Involvement in Public Policy Issues

Remarks by Timothy E. Flanagan and Boyd J. Black
Reported originally in Meridian Magazine

Timothy Flanagan has firsthand experience in Washington political circles, having worked as counsel in the Bush White House. He said, "If you lined up people who have political influence against the wall, you would have a great many wonderful Jewish people. Do you know how many Latter-day Saints there would be? Only a few. There are roughly the same number of Jews in the U.S. as Latter-day Saints, but do we have the same political impact? I don't think so."

Brother Flanagan indicated that we have something to learn about how to have impact on public policy. He said, "Start simply with things that you are interested in, things that you know about. Start where you are by developing an affiliation for a political party. In our two party system, your influence is magnified if you attach yourself to a party. Just because somebody disagrees with you 20% of the time doesn't make him your enemy. He is your ally."

"Another important way to have impact is in political giving. The act of political giving is not an intrinsically dirty act. It is an act of expression of our principles. I'm willing to admit that our system is far from perfect and we have a great many problems as money touches politics. It is an observed fact that many Latter-day Saints view giving to candidates as something they just don't want to do. But we can build on a cornerstone of integrity. You bring to this process your principles and the world is hungry for those principles."

Brother Flanagan emphasized that the mark of any political work should be quality. "Too much of the effort that people put into political work is just shoddy. It is substandard. You will stand out if you put true quality into what you do.

Boyd J. Black, Associate General Counsel for the Church, answered the much-asked question, "How does the Church approach issues of public policy?" He said, "The Church's primary purpose is to invite all to come unto Christ. Only the First Presidency determines what issues the Church will be involved in institutionally.

"Officers are lobbied frequently to have the Church become involved in public policy issues, yet very rarely do they get involved. There are many worthy causes that the Church chooses not to be involved in. We try to be friends with everyone.

"More and more Church members are organizing on public policy matters. That is a good thing to work to stop the moral decline. However, in organizing on a collective basis, the guidelines are to seek a strong and broad base of leadership beyond the Latter-day Saints. In that way our effectiveness is leveraged and the chance of incorrect attribution of the group's actions to the Church is lowered.

"The Church attempts very hard to keep politically neutral. Silence by the Church should never be considered as endorsement."