I can understand why Hinkley set it up, hoping to use it as a tool for good efforts the church saw were needed that might not qualify for the more stringent uses of tithing. It may have originally seemed like a responsible investment (though I cannot justify the secrecy). I can also understand why as it grew bigger and bigger, as each new first presidency was told this secret, I can understand why they were afraid to let anyone know about it, and felt they had to keep the secret out of loyalty to the previous president that they had been loyal to for so long. So no, I don’t specifically blame the current presidency.
The biggest error leaders made is when they stopped being transparent about the finances. I believe that stopped some time in the 1970s. Does anyone know when and why that happened?
I am heart broken about the current immigration situation, and everything else connected to this administration. The bad news comes so fast I can’t get my energy together to figure out which issues to write my legislators about. It feels hopeless to resist at all.
I was happy that the notice to the church clarified that we don’t let ICE in without a warrant, and that anyone confronted by ICE doesn’t have to provide ID unless ICE has a warrant specifically for them. I certainly won’t be looking them up on the tools app. I hope nobody does.
lws329, I’m not seeing any sources for your final comment about warrants. I found an article where some other laywer said that such was goodo advice to remember, but nothing from the Church about it. I’d love to be wrong.
The Church’s recent statement seems to just be a reiteration that they are committed to protocol. Are they going to heavily enforce immigration matters? I don’t know. They could. But they could also not.
I have been reading about the recent tension between Florida state GOP legislators and Governor Desantis. The legislators met with Desantis about immigration, and then immediately afterwards met in a special session to put forward a different bill. While the bill claimed fealty to Trump, it was much more watered down than what they said they had agreed to with Desantis. Signs that many Republicans are actually reluctant to fully carry out Trump’s draconian policy of mass deportation, for they know quite well how that will affect the economy, especially agriculture and construction. At the same time, however, they know that they have to show loyalty to Trump. And so the state legislators named their new bill the TRUMP act, and claimed that they were simply carrying out the vision of Trump, all while the bill called for a continuation of the status quo of turning a blind eye.
I honestly think that the church is reluctant to carry out policing of wards for undocumented immigrants. But I wouldn’t put it past some of the local leadership to take on that mantle. As usual, it will be bishop roulette.
Just a couple of days, the white supremacist group the Patriot Front, which has called for a “Pan-European” US, marched with around 50 people in Herriman, not far from where I live. They had on white masks and sported signs of “Deport Invaders.” This is a sign that the alt-right anti-immigration certainly exists in the church.
I went to the local Unitarian Universalist congregation for the first time this last Sunday. There was a sign up sheet for volunteers to join a new group of people wanting to help immigrants. The sermon was about finding ways to keep immigrant families together (in America), handing out legal rights cards in english and spanish, and the need for the government to help the poor rather than increase the wealth of the rich.
“We seek to provide basic food and clothing, as our capacity allows, to those in need, regardless of their immigration status. We are especially concerned about keeping families together.”
Irony is dead. “as our capacity allows.” Billions in the pot, and yet any help for undocumented immigrants will come from local fast offerings…
lefthandloafer, “The President owns a vivid vision of success”
Could you please point me to any rally, interview, or statement, or message where Trump has laid out any sort of coherent policy vision?
I am not sure what to make of this statement. Is it sincere or just the knee-bending that Dear Leader Trump requires? The fact that both Gong and Stevenson attended Trump’s inauguration is sickening, honestly, and it seems that there is near total support for MAGA among church leaders, or at least (like Congress) unwillingness to have principles that might put them in the cross-hairs. There were white supremacists marching in Herriman with masks covering their faces who doubtless went to Church afterward, blessing and passing the sacrament. This is their church now.
As to the church’s statement that they obey the law, others have answered the SEC violation very clearly, but I will add two contradictory observations. First, they literally FIRED two people who refused to break the law and sign attestations they knew to be false. That’s not an accidental violation. The second observation is something a bishop of mine used to say years ago. He was always getting flak for his speeding, and I mean, he was seriously kind of reckless on the road. His answer was always the same when people asked if he didn’t believe in obeying the law: “I pay all my speeding tickets.”
Brian,
Its in the link Dave B provided in the first comment.
Brian is correct. According to the link Dave B provided in the first comment, the statement about not allowing entrance to buildings or providing ID without a warrant were made by an immigration attorney who is a Church member, but who does not speak for the Church. Still, it’s good to publicize what he said, whether it comes from the Church or not.
It seems church leaders have attended presidential inaugurations regardless of who has been elected.
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-leaders-presidential-inaugurations
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
Just to clarify, apart from the general statement posted at the LDS Newsroom, there was a second more detailed statement sent to LDS mid-level and local leaders. That was NOT provided at the LDS Newroom. It was, however, published by the SL Trib as part of the linked article. It largely repeats the press release, along with a few additional details.
