Dear Karina,
You cannot vote well unless you know what you believe, and unless
you have some idea of how you would vote as an elected official yourself. When I was twenty years old in the mission
field in Argentina, I started writing what currently I call “My Personal
Philosophy of Life”, which in its current state is 28 pages long. It is where I write what I believe and what I
want from life. I recommend you start
something similar If you already have not.
The foundation of how I act in all aspects of my life is
based on my understanding of the following that I call my three by three.
·
Love, Gifts, and Opposition
·
Creation, Fall, and Atonement
·
Liberty (Moral Agency), Justice (Law), and Mercy
(When and How to Give Grace)
You do not have to have my understanding of these ideas to vote in an election. Also, when you believe in the above, but you don’t understand their
true meaning, you are in trouble. Words,
history, and principles have real meaning.
We live in a world that is rampant with calling good evil and evil
good. (See Isaiah
5:20.) Truth, over time, is
confirmed by the Holy Ghost.
I find the following article to be very helpful to those who
seek to do good as well as those who unwittingly do harm with their vote. Remember Isaiah 5:20. The author is not the first to use this theme,
but she covers it quite eloquently.
A
Vote is Not a Valentine–Or a Virtue Test
Life is fun, isn’t it?
Love,
Dad
