There was really brief story on the news recently quoting the president of the University of Utah, I believe, stating that in his opinion members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should join the American Civil Liberties Union because members of the Church should be large supporters of freedom and rights.
Latter-day Saints should join the ACLU? The same people that almost got the Boy Scouts of America kicked off of Fort AP Hill for their National Jamborees, right? Last time I checked, the LDS Church was a strong supporter of the Scouting movement in the United States since 1913. If I remember correctly, the LDS Church also sponsors a large part of the Boy Scout units nationwide. I don't see how I would want to join the ACLU, trying to get into other people's business.
Also, once upon a time, the ACLU even sued the Church! They were worried about a religious organization managing BLM land at Martin's Cove, where the Willie and Martin handcart companies suffered a terrible tragedy. Obviously, many members of the Church go and visit, and the Church has a visitor's center located nearby. The ACLU eventually dropped the case when they saw that the Church would let everyone who wanted to access the land, and that they weren't proselyting there. In other words, they were doing a good job managing the land. They didn't even check those things before filing a lawsuit. Maybe if the ACLU didn't just jump on things they thought were wrong, telling people and the government that they can't do what they're doing, they would have more members of the Church supporting them.
So, given that the ACLU hasn't had a good history with the Church, I think it's no surprise that members of the Church aren't members of the ACLU in large numbers.
The views expressed on this blog do not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the ACLU, or any other entity except for me. For these groups' official views, please visit their websites.
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