The mention of warrants was in the SL Trib article, not the LDS statement sent to local leaders. Absent any directive to local leaders that they should request a warrant before allowing ICE agents to enter an LDS building or the chapel, I’ll bet most bishops would just let them in. If such agents had no warrant and are refused entry but they nevertheless enter, any evidence and possibly any arrest might later be thrown out in court (fruit of the poisonous tree, for you law school grads). But if a local leader gives consent, then the need for a warrant is waived and they can proceed to enter legally even without a warrant.
A quick caveat about law enforcement. It’s a tough job. Most cops and most agents follow protocol and procedures. It is unfortunate that the few bad apples get so much coverage in the press. It’s the federal officials at the top who are making questionable decisions and policies. Remember, remember, that there was a bipartisan immigration reform bill (a minor miracle such legislation was actually drafted and agreed to!) last year that Trump, at the last minute, signaled to his sycophants in Congress to torpedo rather than approve. Trump is not interested in a workable and fair immigration policy. He is not interested in making America great again. He is interested in riling up his base, alienating US allies, and destroying chunks of the US government. He is a convicted felon who supports lawbreakers, not law enforcement. He doesn’t care about immigrants or law enforcement, or you or me or anyone else, except as targets for grift and manipulation. Law enforcement, including ICE agents, are not the problem. Trump is the problem.
In the full letter linked in the trib article, bishops are advised to withhold housing assistance and referrals for employment if they “have reason to believe” and individual is undocumented. “Reason to believe??” What criteria is a lay bishop supposed to use to come to this conclusion? What if a bishop decides to help such a person and somehow gets in trouble with the law? Will he have the full legal representation of the Church? Based on this letter, it sounds like he may not. Where does Jesus say we should check the legal status of the “stranger” before offering him shelter. How is any of this Christian? Why can’t we have a firm, Christlike stance on any of this from Salt Lake? …. “Jesus wept.”
lastlemming:
“To be clear, the doctor and the judge were not part of the First Presidency when the SEC shenanigans were happening.“
Ah, but sadly they were. “The SEC’s order finds that, from 1997 through 2019, Ensign Peak failed to file Forms 13F, the forms on which investment managers are required to disclose the value of certain securities they manage.” Thus, the wrongdoing spanned both presidencies (RMN became president of the church in Jan 2018).
I’m surprised we can get anyone to be a Bishop these days, the messages are so mixed and they seem to ultimately be on their own. I don’t know a man who wasn’t broken by being a Bishop. Heartrending.
If it’s any comfort, here in the U.K a lot of the ward’s resources and energy go on the local migrant population with great good heart. Not sure how sustainable that is, but it really brings the ward together and at least a third of the ward are spanish speakers. It feels like the only proper human response.
Glad to read your comment @Wayfarer. Former bishop here, also from the UK.
Being in the church in the UK, after having lived elsewhere including various parts of the US, has been like a lifeboat to remain active. The church has serious issues here as well, but at the local level there is so much genuine effort to engage with communities and to support refugees and other disadvantaged groups. Most of those efforts seem to come from individual efforts and are mildly facilitated by the church, but it is also generally the church that is the greatest roadblock to further scale and expand such efforts. It would be so easy to scale that if they really wanted.
What’s happening in the US, and this latest guidance to bishops there, is unacceptably un-Christian, and counter to all the emphasis on religious freedom of the last decade from Church Headquarters, IMO revealing those efforts for what they really were: a cover for the church to affirm and enforce its anti-LGBTQIA+ stances and practices. The hypocrisy these things display are Pharisee-level, or worse. Is there a better time to actually ‘stand for what’s right’ than when you have the double whammy of policy enacted by decree that (1) tramples on religious freedom preventing them to live the most fundamental principles of Christianity, and (2) exposes and hurts some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people and families in society?
I’m at a loss of words to describe my disappointment and outrage with the current course of the church.
Glad to read your comment @Wayfarer. Former bishop here, also from the UK.
Being in the church in the UK, after having lived elsewhere including various parts of the US, has been like a lifeboat to remain active. The church has serious issues here as well, but at the local level there is so much genuine effort to engage with communities and to support refugees and other disadvantaged groups. Most of those efforts seem to come from individual efforts and are mildly facilitated by the church, but it is also generally the church that is the greatest roadblock to further scale and expand such efforts. It would be so easy to scale that if they really wanted.
What’s happening in the US, and this latest guidance to bishops there, is unacceptably un-Christian, and counter to all the emphasis on religious freedom of the last decade from Church Headquarters, IMO revealing those efforts for what they really were: a cover for the church to affirm and enforce its anti-LGBTQIA+ stances and practices. The hypocrisy these things display are Pharisee-level, or worse. Is there a better time to actually ‘stand for what’s right’ than when you have the double whammy of policy enacted by decree that (1) tramples on religious freedom preventing them to live the most fundamental principles of Christianity, and (2) exposes and hurts some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people and families in society?
I’m at a loss of words to describe my disappointment and outrage with the current course of the church.