Statement on Today’s Insurrection and Preserving the Constitutional Order
For the last decade, we have watched Donald Trump use baseless accusations to undermine the legitimacy of the United States government and to accrue power to himself. A political party more interested in victory over their fellow citizens than in preserving American values and our inspired Constitution has allowed him to stoke fear with little consequence. Now, rather than confront reality, he has encouraged his supporters to attack the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
In the words of Senator Romney, the lone Republican Senator who joined with every Democratic Senator to convict President Trump of abuse of power: “This is what the President caused today, this insurrection.”
We have known President Trump and his enablers by their fruits, including the Confederate battle flag being waved inside the US Capitol today, something that never happened during the US Civil War.
Let us be clear: Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. Kamala Harris will be the next Vice President of the United States. Together, in their backgrounds, in their commitment to the common good, in their dedication to country, they represent the best of what it means to be American. This coup will fail, but it will be the responsibility of all of us to repair our country from the blow.
We must stand firmly against white nationalism and other ideologies that seek to establish the rule of the minority over the majority. For, as 2 Nephi 26:33 reminds us, “all are alike unto God.” And as Mosiah taught the Nephites, it is better to do our “business by the voice of the people.”
We need a re-commitment to the principles of fair play, of Constitutional order, and of a government of, by, and for the people. We call on Congress to meet Justice Roberts’ charge and pass a new Voting Rights Act by this summer, for states to allow returning citizens full voting rights without further encumbrance, and for political leaders — typically members of the so-called Republican Party — to stop undermining the legitimacy of duly-elected political leaders.
We pledge to stay civically involved, to learn and reflect on the histories of Reconstruction, the Freedom Movement, and other efforts to secure a multi-racial democracy, and to lift up our voices against tyrants who seek to divide us.
Together we can be part of that great American promise: “out of many, one.”
